The Boy Who Rarely Smiled

Chapter Eighteen

Mason was cramming his assignment this lunch period, so I sat with my friends today.

I liked how there was still a seat for me even after leaving them.

"Yo Vanessa!" Phillip greeted when I sat on my chair. "How's our little sunshine?"

"Yeah," Lynn pouted. "You don't seat with us anymore."

"It's because of that Mason guy, isn't it?" one of the basketball players smirked.

"You've been spending an awful amount of time with him," Madison teased, reaching over the table to squeeze my cheeks.

I rolled my eyes, swatting Madison's hand away. I couldn't help but blush at their statements though.

I disregarded how Lynn and Madison treated Mason already. He didn't really care, and I didn't want to start an issue.

Miley, who was sitting beside me, swung an arm around my neck. "Our Vanessa's not so innocent anymore, aw."

I scowled at her, removing her arm around me as she laughed.

"I ship it," Reagan commented cheekily from across.

"She's even blushing! You're a bad girl, Ness." One of the cheerleaders gushed.

"Guys," I tried to say calmly. I was failing though, I looked terribly flustered. "He's just a friend."

It was two weeks after the party and in those two weeks, I busied myself with my jobs and my studies. Andrew got really angry again, telling me to work harder and to earn more.

Also, I didn't want to think about Mason. Thinking about him made my heart go frantic and my mind get distracted, so I tried my best to do other stuff rather than think about him.

They ignored my statement.

"But why him?" Lynn asked. "I mean, aren't you too good for him? No offense to him though."

"Hey," Charles quipped, breaking away from his conversation with the girl he was currently fooling around with. "That's my cousin you're talking about."

"True though," Madison agreed. "Isn't he a little downgrading for you? You're popular and pretty, you could do a lot better."

The others nodded in agreement.

I didn't feel so friendly anymore. How dare they look down on Mason? If anyone was downgrading me, it was them. And this was the second time, I wasn't going to be so forgiving now.

Miley placed a hand on my shoulder, calming me down from yelling at them.

"Let's talk about another thing, yeah?" she offered. Lynn and Madison shrugged before talking about a different topic.

I still felt angry though. I couldn't believe they thought he wasn't good for me. He was actually too good for me. I hated how much they look down on him just because he wasn't friendly. I bet he was even richer than all of them combined.

Phillip's voice dragged me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see him standing on his chair, yelling, "Party at my house tonight! Everyone's invited!"

Everyone cheered, excited for Phillip's party.  His party was the best since he owned a huge mansion, and he knew how to handle the booze. He was well-known for throwing wild parties because everyone attended his parties. Everything happened there.

"We are so going," Christine whispered to Miley, Reagan and I. They enthusiastically nodded in agreement. I, however, was a little reluctant.

I wasn't a fan of drinking because of my experience with Andrew. I didn't want to do anything I'd regret.