Love Me, Hate Me, Either Way, You're Thinking Of Me... {Completed}

Avoidance

Silence among our table lingered for a few elongated seconds before Linx asked a simple question I knew was bound to spill out of his mouth. “Why?”

That my friend is the million dollar question, which I wasn’t going to answer just yet. Wringing my hands under the table, I opened my chapped lips. “Well, his mother wants him home,” so she can join us in going trick or treating with Noah and us.

“Mother? I thought the dude was like twenty-six, please tell me he doesn’t still live with his mom!” Alicia exclaimed as she went slightly wide eye.

“Twenty-six?!” Linx’s voice boomed as he let what Alicia said sink in.

I shook my head violently trying to calm him down. “No, no, Linx, he is not twenty-six! He is ... twenty-four,” I proclaimed.

Linx, with his free hand face palmed himself, “as if that is any better.” By his tone I realized it was bettter because he has calmed down a little.

Rolling my eyes I took a bite of a baby carrot I had before glancing around the lunch room. I tried to spot Blake. He had been absent for the past three days, part of me hoped that the reason he wasn’t in Art class today was because he had skipped that class. But, as my brown eyes danced around the crowded room, I began to realize that was not the case.

“He is not here,” Carmen whispered in my ear as if she knew what I was looking for.

My eyes flickered to her and I gave a smile that clearly didn’t reach my eyes. “He who?” I naively asked Carmen.

A small grin found her face. “Oh, Sapphire, we all notice. Your still in love him ... Blake,” she clarified.

“All?” I questioned.

Carmen motioned to everyone at the table. They all were smiling and talking among each other while I sat there staring at them. A moment of fell over me where everything around me fell silent, I could see all my friends’ mouth move and their bodies shake with laughter, but it was still quiet as my eyes gazed over each of them. A sudden twist of happiness ran through my veins.

I was going to get over Blake, Joshua was going to help, and so were they. Even if it wasn’t intentional, they will be there for me, like always.

****

“Oh, Sapphire, what about this?!” Olivia asked me as she pulled a red, sexy devil costume out from the rack.

My face felt heated as I tried not to fall embarrassed by her picking such a revealing costume. “Ummm, I already told you Mrs. Lupinello, I have a costume.” I replied to her as I turned to a rack next to me. My cold hands touched a random costume. A soft velvet fabric entangled with my fingers. Looking down I saw I was grasping a blue velvet costume, not even bothering to see what the costume was of, I let the fabric slip from my fingers. Holding in a shiver, I gave Olivia a smile as I tried to make her think I liked this Halloween store she dragged me too. Fact was, I hated it. The place smelled like corn candy, which I also dislike. As for the walls, they were black with huge, fake, orange and black spiders plastering the walls. My eyes casted down on the ground to find that it was white laminated tile, the kind that lines my school halls. Sighing, I put on a happy face ... but in my mind I was screaming 'get me out of here'.

I thought when Olivia invited me shopping we were going to some boutique in the mall. Never in a million years did I think she would take me to some Halloween store that made me want to hurl with every step.

“Oh, well darn ... I just wanted to get you something special for tonight,” Mrs. Lupinello stated with a twinkle in her eye.

I straightened up and realized what she was hinting it. She was trying to dress me sexy for Joshua so we would have sex. Mentally face palming myself I shook my head. “You-You don’t need to do that,” because it’s not happening, I wanted to say.

Olivia winked at me, “okay ... whatever you say...”

Sighing I brushed my fingertips along another rack of random costumes. “Hey, Mrs. Lupinello, has Joshua been asking weird lately?” I asked her.

Looking up and over at me she placed a hanger back on the metal clothing pole. “I was going to asked you the same question. The darn boy hasn’t allowed me to come over to the house in the past three days. I called his work and he has been taking off too. I was thinking you and him were ... well, hitting it off.”

Trying not to choke on my own saliva as her words register in my mind. “Oh, no, I have been wrapped up in school and family ... stuff,” I lied. “But, it is just that I have tried calling and talking to him but he seems to be avoiding me.”

Olivia sighed ... “well don’t worry about it. That is what I've been trying not to do. Plus, you are going to see him tonight; maybe you can ask him what's going on with him.”

“Maybe when he drops Noah off at your house tonight you can talk to him too. We can compare notes,” I suggested.

A sudden unreadable expression etched out on Mrs. Lupinello’s face. “I-I am not watching Noah tonight...”

“Well ... then who is?”

Suddenly the lights in the place dimmed down and neon laser lights started to shoot randomly from around the place. Fog slowly crept on the floors. “Welcome to Hey-o-ween Store, where we have all your Halloween needs! Muhahaha!” A voice boomed on a sound system.

“You want to get out of here?” Olivia asked right before the band, Black Sabbath, began to blast over the speakers. Covering her ears she began to walk out of the store, not waiting for my reply.

Grinning at the fact we were finally leaving, I followed her. When we got in the car, she sighed. “I’m sorry for taking you to the God awful place! I hope you do forgive me!” Mrs. Lupinello asked as she started her car and drove away.

Chuckling slightly I shook my head, “all is forgiven, if you promise never to take me back there.”

“I cross my fingers, hope to die,” Olivia joked. “So, how about we go to Galton Accessories and More?”

Smiling I agreed, “now you are speaking my language.”

“And maybe while we are there we can talk about Joshua.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

***

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