Dedicated to RachelDesireeOoi for the awesome cover on the side. Thank you :)
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(Unedited)
Chapter 21 • Part Two
Immediately, a bunch of kids rushed in our direction, dragging their parents along with them. I have to hand it to Kallie, her idea was pretty genius. In a matter of minutes, we had over two dozen hugs. It was pretty awesome, seeing the shock and annoyance written on the guy's faces. In an effort to get more hugs, I flipped my sign over. I had already planned this just in case it happened. On the back I had written 'I feel unloved. Anyone want a hug?'. I hadn't expected for it to work, but for some reason, it did. People came towards me, and while I didn't earn as many hugs as Annabelle, I was doing fairly well.
After half an hour of nearly non-stop hugging, I got the chance to look around. Annabelle was still busy hugging little kids and I couldn't see Kallie since she was standing on the other side of Annabelle, but I suspected that she was also hugging people or tracking down Annabelle's hugs.
It wasn't until the second time that I looked around that I noticed them. They were around our age, and to anyone else, they might not have looked so suspicious, but it was a different case for me. There were maybe ten or so of them. All of them were tall, with muscular builds that clearly showed that they were football players, or something of the like. They had another guy with them, only he was thin and wiry and lacked the confidence and power they emitted. He was trying to act cool and collected, but his eyes kept darting around nervously, which gave him away. He was probably the new kid, either in the school or on the football team, trying to prove himself. The others had probably taken that to their advantage. Stupid peer pressure.
Then I realized they were looking my way with sly smiles. Oh no. I quickly looked away. Please don't notice me, please don't notice me, please don't notice me. I chanted in my head. A quick glance from the corner of my eye told me my pleas didn't work. A couple of the guys were whispering to the wiry one, turning him towards me. Oh god, what do I do? Wait, what's he gonna do? I stepped behind Annabelle to look for Kallie, but she wasn't there.
"Where's Kallie?" I asked Annabelle, keeping an eye on the guy who was now weaving through the crowd.
"Bathroom. If you leave me by myself I'm going to kill you," Annabelle threatened, having already guessed my second question. Holy shiitake mushrooms, I'm screwed! Breathe, Raine. I told myself. He might not do anything too bad. It might just be a hug. Hopefully it's just a hug.
It turned out it wasn't just a hug. It started like that, yes, then he wouldn't let go. Then it got worse. He started groping me. I tried to break out of his hold, but he was stronger than he looked. After a quick look around, I realized I was pretty doomed. The guys who had asked him to do this were laughing, Annabelle was distracted by the number of kids flooding around her, Kallie was still in the bathroom, people were too distracted to realize that this was turning out to be more than a hug and I could see the guys because there were too many people.
I shoved at his chest, but he wouldn't let go. I tried kicking at him, but he dodged before I could. I tried screaming but before I could get a word out, his hand slapped over my mouth. Squirming, I desperately tried to pull away. This was beginning o be too much like that night. I felt tears flooding my eyes. Why wasn't anyone noticing this? Why wasn't anyone helping?
Suddenly the guy was ripped away from me.
I took a step back to catch my breath and then I realized it was Kaden who had yanked the guy away from me. And he had him shoved against a wall. I couldn't hear what they were saying because they were talking in low tones, but from their expressions, it probably wasn't pretty. The guy looked scared as the Devil's Kingdom while Kaden was glaring at him as if he had killed all the orphans in Africa.
"What happened?" Kallie asked suddenly appearing beside me with Clark and Brett behind her.
I swallowed thickly before replying. "He was groping me. Kaden pulled him off. And it looks like he's going to kill the guy. Help me. I have no idea what to do," I said, my sentences coming off nervous and staccato.
Kallie sighed, rolled her eyes and walked up to Kaden. She grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him off the guy. "Come on, we gotta go. Mom called, they're coming back early and want us back at the house for dinner." I heard her tell him. I watched as Kaden said one last thing to the guy- it must’ve been threatening, he looked like he was about to wet his pants- before walking back to us with Kallie.
He shot a look at me. "You okay?"
I nodded and avoided his eyes. "Yeah, thanks."
"No problem. He shouldn't have done that,' he responded darkly.
"Dude, I don't think I've ever seen you this riled up," Brett remarked. Kaden just shrugged his shoulders in response. Kallie grabbed Annabelle and lead us out to the parking lot. We got in the car, with Brett driving, Kaden in the passenger seat and Kallie, Annabelle, Clark and I squished in the back.
