PROM QUEEN:
JUST A BOY.
"DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?"
Annabelle fixated her attention on her friend, a weird look forming on her face before she shook her head. "No. The way I see it is that you love the version of that person that you've created in your own mind. For all you know, they could be a diabolical serial killer."
Genevieve rolled her eyes, not at all content with Annabelle's answer to the question. She tapped the bold point pen against the fresh sheet of lined paper, looking towards Kiara who was focused on the notes that were being projected on the screen in the front of the classroom. "What about you, Carerra? You believe in love at first sight?"
"I believe that if you don't stop talking, my fist might accidentally collide with your face." Kiara callously responded, maintaining her attention on her notes with her pencil dancing around the paper.
Eyes going wide, Genevieve brought her hand up towards her face, shielding it in case Kiara was actually being somewhat serious. "Geez, lighten up a little."
Quietly laughing to herself at the horror that overtook her friend's features, Annabelle propped her chin up with her hand, using the other to sloppily copy the scribbled writing onto her own paper. "Hey, have you signed up for that volunteering thing? Principal Luna pulled me out of my first period to remind me that it's a part of the whole suspension thing. There's apparently a food drive going on, but my stupid boss scheduled me to work all five days this week, so I have zero space for that crap in my schedule."
"You haven't quit yet?" Genevieve's lips parted into an amused smile. She knew Annabelle's commitment issues were severe, so she was shocked, to say the least, that the raven-haired girl was actually going through with this. It was so unlike her. "Wow. I would've expected you to quit the day that Xavier made you drop all those drinks."
"Trust me, I've considered it...several times, actually, but I need the money." Annabelle shrugged her shoulders, sucking air in through her teeth. "You know, I always knew that men were a complete disgrace to the human population, but working at the club just makes me wish they were extinct."
Genevieve's face crumpled in disgust, the hairs on her arms perking up at the thought of old men sexualizing a teenage girl. It was sickening to even think about it. "Drain those pruny pervs of all their money. Those assholes deserve a good kick in their worn-out balls." She scowled, a roll of her eyes signifying her hatred towards men who enjoyed pulling stunts like that in hopes of belittling women and making them feel unsafe in their presence. "Sometimes you've gotta take advantage of a situation. I mean, your parents said that we couldn't lend you money, but they said nothing about a sugar—"
Annabelle knew Genevieve all too well to know exactly where she was headed with this. Quickly, she shook her head in disgust, cutting the brunette off before she could finish her sentence. "Don't finish that sentence."
"It's not a bad idea." Genevieve defensively rolled her eyes, tapping the pen in her grasp against the notebook placed in front of her. "There are like tons of old men on this island just begging to have all their money drained from their wallets. Just bat an eye at them and boom! You're a sugar baby, darling."
"The way that mind of yours works never fails to fascinate me." Annabelle snickered, amusement trailing in her tone.
"Is that a compliment?" Genevieve grinned, eyebrows raised with her tongue firmly pressed against the roof of her mouth to reveal the grin that her teeth formed.
"It's everything but a compliment, Gen." Annabelle's eyes momentarily lingered across the clock, heaving a quiet sigh of relief when she realized that the school day was seconds from being done with. Carelessly, she began to toss her belongings into her leather backpack and before she knew it, the familiar sound of the bell ringing flooded the classroom, dismissing the group of teenagers.
Students rushed out of the classroom as if their entire lives depended on it while Annabelle and Genevieve waited a couple of seconds for the doorway to clear up so that they wouldn't be squished between other students' bodies while trying to escape the learning environment.
Once they were free from the thick air that seemed to filter the room, they resumed their previous conversation. However, at the sight of Xavier Danvers stood by a row of lockers with his lips latched onto a blonde girl's lips, Genevieve gasped.
"I thought you two had a fling going on."
"Me and Xavier? A fling? Are you kidding me? He's a complete douchebag—not to mention a complete man whore. We've only hooked up like three times." Annabelle couldn't help but laugh at the thought of her ever being in a relationship with the biggest asshole in the Outer Banks. He was there at her convenience and that was that. "I'm like ninety-nine percent sure that he's slept with like half of the female population on this island."
"Ew." A disgusted look made its way onto Genevieve's face. She momentarily paused, eyes widening at an incredibly stupid realization. "The grandma's too?" She discreetly whispered.
