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Wisps of light glistened in the vacant art room and dotted the linoleum floor with warm slivers of the sun. The glowing flecks danced a fantastical ballet around the dim space as they fought to shine through the hurried clouds racing across the sky. Staring at the performance, I had to wonder if I laid my canvas down in their path if they would set it on fire and free me from this insufferable assignment.

Exhaling sharply, I peered at the clock to see that it was fifteen minutes into lunch, and in that short amount of time, I'd already lost patience with this project. But I needed the distraction. Moreso, I needed the ache in my abdomen to subside, which begged the question: how many more missed meals would it take until I was used to not eating?

I shook away that thought and picked up my pencil to finish my sketch only for my attention to shift toward the sound of footsteps entering the classroom. My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion when I saw who it was.

"What're you doing here?" I asked.

Beetle didn't answer me right away. Instead, he approached my seat and stared at my work. "Nice..." he trailed off, cocking his head to the side, "Chicken?"

"It's a raven," I sighed then looked into his blue eyes, waiting for him to answer me.

"Ah," he seemed unconvinced, but he didn't linger on it for too much longer before he switched topics. "Could you stand up for a second?"

I quirked a brow at his request and wondered if this was related to why he was here. Deciding there was only one way to find out, I nodded. "Weird, but sure." I placed my pencil down on the wooden easel then slid onto my feet and stood in front of him. "Okay, now what?"

The only response I got was Beetle picking me up and slinging me over his shoulders like I was nothing more than a ragdoll. Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I wasn't sure if it was because I was upside down suddenly or because I was mortified. Probably both.

"What're you doing!" I screeched as I clung to his shirt to keep myself horizontal.

The room spun when Beetle pivoted, causing a blur of colors to streak across my vision, and I watched in abject horror as my desk started to get farther away from me.

"What does it look like?" he deadpanned.

"It looks like you're kidnapping me!" I shrieked when he stepped into the hallway. I let go of the blue fabric of his shirt and began tugging on the hem of my mini skirt, praying that no one could see my underwear through my tights. "You stupid bug! Put me down!"

"Insect," he corrected.

"What?"

"Beetles are insects, not bugs."

"Oh my god, I was calling you a bug, you bug!"

For a beat, he was silent before he muttered to himself, "Calling me an insect would make more sense..."

"Beetle!" I hissed, attempting to keep my voice low so a teacher doesn't catch us. "Shut up about insects and put me down!"

"Sorry, can't do."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both."

I let out a frustrated groan, and after a few moments passed, I huffed, "Fine, but don't think I'm not gonna stare at your ass the entire time, because I'm going to."

Beetle snorted but remained quiet as he carried me down several teal speckled hallways, somehow managing to avoid any teachers along the way. All the while, I stared at his butt and prayed that this uncomfortable ride would be over soon. His shoulder did not feel good pressed against my stomach.

"Are we there yet?" I whined only to be met with more silence. I frowned. "You know, kidnapping is bad. Didn't your mother ever teach you that?"

"We were worried. You've been skipping lunch all week," he responded as he stopped at the bottom of the steps that led up to the lunchroom.

He placed me back on my feet, much to my relief.

"It's only Tuesday. You make things sound far worse than what they are," I grumbled as I fixed my outfit before peering up at him.

Our eyes locked, and I could see concern swirling around in his baby blue stare so much so that I had to look away. I also didn't want him to see how weak I felt just then. Between being jostled around and the lack of food, my head was swimming. And the smell of pizza from the cafeteria above us wasn't helping.

"I'm not so sure that's true." The sound of his voice caused me to glance back up at him. Worry drew his brows together, causing me to realize that I wasn't doing a very good job at masking how sick I felt. He motioned me to the stairs. "C'mon."

In no mood to argue, I followed him up the winding steps until we reached the top landing where I took the lead. While zig-zagging through the lunchroom, I kept my gaze straight ahead at my friends in an attempt to avoid another one of my problems.

