Chapter Eight
"Ok so," Dreama popped a cherry tomato into her mouth, "what are we doing tonight, Allie?"
"We're going to have so much fun. I had to change the time around a little bit. We're meeting the guys at Bianca's at six. Then we're going to the movies. When that's over we're going back to the house where we're going back to younger years with a pirate ship bounce house."
"Seriously?" Oppie said. "But isn't that a little..."
"Well, with everything that's going on," Kaylee said looking at me. "I think it would be a good stress reliever. I always wanted one of those huge trampolines. I wonder how high we can bounce one of the guys?"
"Just as long as we don't break it," Allie said with a chuckle. "My parents have changed one rule though."
"Which one?" Oppie asked.
"They're letting us sleep in the same room—" Dreama and Kaylee started to squeal "—as long as we're all there. So even if one of us leaves the room..."
"We get it. Have you told the guys yet?" Oppie asked.
"I told them this morning after Nat finished butchering the course."
"Hey now," I said putting my fork through my chicken parmesan. "I was just having an off day."
"You haven't had an off day like that in a year. What happened?"
"Why are you assuming something happened?"
"Let's see, you were fine when we left your house last night but when you got here this morning..."
"Natalie."
Everyone at the table whipped around, including myself, and Jesse Granger stood behind me. I very carefully swiveled in my seat and plastered my best 'I just won a trophy but don't feel like smiling' smile on my face. His black and blue line crinkled a little as he smiled back.
"Can I have a word?"
"Um..." Dreama kicked me under the table which jump started my brain. "Sure." I turned around and glared at her. "Girls, I'll be right back."
I got up and Jesse led me over to the bar, waving the tender away.
"What can I do for you, Jesse?"
"It was brought to my attention that you might be seeing Union Davidson."
I stared at him and then it turned into a glare. "You know, I haven't talked to you since we were thirteen and you had a serious acne problem."
"I know and thank you for talking to me when no one else would."
"I see Clearasil did wonders for your skin. I'm glad I suggested it."
"Natalie," he tipped his head to the side while he rested his elbow on the bar, "Answer my question."
"I didn't know you phrased it as a question. Is the Elite rumor mill deficient? I'm not seeing anyone on any capacity right now. I haven't since I dumped Owen Pierce for trying to stick his hand up my shirt prematurely." I patted his arm. "Tell Kiki I said hi."
I started walking back to my table but he caught my wrist. Generally I felt the cough before it came out and I was still suppressing it. However, the second Jesse touched my skin, the cough just ripped its way out of me.
Jesse's grip on my wrist tightened as he guided me to a stool and had me sit down. I didn't know if it was a coincidence or what but the second he released me, the cough died down. He flagged down the bartender and a glass of water was promptly placed on the bar next to me.
"Drink that. You'll feel better."
"I'm not one of your Elite friends you can boss around."
Despite my words, I found myself drinking the water. I ignored the small upturn of his mouth.
"Cyrus was right when he told you to stay away from Union. You should listen."
"I don't think I will. And since you and—Cyrus seem to communicate better than he and I ever did, please remind him that I do what I want."
I got off the bar stool and set the glass down.
"I didn't take him from you," Jesse said quietly. "Despite what you think."
Jesse was the Bev of the Elite. He was the leader, the first one in our class to get The Sickness. In a way he was right. He hadn't taken Cecil from me but I blamed him anyways, even more than I blamed Cecil himself. Jesse welcomed him into the group after all. If he didn't, then maybe Cecil wouldn't have been so quick to throw the rest of us away.
"Don't act like you know me."
"I'm not. All I'm saying is..."
"You did," I snapped. "Whether you think you so or not, you did. The Sickness, you," he down casted his eyes like he was ashamed to look at me, "I don't know what you people offer and I don't care. I don't want any part of it. As far as I'm concerned who I date or don't date is none of your business or Cecil's."
"There are things you don't understand," he said looking up at me. "Don't date Union Davidson, Natalie. You'll regret it if you do."
"Tell me why. Right now. Tell me why and I'll promise you and whoever else you want that I won't date him."
Jesse looked like he really wanted to tell me but he said nothing. He remained silent, his mouth pressed into a thin line that indicated he wasn't happy about this. His eyes had a hard edge to them, much like Cecil's tended to when he happened to look at me.
"I didn't think so. I'll see you at school."