Annabelle flashed her friend a look of disbelief, shaking her head. Sometimes she wondered how the Atkins girl had managed to make it this far in life with the number of blonde moments she underwent. "It's satire, Genevieve."
"Satire?"
Annabelle snorted, placing her hand on top of Genevieve's shoulder to give it a light squeeze. "Nevermind."
Genevieve shrugged her shoulders, not putting any more thought into the topic. Instead, her eyes beamed with joy when she remembered what she'd been meaning to tell Annabelle since their sixth period began. "Oh, my god, please tell me you're free this weekend!" She excitedly smiled, hoping that Annabelle's answer would satisfy her.
"I'm free..." Annabelle nodded, trailing off. "Why?"
The smile which had previously been etched onto Genevieve's face faltered, an offended look taking over. She took this time to dramatically clutch her heart, a long sigh erupting from her lips. "You've officially shattered my heart into a million little pieces, Annabelle Monroe."
Confusion quickly took over Annabelle's features. When they stopped by her locker, she took the moment to think about what important event she'd forgotten was happening this weekend. It was taunting her, but her brain seemed to be malfunctioning because no amount of thought helped her conclude what she was forgetting. It was sat at the brink too, which made her grow even more frustrated.
It couldn't be Valentine's day—that wasn't for another week and a half.
Their friendship anniversary was sometime in the fall, so it definitely wasn't that.
No movies of their interest were screening at the local movie theater anytime soon.
Crap.
"Your birthday." Annabelle finally remembered, her eyes widening with the palm of her hand colliding with her mouth, the skin on skin contact so harsh that it quite literally echoed through the hallways that were slowly becoming less occupied as students exit the building. Genevieve had been babbling on and on about her sixteenth birthday for months now which made her feel horrible for failing to recall that the brunette was just a few days away from reaching yet another milestone in her life. She blamed it on the fact that her very own sixteenth birthday had completely skipped her mind and if it hadn't been for her friends sneaking into her bedroom to decorate it with banners and balloons that Sunday morning a couple weeks ago while she was fast asleep in her bed, she too would've forgotten that it had been an entire sixteen years since she'd been brought into this mess of a world. It didn't help that her family had also failed to remember.
Genevieve looked completely taken back. She shook her head at Annabelle, disappointed. "I am awfully hurt right now."
"I've got a lot on my plate right now. You're just gonna have to get over it." Annabelle jokingly shrugged her shoulders, spinning the dial located on the metal door to pop open her locker.
Genevieve playfully rolled her eyes, recomposing herself. She stood upright once again, slightly bouncing on the balls of her feet. "My mom wanted to have this sweet sixteen for me, but that seemed way too childish for my liking." She made a slightly disgusted noise, earning a laugh in return from Annabelle due to how dramatic she could be sometimes. "So, she booked us the suite at the resort! No adults, alcohol, a dash of white powder? Doesn't that sound exciting?"
Annabelle's lips parted in surprise. Had it not been for the fact that she now worked at the resort where Genevieve planned on celebrating her birthday, she would've been excited, but that was definitely not the case. "Yes, Gen. I'm so excited that your mom booked the suite at the resort which, by the way, I work at five freaking days this week." She reminded the girl, instantly watching her smile falter. "I'm just overly excited to party there!" The fake enthusiasm was notable in her tone, instantly altering the previous mood that had been set.
"Shit." Genevieve cussed quietly under her breath, a sense of guilt overtaking her. For a few seconds, she paused, taking that slim moment to take in a deep breath, loudly exhaling afterward. "Damn you for getting a job there! My mom booked that place over a month ago, so technically, this is your fault."
Annabelle stifled a laugh at that, knowing that Genevieve meant zero harm. "I fully accept the blame."
While the girl stood across from her carefully analyzed her next words, Annabelle took the time to reach towards the shelf located inside of her locker. She shoved several books to the side until the one she'd need to write her history paper caught her eyes. Reaching towards the strap on her backpack that weighed down her shoulder, she pulls it towards her stomach, propping her knee upwards so that she could replace the English book, that was lying in there, with the history one.
