A/N : THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED, IF YOUVE NOT READ THIS VERSION, PLEASE DO. HAS IMPORTANT CHARACTER SKETCHES.

I narrow my eyes at Kayla. She sticks a tongue out.

"Why Kayla?!" I mouth sadly, looking rapidly at the teacher and her. Prof. Stan looks at the class with a wide grin before shooting the same at my side.

I manage to put up a smile.

"Understood how I expect you kids to be? Eline has volunteered herself for the program, we need more students like this," he says, emphasizing that I am the only kid that volunteered for helping out with the school activities.

"Volunteered? More like forced," I mutter under my breath, glaring once again at Kayla.

"Anything to say?" He looks back at me. Was it that loud?

"Uh, no," I mumble. He nods his head and motions me to sit. I scurry to my seat.

"So generous of you, Eline," Jaden coos. I roll my eyes, catching a glimpse of his green eyes before returning to the class.

"So as you can see..." I listen attentively not wanting to skip a word the professor says. Psychology has always been my favorite subject. It is far more interesting than business studies.

But it's sad to see half of the class so inattentive. Some have phones in their laps, secretly hidden. You can tell it by the weird downward grin plastered on their faces. Some just look around the classroom, searching for 'someone'.

Some write notes but instead their mind is so hazy. I shake my head, not wanting any more of their ignorance and look straight.

*

It doesn't even feel that long. The sudden ring of the bell gives me an internal jumpscare.

The professor, gathering all his supplies goes out of the classroom looking quite tired. The students stand up, all hyped up for the lunch break.

The lunch break...

I remember having to do something at lunch break...

Oh, yes.. I need to meet Emma and her group with whom I involuntarily agreed to hang out with. It's kind of predictable, though. More than being friendly, she might just have some doubts in studies and wants me to clarify that.

Or else there is no other way that she would even invite someone that bumped into her. She would have never asked me if I was just another anonymous kid. Instead, it will be cool to sit with someone that practically finds her place in almost all of the newspapers, whether it may be for her father, or for her studies alone.

There is one thing I can do. I can walk cautiously to the canteen, avoiding any eye contact with people and just hope that she won't find me.

You can not go to the canteen for that, idiot.

That's not the thing. I always go to canteen. It will be way too obvious if I tell them to just avoid the canteen. If they even sense what is up, hell might break loose. They hate them that much. No, scratch that-- They despise them.

But there's one thing I can do. I can just walk in slowly, avoiding any human communication until I find a secret spot in a lonely corner.

"What happened? It's break, let's get going to the canteen," Avi asks, already sensing something wrong. Her long straight hair flows till her waist. She almost kills all looks effortlessly. She wears a black floral dress, reaching till her knees. She tops it with a black leather jacket and some pump heels. Having both parents as successful billionaires does help, I guess.

I shrug, trying to act calm but it just looks fake.

"N-nothing, Let's go," I smile, tapping their shoulders and walking past my way to the canteen.

*******

I groan inwardly, looking at the immense rush forming inside the place. Guess I can't avoid contact today. I scan around the place, praying secretly that she doesn't somehow bump into me again. Chatters begin to erupt loudly again as I make my way to the seat. A flicker of blonde hair flashes before me.

Oh no.

She smiles blithely at me. I can already feel the other three slowly back away.

Uh oh.

"Hey Eline," she says, extending her pale hand. I nervously smile back, rocking on my heels.

"Hey Emma." There, I dropped the bomb.

Kayla raises a brow at me. She is never the one to back down easily. This is why she loves gossips. She wants to know everything. And by everything, I mean it. I look down and heave a sigh. I don't want to put up another lie. They are gonna figure it out anyway.

Jayden comes off slightly annoyed, it's hard to miss the disgusted snarl he just showed Emma.

"Emma? Aren't you.." I stamp his feet, making him immediately cry out loud. He looks back at me, eyes deep in confusion. I put a finger to my lip, before turning to Emma and the now startled Avi.

"So.. yes, this is Emma. Emma, these are my friends. Avi,-" I get interrupted by her voice.

"Kayla and.. Jayden," she says with a twinkle in her eye. I gape at her. How does she even know their names?
It's no surprise if Kayla knows them since she is the most gossip driven person I have met. But Emma knowing them is a completely different story.

"How?" I stutter, looking back at my own friends for an explanation. Instead, they all are too busy staring at her with more hatred etched in their features.

Okay, hold on. What's going on here?!

