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“If I didn’t use sarcasm I’d have to flat out tell someone they’re an idiot, which is considered rude, and I was raised much better than that.” I return his smirk with one of my own.
Mason laughs at me and we stop at a split in the hallway, facing each other. “Always have an answer, don’t you?”
“The smart girls always do.” I wink at him and turn down the left corridor, silently praying he’ll turn right, because that was a damn good last word, and it’d be awkward if he ended up having to come the same way. He turns right, and I mentally high-five myself.
I get to my class and see Chase sitting on top of a desk with his back to me, talking enthusiastically to a bunch of guys. Not wanting to awkwardly cling to Chase, I walk to the middle of the room and sit down at an empty conjoined desk. While I’m pulling out my notebook, the chair directly beside me is pulled out, and a girl with long dark-brown-almost-black hair sits down beside me.
“Hey, you must be Amelia, right? I’m Annalisa, but call me Anna.” Her dark-red lips part in a smile.
“That’s me. Let me guess, you’re wondering how I insulted Aiden and lived to tell the tale?”
“Aiden might be an ass sometimes,” she says, laughing, “but honestly, he’s one of the best people I know.”
“You’re friends with him?”
“I’m dating his best friend, Julian. Aiden’s really not bad—he’s kind of fun to be around once he opens up. He’s amazing to the people he cares about, but he definitely knows how to be scary,” she finishes.
“I’m not scared of him.”
She laughs again. “I know, I got there in time to hear you tell him off—I was laughing so hard! The guys always rip on each other, but it was fun seeing someone else do it, especially someone so innocent looking!”
“Mason and Noah said almost the same thing.”
“They’re really laid back—they found it hilarious—but you know, boys and their prid
e. That’s why Aiden reacted like that. He feels really bad about what happened though. He never said it out loud, but if you’re close to him, you could tell that it bothered him.”
“He apologized to me today . . . sort of.”
“He what?!” she chokes out. “Tell me what happened!”
I told her what Aiden said in the hall, omitting any parts relating to Kaitlyn.
“Wow, he must really like you. Or at least care.”
“I should feel honored,” I reply sarcastically, feeling momentarily confused.
After the teacher walks in, the class starts and Annalisa and I have to stop talking. But after class we realize we both have a spare period, so we go to the empty cafeteria to sit and talk.
Despite Annalisa being close with that group of boys, I find myself actually liking her. I’m surprised because I didn’t picture one of those guys with someone like her. When Charlotte told me about Julian’s girlfriend, I pictured him with someone more Kaitlyn-like.
Annalisa has blue streaks in her dark hair and her fair skin and bright-blue eyes are accented by her dark-red lipstick. She is slightly more on the goth side, but not so much that she seems unapproachable. Despite not knowing Julian, I was proud of him for settling down with someone different from the obvious popular girls in school.
But is she friends with Kaitlyn? They were both eating at Aiden’s table. Julian is friends with Aiden and would therefore sit at that table. And Annalisa is dating Julian, so she, too, would sit at that table—with Kaitlyn and friends. I have the worst luck. I actually make some cool friends and one of them is friends with Kaitlyn and her bitches. As much as I like Annalisa, I don’t think I can be friends with her if she’s friends with those mean girls.
“What’s wrong?”
I decide to just ask her and find out. “How do you feel about Kaitlyn?”
“You mean Satan reincarnated? She’s actually quite pleasant to be around . . . when she isn’t talking. And isn’t looking at you. And is in a different room, in a different state, in a different country. With no cell service or Wi-Fi. So if all these conditions are met, then sure, she’s cool.”
I laugh. “What about if she’s in the same room as you, or at the same table?”
“You mean if I had to actually interact with her? Ew. Can’t stand her. She knows it too—knows everyone in my group of friends hates her. She’s just so in love with Aiden she still tries to find ways to hang out with us.”
“Anna, I think we’ll get along great.”
I’m actually really glad we’re becoming friends. But why would someone as cool as she is be dating one of the Boys, as I’ve dubbed them in my mind? Maybe Julian isn’t all that bad, since Annalisa doesn’t seem like the type to put up with bullshit. Julian is the only member of the group whom I haven’t met yet, and seeing as everyone except Aiden is cool, maybe my first interaction with a member of the Boys just happened to be with the one asshole of the group.
