Honor Among Friends (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 14-A

It had been five days since the truth about FEC came out and rumors around school were running rampant. If she thought being stared at by Avery, Wyatt and the others was bad, it was nothing compared to this. Anywhere she went she was faced with scrutinizing looks, not to so quiet whispers and an insane amount of questions. There were stupid questions too, like "Are you a part of cult?", "Why didn't you steal from my house?" or her personal favorite, "Can I join?"

It wouldn't have been so bad if the others were there, but since they were suspended for ten days, she had to bare the brunt of it alone. The funny thing was her popularity seemed to have increased exponentially. Now that she was known as a "criminal," she was more interesting to the high school population. She had countless of offers to hang out after school and she was up to her ears in party invitations. The whole thing was so absurd it was laughable.

And she would have laughed, if she hadn't felt so alone. Without Avery and the others, she was lost. No one understood what she was going through except them. She'd joined FEC as a coping mechanism, but ended up forging a bond, one deeper than she initially realized. She missed them all, even Wyatt and his grumpy demands.

Lunch was the worst. It only magnified her feeling of isolation. Multiple students asked her to join them, but she knew the offer wasn't intended for friendship. No, they wanted her at their table so they could ask questions and show her off like a freak at the circus. She declined all invites and instead ate her lunch at the table FEC usually occupied. It was awkward to sit there by herself and be gawked at, but she stuck it out.

Today, however, she brought headphones and a book to keep her occupied. Popping in the earbuds, Madison took a bite of her sandwich and started reading. A few minutes in and she felt a shadow loom above her. Assuming it was another person coming to ask her more questions, she suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and instead kept reading. She hoped they would take the hint and leave, but they didn't.

Without looking up, she said, "To answer your question, no, FEC isn't a cult. We don't pray to a pagan god or offer up virgin girls as sacrifices. And before you ask, no, there's no blood involved either. Nor are we a Wiccan coven putting hexes on those we steal from so if you're here to ask for some sort of curse for ex, well sorry, but you're fresh out of luck."

A deep chuckle rumbled behind her. "Damn. And I so wanted to place a curse on my arch enemy."

She looked up from her book to see Zach Brewer towering over her in all his glory. "What do you want?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well, hello to you too, Pots." He patted the top of her head and looked at her expectantly. When she didn't respond in kind, he went on. "Happy to see you in such a perky mood. And since you asked, I'm doing fine today as well. Is this seat open?" He pointed to the chair across from her.

"No."

"Good, don't mind if I do." He slid into it and folded his hands, resting them on the table. "So how are things going?" he asked in a singsong voice.

Since it was obvious he wasn't going to leave anytime soon, she closed her book and asked, "How do you think?"

"Based on what I heard it sounds like you've had an interesting week."

"That's an understatement," she muttered. She cocked her head to the side and studied him, searching for a hidden agenda. Unfortunately, his face gave nothing away. "Are you here for a piece of the action?"

His eyebrow rose at the implication.

She flushed and hurried to correct herself. "You know what I mean. Are you here to get a piece of gossip about the FEC?"