Scarred Beauty [Completed]

Chapter Twenty Four

Alex James

Immediately right after we entered the parlor, Olivia's mysterious bad mood began rising into a childish ball of squeals. The menu at this place was insane. There was even a personal chocolate menu! Olivia and Jen immediately ran up to the counter, their eyes gazing upon the mythical magic of ice cream flavors. Anyone from a mile away could tell they wanted the craziest orders there.

"Can I have the chocolate caramel ice cream, triple scoop double decker doses of chocolate bits?" Jen asked.

The man behind the counter looked at her with his eyes wide. Then, he turned to Olivia, almost expecting a normal order. She looked at him with her eyes practically glowing.

"I'll get the chocolate and caramel waffle cone, with the extra chocolate and caramel sauces. Don't forget to add some marshmallows."

I walked up next to Olivia and said, "I'll get a simple vanilla ice cream."

"Chocolate sundae," Kevin noted.

"That'll be $15.42," the man replied.

For a moment, the price was a little hard to comprehend. I guess it made sense, since both the vanilla ice cream and chocolate sundae were just $3.00 each. Olivia's was $4.00 and Jen's was $5.00. Then, plus tax and Olivia's extra sauces, and the total added up. Kevin looked at me with eyebrows raised, and I shrugged. I pulled out a twenty-dollar bill from my pocket and put it on the counter, the others looking at me curiously.

"I'll pay," I volunteered, shrugging.

The man took the money, cautiously looking back and forth between the two excited girls with his eyes wide, as if waiting for one of them to intervene with something crazy again. I could only assume he was surprised that two small and short girls would eat so much food.

Olivia grinned cheekily at me, turning up at me. "Growing to be mature, huh?"

I stuck my tongue out at her childishly, stuffing my hands into my jean pockets. I turned away from her with my cheeks dusted pink and mumbled, "Shut up."

She and Jen giggled at my embarrassment. We all grabbed our sweet treats and sat down at a booth, facing the TV. Both Olivia and Jen were devouring their ice cream, eating five spoonfuls a second. That might have been over-exaggerated, but it looked true. I looked up at the TV and immediately froze in shock. Olivia had somehow sensed my shocked state and followed my gaze up.

"What the hell?!"

On the TV was a news reporter, standing in front of the graveyard with Daniel standing next to her, looking as if he has been attacked by some wild animal. Scratches and bruises were marked on his face and arms, and his eyes looked insanely small.

The news reporter, Lily, had then continued with what she had to say,"We don't know what might have happened, but Daniel Smith claims to have been attacked by a teenage girl in this very graveyard. He claims her to be crazy, a psycho in fact."

Daniel ripped the microphone from her hands, and then he exclaimed, "She's crazy I tell you! She's insane! I don't know why she was doing it to me, but if I see her again, I might just cripple to my knees!" Dramatic much? "She had a gun on her and tried to shoot me several times! She's gotta be put into prison, an asylum maybe!"

Lily forcefully pushed Daniel towards the police, who tried to calm him down. She grabbed her microphone back into her hands. "As said from the victim himself, he was attacked by a teenage girl in this very graveyard. We do not know if he is telling the truth, since he has had several criminal records already. All we know is that if the teenage girl is spotted, there will be more than just questions being directed towards her."

Olivia's mouth hung wide open, her spoon on the table when she dropped her. Her green eyes stared at the TV, trying to see if it were a dream or not. The comprehension was slow, but I could tell she was confused, scared, and pissed off, all at once from just a glance at her expression.

"He knows my full name!" Olivia squeaked suddenly. Turning away from the TV, she put her hands to her head. "If he tells them I attacked him, I'll have no evidence whatsoever to back up that I didn't!" She cursed and put her hands on her face, running through her thoughts clearly

Jen wrapped her arm around Olivia, attempting to comfort her. "Oh c'mon. We'll figure something out."

"Yeah," I agreed.

Olivia looked up at us with glassy eyes, which made me almost doubt my own words. She wiped her eyes with her hands and murmured quietly, "Really?"

I nodded and replied, "We'll try as hard as we can to find any sliver of evidence. Don't be so down!" I gave her a wink. "Jesus, you worry too much."

She smiled a little and snuggled her face into her arms as she laid in the table. "Okay.."

I looked away and picked at my ice cream, scooping it and then dumping it back into the cone. I didn't like how Olivia lost hope so easily. She was usually so confident, and seemed as if she could overtake anything. That Daniel guy; he must have something to do with this. Maybe he knew something that Olivia didn't want him to tell anyone, and he was blackmailing her. But then again, he probably would've already told.

What if Daniel had a past relationship with her? The thought made me clench my jaw. From what I knew, she knew Daniel up until she was five. She would be too naive to understand anything, but it was Olivia. She probably would've believed anything with that innocent mind of hers. My grasp on the spoon tightened. What if he was trying to lure her away somehow, then take advantage of her?

I paused my thoughts for a second.

You're being way too overprotective for just being "her best friend".

I guess I was right. I didn't even know half of her life, and yet I act like she's my property. I can't even treat her like a human, but an object. An item that I want to possess. But she was so much more than that.. What puzzled me was how Daniel knew me in the first place. I've never been mentioned to him before, as told from Meladia, but he knew me. I had a feeling he somehow got that information...

From my father.

A hand lightly touched my arm, and I snapped my head towards Olivia's direction. She looked up at me worriedly, her green eyes wide with concern. "Are you okay? You're acting like your ice cream was a murderer."

I looked down at my ice cream and saw the cone crunched in my hand, melted ice cream trailing down my fingers. I immediately released it and put it down on a napkin. I wiped my hand, my cheeks flushed. I crushed such a good treat just because I thought Daniel was going to hurt her again. I sighed. Olivia, how the fuck are you doing this? Did you go to damn Hogwarts or something without me knowing?

Olivia picked up the ice cream and the crushed cones into her empty bowl, and put it in front of me. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and she smiled cheekily. "You can still eat it."

"Thanks," I murmured to her. She's quite the character. "Where are Jen and Kevin?"

"Jen went to the restroom, and Kevin went to order the giant ice cream waffle float for takeout," she replied. She turned to look at me once again, "Are you sure you're okay? You look stressed."

"I'm fine."

"A-Are you sure?" Olivia questioned. "We can leave right now if you feel sick. I'll go ask Kevin right now if you'd like—"

Before she could slide out of our booth, I grabbed her arm. She peered back at me from over her shoulder, and I gave her a playful grin.

"I'm fine, Olivia."

She sat back down next to me, her hands in her lap as she looked down. Her cheeks were dusted with pink, giving her pale and scarred skin some color. "R-Right."

"But I am a little tired.." I mumbled. I leaned towards her and put my head on hers. She blushed lightly, and I opened one eye to look down at her. "Are you tired as well? You can lean on my shoulder if you'd like."

"O-Okay.." She murmured, and gently rested her head against my shoulder.

As I closed my eyes, I could feel her blush thickening. A quirky smile made its way onto my face.