Gold Rush

Chapter Eight

My chest heaved violently and a hiccup escaped my lips. Noah, Luke, and Chloe all gave me a startled look. I grinned at them sheepishly, and another violent hiccup shook my body. “Have the hiccups?” Luke asked rhetorically.

            “Unfortunat—hic.” I clapped a hand to my mouth, wincing as another hiccup tore through me.

            Luke smirked. “You know, scaring is the best way to get rid of them.”

            Another hiccup went through me, and I shook my head. “They’ll go away eventually.”

            “Yeah, eventually,” Noah commented with a shrug. “But sometimes they just—

BOO!” he shouted suddenly, throwing his hands at me.

            I gave him a flat look, and another hiccup escaped my mouth. “Nice try.”

            Noah frowned. “I just wanted to help.”

            “Thank you for that,” I responded, grinning at him.

            Luke chuckled to himself, shaking his head at me. Chloe looked like she wasn’t sure whether to be amused or not.

            “BOO!” Noah suddenly cried again.

            “Stop—”

            Noah cut me off. “BOO!”

            “Noah, stop—” I tried again.

            “BOO!”

            I glared at him. “Noah! It’s not going to work!”

            Noah grinned at me sheepishly and shrugged. “It was worth another shot.”

            Luke burst out laughing, slamming his fist down on the table. Noah snickered along with him while I stifled another hiccup. I grounded my teeth in frustration.

            “Boo.”

            A pair of hands landed on my shoulders and I jumped violently, biting my tongue. “Ow!” I cried, slapping a hand to my mouth.

            Rian slumped into the seat next to me, letting his lunch tray clatter onto the table. My mouth filled with a metallic taste as I stuck out my tongue, trying to make the pain go away.

            “You look retarded,” Rian commented, giving me a flat look.

            I immediately closed my mouth. “Don’t say retarded. It’s mean.”

            Rian rolled his eyes. “Please.”

            “What are you even doing here? You haven’t sat with us since last week,” I accused, narrowing my eyes at him.

            Chloe sent me a warning look. I frowned back at her, crossing my arms moodily. Why did I have to be nice to Rian? He was the one who had been completely ignoring me for an entire week. After our little spat in the cafeteria, he basically acted like I didn’t exist. Even in our shared classes.

            “Are you done being a jerk?” Noah asked, leaning toward Rian with a smirk.

            “Are you done pretending to have a girlfriend?”

            Noah leaned back in his seat, putting his hands behind his head. “Not quite.”

            “Come on you two,” Luke muttered, giving both other men an exasperated look. “Rian, take the stick out of your butt, and Noah, get off your high horse.”