Chapter Two

Nik, Addam, and I start to head towards the parking lot as Anderson continues his taunting. "I honestly don't understand why you guys are fawning over this bitch, she ain't nothing special."

"Not everyone has the same outlook on people as you do, Anderson." I say shaking my head

"Maybe they should, especially when the alternative is social suicide." He replies meanly.

"Fuck you, Anderson." I retort with a sneer.

"No thanks, loser may be contagious." He replies.

"It wasn't an offer, you stupid son of a bitch, I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole, I wouldn't want to contract whatever disease you have, and even then, a ten-foot pole is probably not enough distance." I shoot back.

Anderson stands there and stares at me as if I had doused him with ice-cold water from the coldest part of the North Pole. "Wh-what do you me-mean?" He asks as if taken off guard.

I scoff at him and roll my eyes walking past him through the hallway to the parking lot. "I'm not going to spell it out for you, you're a big boy, I'm sure you can figure it out on your own." I reply over my shoulder leaving him standing there looking dumbfounded.

"Well guys, thanks for the help, but I must be on my way to my dreaded appointment." I say hugging Nik goodbye and nodding at Addam. "You two enjoy the rest of your day."

"What appointment?" Addam asks innocently.

I sigh "a counseling appointment, not something I like talking about."

"I completely understand, you don't have to tell me." He replies nervously.

I smile at him "Thanks for understanding."

We reach Freyja's car as my cell starts to ring. "Hello?" I answer.

"Falencia, Glad I caught you! I'm going to have to reschedule our appointment for another time, is that ok with you?" Sarah, my counselor says.

"Oh yeah, that's perfectly fine, when were you thinking?" I ask

"I'll get back to you on that, I'm not in front of my calendar currently." She says, it sounds like she may be driving as there is a slight echo when I talk leading me to believe that she's in her car.

"Oki doki" I reply smiling "That's absolutely no issue, I hope everything's ok?"

"Everything is fine; I just had a small thing come up. I won't be in the office at all this week and possibly most of next." She replies.

"Alright, thank you for calling to let me know and we'll talk soon." I respond then end the call feeling relieved at not having to go to my appointment.

I look up as Freyja and Cherie come up to the car "I don't have my appointment today." I say cheerfully, happy that I don't have to go anymore.

"Oh?' Freyja asks.

"Yeah, apparently she had something come up." I reply.

"That's awesome, I know you didn't really want to go today anyway, so, what are your plans now then?" She asks.

I shrug, "I honestly don't know why? What are you planning Frey?" I ask knowing that she's trying to keep me in the dark about something.

"What are you talking about? I'm not planning anything." She replies innocently.

"Uh, huh." I reply unconvinced.

"I promise." She says crossing her heart.

I shrug "Ok then, I honestly don't know now, I was thinking of going home and taking a nap, but if I nap, I don't think I'll sleep tonight."

"You could come hang out with me over at my place." Nik says smiling.

I look at him suspiciously, "Seriously, what are you guys planning? you are all acting suspicious."

They all throw their hands up "You could show me around town?" Addam chimes in, making me jump a little since I thought he had already left.

Freyja and Cherie snap their heads towards Addam and eye him with dubious looks. "And who are you?" Cherie asks protectively, which takes me by surprise.

"Oh, my name is Addam Danvers, I'm new here." He replies extending his hand out.

Cherie looks at him with a cold look, not something she usually does, especially when it comes to me. "nice to meet you, what are your intentions with our Falencia here?" She asks, making me choke on air.

"Excuse me?" I ask incredulously, looking at Cherie with what I believe to be a dumbfounded look on my face.

"I'm just protecting you hon, he could be a serial killer for all we know." She says as if it's the most normal thing in the world.

"Cher, you watch way too many crime shows." I reply laughing.

"Don't worry Cher, he's a good guy, he's a friend of my mom's." Freyja replies.

"How come I don't remember him?" I ask looking at her confused.

"They lived here before you came to live with us." She says smiling sweetly, but I feel that there is more to it than what she is telling me.

"Hey baby!" Justin says as he slides his arms around Freyja's waist, he's your typical jock, quarterback of the football team, captain of the Basketball team, runner in track, captain of the swim team, and even plays tennis. He's not overly muscular but enough to show off through his football jersey, his dark auburn hair is shaggy but cut nicely to show that he's not a scoundrel. His blue jeans are tight in all the right places but loose in the places that matter.

"Hey love, how was your day?" Freyja asks leaning her head against his chest.

"Not too bad, just getting ready for this Friday's game." He says then whispers something in her ear that I can't hear. "Hey Falencia." He says smiling.

"Hey Justin." I reply back with a friendly tone but still eyeing them suspiciously.

Cherie's boyfriend, Derek, is typing away on his phone completely ignoring us. I give Cherie a look as if to ask 'what's up with him?' when he looks up and pulls Cherie away from the group.

I watch the couple curiously, wondering what on earth they're talking about. Cherie's cheerful face contorts into a mask of woe and uncertainty. As they split ways, her beautiful features are plastered with cheerfulness once again, "Hey Falencia, since it's your birthday and you no longer have anything to do, would you want to go shopping with us at the mall? I mean if you don't have anything already planned." She replies smiling.

