You're All I Have

Chapter 4

"Are you hungry, Cara?" Blake asked as I followed him down to the cafeteria. The school was big, making it hard to navigate. Thankfully, Blake was always by my side so I wouldn't get lost.

"A little," I answered. when we approached the line, I quickly noticed the way everyone's smiles dropped. They glanced at us before starting to stumble out of line.

But anyone could actually leave, Blake gently took my arm and brought me to the end of the line, a dismissive smile on his face. "the food here isn't bad. you might like it."

I watched as the other three guys convinced people to stay in the line. Why did the people feel the need to leave when we showed up? Before I could listen to what Carter were telling them, Blake took my hand.

Caught in surprise, I looked back at him, my eyes falling on my hand that was intertwined with his. My heart dropped to my stomach as I stood in utter shock.

"Oh, sorry," Blake said, giving my hand a squeeze. "Your hands are soft." When he smiled, his eyes seemed to sparkle with warmth and a sense of comfort. I wanted to look away from his eyes in embarrassment but I couldn't. I was frozen yet felt like I was melting on the spot.

"Sorry, sorry," Blake repeated again, dropping my hand. "I shouldn't have—"

"No, it's okay." I looked away, trying to hide my burning face. My heart was racing faster than normal. I couldn't believe he just held my hand like that.

By then, I realized Carter, Warren, and Jackson were back next to us. They were chatting happily, bright looks on their faces.

"Hey, cara," Warren stood tall with his hands in his pockets. "Do you want to come hang out with us after school?" The rest of them stared at me in expectation which was pressuring because they looked like they wanted me to join them. Even Carter was nodding aggressively.

"Uh, sure," I said, suddenly feeling all happy inside. I didn't expect to be invited out on the very first day. The only thing that was bothering me was that I would be going out alone with four guys. "Will it be just us?"

Blake shook his head. "No, I'll ask a couple of girls from our class too. That way you can get close to them as well." That definitely made me feel a lot safer. Even as we stood in the long line waiting, I couldn't help but look forward to what was going to come after school.

Jackson sighed, peering his head past the line. "This is taking forever."

"We're usually first in line," Warren added quickly. "We're not used to... long lines."

Thankfully, the line started speeding up. Within minutes of just talking with each other, we finally got our food and sat down at an empty table. As we started eating, I noticed something weird again. People seemed too interested in us. It was obvious they were looking and whispering about us. Maybe me.

"Hey, don't worry about the others," Blake reassured, leaning forward with his arms on the table. "It's just the girls. They're jealous of you, Cara."

"They're looking at you because they're wondering why you're sitting with a bunch of losers," Jackson snorted, insulting himself and his own friends jokingly.

Blake nodded in agreement. "Either way, don't worry about them." I doubted that the girls were jealous of how I looked. I felt like it was more towards the fact that they were sitting with me. All of them were attractive and popular, and I didn't think I fit in, but they were welcoming nevertheless.

So I decided to take their word for it and continue eating.

...

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, I was more than excited to hang out with them. They waited for me as I packed my stuff and the five of us headed out of the school together.