Blank

Six

______________

S I X
_______________

Taking a deep breath, I clutched onto my lunch bag and stepped into the cafeteria towards our usual table.

Oliver followed behind me with his own lunch. He watched me carefully, stepping with slow steps behind me.

His foot hit my heel and I tripped a bit, but caught myself. "Sorry, my mistake," He stepped back quickly and waited for me to speak.

"It's fine," I huffed and continued to the table. I waited for Oliver and then sat down next to him.

Since he was new, he hadn't met anyone yet and I usually let the new kids sit with us until they found their usual friend group. However, I was nervous about it. Today it was clearly different.

Kacen was eating in complete silence and Thea was doing homework. Her food was abandoned next to her, not even a single carrot had been touched, which made me feel anxious.

"Um, hi. Hope it's okay if I sit with you guys today?" Oliver waited for an answer but didn't get a response from either of them, so he just sat and began eating his food.

"You've known him for what? Ten minutes? And you're already inviting him to our table?" Kacen scoffed and Thea slammed her pencil onto the table.

"Seriously, she always does this!" Thea grabbed a carrot and started crunching down on it anxiously. The carrots satisfying crunch seemed to calm Thea enough to continue eating.

"I'm sorry, I can sit somewhere else-" Oliver started to stand when Kacen answered.

"Please do!" Kacen rolled his eyes and ran his fingers down his face.

"No, please don't. I'm sorry, you shouldn't have to be put in the middle of this," I grabbed onto Oliver's arm so he wouldn't leave. Even though I barely knew him I felt like I was going to need all the support I could get, and he just happened to be there at the right moment.

He sat back down and watched Kacen's glare darken. "Can't we just eat?" Thea snapped another carrot in-between her teeth.

"Whatever you do, don't fall for her, she doesn't have a mark like yours - I'm sure of that. Oh, but I'm sure she's already told you all about it." Kacen growled, shoving his tray of food towards Thea and running his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, uh-" I didn't let Oliver finish before standing up.

"We need to talk. Now!" I started walking towards the doors, my heart racing at my sudden urge. After a minute Kacen finally gave in - thanks to Thea's deathly glare.

As soon as we made it into the empty hall, I continued to walk until we made it outside. Looking both ways and glancing towards the cameras, making sure they weren't the kind to carry sound, I took a deep breathe.

"What the heck, Kacen? I tried to be understanding and give you time-"

"So this is my fault now?" He cut in, rolling his eyes. He turned away from me, his hand in his hair as it was when he had any sign of confliction at his fingertips. "I'm not the one keeping such secrets and leading you right off a cliff."