Jaded

[13] Alice in Attyland

"Jade!" she proclaims. "Please tell Atty he needs to come into the office more often, sometimes we forget what he looks like!"

Coco finishes braiding in the loose strands of his lilac hair and chimes in, "so true. Your boy was never much of a mingler but after that accident of his last year, we've only seen him about six times."

I'm quick to mask my confusion, because as his supposed girlfriend it's assumed I know all about this accident. I give a half-hearted response and let Coco and Marge carry the conversation. There's a lot to process right now.

Atty eyes me quizzically. He doesn't say anything, just occasionally glances over while conversing with Coco.

I run the conversation with Alice over and over. Surely there was a better way to handle it. I should've slid in another snide remark, instead I let her best me.

"Jade, what's wrong?" Atty whispers under his breath. I shake my head and flash him a smile for added effect.

"Babe," he says loudly, "come with me, I have to show you something." Then he makes a dramatic show of offering me his hand and leading us out of there.

I stifle a groan as I follow behind him. He's such a bad liar that it's laughable. That was the least believable 'excuse' ever. Since nobody else has caught on to my mood, the entire table is probably thinking we're sneaking off to make out.

Judging by Coco's coiled smirk, he's definitely thinking we're off to do more.

In reality, Atty pulls me into the long hallway we were in before and tucks us between two of the chalky white marble pillars on the left flank of the main doors.

"Tell me what happened. One minute you're giggling and getting seconds- everything's fine, then the next you act as if your plate is full of worms."

With this proximity, Atty's breath tickles my forehead and his cufflinks brush against my arm as he huffs on about opening up to him.

My instinct is to deflect. It's such a reflex that I almost say 'let me get back to my plate of worms'. But it makes no sense to hide why I'm upset. Maybe mama's right, maybe I'm stubborn for the sake of it.

That would explain a lot of the recent events, actually.

"Jade?"

Oh right. I purse my lips, still stained a deep red even after extensive use, and make a sour face. "I met Alice. She's unpleasant." He should understand the rest.

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise and he parts his lips to say something but thinks better of it and stays silent, waiting for me to continue. Seems he has a lot to say about Alice, but of course he senses there's more to why I'm not scarfing down my food and joining Coco in bothering him.

"And, also I guess I'm upset that the illusions' been broken?"

"What do you mean?" Atty looks completely earnest, his eyes are wide and his head is ducked towards me. I really want to tug on the black lapels of his jacket and bring him close. For some reason, I feel the urge to hug him. It's probably because he's standing so close and smells faintly of lavender.

I clear my throat, searching for the right words. "What Coco said... it made me realize that I really know nothing about you. It's easy to forget that we only know each other because I broke into your garage last Friday."

I pause for a bit, trying to gauge his reaction. He seems guarded, I can't read him. I continue, "I guess I fooled myself into thinking we're old friends or something. I don't know, it's stupid."

"Not at all." His response is firm and instant. I don't relish in the reassurance it brings though because he tilts his head back, resting it against the pillar behind him, and I'm immediately distracted. From this angle I can clearly see the angular shape of his jaw and the bump of his Adam's apple.