As I walked away, I thought I heard him say "Sooner" but I wasn't completely sure. I just went back to my table and tried to ignore the fact that Jesse remained at the bar, showing no signs that he was leaving until we did.
*
At dinner, I had Chris on one side and Union on the other. We'd separated the Triplets but that wasn't going over well. They kept trying to con people into switching seats but we had it set up this way for a reason. The round table made it easy to talk to everyone and at the moment we were carrying on like a pack of hyenas. Luckily the staff didn't mind. They were used to boisterous customers and our laughter and random screamed words fitted in with all the other noise in the room.
"Ok, so, how many of you went through braces?" Union asked.
Almost every one of us raised our hands and I was sharing a suppressed smile with Allie. Schylar caught it, his own evil grin plastered across his face.
"Hey, does everyone remember the time Allie pulled Nat's braces out of her mouth?"
"Schy!" I tossed a bread stick at him. "There is no reason to tell that story or even to mention it!"
Ignoring my protest but eating the bread I'd thrown, he launched into the story.
"So, they were having a sleep over. Somehow a pillow fight broke out. Allie gets one good smack in. Nat is smiling at the time and the thread of the pillow caught on her braces. You know the hook for the rubber bands?" Union nodded. "Yeah. Hooked on that. Allie pulled the pillow away and the wire popped out, breaking free of all the tiny bands and metal squares."
"This is a horrible story!" Allie said. "Tell something else."
"But I'm just getting to the best part," Schylar said.
She shook her head. "How about we tell the one where Chris put gum in your fro?"
"Don't hate on the fro," Schylar said, his hands automatically going to his hair. "Anyways, Allie's mom freaks out and calls Nat's dad. The man has more patience than God, I swear. He told them to pull the wire completely out since Allie had only managed to dislodge one side..."
"This is so not funny," I groaned.
Schylar pushed through his story, getting to the part where I'd thought, just because the wire was out, I could eat gummy bears.
Truth was you weren't supposed to eat anything gummy, like caramel or taffy. The bears stuck to everything in my mouth, which was supposed to be the funny part. Teeth stuck with colored bits of bear.
Charming.
I looked around the restaurant, ignoring Schylar's joke at my expense. It was then that I noticed a pair of Elite sitting over in the corner. I didn't know why I was noticing them more now than I'd never noticed them before. Or maybe it was because I didn't care before but now it was as if everywhere I went, there was an Elite my age, whether they were in my class or a year or two younger. They were always floating around just out of earshot. There weren't many, humans outweighing the Elite in our class a good three to one ratio. The night of the cocktail party, a lot of the humans were missing, hence the reason why there appeared to be more Elite.
As I observed the couple, I noticed they weren't really paying attention to anyone else. It looked like they were on a date, actually. I was getting paranoid. It was official.
"Hey," Union touched my elbow, "you ok?"
I looked away from the couple and at him. "Yeah. I'm just a little spaced out. Nothing to worry about. I'm sorry about last night by the way."
"Don't be. I think if I'd just found out I could be turning Elite, I'd want some time to myself too. It's not like there won't be other nights. That is, if you still want to have dinner."
"Technically we're having dinner now."
He smiled and nodded. "Yes, we are. But I mean with less people."
"You mean like a date."
"Yes. I mean a date. I like you, Natalie, and I'd like to get to know you better. If you'll let me."
"Well, Schylar is doing a pretty good job of giving you all the details you might want now."
He reached out, very confidently I might add, and took my hand. At the moment, Schylar was talking about something random that'd happened when we were kids so everyone was distracted, not seeing the gesture at all. His hand was warm and smooth, my mind for some reason automatically comparing it to Cecil's.
"Schylar is telling all the embarrassing stuff. I want to know the good stuff too."
"Well, then, I'm afraid I have to warn you. My life is filled up with more embarrassing stuff than good. I was a pretty awkward child, all knees and elbows, freckles and braces as he's so gallantly stating."
"I'll tell you secret, if you promise not to tell anyone." He leaned in close, his breath was hot against my ear as he spoke. "I had headgear."
I squeezed my eyes closed and tried not to laugh. Headgear was pretty terrible but then again the whole experience of braces was dreadful.
"That's not really a secret." I pulled back so I could look him in the eyes. "You didn't really think I believed you had naturally straight teeth, did you?"
