Ignorance ➵ h.s. au

eighty forth

Belinda resumes walking, reminding Dani they were heading to the cafeteria before she got lost at the topic. She follows along, grip clenching around the strap of her backpack as her abdomen squeezed, her teeth gritting in pain. It wasn't difficult to spot Louis in the sea of students, sitting next to Niall, already eating, going on about something. 

"Well it's about goddamn time you two arrive." He starts, turning away from his food and looking up at the two of them, Niall flashing Danielle a smile. "Where have you been?"

"Waited for Dani's classes to be over - Are you eating without us?"

Louis didn't reply, face scrunching up as his eyes shifted between the two of them. "You're done with Dwight and your new hobby is to stalk my cousin now?"

"I wouldn't call it stalking, more like keeping a watchful eye on her timetable." Blinche rolled her eyes, disregarding the comment about Dwight.

"That's just a formal term for stalking. Just say stalking, I'm sure Dani doesn't mind."

"Blinché, go take your food in the counter and stop fighting with Louis, he's not going to accept any explanation." Niall interjects, shaking his head in disappointment.

Belinda does as told and so does Dani, walking up to the line to the counter along with the other students. The weather was relatively humid today, the sun pouring into the windows of the classrooms and beating down across the grounds when she got to school this morning. As far as she could remember, she actually ate breakfast this time, although quick, managing to sit down and finish a sandwich before Milla could start talking about the incident again and ask her questions she doesn't know the answer to. However, she was absolutely starved, her mouth watering from the sight of the food displayed out front; pasta, desserts, and even stuff she didn't like but for some reason still caught her attention a bit too much.

It was their turn, grabbing one of the stacked trays and scooping food up. Blinche settled for a few, taking her usuals before leaving the counter, meanwhile Danielle tried to hold herself back, starting with a few bread sticks and eating some right off, distracted by the pungent smell of tomato sauce luring her nose in. Cafeteria meals were never the most satisfying things in the world for her, they were just there to fuel the rest of the day, nonetheless, apparently that wasn't the case this time. By the time they returned to the table, she had three cupcakes, two slices of pizza, and spaghetti all in one tray, placing it down in front of her as she sat down next to Belinda, Louis and the rest caught off guard by the amount of things in her plate. They pay no mind, diving into conversation about preparations for the upcoming finals.

Danielle ate away, quickly munching on her pizza as she sat there and listened to Belinda rant about revising, Niall and Louis telling stories about their last four years of high school and the day they met; four months ago at a party whilst her cousin was drunk. A pang of sadness took over her, realizing she had nothing worth of sharing in the three years she's been there; going to school, taking notes, not talking to anyone and then coming home to tell Milla all about it everyday on the dinner table like there was something new until she was physically sick of it. Even Carter has done a far better job branching out than her before he joined the football team. Meanwhile she spent all of it in a haze, only existing at the back and never getting noticed, which was what she wanted, but she couldn't help but envy the things they've gone through, both good and bad.

It would've been nice if she met Niall and Belinda sooner, if she hadn't been so calculated and scared and they got to know each other early on, not when they're about to graduate with everyone else she knows and leave her forever on her own. Only lately has she ever felt like she belonged somewhere outside of home, where she can actually be part of something without being treated like a child and constantly worrying what Milla would say. It just had to happen too late. If she were to tell herself six months ago that she can't picture a day without listening to Louis bicker with his boyfriend's sister about something stupid, she wouldn't have believed it, but there she was anyway. And after the finals, the dance, they're going to move on to college, and she doesn't know if she's ready to go back to that just yet; sitting on an empty table and existing at the back.