"Wake up! We're going to the mall!" I heard Kamarie scream, making me fall out of my bed.
"Leave me alone." I groaned.
"Two words. Hot. Topic."
"I'm up!" I jumped up.
"Good, now take a shower and dress cute." She ordered.
"Ma'am yes ma'am!"
I got some clothes out and went inside the bathroom. I took a quick, hot shower and got out. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, all that jazz. I put my clothes on and walked out. Kamarie was going through my panty drawer.
"So, how come you don't have any lace panties?" She asked.
"Why do I need lace panties?" I asked.
"Because their cute and you would look sexy in them." She explained.
"People aren't supposed to look at my panties anyway so why do they have to look cute?"
"Girl, you never know what could happen anywhere at anytime and lace panties could be a lot of help." She continued.
"Thanks for the advice. Let's go." I chuckled.
<<!>>
"No, you look better in the Pierce the whatstheirfaces shirt." She shook her head.
"Pierce The Veil." I clarified.
"Whatever, it's to confusing." She rolled her eyes.
I chuckled. I went back into the dressing room and took off the other shirt I was wearing. I put on my shirt and walked out.
"So, I'm getting the bracelets and the shirt and your getting....the whole tub of lip gloss?" I asked her.
"Yes girl, they have all different flavors and I'm a collector." She smiled.
After we payed for our things, we decided to get some food. We rode down the escalators and into the loud court.
"Okay, I want Subway. What about you?" Kamarie asked.
"I'm gonna get Chick-fil-A. I'll meet you at a table." I said.
She nodded and we parted ways. I walked and got in the line at Chick-fil-A. I waited until it was my turn.
"I'll have a large chocolate shake and some fries please." I said.
I didn't feel like having a burger so I got something small. I waited while they got my food ready. They gave me my food and I turned around, bumping right into someone, making me drop my food.
"Oh, I'm sorry-"
I looked at who it was. Big brown eyes stared down at me.
"Hey, baby girl." Dylan smiled at me.
"Uh, hey." I said nervously. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
"In the public mall?" He asked.
"I see your point." I reached down to pick up my food but Dylan beat me to it.
"Thanks."
I grabbed the food but his hands gripped it tight, holding my hands in his. I looked down.
"Hey." He lifted my chin up with his finger. "I miss you."
"That's good...great....cool. Um, I got to get back to Kamarie so..." I trailed off.
"You miss me -us- to right?" He asked
I moved uncomfortably.
"Listen, I'm sure Kamarie is waiting for me. Um, bye." I walked around him, feeling his eyes on me as I took step after step.
Well, that wasn't awkward at all. I asked why was he here. God, it's a mall. I'm so smart. Note the sarcasm. I saw Kamarie sitting at a nearby table and I joined her.
"You alright? You look pale." She noticed.
"Fine." I smiled.
<<!>>
"All right, I'll see you later." Kamarie said and I stepped off her pink motorcycle.
"Okay bye." I waved and she drove off.
I walked back into my house.
"Mom I'm home!" I yelled through the house.
"No one cares!" My brother yelled.
I rolled my eyes and walked upstairs to my room. I closed the door and turned around. I walked to my drawer and changed into my PJ's. I climbed into my bed.
An hour had passed and I was awoken by a swishing sound, then a tumbling sound.
"Wow, that did not work out well." A person said.
I yelped as I saw a figure sitting on my floor. I grabbed the closest thing to me and threw it. It hit the person in the head.
"Ow, you trying to give me a brain tumor? Which is not something to joke about." The voice slurred.
I walked up closer and realized who it was.
"What are you doing here Lucas?" I asked.
"I came to see you. Have I ever told you that you have the coolest room a girl can have." He said.
I turned on my lamp and looked at him. He had a bottle of liquor in his hand.
"Okay, I'll take that." I tried to grab the bottle but he pull it away.
"I'm sorry Sage." He took a drink out of the bottle.
"Give it to me." I held out my hand and he gave it to me.
I set it on the counter and turned back to him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know he was your dad." His eyes started watering.
"It's okay, you couldn't have known anyway." I told him.
"I was just a kid. I shouldn't have even had that gun." He cried.
He leaned his head on my shoulder. I took it by surprise and frozen for a second before I patted his shoulder.
"I'll never forgive myself." He sobbed.
"Hey, you didn't know. I forgive you." I told him.
"How? How can you forgive me after I killed the person that had sex with your mom to make you?" He said.
Wow, did he have to explain the details? "It was so long ago, and to be honest, my dad wasn't that great." I said.
"I'm so sorry." He looked at me.
"I'm gonna regret this but obviously you are in no condition to leave so your staying here for tonight." I told him.
"Yay!" He said.
Suddenly, someone else crawled through my window.
"You shouldn't leave that thing open its danger-- What are you doing here?" Zander asked.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked.