Watching her do that, Genevieve leaned up against the locker adjacent to Annabelle's. Her face was hidden by the thick metal, but the raven-haired girl could already picture the pleading look. "C'mon, please don't bail on me," She begged, groaning slightly afterward since she knew how stubborn Annabelle could be at times. "It'll be fun. I promise."
Annabelle knew that Genevieve would never forgive her if she opted out of attending, so it wasn't an option. Therefore, she nodded her head, agreeing. "Fine." She firmly pressed her lips together, a loud popping noise emitting through the cold air. "But I gotta warn you, my mom's still being overly strict, and us leaving the dinner party last weekend without warning? Let's just say she gave me a long lecture that night." She added, sucking air in through her teeth as she remembered the long lecture she received after getting home that night. To be completely honest, she didn't remember half of what had been said besides that she was childish and irresponsible for her behavior. Nothing she hadn't been told before. "If I get her permission, I'll be there."
"My mom will just talk to your mom." Genevieve waved it off, pressing the heel of her black boots against one of the lockers below her. "There is no way in hell that I'm allowing you to miss this extravaganza." She dramatically motioned with her hands.
Peeking her head out from behind her locker, Annabelle raised her eyebrows. "Extravaganza? That's what you're calling it? It's a little overused, don't you think?"
Genevieve shrugged, not entirely fond of the name herself. "It's still a work in progress."
Darting her eyes, Annabelle shook her head. "I despise you. Like, if I weren't your friend, I would literally punch you straight in the face."
Genevieve smirked slightly, recoiling when Annabelle shut her locker with a strong force. She quickly fixed her composure, swinging an arm around her friend's shoulder once she joined her side again. "You adore me."
｡･:*:ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹
SOMEHOW, DESPITE it being the first weekday of the week, the Island Inn restaurant was flooded with guests. Just when Annabelle thought that the place was finally clearing up, more and more people would pile up at the door, demanding to be served within the next ten minutes, and if that didn't happen, they'd whip out their phones like children and their tablets, probably to leave some sort of bad review on Yelp, but Annabelle could care less...it's not like she owned the place. And with every table at her section being filled with paying—yet extremely intolerable customers—the Monroe girl was just about ready to rip out every last hair from her scalp due to the stress she felt.
A part of her was incredibly tempted to toss her apron at her boss and renounce her position as a waitress, but the simple image of the hot sun on her skin convinced her to put on a fake smile and just do her job.
She had never realized what a hassle it was for workers when rush hour hit. It was responsibilities on top of responsibilities being tossed at her every second without a single break in between. Slowly, she was beginning to feel slightly—just slightly—bad about how rude she'd been to servers in the past whenever her meal took longer than fifteen minutes to get to the table.
Currently, Annabelle was stood by one of the larger booths in the spacious restaurant, the tip of her white sneaker impatiently tapping against the tiled floor. She was staring at the family of eight who was seated in one of the round booths. With every second that passed, her patience grew thinner and thinner, so fragile that the slightest movement would shatter it. If she had to wait another minute for them to place their older, she was certain she'd lose her mind.
"Sorry about her." A quiet voice pulled her from her reverie, forcing Annabelle to look towards the source of the sound.
Annabelle knew that the fourteen-year-old meant well, but she couldn't resist the urge to slightly roll her eyes. Trying to hide the discourteous that she'd expressed without necessarily meaning to, she managed to force a smile, her defined cheekbones coming into view.
"Does the bread contain gluten?" Another voice pried the raven-haired girl's attention towards them.
Her chocolate-colored eyes moved a few inches to the left, not at all surprised that it was the same woman asking the same exact question for what felt like the millionth time now. "Yes. The answer has not changed between the past five times you've asked, ma'am." Annabelle almost felt the need to shout. All she wanted to do at that moment was rip the menu right out of the middle-aged woman's grasp and beat her with it. She knew how violent it sounded, but to be fair, the strawberry blonde was infuriating and a literal airhead. "Would you just like me to place everyone else's orders and give you a couple more minutes to decide what you'd like to have?" She politely offered, a slight bat of her eyelashes following her words to hide the annoyed look that lingered in her eyes.
"Oh, that won't be necessary." The woman shook her head as if Annabelle was crazy for even having suggested that. "We're accustomed to eating as a family."