"It's nothing, Eline. It's not a big deal to know one of the most spoken girl's friends," she says, again with that knowing smile. She gives a more satisfied grin as she understands how unconvinced I am.

"Okay, mind me borrowing your friend today?" Emma asks, a bit more confident and authoritative rather than the sweet, confused girl I saw earlier. Avi bites her lip, slowly eyeing me before calling me to speak with them. Emma raises a brow, parting her lip as she tries to figure out what's happening. I smile back at her sympathetically, showing a finger and asking just a minute. She nods, crossing her arms and leaning on the divider.

With a rough tug at my arm, I unwantedly follow them. After a moment, they stop just next to food serving area, looking at me with slight frustration.

"Eline, you didn't even tell us that you know her!" Avi exclaims, putting her hands on her hips.

"Same to you guys," I say, folding my arms. Jayden clenches his jaw again, slowly stepping towards me.

"Listen, that's not the important thing right now. We don't want you to speak to her, " he says, with a tone almost threatening. I take a step back, sensing his madness.

"It just doesn't seem nice, even if I was not the one who agreed to eat with her today. I can't just leave her hanging like that. That's just wrong," I say, my voice slowly fading as I realize how my words are making him more furious by every passing second.

"That's exactly the problem with you. You feel bad and guilty for each and every small thing you do," he lowers his tone as he notices the stares from other people seated. I bow down my head in worry, knowing how right he is. But that's just half of the thing. I hate it when I break a promise, however small it is. Even if this is not a promise, I still consider it as one since she had taken my silence as approval yesterday.

"But why?" I manage to ask, finding my voice coming so squeaky.

Jayden sharply looks at Kayla, who shakes her head surreptitiously at him. It happened so fast that one could miss it quickly. With a slight nod, he reluctantly steps back.

"We have warned you a thousand times about them. We have told you many times about all that they do. Yet you keep protesting," Avi says, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"If you want to go so bad then let it be. Don't tell us we didn't warn you though," she says, looking straight at me in the eyes. Jayden immediately looks at her, with eyes wide in disbelief. She presses his arm, silencing him discreetly.

I can't help but get shivers thinking that something is up.

"Fine then, it's just one day, alright? Don't ditch us forever," he says, with a sudden change of mood. He smiles playfully before leaving me alone . I look at them for a second, processing what just happened.

Are they kidding me? They decide to gang up on me and then just leave me alone here?

I turn, awkwardly facing Emma's dazed stare. She smiles back, quite unsure of what to do. I shrug, walking to her.

"Guess your friends allowed you to come with us, finally," she says, holding my hand and leading me to her table. I fake laugh, not knowing what to say.

As I approach her table, my palms become sweaty. I can find myself wanting to leave the place so bad. My appetite immediately goes down, thinking of all that they have done. All of Kayla's gossips run through my head, forcing me to put a lid to logical thinking.

She stops, immediately plastering a proud face.

"Hi guys, this is Eline," she grins, pointing towards me. I feel my heart race.

I look at all of them. I don't know much about them, apart from Kayla's information, of course. And one thing is for sure, they are all just striking gorgeous. But I can't stop feeling that someone is missing from there.

I smile back at them, slowly sitting in the chair that she pointed to. They look at me, almost making me shrink. They might kick me right now. They wouldn't even enjoy my tiniest presence, I should've known.

As though noticing my elongated silence, the blonde clears her throat.

"This is Astra." Emma enthusiastically points towards a girl sitting besides her. The girl, who is Astra I now know, is smiling at me.  Some people have an eerie calmness around them.  I immediately put her in that category.  Her brow locks manage to barely touch her shoulders and enclose her heart shaped face.  Her complexion immediately strikes me of someone I used to know.  I notice how the light bounces off her almond coloured skin.

"Don't mistake her for being too silent, there is a monster sleeping inside." Emma chuckles, her blue eyes crinkling in the corners.

"Can't overtake you, Emma." Astra swiftly smiles, swirling the coffee cup in her hand and taking a sip. I try to dodge the impression given by Kayla, but miserably fail. The thing with Kayla's gossips is that she doesn't give a particular person who has done something. Instead, she refers to them as 'One person of their gang', protecting their identity. And frankly, she would never protect anyone identity, if she knew who it was. She has just heard rumours as a whole of the gang, instead of a single person.

That's just scary knowing that I can't even completely trust one person in this group.

"By the way, this is Alma," Emma points her fork at the girl sitting opposite us, breaking my train of thoughts.

Her deep blue eyes fix their gaze on the pancakes she is indulging in, without giving a spare look at me. Her long sleek hair is tied up tight, almost clearing her face off of any stray hair.

