No Freedom

Chapter 13

"Is he taken?" Julia asked, clasping her small hands together.

I sighed, trying only to use my head instead of just running my mouth, "yes?" I tried, unsure of whether or not he and I were an item or not.

"Oh? By who?" She asked, face falling.

"Well, I'm not actually sure if they're an item. But the girl I think he likes is blonde with brown eyes," I explained, picking my words carefully.

"Sooo, he's not taken?" She asked hopefully.

I felt my hands curl up into balls, "go ask him if you want an answer so badly!" I hissed, voice louder than I had wanted.

Elmer turned, face questioning. I rolled my eyes, marching toward the tree in the park to sell.

Elmer's POV:

Katie's voice was raised, but I couldn't quite make out what she had said. I turned toward her, watching as she turned and stormed off. That's not good, I thought. The blonde who had been talking to her turned to me, skipping in my direction. I sighed as the other girls dispersed.

"Heeeyyyy," she grinned, voice honey-coated.

"What happened?" I asked, crossing my arms as I watched Katie shove a paper into a man's chest before kicking the tree. I internally winced, knowing this blonde girl had made her madder than I had ever seen.

"Oh, she just randomly got fired up over nothing," the blonde shrugged, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Please remove your hand," I sighed. Katie slumped against the tree, sliding down and pulling her knees to her chest. Aw, crap! The blonde had a questioning look cross her face.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I don't like it," I responded.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't! Take a hint!" I growled.

"Fine, jeez," she sighed, retracting her hand.

"What did you say to Katie?" I asked, keeping my voice level.

"Ooohhh. Well, I asked her if you were taken. She told me to ask ya because she wasn't sure you you and some blonde girl were an item," the girl shrugged.

Oh my God, Katie! "Did she give a name of the blonde girl?"

"Nope! Just explained that the girl had blonde hair and brown eyes," the blonde shrugged. "So, are ya taken?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"By?" The blonde pressed, leaning into me.

"By Katie," I hissed, guiding her off me.

"Oh? She's not worth your time. I mean look at her, what could you possibly see in that?" The blonde growled. She had clearly never had to take no for an answer in her life.

"You know what I see?"

"No, what?"

"A beautiful girl who's been through a lifetime of crap. She was battling cancer and for a while, we thought we were gonna loose her. So, before you go badmouthing innocent girls, take a look at yourself, lady. Because all I see is a snooty little rich brat who can't take no for an answer or think of how you make others feel." I left it at that, jogging over to a sobbing Katie.

"Go away!" She whined, turning away from me.

"Katie," I tried.

"What?!" She hissed, lifting her head to only glare at me.

"I am taken," I tried gently placing a hand on her arm, only having it shoved back at me.

"I don't need your pity, Elmer. I know you're taken, she was so pretty. You have no idea how that makes me feel," she cried, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I never said I was taken by her. You're the only goil I like and will ever love. I told her off, why do ya think she's leaving? Because I told her I wanted nothing to do with her. My heart belongs to you," I explained.

"You's just sayin' that," she mumbled.

I gently pulled her chin so she faced me, her cheeks stained with tears. "If I was, would I do this?" Taking in a shaky breath, I gently pressed my lips to hers. When I pulled away, I noticed how red her face was. Katie slowly opened her eyes, looking down bashfully.

I chuckled, "always the modest type." She lightly punched my arm. "C'mon, I'm sure Race and Albert have tales of their excursion today."

"Oh?"

"Albert met this new girl who is apparently Race's sister that he never told any of us about. Anyway, Albert's been non-stop talking about her."

Katie rolled her eyes, "I know he has. I'm wanting to meet her so I can decide if she's a good match for him."

"Let's go see if they brought her home or if we have to wait," I laughed, taking off toward the Lodging House. Katie quickly followed, keeping pace a ways back. I waited for her on the steps, then, together we headed in.

Albert was practically bouncing off the walls when we were inside. A strawberry blonde girl with warm brown eyes and Race's features was leaning against her brother. She stood up, striding over to Elmer and I with a polite smile on her face. "Hi! I'm Caz," she thrust her hand out to us after spitting in it.

"I'm Katie," I grinned, doing the same.

"Elmer," the black-haired boy smiled, following suit.

"Nice to meet you!" Caz said, smile never leaving her face.

"My sista is from Brooklyn. She moved there afta Jack got me outta the Refuge," Race explained, dropping an arm dramatically across Caz's shoulders.

"Lovely," I laughed lightly.

Albert pulled me out of the room, barely containing his excitement. "So?"

"So what?" I inquired, playing with him.

"Do ya like her?" He asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"She's okay," I grinned.

"Just okay?" He asked, looking like he was about to pop a gasket.

"Yeah, I like her," I laughed, giving in. He let out a heavy sigh, smile reforming on his face.

"That's fantastic!" He yelped, running back into the Common Room. I followed, sitting next to Elmer on the couch. He promptly planted a small kiss on my cheek. I felt myself blush; Race pulled out a bottle.

"Let's play spin the bottle! Only, we ain't drunk," he stated. We all laughed.

(A/N: A few notes. First, Caz is NOT my character. She belongs to AbbyBrenton05. Caz is from Dreams Change. It's pretty good, y'all should check it out. Second, this version of spin the bottle is hug edition. I've played it with my friends multiple times and it's totally harmless. We've also done truth or dare version. I think this game will be both hug edition and truth or dare. Anyway, happy reading!)