Annabelle's forced smile grew weaker, heavily irritated with her time being wasted. "Why don't I just come back in a few—"
"I'll take the chef salad without eggs." A wide grin made its way onto the older woman's face. The way her lips curled up at the ends made it seem like she'd just been playing this huge game all along which caused Annabelle to scoff at her immature conduct.
Though the heavy impulse to ball her hand up into a fist harshly jerked at her, Annabelle let out the fakest laugh in existence, deciding to keep her mouth shut just this one time. "Great. What dressing would you like with that?"
"Ranch will do."
Jotting that down, Annabelle informed them that their food would be out shortly before taking the time to collect all eight menus. Then, she walked off in the direction of the kitchen, quickly being joined by Judith who had been watching her the entire time. Since it was barely her second week there, she was still being trained by the most maddening person in the Outer Banks.
"Nice." The sarcasm was thickly coated around Judith's tone, implying that Annabelle hadn't exactly been the ideal waitress with that family.
"Oh, like you wouldn't have felt the need to punch that smirk off of that bitch's face." Annabelle shook her head, scoffing. She didn't know if they were far enough for her words not to be heard by the person they were being directed towards, but quite frankly, after that painful encounter, she couldn't give a single fuck.
Judith stayed silent at first, allowing it to remain that way until the two were in the kitchen, away from the public, because she knew that what she was about to say next would surely spark an argument, but she needed Annabelle to get it through her thick skull. Once their slips were handed off, she broke that silence. "Look, I'm only gonna say this once." She took in a heavy breath, causing the two to stop in their tracks. "This isn't a rich kid playground where you can act however the hell you feel like acting whenever you please. Here, you push your pride aside and deal with customers like that despite how badly you feel the need to tell them off whenever they're being annoying. I don't know how shit like this works in your world-"
"My world?"
"Yes, Annabelle, your world." Judith placed a firm hand on her hip, complete disbelief taking over at the fact that the Monroe girl wasn't even self-aware that people would kill to have a life like hers. Of course, if she knew about the emotionally abusive childhood that the girl stood across from her had to undergo, she just might understand the complexity of Annabelle's character, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. "A world where money isn't a problem for you. Where trust fund babies, like yourself, live life without a care in the world. You boss people around at your convenience and treat them however the hell you see fit-" She continued with her short speech, though she was quickly cut off.
Anger flashed in Annabelle's irises. She was tired. Tired of having this same argument every single time that she crossed paths with her co-worker who hated her more than the average person on the island for some goddamn reason that she couldn't quite wrap her head around, yet. "Is this how it's gonna be? You're gonna annoy the crap out of me whenever you feel like it?" She rudely spat, blowing air out from her cheeks to express her frustration with this childish banter.
Judith scoffed, trying to get the next sentence in. "I'm training you—"
Bringing her index finger upwards, Annabelle moved it back and forth, disagreeing. "No. I'm self-aware that I can be a snob sometimes, but you're just allowing your personal opinions to get in the way of your job at this point." She pointed out the obvious, knowing that anyone in their right mind would see her point and agree. "So, why don't you shut that mouth of yours and quit trying to find a problem with every single thing that I do, sweetie?"
Judith, who simply refused to admit that Annabelle was speaking the truth, shook her head. "This isn't a personal opinion. I'm letting you know that you were evidently rude to those customers just now. I'm training you right now, so it's my duty to help you differentiate right from wrong when it comes to this job."
Refraining from rolling her eyes at how incredibly stupid this all was, Annabelle pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "I was patient with them, smiled at them, and did everything you would do, so no, Judith, this isn't about how I'm doing my job. You and I both know that." She sneered, taking that time to cross her arms and step towards the girl. "Look, I don't know what kind of crap you have going on in your personal life, and honestly? I could care less because we all have shit that we like to keep hidden behind closed doors, but watch your tone when you speak to me because the next time you take a swing at me, I'm fighting back."
"Are you hearing how self-absorbed you sound right now?"
The Monroe girl took in a deep breath, tired of this, but she wasn't going to stop until she got the final word in. "Please, like you aren't the one who's initiated all these arguments. In all fairness, none of you here know a single thing about me, so it's about time that you quit acting like I'm some open book who can just be read by anybody." She argued, poison radiating through her veins which only added fuel to the fire. "I mean, you wanna play the mean girl? I've played that role my entire life and I will beat you at it. Every. Single. Time."