She grunts incoherently, extending the unwelcoming tension. I avert my gaze. 

"Alma," Emma says, softly ordering her. Alma rolls her eyes at Emma and looks at me. I shiver as I make contact with her icy cold eyes. They seem devoid of any emotions. Just plain. Eyes speak so much, yet her eyes speak none.

I lower my gaze, tapping on the table. I wish I could've atleast bought something to eat before coming here. I could already feel her drilling gaze on my lowered head.

"You have no idea, they bullied me. I told them to stop, I told them many times, they never listened. I don't want the same to happen to you." Avi said, holding my palm as I looked at her. She shook her head, her frown speaking lot more than any words could.

I can't help but feel that Alma might be one of the girls involved in her bullying. I remember how angry and mad I got, listening to Avi's narration. Yet I did nothing. I was never there to witness the bullying, but I could tell from her eyes that something treacherous had happened. A sick feeling twists in my stomach.

"Um, sorry, Eline. She is just not that comfortable with communicating," Emma stutters nervously, slowly swallowing a potato chip.

Wow, they sure don't eat salads.

"It's fine," I manage to say, contradicting all that I am feeling right now. I feel anything but fine. I stare longingly at the food and then at my watch, slowly worrying if I should just get up and tell some excuse. As I stare further at her food, a tray with french fries come sliding in my direction. My eyes water up with delight and I bite my tongue to prevent myself from yelling in joy.

"Aaron."

I immediately look up to the person who was kind enough to share some fries. I would never have done that myself. His eyes are a dark shade of gray, almost black. He smiles at me, making me notice the single dimple on his right cheek. His features change as a sharp slap falls on his arm.

"Ouch, what was that for?" He looks quizically at Emma who pouts back at him.

"I told you that I am doing the introduction," she says, narrowing here eyes at him. He widens his eyes in surprise before breaking eye contact and looking at me.

"You're Eline Mills, right? The scholar kid?" he asks, removing his headphones from his head and slightly fixing his chocolate brown hair. I nod. He smiles back in satisfaction.

"Great. You can call me Aaron though my full name is Caster Aaron," he smiles again, as I slowly chew the french fry. I don't reply immediately back. I just nod again. I don't really like speaking much to new people and if he doesn't get a hint of it, then he is just bad in body language. But I find myself looking at Aaron despite my mind protesting not too. It's hard to not notice the uncanny resemblance he has with a guy I long knew. Guilt seeps through me.

I fidget with the hem of my outfit, trying to shift my mind to something else.

"Hey,do you have your timetable?" he quickly asks. He clearly can't get a hint.

"Sorry, it's in my bag," I lie, just wanting to slow down the socializing.

He frowns,"Oh just wanted to know if you're there in any of the classes."

I part my lips, trying to say something, but instead it comes off soundless. He is extremely friendly, almost contrary to everything Alma is.

As though noticing my expression, the guy next to him softly chuckles, eating some more of the chicken meat in his plate. It's then that I catch notice of the red head sitting quietly. He seems oblivious to my staring and focuses more on his food.

Emma immediately looks up from her phone, exchanging glances with the confused Astra before snapping her fingers at the guy.

"Luke, this is Eline. Eline, Luke," she says, placing her hands on the table and watching us keenly. I feel Alma slightly looking at us again.

"Oh, hey," he says, extending a hand. I slowly extend my hand, shaking it slightly before dropping my hand down. His brown eyes complement his light red hair that is trimmed short. He softly smiles, before eating again.

"This is Luke. The quiet guy, the silent guy, whatever suits him," Emma says, playing with her fork before averting her gaze to the mobile screen. Luke immediately looks up to her accusingly, before deciding it's of no use. Here is it. I just met all members of the popular gang.

Just think about it makes me feel guilty again. I just made acquaintance with the people that bullied Avi. What sort of friend am I?

I don't even know these people but I am not going to put my guard down any soon. They look pleasant but it might all be a facade for all I know. I look back at my watch, noticing that it is just a minute before bell. I find myself smiling with content. Just a minute and my life reverts back. No more talks with them, no more meetings.

And God was I wrong.

*****************

AUTHOR'S NOTE

First of all, I would like to thank all those that decided to give this story a try. I truly appreciate your support, however less or big it may be.

Secondly, this chapter is longer than usual meaning, i am tired xD. But anyway, hope you liked this chapter.

So, that's it. I don't have anything else left to say...

Later,

Splashes