** REWRITING ** Tidal Wave

Chapter Twenty

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up. Are we going to eat or not?"

"Yeah, come on." We walked open to the door and I was about to open it when Kiera stopped me. "Wait."

"What?" I said, slightly annoyed. I was starving.

"I asked you to come here because I just wanted to know if...if you and, um..."

I tapped my foot impatiently. "Me and who?"

She blurted it out all in one breath. "If you and Jason are dating."

"What?!" I screeched and Kiera looked relieved. "Who told you that?!" I shouted again.

"Calm down. It was just a rumour going around," she said. I let go of a deep breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Why would people think that?"

"Maybe something happened at the party a couple weeks ago?" Kiera suggested but then shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

"We...we just talked."

"And?" Kiera goaded.

"And that's it." That wasn't it.

Kiera raised an eyebrow. "Mmhum, sure."

I needed to get away from her cross examination. "Let's go to lunch."

"Whatever you say, Miss. Popular," Kiera said with a toothy smile.

When we got to the cafeteria, everyone else was already there. Ethan spotted us as we entered and waved us over to the table.

Now that I was aware of my status, I noticed how people looked at me, not through me, as I squeezed passed their lunch table. Several guys 'accidently' tilted back in their chair when I went by. They would turn around and flash me a smile. "Sorry about that, Ellie," they would say and I would respond with, "Don't sweat it."

By the time I took my usual spot across from Kiera and sandwiched inbetween Grayson and Jason, my cheeks were flaming red.

Grayson took one look at me and immediately became concerned. "Ellie, are you feeling okay? You look kind of..."

"Red?" Kiera asked.

Grayson nodded. "Red." Him saying so only made me blush harder.

"Ellie the tomatoe," Ethan teased.

"Oh shut up. I'm not that red." The whole table exchanged glances and then bursted out into laughter. I joined in. I knew how much I blushed, there was no use in denying it.

"What's so funny?" A voice asked from behind me. I stiffened.

Grayson turned around in his seat. "Nothing, babe."

Maya agreed all too quickly. "K." We were all silent as she pulled her chair closer to Grayson. It made a loud screeching noise as it slid against the white tile floor. No one could ignore it. By the time she was done moving her chair, she was practically on his lap.

Maya had been sitting with us for the last week or two. As Grayson's guest. She was the same girl I had seen him with after the game. I now hated her more then ever.

But if he could move on, which he clearly had, so could I. 

I scouched a couple inches away from Grayson, and closer to Jason. No one else at the table noticed but I know he did. I saw him clench his jaw, defining that gorgeous line even more.

"So, do you know what we are doing in chemistry?" I asked Jason, resting my head in my hand to look over at him.

"Another lab," he answered,"I think we're making an indicater from cabbage."