"Okay, now I'm absolutely certain my brother likes you. One hundred and ten percent certain," Kallie leaned in and whispered to me as Brett pulled out of the parking lot.
"He was just doing it because... He's just a friend," I denied, looking away from her. Even though Kaden had more or less confessed his feelings, I still had a hard time believing it. He couldn’t like me. He shouldn't. I mean after everything...
Kallie snorted. "Yeah, a friend would've stopped when the kid said sorry," she told me.
"I think he's our age, Kal," I replied, trying to change the subject. Kallie opened her mouth to reply, but before she could another voice slid in.
"I want to know what's wrong with the kid. I mean, who does that?" Kaden asked. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I knew they were twins, but wow. They are a lot more alike than I thought.
"It wasn't his fault. A couple guys pressure him into it," I said non-chalantly.
Kaden shot me a look over his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?"
I rolled my eyes. "I wasn't gonna send you after ten football players. Even I'm not that mean," I replied.
Kaden raised any eyebrow, but didn't question it. "Why do these things always happen to you?" he asked instead.
"Bad luck?" I guessed.
"Nah, I think it's her looks. I mean, she's kind of got that innocent look, you know?" Brett remarked. Hey! I do not! At least I don't think so.
"I don't know if I should be insulted or flattered," I said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, kind of like she's half clueless about the world," Kaden agreed, ignoring me. I do not! Okay, well, at least they're talking about how I look.
Kallie snorted. "She is half clueless about the world." Hm, I guess I spoke too soon, or maybe I should say thought.
"Nice thing to say about your best friend," I replied sarcastically, shooting her a dry look.
She returned it with a challenging one. "Alright, what's sixty-nine?" What the Watson? What does that have to do with anything?
I stated at her, confused. "A number?" I guessed.
Kallie threw her hands up. "My point proven!" she exclaimed.
"I'm confused..." I stated, trailing off, looking around. Clark and Annabelle were watching us with mixture of amusement and sympathy... The latter one was probably for me.
"It's a position for screwing," Kallie told me flatly, though she didn't say 'screwing' exactly. Oh my god. It is? Sixty-nine?
I felt my cheeks heat up. "Can we not talk about these things?" I stammered.
"And my point was proven again," Kallie said, nudging me playfully.
"I hate it when you do that," I muttered.
"Do what?" Kallie asked quizzically.
"Use stuff about... That to prove a point. But, this is off topic. I kind of feel bad for the kid. I mean, he just wanted to impress them," I remarked.
Kaden scoffed. "Yeah right, that's probably the closest he'll ever get to second base," he said.
"Dude, I think that was second base," Brett told him.
"Brett! That's only in dating! I don't know the guy!" I exclaimed, glaring at him even though he couldn't see me.
"I, actually, did not expect you do know that," he admitted after a brief silence. Aw, geez, what? Is it pick on Raine day today?
I pouted and turned to stare out the window. "You guys are cruel friends," I muttered.
"Hey, Clark and I had nothing to do with this," Annabelle quipped in a tone that clearly showed that she was hiding a smile.
Kallie laughed. "You love us."
***
"So, what are you kids planning for the rest of the summer?" Mrs. Fleming asked as she raised her glass to take a sip of red wine.
"We're going make a mini movie," Kallie responded before pushing a forkful of sauce covered rice into her mouth.
"You are?" Mr. Fleming asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We are?" Clark repeated, dumbfounded, staring at Kallie.
She held up a finger and pointed to her mouth. We all waited as she finished chewing and opened her mouth to speak. "We are," she replied. She shot me a look, asking if I wanted her to tell them about my application. As discreetly as I could, I shook my head. "I figured it'd be fun," she continued with a shrug, the lie slipping past her lips flawlessly.
"Oh? Have you planned it out?" Mrs. Fleming asked. She had probably caught onto Kallie's lie, but wasn't really questioning it.
"Well, I want to write the script and things. Brett will probably want to direct," she paused. A quick nod from Brett confirmed her guess and she continued, "Raine will obviously be the main female because she loves acting and I'm still figuring out the rest," Kallie explained.
"Got a plot, yet?" Annabelle asked curiously.
"Something light, definitely, because I can't write dark. Maybe romance," Kallie replied, shooting me a sly look that went unnoticed by no one. I returned her look with a dry one and rolled my eyes.
The conversation broke off into smaller ones as dinner continued. Kaden and Annabelle were talking to Mr. Fleming about something, Clark was trying to explain basketball to Brett yet again and Kallie and Mrs. Fleming were conversing about something that I probably didn't want to know about, given the looks that they were shooting me.
