Four Doors Down(50)
After that, they were friendlier, exchanging greetings when they passed in the hall and pausing for small talk every now and again. I, of course, kept on ignoring him whenever she spoke to him when I was there. I was annoyed that he was encroaching on my life. Sam was my friend, not his. But even I couldn’t ignore that he’d been good to her and kept his word about keeping her out of our school’s pathetic gossip system.
I suppose I was grateful that he came and found me to help her rather than going to a teacher or to one of the guidance counselors. I briefly wondered how he’d known which class I would be in when he was looking for me and decided it must have been coincidence and he had gotten lucky.
Shortly afterward, Sam met Chris, and he’s great for her. At first, she wasn’t interested, thinking she had too much school work to deal with to date, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer and pursued her until she eventually gave in and agreed to a date. They’ve been together ever since. He’s so laid back and carefree and he brings that out in Sam. He really cares about her and anyone with a brain can see that they adore each other. He’s a really good caring guy, and I honestly think they might go the distance as a couple. I hope so. They’re the best couple I know.
Chris, Sam, and Charlie all start laughing at something and this pulls me out of my daze. Charlie, noticing that I’ve not been paying attention, playfully reaches out and wraps his hand around the hair from my ponytail and tugs me over to him, planting a sloppy kiss on the side of my head. I laugh at this, but when I glance up, my expression changes when I notice Katie Thompson has walked in followed by her boyfriend John, then Mason, Jake, and Bianca.
I turn back to Charlie, knowing that we’re sitting at the back of the restaurant so they probably won’t notice us.
“Hey, guys!” Katie Thompson is standing next to our table. She grins down at us and then slides into the space next to Charlie. Unfortunately, we’re at one of the massive booths so there is space for them to join us. “I’m Katie,” she introduces herself to Charlie and Chris, “one of Becca and Sam’s friends from school.”
I cock an eyebrow at Sam who smirks back at me. Friend is definitely an exaggeration. I mean, she’s been nothing but nice to me since I hung out with her at Ryan’s house, but I wouldn’t say we were friends. Charlie turns and smiles at her, not looking at all bothered that she’s squeezed in next to him. I can’t really blame him. Katie’s gorgeous.
Chris smiles at her too, then when he turns around, his grin gets bigger as he notices the guys and he jumps up to greet them, looking genuinely happy to see them. My eyes flash to Sam in surprise. I had no idea he knew them. She just shrugs in return and mouths “Mason’s party” at me. Ah, Chris went with Sam to the party at Mason’s house after that football game. That makes sense then.
Katie carries on introducing everyone to Charlie and they all exchange niceties. Jake squeezes in beside me and I turn to face him, tuning out the conversation going on around me.
“Please tell me you’re not here with Bianca Gallagher,” I whisper to him. I know they run in the same crowd, but I’d noticed recently whenever I see that group, she’s always near him. I know he’d been seeing that Zara girl from the Madison party I went to but didn’t know what was happening with that. “I do not approve,” I tell him. Bianca Gallagher is Jessica Murphy’s number one lackey and, as far as I can tell, doesn’t have a brain of her own.
He rolls his eyes at me. “Well maybe I don’t approve of your boyfriend,” he tells me back and I send him a dirty look. Why on earth would Jake not approve of Charlie? He’s only just met him and knows next to nothing about him.
“Maybe you could have a spiritual connection and make love?” I throw back, referring to the last time I saw her in Sal’s. Jake laughs at my reaction and reaches out and playfully pushes me away, palm to face. I grin at him and shove him back, but the smile is wiped from my face when I look up and see Ryan walk in holding hands with Jessica Murphy.
I immediately drop my head, hoping they won’t see us, and when I look back up, they’ve stopped to chat with some other students from our school by the door. Of course, I’m not lucky enough that they just go and sit in a booth on their own; the fact that their best friends are currently with us means that they’re immediately noticed.
“Hey, Jackson, down here!” John calls.
Ryan looks our way and I swear I see a flash of annoyance in his eyes when he sees me with his friends, which just pisses me off further. Guess what, Ryan? I don’t want to see you either. We’ve managed to avoid each other since our fight at the beach. Here I was enjoying pizza and good conversation with my friends when his friends turn up, butt in and now bring him over too.
Ryan walks toward us and although I glare at him the whole time, he doesn’t look at me once. He tugs Jessica along behind him who happily follows. They stop just behind Chris, who jumps up and greets Ryan like a long lost brother. I can’t help sending a scowl in Sam’s direction; she just smirks back at me. She knows I’ll hate having Ryan here and doesn’t even know about our latest fight. I manage to stifle a groan of annoyance at this whole situation.
“And this is Jess,” Katie continues to Charlie. Apparently she’s decided to be chief introducer for the group. “And that’s Ryan, one of Becca’s good friends. They’re neighbors and grew up together. Were best friends for years, right, guys?” she continues, grinning wickedly at Ryan. I nearly choke on the sip of Coke I’ve just taken, and it takes Jake banging on my back and Sam shoving some water in my face to get my coughing fit under control.