I heard a tumble. "I'm good! Hey guys, why are you here?" Dylan asked.
"What the hell?" I said.
I'm guessing you know what happened next. Jason climbed in my window next.
"Uh, fancy meeting you guys here." He smiled nervously.
"Seriously?" I muttered.
Then, Adam came in.
"Oh, what's up guys?" He perked.
"Okay, why are all of you here?" I asked.
"Well, I came to see you." Zander said.
"We all did basically." Jason admitted.
They all started pulling skittles out of their pockets.
"Surprise." Adam said.
"All of you need to leave like, now." I moved Lucas off of me and stood up.
"You guys weren't even supposed to be here." Lucas spoke.
"Yeah, well, neither were you." Adam pointed at him.
"Yeah, we all made a deal." Zander said.
"Uh, what deal." I asked.
"Oh, the deal where we all said that we would never talk to you, look at you, think or fantasize about you." Jason casually said.
The boys glared at him. He mouthed that he was sorry.
"Okay, all of you need to leave. Except Lucas." I said.
"Why does he get to stay?" Adam asked.
"Because he's drunk and I know you guys can't take care of him." I admitted.
"Why can't we just have a sleepover? You know, slumber party?" Jason suggested.
"No, this is crazy!" I whisper yelled.
"Look, we know you don't wanna be friends with us any more because of what happened. But we checked it out and Vincent left the state, he's gone." Dylan explained.
"And? You guys are in a gang. You have so many other enemies." I told them.
"True but none of them are dumb enough to do something." Zander said.
"That doesn't mean they won't try." I sighed. "Look, I was scared shitless in that room. But as you guys know, I'm not a beggar. I put up a show that I wasn't scared but I was. I don't want to feel scared anymore." I explained.
They all looked down. "Fine, were leaving. Walking to the window." Adam said and they all moved slowly.
"We're going...to be forgotten by the one called Sage Luna." Jason put his head down gloomily.
"I guess we will never talk again...if we walk out this window." Zander said walking slowly.
"You'll never see us again...it's just us and this sad, lonely, empty window--"
"Oh my god, you can stay." I gave in.
"Yay!" They all turned around and squished me into a hug.
"No, we're not staying." Lucas said, suddenly sounding sober.
"But why not?" Adam cried.
"Do you guys even remember what happened? Because I do. Sage got hurt because of us. We shouldn't have let that happen." Lucas explained.
"But-"
"No, we tried to have her with us and we payed for it." Lucas continued.
"Are you saying that we shouldn't have even tried to be friends?" I asked him.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." He told me with a hard expression.
"See, that's what I don't get. Why shouldn't we have tried?" I asked.
We walked up to me and touched the scars on my face. "That's why."
I backed away from him. "So now it's because I got hurt. I thought it was because I was boring." I looked at him.
I turned around to Dylan. "Because I was dull. Isn't that what you said?"
"We just said that so you would stop hanging out with us." Jason admitted.
"Why?"
Lucas sighed. "You know that paper that girl gave you at McDonald's?" He asked.
I nodded.
"On the paper, I told you their was a name on it. It was your full name." He says.
My eyes widened. "So you guys knew that this would happen to me. And instead of trying to protect me, you stop everything." I turned away from them. "You practically threw me in Vincent's arms." Someone grabbed my arm.
"Hey, we didn't know he was--"
"But you knew someone would. You knew but you didn't do anything except push me away." I told Dylan.
He let go. I turned back around. "Look, I'm not gonna say that I regret being friends with you guys because I don't. It was the most fun I'd had in forever. Sure, I got hit a few times but that doesn't make me forget the memories we had.
"But you decided not to be friends with us." Zander said.
"That's because you guys promised me that that wouldn't happen but it did." I told him.
"None of this stuff matters. I won't put you in harms way again." Lucas looked at me with sad eyes.
I sat on my bed. "Nope"
"What do you mean nope?" Lucas asked.
"You can't leave me now. My you were there, Vincent said that he would be back for me." I remembered his words exactly.
"Yeah but-"
"No buts, I'm just as in this as you guys are now. He'll try to get me again, the question is, will you guys be there to protect me?" I asked.
They looked at each other like they know I'm speaking the truth.
"I'm gonna give you guys sometime to think about that so--"
Then I was squished in a macho hug by all of them. "We're friends again!" Adam yelled.
"Shhh! Parent in her room trying to sleep!" I whisper yelled.
"Oh right, sorry." He chuckled.
Lucas was the only one who didn't macho hug me. After the guys got off of me he came and gave me a soft hug. I hugged him tight. I let go and looked at them.
"So, what now?" I asked.
"On account that you said you didn't want to be scared anymore, I have an idea." Zander spoke up.
"What?"
"Ms. Luna, we're gonna teach you how to fight."