Treat You Better

Chapter Two: Hale Frances is a Jerk

"Nice outfit" Another girl said. "Nerd." She added quietly and they all giggled like they were sharing an inside joke. Great, they were mocking me.

I only realized that Annie and Susan hadn't gotten seats a bit too late. I caught a glimpse of them walking away to find somewhere else to stay.

"What about my friends?" I asked Hale who looked down at me with a smile.

"There's no room for them here, they can find somewhere else to stay"

"Can't you make room?"

"And chase my friends away? Hell no. If you have a problem with it, you can just leave" He said calmly.

I stared at him for a second, actually considering it. "I- I'm fine here" I finally said, but he'd already turned away to toss an apple at a guy with glasses.

"You realize this table is for wannabes, right?" Angelo said quietly next to me before taking a bite of his beef burger.

"You're here too" I murmured, staring down at my plate and fidgeting with my fingers.

"You realise if I try real hard I can actually hear you, Squeaky?" He said, giving me a sly, side look.

I turned to frown at him just as Hale grabbed my waist from my other side, laughing loudly at something someone said.

With a wince, I tried to pry his fingers away but he kept coming back. Sighing in resignation, I picked at the diced apples in my tray.

Lunch went by slowly and I kept casting longing glances at Annie and Susan.
They were near the window, having fresh air which was scarce here.
The guys were so noisy, jeering at people passing by, calling girls names and calling a freshman over just so they could trip him.

They'd been doing this everyday for a long time so it was nothing new.

I finally got to breathe when the bell went off, by that time, my fingers were raw from endless biting and picking at them.
Taking my sweet time, I watched my food slowly slide out the tray and into the trash can hoping Hale would get impatient and leave me behind.

"So you see it or you don't see it?" Angelo's voice suddenly asked from behind me, startling me badly so that my whole tray went into the bin.

"See what?" I snapped unintentionally and his eyebrows raised in an impressed way.

"Not so squeaky when you're mad huh?" Angelo asked, "but I'm guessing you don't see it"

"See what?" I asked in a much calmer tone. He nodded at something behind me and I turned to look just in time to see Hale shove a shorter guy super hard into the wall.

"Hale Frances is a jerk" Angelo said calmly. "So what's a girl like you doing with a guy like him?"

I glared at Angelo. "He's your cousin, how can you say that about him?" I asked "and I'm his girlfriend, remember?"

"So you're gonna tell him I think he's an idiotic spoiled brat?" He deadpanned.

I was about to open my mouth to speak when a pair of strong arms wrapped around me from behind.