Ever since I tried to take advantage of Briar when he was upset, I've been too ashamed to see him. Luckily, we only had one class together, otherwise, I'd be skipping more than just chemistry and lunch. Somehow I doubted I could keep this up for the remainder of the school year, but I was going to try.

When I got closer to the table, Lindsay's dark blue eyes flickered in my direction and turned hard. The fiery redhead frowned at me then chided, "About time you came to lunch!"

Everyone's attention at the table shifted towards me, and whatever conversation they were having stopped as all but Lindsay greeted me. The redhead obviously took my absence personally. As I had the reputation of never keeping to a friend group for longer than a semester, she likely assumed that I was ditching them.

"I've been delivered safe and sound," I declared dramatically while easing into an empty chair next to Poppy.

God, what I wouldn't do for a hamburger.

"Where's your delivery boy?" questioned Charlee as she pushed her long braids behind her and away from her pudding cup.

"Beetle? He's right..."I trailed off as I noticed that Beetle was nowhere in sight. "Well, he was behind me."

"Maybe he ran into one of his teammates and decided to sit with them?" suggested Kole who was fiddling with a calculator.

"No, I bet he's tired of listening to you nerds talk about Dungeons and Dragons!" complained Poppy, waving her finger between Kole and Charlee. "Abbi, these two have been doing nothing but talking about their stupid game these past two days to the point where I'm having dreams about stupid wizards and lizard people! It's been torture!"

"Oh, my poor child," I cooed, pulling her into a sideways hug.

"Girl, you're being dramatic," demurred Charlee with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't know, Char," Lindsey chimed in, peering over her iPhone at Charlee. "I'm going to have to side with Poppy. I could have gone through my whole life without knowing what a Dungeon Master is."

"Psh," sibilated Charlee who tossed her empty pudding cup onto the orange tray that was designated as a shared trash pile. "Blame Kole. He's the one that forced me to join his game."

"Oh, I do," stated Poppy.

"Already am," Lindsay returned nearly at the same time.

"What? What's wrong with Dungeons and Dragons?" Kole wondered aghast, pulling his Dungeon Master's Guide close to his chest as if Poppy or Lindsey would destroy it if he didn't.

"Where do I start?" intoned Poppy.

While the conversation veered towards Kole ruining Charlee, the subject herself seemed to be done with it as she turned to me and asked, "Are you going to get something to eat?"

I opened my mouth to respond only to be interrupted by the loud clank of a tray being placed down in front of me. A slice of pizza, a cup of peaches and corn, a side salad, and milk all filled my vision and made my mouth water. Confused, I looked up to see Beetle taking a seat in front of me.

"For kidnapping you," he answered without me having to even ask.

I was at a loss for words as a knot of emotions tightened my gut. We both knew the real reason why he bought me lunch. And although my pride took a hit, I didn't have the strength to refuse this gesture.

"Normally, I ask my kidnappers to buy me Applebee's, but this will do," I teased, giving him a thankful smile before picking up the pizza.

By now my hunger was intense, and it took everything in me not to inhale the greasy slice in one bite. But as hard as I tried to hide things from my friends, I couldn't stop Charlee and Beetle from noticing my hand tremoring. The two shared a look that I dared not decipher.

"Holy hell," exclaimed Poppy who leaned in across the table to get closer to Charlee. "Who is that? Is that Briar's girlfriend? She's hot A-F!"

Unable to stop my curiosity, I followed Poppy's gaze to the corner of the room where Briar sat. Pulling out a chair at his table was a recognizable woman with soft brown hair and supermodel legs. A woman I didn't think I'd ever see again.

"It's his sister," I muttered in response.

My reply garnered an inquisitive stare from Poppy, but before I could think of explaining myself, Maggie's searching gaze found my own. It was like I set off a trap. In seconds, she was on her feet and approaching me.

Cue the Jaws theme song.

It then occurred to me, something that I had forgotten.

That stupid wedding.