I nod at her smiling, still wondering what happened between her and Derek. "Sure, that sounds like a fun trip. I could use some new clothes anyway." I reply.

Cherie and Freyja both look at me as if I had grown another head. "Are you serious?" They ask in unison.

I grin, "I can be unpredictable sometimes, it's not like I don't go shopping every now and again." I retort.

"Yeah, but when we ask you to go with us, you're always so against it." Freyja replies.

I smile at them "I know, I'm just feeling like doing something a little bit different today." I reply, "not too different." I add as I see Cherie and Freyja exchange a look, making me even more suspicious. "What are you two planning?" I ask eyeing them.

"Who says we're planning anything?" Freyja asks.

"The look that you two keep exchanging." I reply.

"We haven't exchanged any looks." Freyja retorts defensively.

"uh-huh" I say eyeing them and realize that I'm not going to be getting any of the answers that I am looking for, so I decide to let it go. "I guess we should go ahead and head to the mall."

Freyja and Cherie smile at me and nod "Sure, do you want to include your boyfriends or no?" Freyja asks.

I sigh and rub my temples. "First of all, I do not have a boyfriend, much less two. Second of all, I don't know, I guess I could ask them if they want to tag along with us."

The girls giggle amongst themselves as I turn to the guys. "Hey, do you guys want to go to the mall with us?"

Nik looks at me with amusement. "You're seriously asking if we want to go shopping with you?"

I shrug. "Yeah."

"Dude, you know I hate crowded places, and the mall is going to be crawling with thousands of people." Nik whines.

I give him my best puppy dog pout. "Please Nikky?" I beg, using the nickname I had given him when we were little.

He groans "You suck! You know that I can't resist the puppy face."

I smile "hmmm, no. I really don't." I reply making him think of my sex life, or rather the lack thereof, really making him cringe.

"You went there? Really?" He asks shaking his head trying to get the image out of his head.

I grin "It is my birthday, after all." I reply. "I always win."

"You are lucky I love you." He replies with a groan.

I laugh "I know."

"Fine, but since you are dragging me along on this expedition, you are riding with me." Nik says guiding me to his beat up Ford.

"So, birthday girl, what do you want to do first?" Nik asks as we pull out of the school parking lot.

I shrug, "I'm down for anything to be completely honest." I reply not really caring what we do. I look in the back seat at Addam, "What about you? Any stores that you remember from the big city? We should have it in the mall, even if it's not as big as the one you're used to from back home."

He smiles at me and shrugs "I never really went to the mall back home, I'm kind of a loner, I didn't really hang out with too many people."

We pull into the mall parking lot, and park in the parking garage next to Freyja and Cherie, where they are practicing their cheer for Friday night's game making me cringe slightly "Could you guys be any peppier?" I ask half joking.

"Just be grateful that we are not like some of those bimbo sluts that are on the team." Freyja says looking over her shoulder.

I roll my eyes at Freyja, "true, but you still could dial it back a little, I mean we are in a parking lot for crying out loud."

She looks over her shoulder glaring at me slightly "Our final game of the season, of my whole high school career is this Friday, the day before our prom, we have to make sure that we are doing our due diligence for the team."

I don't get a chance to reply as my phone buzzes in my pocket, I take it out and look at it noticing that I have a text message from Berik 'Hey honey, Happy Birthday! what are you planning to do after school? Your therapist called me and told me that she needed to reschedule. How are you feeling?'

I shake my head at her run on sentences and how she never seems to take a breath in between her musings. I smile and reply 'I'm at the mall with Freyja, Cherie, Nik, and a new guy whose name is Addam. Do you need me to run an errand for you?'

'No, just wondering what your plans were, don't be out too late, I will have dinner ready around 7. Freyja already knows, but I know that she sometimes forgets to convey messages.'

I giggle as I type back to Berik 'Yes, she does tend to forget to tell us things.'

"What's so funny over there?" Nik asks giving me a side glance.

I smile "Berik, asking me what I'm doing now that I don't have my appointment."

'Do you want to invite your other friends for dinner tonight?' Berik asks in yet another message.

I smile "Do you want to come have dinner at my place tonight?" I ask Nik and Addam as we reach the entrance of the mall.

Nik nods "You know I'm always down for Berik's cooking."

"I don't think I have any other pressing matters." Addam replies.

I smile and reply to Berik 'Nik and my new friend Addam will be joining us.'

'Ok honey, thank you for the head count, have fun shopping, do you need or want anything from the grocery store? I'll be going there here soon.'

'We need milk, Freyja forgot to pick some up last night.'

'Oki Doki, I'll be sure to pick some up.'

I turn my phone screen off and smile as I put my phone back into my pocket. "I wonder if she realizes she pretty much told me that there is going to be a birthday party for me when I get home."

Nik laughs "She tends to do that when it comes to your and Freyja's birthday."

I chuckle "Yeah, she's not too good at keeping secrets, unlike Freyja and Cherie, I know that they have something planned, but neither of them will tell me what." I reply, as we walk through the main entrance and head towards the food court so that we can talk about what our plans are.