the strings

:: two ::

One of the strings that comes with love is that you constantly have to reaffirm your love for your significant other in public. Which not only grosses us all out, but I'm sure it gets pretty annoying.

Like right now I'm watching Logan feed Nat's lunch to her and I'm like 99.9 percent sure I'm about to be sick all over the lunch table. 

Can we not.

I clear my throat as Nat starts giggling and I wrinkle my nose, "Not that this wasn't lovely, but I have some homework I need to take care of and I'm getting the impression you two want to be left alone."

 I pick up my tray amidst Nat's halfhearted protests, and Logan's smile of thanks. 

Couples. Ew.

I love Nat to death, but no. Just no.

I set my stuff down at a vacant table, pulling out my English homework I'm trying to work through. I'm technically ahead, but whatever.

I pull Beowulf out of my bag and cross my legs indian style in my chair, pulling my beanie down over my ears and shrugging my hoodie sleeves down over my fingers. It's times like these when I can almost convince myself that I'm not at school but really at my house with a cup of coffee and hours and hours to read and no obnoxious people and schoolwork.

I begin to lose myself in the story, the loud sounds of the cafeteria slowly drifting away. 

That is until someone flicks my book and I jump three feet in the air. (Slight exaggeration, but whatever.)

I lower my book slowly, to see the face of the new guy behind my book.

I sigh, rolling my eyes and setting my book down. "Can I help you?"

He chuckles, "Why do you seem personally offended every time I try to talk to you?"

I run my fingers over the cover of my book, trying to draw comfort from it. "Why do you continue to try to talk to me?"

He raises an eyebrow, setting his elbows on the table and leaning his face into his palms, staring directly at me. "You can't answer my question with a question, that's not playing fair."

I pick up my book and stand up, offering him a small sly smile, "Who said anything about playing fair? I didn't even know this was a game."

I walk away, face falling in anything but confidence as I turn, heartbeat racing at 4 million miles an hour. I'm almost to the door when I hear him call from behind me, "You've made it a game, ginger- girl. Prepare to lose."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natalie is talking at me about what happened in the lunchroom, since everyone is infatuated by the new boy and he was yelling at me, and Nat wants all the details and to be honest I zoned out like three essays worth of words ago.

She finally takes a breath and I raise my eyebrows, slamming my locker door, "Ya done?"

She sticks her hands on her hips, "Please don't chase him away. He's very nice to look at. Like dang."

I scoff, "Okay," the sarcasm thickly lacing all four letters of the word.

We're on our way to this stupid meeting, and I'm already planning on helping her get everyone's attention and then skipping out. I might stay for five minutes just to pacify her, but then I'm out.

We walk into the gym where the seniors are all congregated for the most part, talking and chattering. 

I follow Nat to the front of the bleachers and she shuffles through some paper she has, and then nods to me.