I can’t help it. I start laughing again. It’s too ridiculous. This is the most I’ve laughed in years, and it feels so good. I feel like I’ve walked into theTwilight Zone, and I’m kind of okay with that. Anything beats the last three and half years of my life.
Nolan looks up at the sound of my laughter and looks strangely relieved.Guess he isn’t fond of his growing fan base.The thought alone has me laughing harder. The girls glance over their shoulders with daggers in their eyes, before they go back to cooing over Nolan.
Kaleb also finds humor in the display and starts chuckling, and it’s a beautiful sound. A deep rumble that I more feel than hear.
Honestly, I’m surprised Kaleb doesn’t have his own gaggle of girls following him around, though he did just get out of class. He has the smooth features of marble that’s been lovingly sculpted, with narrow almond shaped eyes that angle up at the corners, high cheekbones, full lips, and a chiseled jawline.If I’m going to be stuck in the Twilight Zone, I have great company. Not a fan of crowds so that could be a problem.
Nolan attempts to extract himself from the girls with a feigned regretful sigh. “Excuse me, ladies,” he says gallantly. “My friends are out of class. Pleasure talking with you all.”
During his escape, I’m pretty sure a girl pinches his butt.The hell?Nolan doesn’t show any signs that he noticed, so I can’t tell how he feels about being manhandled-- lady-handled?
“Get out of class early?” I ask sweetly, as Nolan once again puts his arm around my shoulders.
First reaction is to stiffen up, but I try to trust the instincts I have about him and relax. Again, this is normal for him, and possibly, not just for my benefit. I can practically feel the death lasers shooting into the back of my head from the girls behind us, and I’m getting the human shield feeling again.
“Yes, actually,” he says, with mock indignation. “By the end of my last class, we were doing homework, and I asked Ms. Baker if it would be alright to leave early, so that I could help a new student find her way around.”
“And those girls decided to keep you company?” I look up at him, as a wry smirk skates across my lips.
His lips pinch together and a hint of color brushes his cheeks.Interesting.His adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. “Past acquaintances from the Associated Student Body who wanted to catch up.”
“You’re in ASB?” I ask, intrigued to see how far his fame goes.Please don’t tell me he’s student body president.
Nolan clears his throat. “Uh, no.”
“Oh.”Add this to the list of things I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.
He gives me a friendly bump, which knocks me into Kaleb, since I’m sandwiched between the two of them. Scents of cracked pepper and sandalwood tease my nose. My heart sputters with the increased invasion of my personal space, and I release a careful breath. I don’t know how I know it, but I feel like these guys wouldn’t try to hurt me, and I don’t want to be bitchy, loner girl anymore. I want to be more than okay with being touched. I want to enjoy it, and that can’t happen if I don’t let people actually touch me.
“Have fun in class?” Nolan asks brightly, clearly ready to change the subject.
“Uh, yeah. It was fine.” With mock outrage, I elbow Nolan in the side and grumble, “You could’ve warned me about Harris, by the way.”
“Oh shit,” Nolan cringes, earning a raised brow from Kaleb. “I haven’t had a class with him, but I hear he’s quite the asshat from Donovan.”
“That explains why you looked so relieved when you talked with Mrs. Mills,” Kaleb muses like he’s just figured out one of many puzzles. He looks down at me, offering gently, “Perhaps, you could transfer into a different class?”
I sigh. “Considering it’s already the middle of the semester, I doubt it-- especially since I’m pretty sure asshatery is not considered a good enough reason to change my schedule around.”
Nolan chuckles and squeezes my shoulder.
Walking between Nolan and Kaleb is very different than when I walked down the halls with Donovan earlier. Instead of students jumping out of the way, girls are ‘casually’ brushing against the guys, and I’m getting leering looks from the boys littering the hall.Christ! Don’t these people have lives?
I glance up at Kaleb. He has his warm smile on, but after spending time with him, I’m noticing the cracks. His eyes crinkle when the smile is real.
Though their performances are dramatically different, Kaleb and Nolan both need to shield themselves with a persona that, at the very least, doesn’t show the whole picture. A sharp ache presses against my chest, pained by the familiarity of that need. I had to be cold and aloof, using a superiority I didn’t feel to keep people at a distance. Keep them hating me enough to never approach me, while night after night, I shattered right along with my crushed bones.
I shake my head, dragging myself away from that rabbit hole. It’s different now, and strangely, with these guys I’ve just met, I’m more comfortable with being myself-- whoever that is. Maybe the last shits I gave fell away with my father’s arrest? And maybe with the help of these new friends, I can figure out who I really am. Maybe I can find something worthy in this broken mess I’ve become.
We approach the cafeteria which opens up onto the outside lawn. The sun has finally made an appearance, and students have congregated to absorb the fleeting UV rays. Nolan and Kaleb weave me through the crowd inside, nodding and waving to the people who call out to them but making sure to keep us moving.
Once we get outside, I see Donovan, Connor and Felix sitting under one of the few trees available. To my relief, no one is seated anywhere near them.
While we walk, I look up at both Nolan and Kaleb and ask, “So, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but you all are surprisingly eager to help me, considering you met me all of…” I calculate quickly in my head, “less than four hours ago.”
Nolan shrugs, jostling me more into his side. “You’re a friend of Felix, and that’s good enough for me.”
“Who I met last night,” I counter.
