Frigid Flora

fourteen - challenge accepted

Chapter Fourteen

"This seems pretty decent," Skylar mused as she took a seat in the cafe she'd forced me to go to. "What do you think?"

"I think that it's too early to be outside and that if you ever force me out of my house at such an ungodly hour again just for you to have company whilst drinking coffee then I might have to take back the spare key I gave you to my house."

There was nothing wrong with Cookie Creel, a newly opened café that was local to our neighbourhood. It was brightly lit, warm and the smell of coffee hit you upon entering. I'd already visited the cosy shop with Parker and therefore knew that the cookies they sold were outstanding with crisp edges and soft chocolate filled centres. 

Parker had now made it a habit of his to drive me to and from school (making sure to park farther down my street because of my mother's severe disliking toward him seeing as she was still under the impression he was a lunatic criminal that not only caused me to get into trouble with the police, but threw a brick through our window - which of course wasn't the case, at least not the brick throwing part) and we'd caught sight of it as we drove on one journey home. We shared a cookie, most of which ended up on the floor seeing as he'd taken it upon himself to start throwing crumbs at me. Long story short, it blew out of proportion and became a war. I remember my two bites being nice though before we were eventually thrown out for acting so immaturely. I hoped to god none of the staff recognised me.

Not particularly wanting to tell Skylar I had in fact already been here (and with Parker no less), I decided to stay quiet and munch on the white chocolate chip treat I'd purchased. She knew Parker and I hung out together everyday at school but she wasn't quite aware of how much time we spent with one another out of it.

Skylar eyed me over the rim of her mug of caffé mocha. "There's something you're not telling me."

Again, I decided to stay quiet.

"Fine, be that way. If I thought you were going to be so grumpy I would have reconsidered this outing." She raised one of her perfectly plucked eyebrows, waiting for me to start talking.

"Then you should have listened to me when I warned you I would be." I grumbled.

"Who thinks eleven in the morning is early?" She crinkled her nose in confusion and I groaned.

"Just because you're an early bird doesn't mean-" I stopped mid-sentence, the cookie I was swallowing lodging in my throat causing me to sputter crumbs over the front of the unsuspecting Skylar's shirt.

"What the heck Flor-"

"I thought you didn't have any friends?" Hayden said in lieu of hello, that ever present hostile glare on his face as he approached our table with Matthew in tow. He planted his hands on its surface, his short sleeves sliding farther up his toned arms to reveal more tattoos peeking out from underneath the thin material of his shirt.

"What made you think that?" I asked after having composed myself. Wiping crumbs from my chin, I sent Skylar a look that said I'd explain later. She seemed too preoccupied ogling Hayden to pay me any attention. I wasn't surprised seeing as he had that brooding look that made her weak at the knees.

"Parker said you were a loner." He had a cigarette wedged between his lips despite the large anti smoking sign behind him. I watched as he blew pretty, grey clouds of toxic fumes into the air.

"Did he now?" It peeved me off more than it should have. "Has he said anything else I ought to know about?"

"Look!" Matthew pointed enthusiastically out of the window by our side. A squirrel darted out of the shroud of trees that were growing in the park on the opposite street. We all turned back around to look at him in confusion. His happiness had died down considerably. "It was only an eastern grey. I prefer the black squirrel." He sighed in disappointment.