Whispers In The Dark

Jessiah

Jessiah

Every day, I held Anna's hand. Every day, the six of us sat together; Anna, Robin, Victoria, Reximus, Riley, and I. Every day, we became more a group of friends, and less a bunch of strangers that sat at the same table.

We were shocked to discover that Riley wasn't the bitch that she let everyone believe she was. It took a few days, but soon she began opening up to us and joining in the conversations that we had, even laughing and smiling at dirty jokes and nonsense. When she did speak, it was mostly to Victoria, but she had said something to all of us at least once, I think.

Victoria warmed up to everyone the quickest. She teased Robin about his gloomy manner and stole his cigarettes when she could, though I don’t think she ever smoked them. She constantly embarrassed Reximus with her loud voice and excitement, drawing more attention than he would have liked. She gushed over Anna and I's relationship, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye and claiming that she could "practically hear wedding bells, already", when she first found out. She joked with Riley and did her best to bring her out of her shell. She brought liveliness to the group.

Robin was quiet most of the time, but he cracked smiles when Victoria teased him and rolled his eyes when she stole his cigarettes and stuffed them in her combat boots. He smirked when Reximus blushed and even teased the boy a bit himself. When Victoria commented on our relationship, his eyes glistened and he smiled slyly, and the thought that maybe he knew we would end up together since the beginning crossed my mind. He didn't do much that related to Riley, and things were always a bit tense between them.

Reximus was always blushing and smiling. Sometimes, he would have a bruise on his arm or his face, but they became fewer and fewer as Victoria's temper grew and Robin became more agitated. I assumed that they took care of it together, whenever they could. He was active in conversations and often said that Victoria was "being ridiculous and over exaggerating", especially when she complained about having to go to class.

Anna and I were always together, except for when we had classes apart and I truly couldn't meet with her without being late to class. We had yet to spend time together outside of school since our date at the pet store, but I definitely wouldn't have minded doing it again.

She was still shy and she blushed as much as Reximus did, but I could see that she was becoming comfortable at our table of six. She was speaking up more and chipping into jokes. It was amazing.

And then, nearly two weeks after Riley had joined our table, her reason for leaving her old table walked over.

We didn't notice Jeremiah coming, but we had noticed that he had been watching our table since Riley had joined. We hadn't said anything of it, as not to set off Riley, but I was sure that she had noticed it, too.

He stopped at the end of the table, where Riley and Victoria were sitting. The conversation ceased as we saw him. His gaze was focused on Riley, however.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

Riley looked at her hands and shook her head softly.

Jeremiah shuffled his feet uncertainly. "Okay, uh... You should come back to our table. We miss you."

Victoria glared at him. "She said she doesn't want to talk to you," she snapped.

Jeremiah narrowed his eyes. "You aren't a part of this."

Victoria stood up and got close to his face. "I am now, asshole. Back off before I make you."

Reximus grabbed her arm and pulled her down into her seat. "Calm down, please," he murmured. "Don't get in trouble."

Victoria and Jeremiah were still having a glaring-match when Robin, surprisingly, spoke up.

"Get the hell away from here," he snarled. "Don't come back."

Jeremiah didn't budge.

Robin stood and slammed his hands onto the table. "Go!"

With one last look to Riley, Jeremiah left; the table, the cafeteria, and hopefully, the school.

Robin sat down, again. We all looked to him in shock. He shrugged.

"Ugh," Victoria huffed, looking back to Riley. She attempted a crooked smile. "He isn't that good looking, anyway."