AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Your beauty already does,” he replied flirtatiously without missing a beat. Ana’s laughter died as she smiled bashfully and looked away.
“Awww,” I crooned. It was too sweet. I had noticed their playful back and forth and suspected they were more than friends. Harris’s face darkened as he blushed, and I felt a little guilty for embarrassing him. But really, he shouldn’t have been so smooth with that line.
“Do any of you mind if Jasper and Justin sit with us?” Edward asked, distracting me from the interaction between Ana and Harris.
“I don’t mind,” Harris answered, recovering from embarrassment.
“Me neither,” Ana confirmed.
“Then we’re all sitting together,” I declared, happy that both my friend groups were getting along.
“Like an extended family on a feast day, we’ll pretend to get along and then talk about each other on the journey home,” Harris added excitedly.
When we arrived at the café, we sat at the same table as Jasper and Justin, who looked curiously at Ana and Harris.
“Eddie, where have your new friends come from?” Justin asked rudely.
“I was invited to sit with Percy, Ana, and Harris. If you would rather not sit with us, we can find another table,” Edward answered.
“No, it’s fine,” Jasper spoke quickly as Edward made to stand, grabbing his wrist. “Stay. There’s plenty of room for everyone.”
“Yeah, sure,” Justin agreed when Jasper looked at him pleadingly.
“I understand why someone from Syngeneia wouldn’t mind sitting with us, but Harris, you’re of Viridis; don’t you hate us?” Justin asked.
“We don’t hate Borealis. Or anyone,” Harris replied distractedly while he got a server's attention for us to place our orders.
“Ordering lunch without me, that’s simply cruel. Am I to go hungry? I thought we were friends?” Dylan asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “Cool, we’re eating with the enemy,” he continued once he sat, eyeing Edward.
“I ordered you fries with that cheese sauce you like. I was hungry and couldn’t wait,” Harris told him.
“You know me so well, Harris. Hi Ana,” he greeted and waved across the table to me. “Hey, Percy,” he smiled awkwardly, and I was reminded that our last interaction at the spring fair hadn’t ended well.
“Hi, Dylan,” I replied, letting go of our old argument. It felt like a lifetime ago now.
“So, no offence to you, Percy, but why are we sitting with these classist scumbags?” he asked.
Ana groaned loudly.
“Who are you calling a scumbag?” Justin yelled.
“He didn’t mean it,” Harris defended.
“I did too,” Dylan argued.
“Please, can we not call each other names?” Jasper begged.
“Remember who you speak of. We serve House Borealis, your King,” Edward warned.
“Enough, enough. Dylan, if you can’t say anything nice, then leave. We asked my friend Edward to sit with us; Jasper and Justin are his friends. We’re all adults,” Ana interjected, silencing the table.
“Since when are you friends with Edward?” Dylan asked, a confused and upset look on his face.
“Since I visited with Percy at the castle. We spent time together,” Ana told him.
“But it’sEdward,” Dylan protested. “He doesn’t like anyone.”
“That’s not true,” Jasper said defensively.
