•PHOTOGRAPHIC•| Photogenic series #1✔️

Chapter 9

•CHAPTER 9•
November 6
Wednesday, 11:00 a.m

Like a machine on autopilot I made my way to the lunchroom. My mind was on overdrive this morning, too much going on. Friday's game is closing up on us and Coach is riding us hard. Sage is becoming too engrossed in whoever this "guy" is she's texting. And to make matters worse: mom and dad were arguing more.

I sat down at an empty table in the cafe since I was the first to arrive. One thing my dad said kept ringing in my mind: "how could you!? And with him!" They obviously thought no one was home but we all heard them loud and clear.

"Jade Nalani, are you okay?" I looked up to see Mark about to sit beside me.

"Yes, just a lot going on in my head." I joked as I gave him a thin smile.

"You know what's depressing?" Mark tilted his head to the side as he looked at me. "The fact that you would rather joke and give me a fake smile instead of telling me what's really going on."

To say I was shook was an understatement, I was beyond shooketh! All jokes aside, Mark had the ability of reading me even when I don't want him to. I knew he was right, I was always putting on a fake smile.

"There are plenty of things and people who makes me depress, but you are not one of them. I don't mean to brush my feelings aside; I just don't know how else to let them out." I leaned my head back onto his shoulder as I leaned my back into his chest.

Mark held me as he looked down at me, "Well start by speaking to me."

"I could say the same thing," Gabe said as he took a seat across from me.

"What do you want?" Mark asked aggressively.

I never knew Mark to get aggressive but I knew my place with him, and he was always overprotective of me.

"I don't believe I was talking to you, Mack," Gabe turned his attention towards me and how I was laying up with Mark.

"It's Mark, Gabe and you already know that." I rolled my eyes at his childish antics.

Gabe was not officially forgiven and I don't think I would ever be close to him again.

"Yeah well, you know how petty I love being." He smiled as he held eye contact with me.

"Gabe, miss me with that bullshit," I moved my hair from out my face. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you, for us to be cool again." Mark looked over at Gabe like he grown 4 heads.

"That's not going to happen," Mark shrugged nonchalantly.

"Again, I wasn't talking to you." Gabe snapped at him.

"Look, I can't trust you Gabe. It's not a matter of who did what or who didn't do anything. I trusted you and what did you do with that trust? You betrayed me. As my friend you was supposed to tell me that next day what happened, so that not only could I have told my parents...I could have gotten clean." I gripped tightly into the arm Mark had wrapped around me.

I looked into Gabe's green eyes, the same eyes that used to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand alert whenever he was near. But right now I didn't really feel anything towards him, not even in the slightest.

"Yo! You okay?" I look over Gabe to see Cameron and Alec making their way over here.

"Yeah, I'm cool!" I gritted my teeth and looked up at Mark.

He hadn't said a word, I knew how he felt when it came to me. I also knew that he didn't like when I pushed my feelings to the side to make others feel better.