It was his turn to try and not laugh. "I guess that's true. We've all had some help to get where we are now."
I thought I saw a flash of something in his eyes. Over the years, I've been given plenty of looks, ranging from sympathy to lust, but the predatory gleam I thought I caught in his eyes now was new.
Maybe I imagined it because it wasn't there after I blinked.
But my creep-o radar was registering something so I thought it best to go back to the group conversation as quickly as possible.
"As long as it's not something horrible," I commented. "Nothing's worse than headgear, right?"
"Well, I had laser eye surgery so I wouldn't have to wear coke bottle glasses." He squeezed my hand. "I'm completely genuine, Natalie. I promise. Both in my intentions and my looks."
"That's always good to know."
"Hey," Corey tossed a napkin at us, "what are you two talking about over there?"
"Oh leave them alone," Bev said. "Not everyone wants to listen to Schylar recount every embarrassing moment from elementary school."
"Hey now," Schylar tilted his head, "this is what we do. We tell embarrassing stories from the years before so we won't be tempted to repeat those things in the coming year."
"That was a really long sentence," Dreama said. "And it had no point."
Since she was sitting next to him, he hooked an arm around her neck and pulled her against his chest. She started squealing and batting at him but he didn't let her go.
"Nat! Come rein in your monkey of a best friend."
I glared at him. "Do I need to separate the two of you?"
"Yes!" Dreama said.
Schylar just continued to look impish as he held on to her. I got up and walked around, prying them apart. Schylar released her only to pull me down to sit on his lap.
As the table went back to conversation, Schylar said, "Is he being nice?"
"Please tell me you didn't pick on Dreama just to ask me that?"
"Maybe. I'm incorrigible. So?"
"Everything's fine." I patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry. If anything changes, I'll tell you. Now, can I go back to my seat?"
"I don't know. I think I like you as my lap candy. Makes me appear more desirable."
"Or like a cheater. If Brittany finds out about this, you're going to be screwed and not in the way you want."
"Good point." He got a funny look on his face. "Your phone is ringing and not in a good place."
I hopped up and dug my phone out of my pocket. "Aw crap."
"What?" I tilted my phone to the side so he could see. "Don't answer that. Nat, don't you dare."
"But..."
"It's your night off. No way are they calling you in. Don't you dare answer."
He wasn't happy as I headed for the door, answering my phone before it rang through to voicemail.
"Hello?"
"Oh thank god," I heard Amanda sigh. "I've been going down the list of my employees and either no one's answering or their phone is off."
"What's up?"
"Can you come in? We're swamped and it's just Julie. Both of the night shift girls called in sick and I just managed to catch Julie before she headed out of town."
This was probably the worse timing ever. I looked over at my table of friends and it appeared only Schylar knew I was missing. When he saw me looking, he started shaking his head.
"Amanda, I'm kind of in the middle of dinner..."
"I know and I'm sorry but I'm desperate. Please?"
I closed my eyes and wrinkled my nose. "For how long?"
"Until closing?" Which was ten o'clock. Late for a coffee shop but Amanda had extended the hours for the summer. It was the last late night for the season. "I'll pay you double time."
"It's not about the money, Amanda, you know that."
"Well, what else am I supposed to bribe you with in order to get you to come in?"
I sighed. "Alright but I'm only staying until nine thirty."
"Thank you! I'll see you in a few."
I hung up and opened my eyes. Schylar was glaring at me, anger making his eyebrows press together. I felt like I was doing the walk of shame as I went over. Everyone looked up at me when I joined the table and when they saw the look on my face, all of their smiles dropped.
"You can't," Schylar said. "This is supposed to be..."
"I know," I said. "But I'll only be missing for a couple of hours."
"What?" Allie said. "You're leaving?"
"The coffee shop called..."
She sighed angrily and sat back in her chair. "I can't believe this."
"It's just for a couple of hours. It's not like I'm bailing completely."
"Might as well be." She wouldn't even look at me she was so angry. "You're going to miss the movie and..."
"Come on," Bev said. "Give her a break. She's only trying to be..."
"I know," Allie snapped. "But she's being a pushover." She looked up at me finally, Spanish fire in her eyes. I wanted to take a step back it was so bad. "Call them back and tell them you can't."
"Allie, I already said I would."
"You made plans. They should understand. The only reason she calls you is because you're the only one she knows will come in if she asks."
