I. Marley

Chapter Seven

Caesar

"Are you seriously telling me you think the flash can be beaten by Superman?" My eyes drift from West and Max ridiculous debate to scan the semi-crowded after school lot.
West, Max, Alex and Ellis where waiting outside the school near my Jeep truck waiting for Izzy to come out. Thankfully coach gave us the day off of practice, I didn't feel like dealing with West's nonsense for another four more hours.
"Hey Ellis, I know we are the best group in the school, ya know with the Rottweiler over here-" West makes a show to point to me dramatically and I only roll my eye."-but why is your sister talking to Danny Thomason." He pointed a stiff finger across the lot and our heads follow.

Past the lot and by the back of the bleachers, we're two figures. I can easily make out Marley's hair, it's big but not in the way of annoyance but something more magnificent. Her hair stayed in tight ringlets that bounced with every movement she made.
She was leaned against the weight of one leg and my eyes naturally zone in on her ass, it's definitely prominent.

Danny is known for selling a pill here and there but mainly for the most part he was popular for his parties. I've been to a few but they weren't really my thing, usually I'm dragged along babysitting West. He got on my fucking nerves but he was the brother I didn't know I needed.
Anywho-
Danny is the basketball teams weight, just that one player that makes the coach crack down on all of us. We weren't exactly friends but he was my biggest enemy. He had shaggy brown hair and eyes too match, always high or chatting up the next party.
My eyes drift to Ellis as her face changes into irritation, she quickly looks away and turns to Max.
"Want too come over this weekend? My parents have to attend my dads work colleague event in Seattle." She doesn't comment on the comment West made and she is successfully distracting the group, a quiet night for the couple quickly turned into a group sleep over. The cabin plans from lunch long forgotten.

As my friends dive into a movie list for the quickly approaching weekend, I find myself looking back to where Marley stood with Danny. I squint as Danny glances around, and no one would really be paying attention. Then he looks back down to Marley, she was very short in stature but the air she carried around her made you feel like you were talking to a 6'2 grown ass man.

She had been here a little over two weeks and everyday Ellis would drag her over, literally. She would spend at the most thirty minutes with us on our hour lunch before she'd toss a curt "see ya-" over her shoulder. That's the most she's ever spoken to us, well the group. We haven't encountered since that time in the hall where she walked out of the school without a care in the world. And people thought I was the delinquent.

They do a quick exchange of what seems to be a boom and a piece of paper. I internally slap myself at my weird over analyzing and focus back in on the conversation. Just as Marley makes her way over and Izzy bounds out of the school doors.

"Hey guys! Sorry I took so long, I had to speak with Mr. Janis." Izzy smiles brightly before shoving her notebook in her book bag and re adjusting it on her shoulders.
"You're hanging out with Ciara this weekend right?" West ask casually, although we all loved his little cousin. She still was two grades below us and it was like toting around a child in a sense, she couldn't drink, drive or go clubbing so there was no reason for her to hang around us. She should be finding her own friends and West knew that, he tried to do it in the nicest way possible but she was quite clingy, mainly to me. Which was equally annoying.

"Yeah, got to do a science project. I'll be gone all weekend. Why what are you guys up to?" Her happy greens eyes are on me and I turn my gaze to West shooting him a look. I didn't particularly care if she knew if I wanted her around or not.

"Nothing anyone your age can indulge in, my dear." West ruffles her hair and she scrunches her face before swatting his hand away.
Marley approaches. Ever the silent one.

"Hey, you ready?" Ellis chirps despite her sense of tension earlier, it seeming to disappear.
Marley flicks her honey eyes around the group before pausing and staring at the space between the group for a moment. Then she did the last thing I thought she would do.
"Can I get a ride?" Her amber eyes were pinning me, waiting for a response and for a reason I couldn't fucking tell you my throat closed up.
I felt several pairs of eyes on me and I realized they were looking at me literally freeze under her gaze. Clearing my throat I nod. "Sure."

"Wait Marley, Mom and dad leave for their flight tonight." Marley doesn't even skip a beat before she shrugs. She raises a perfect arched eyebrow at Ellis, then we all were looking at Ellis and her normal composed demeanor was turning into a face I've never seen before.
"We usually spend the few hours together, just in case anything-" Ellis cuts her entire sentence and her eyes widen slightly before she clamps her mouth shut completely.
"Never mind. See ya." Suddenly Marley spins on the heels of her sneakers before she walked away, plugging in a pair of headphones, I could still her the slight beat of her music and she was a few feet away. Seeming to put as much distance between Ellis and herself.
We all stare at the spot she stood before anyone spoke. This was the most we had ever spoke and the first time we had ever seen Ellis actually stop talking. She was always chatting about one thing or the next, Max was rubbing her back up and down and whispering in her ear but she only nodded while texting furiously on her phone.
"Well I gotta get Izzy home before my mom and aunt kick my ass." West is the first to break the water of the pregnant silence and he starts towards his own car next to mine.
"Bye Caesar!" Izzy smiles brightly and I give her a small one back.
"Bye."
I was glad it was Thursday. I'll probably skip out on school tomorrow, Coach can handle missing me for a practice and I needed some peace before West would drag me to Ellis house for this 'sleep over'. My friends were so childish.