After dinner, Brett left to take a shower, Clark and Annabelle went off somewhere and I went upstairs to get ready, leaving the Flemings in the kitchen to talk.
I had another date with Blake to tonight. I had absolutely no idea where it was going to be, he hadn't told me anything except to dress warm. I pulled on a pair of black jeggings and a flowy, dark pink tank top. Grabbing my jean jacket, I flicked off the light and headed downstairs. I was about to go through the kitchen when my phone buzzed.
I'm outside. –Blake
I stuffed my phone inside my jacket pocket, but before I could take another step, I heard voices. It was the Flemings, obviously, and it didn't sound very nice. I pulled my phone out again to respond to Blake's text.
Give me five minutes, I texted back to Blake. I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but I was curious. The conversation at dinner had been pleasant but still just a bit tense.
"We got you something in Australia. Vera was there, so we ordered a dress from her for you," Mrs. Fleming was telling Kallie.
"Mom, I love it and all, but I wish you would just stop," Kallie replied exasperated.
"Stop what?" I heard Mrs. Fleming ask.
"Trying to buy our forgiveness. I mean, I love you guys, but you're never here," Kallie answered in a tone that meant she was probably close to tears.
"Honey, it's past nine, we have to go," Mr. Fleming interrupted. I could just see Kallie standing there, shaking her head as if to say 'See? My point is proven'. "We'll make it up to you, promise," he continued.
"That's what you always say," Kaden said tiredly.
"Kallie, Kaden-" Mrs. Fleming started.
"Just go. Business calls," Kallie snipped. I heard Mr. Fleming and Mrs. Fleming sigh before the sound of the front door slamming echoed through the room. Cautiously, I walked into the kitchen to see Kallie sitting on the island countertop and Kaden leaning against the cupboards a bit away from her.
"Going somewhere?" Kallie asked, pasting on a weary smile.
I hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Would it be a bad idea to bring up what I had just heard? "Yeah, I'm going out with Blake tonight," I decided, playing it safe.
Kaden stiffened and I squirmed uncomfortable under his stare. "There's a lot of drunk drivers out now, you know," he told me quietly.
I shrugged. "It'll be fine," I assured him. I pulled my jacket tighter around my body and headed for the front door. In the Fleming's driveway, I saw a large red Jeep, with Blake in the driver's seat.
"Hey," he called through the open window.
"Hi, no motorcycle tonight? I asked quietly, slipping into the passenger seat.
Blake shot me a small smirk. Inwardly, I smiled. It was nice to see some things were going to stay the same tonight. "Thought I'd try something different. Be normal," he replied. I nodded but didn't respond. "You okay? You're quiet tonight," Blake remarked after we pulled out of the driveway. I shrugged and turned to stare out the window. "Does this have something to do with the two people who sped out in a black Escade like they were being chased by... I don't know, something scary?" Blake asked.
I shrugged again. "It's complicated," I said, turning back to face the front. I saw Blake glance at me and open his mouth to respond, but before he could, there was the sound of crunching metal. Something rammed into the back of the Jeep, causing it to skitter. I grabbed on to the dashboard, desperately trying to hang on as Blake spun the wheel in an effort to gain back control. The Jeep slammed to a stop as I felt myself lose consciousness.
-READ ME-
Sucky last paragraph, I'm sorry. I was rushed. Anyway, would it be terribly pitiful if I told you I had to search half the stuff up for the car conversation? I'm even more clueless than Raine when it comes to this stuff (okay, that's a lie, I just don't know the details. My obliviousness was spoiled a long time ago... Sadly). I like this part, it flowed better. I think I'm getting my inspiration back... And I've found that it comes at 12 in the morning. -.- Longest chapter of this story! Even though it's split in two...
Okay, can everyone do me a favor? On this chapter, can you all either comment or vote? I just want to know how many people are reading because I've had some people add my story to their reading list then disappear off the face of the earth, so yeah. I'm curious. So, pretty please vote or comment? :3
Teaser: I foresee a kiss! But between who? It could be huge, like Raine and someone. Or anti-climatic like Annabelle and Clark. Or really weird like Brett and Blake (0.o) *Evil laugh* Yeah... I had too much chocolate.
Vote, if you like the conversations between Raine and Co.
Commet, if this story has made you either laugh or tear up (tell me when and which one too! :D)
Fan, if you think Raine's cluelessness and Kaden's protectiveness is cute.
~JJ :)
PS. Sorry for the long Author's Note.