"She called the whole list before she called me."
"How do you know? You know what, never mind. Just go."
"Allie...don't be like that."
"Like what? Like my best friend is bailing on me? That's what it is, Nat. In fact, don't even bother coming back."
"Allie!" Schylar said. "That's not fair."
"Please. You're just as angry as me. If she can bail on part of the night she might as well just bail on the whole night."
"I think you're being a little dramatic," Oppie said. "It's not like this happens all the time. She didn't plan it."
The rest of the Triplets nodded in agreement, Chris and Corey included.
"You need to calm down, girl," Dreama said. "It's not that big of a deal. So what if she misses the movie? She'll come back when her shift is over. That's what counts."
"You don't get it," Allie said. "This is just the first time. She'll become Elite and then drop us just like..."
"I would never do that," I said, cutting her off before she said Cecil's name.
Allie looked at me. "Yes, you would and you are. So just go, Nat. You want to anyways."
"I never said I wanted to go. They need me to come in..."
"And you grabbed at it."
"What do you want me to say, Allie? What will make you happy?"
"You could not go."
"Then she wouldn't be who she is," Chris said. "And you know it." He stood up from his seat, placing his balled up napkin on the table. "I'll walk you out."
My friends all said goodbye, all but Allie who remained stubbornly in her seat, arms crossed over her chest. I went over to her and tried to kiss her on the cheek but she moved away. That movement hurt worse than anything she'd said.
"If you change your mind, my shift ends at nine thirty," I told her. "Send me a text and I'll come."
I tried to keep the hurt out of my voice but despite my best attempts it came out. Chris took my hand after handing me my bag and led me to the door. I tried to stop at the hostess station so I could pay for my dinner but he just shook his head.
"I'll get it. Don't worry about it."
"Chris, you don't have to do that."
"I know." He opened the door for me. "You have enough on your plate right now."
"You've already lost twenty bucks because of me." I smiled. "I don't want you to break the bank."
"Then you'll owe me. How about that?"
"Sound's like a plan." We stopped next to the driver's side door. I turned to face him. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What do you think of Union?"
He frowned, shoving his hands in his pockets. "What do you mean?"
"Your general assessment."
"He doesn't seem like a bad guy..."
"Why did you say it like that?"
"It's just," he leaned against my door, "I don't know. Some of the things I've noticed...seem off somehow."
I nodded. "I think I know what you mean."
"Look, I know the guy asked you out but if you don't feel comfortable with it, don't go out with him."
"Schylar said..."
"It doesn't matter what Schylar said. Don't do something you're not comfortable with. You know this. It's the reason you broke up with the last two guys."
"Schylar seems to think I'm holding out."
Chris rolled his eyes and tilted his head to the side. "Schylar talks about things he doesn't understand. He wouldn't understand 'holding out' if it bit him in the ass."
"Doesn't mean he's not wrong."
"What Schylar doesn't realize is you weren't the only one Cecil left behind. So what if you don't date regularly? You can't automatically say it's because of Cecil. There's not much selection in this town."
"You would know?" I crossed my arms and leaned against the car next to him.
"The dating pool is not very well populated. We've all grown up together and like you've so well pointed out, there just doesn't seem to be a point to date someone you've known your whole life. I mean, you're supposed to learn things about the people you date. Not much to learn if..."
I smiled at him. "I just learned something about you."
He looked at me. "Really?"
"You're just like me." I bumped his shoulder. "You know what? I changed my mind. Why don't we go to dinner sometime?"
"Like a date?" The corner of his mouth turned up. "Seriously?"
I nodded. "Like you said, the pickings are slim and I do like you. You're not a bad guy and I don't have to worry about you moving too fast."
"Southern gentleman all the way. Cross my heart." He made an x over his chest. "What are you going to do about the new kid?"
"Eh...I'll take him out to dinner and then let him down easy. I'm good at that."
"I know. You've done it to me a few times. I feel for the guy but I can't say I'm unhappy about it. Get to work before they think something happened to you."
We both moved away from the car and he gathered me into a hug. There were so many things different about this hug that I didn't even consider them all until I was busy making lattes, cappuccinos, and other various coffee drinks.
Dating Chris was in the realm of possibilities; I just never considered it because he was Cecil's best guy friend when he was human. He had eclipsed everything and it wasn't until I felt my current reality starting to slip away that his shadow started to end.