"I'm sorry, was that supposed to scare me?"
"No. That was my way of telling you to pull the stick out of your ass—"
At the sound of a high-tuned whistle ripping through the tense air, Annabelle cut herself off, snapping her head in the direction of the blonde-haired busboy who was leaned against the wall, amused at the scene that had unfolded in front of him. The rest of the workers had already grown used to the constant bickering between the two girls (which was hilarious considering it was barely Annabelle's second week there), so it was just a normal day for them at this point.
"Ladies, why don't we take this outside..." JJ's lips curved upwards, the widest smirk tugging at his lips.
Deeply annoyed with both of her co-workers, Annabelle rolled her eyes. She was tempted to slap that mocking look off of JJ's face right then and there, but she resisted the strong urge despite how taunting it was.
What frustrated her, even more, was that she had to force herself to walk away from the Parker girl who had started this entire thing. When Annabelle was fueled with anger, she didn't stop until the other person couldn't handle it anymore. There had been several occasions where mascara was smeared due to the pools of tears brimmed at the corner of the eyes...never hers, though. She was a bitch and she knew it, but she did not take shit from anyone. Ever.
That bitchiness that made her...well, her, was the one personality trait that she and her mother had in common. It wasn't enough to bond them, but it was there, embedded in her blood which proved that she was in fact Sandra Monroe's daughter.
"Can I just say, I'm slightly turned on by that aggressiveness you just showed back there." JJ's voice caused her to jump slightly.
"Fucking hell! Wear a bell when you walk around here." Annabelle placed her hand over her heart which was now beating at a hundred miles per hour. She was far too flabbergasted to even take notice of the arm that was loosely swung around her, dangling slightly by her left shoulder.
JJ raised his brows up in amusement, staring down at the girl who was significantly shorter than him. "I like the uniform. It really works for you, Belle." He quickly changed the topic, the tip of his tongue grazing against the bottom row of his teeth.
Annabelle turned her attention towards the blonde, making direct eye contact with JJ which immediately caused the blood to rush to her face at the sudden staring contest that the two teenagers found themselves having in the middle of the hallway. She stared deep into his eyes, noticing the combination of blue hues that swirled perfectly together, creating the perfect shade that she could just sit and stare at all day long. If it hadn't been for the realization that metal rings were grazing against her skin and creating goosebumps along her skin, she was convinced she would've won, but her eyes widened in surprise, forcing her to blink several times.
Her face crumpled in disgust. "Gross, get your slimy hand off of me!" Annabelle cringed, shoving his arm off of her shoulder and using her very own palm to wipe the imaginary dust off of it.
"Do I make you nervous?" JJ suddenly questioned, his eyes remaining on her while she looked in every possible direction besides his. The cockiness was painfully obvious. "I tend to have that effect on a lot of girls."
A heavy silence fell upon them the second that particular question was muttered into the universe. Although the restaurant was busy as can be with all kinds of conversations traveling in every possible direction, Annabelle had successfully managed to block them out. She knew that he wanted her to admit that he had some sort of effect on her, but she was not about to give him the satisfaction he was hoping to receive from her.
"Fuck you." Annabelle's voice tore through the thick air.
"I wouldn't stop you if you tried to."
Utterly dumbfounded at his response, Annabelle stayed put while an amused JJ walked away. His laugh echoing through the hallway as he made his way back towards the dining area to collect dirty dishes. It took a few seconds for the shock to exit her body, and once it had, she couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief, cracking the slightest smile in the process. Had he really just said that?
authors note:
I know I haven't been active on this story for some time, but I had zero motivation to write AT ALL. I took a break from writing all my books and I feel so much better now that my head is finally clear. So, as of right now, I think it's safe to say that I'm back! I wish I could promise consistent updates, but I cannot commit to anything lol.
Now, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter since it's mostly a filler, but Annabelle being a bitch? Love that. Literally LOVE that for her. Arguments between her and Judith are my favorite thing in the world to write, so expect more of those 🤸🏻♀️.
The next chapter kicks off the beginning of Annabelle's character development (kinda) and there's a lot of JJ in it!
Vote and comment! Both are always highly appreciated and they let me know that there's an active audience present haha.