“Well, if it hurts that much, don’t do it,” Julie Peterson sniped, rolling her eyes around her freckled face as she turned away from him and back toward the three girls she was standing with. “So anyway, I call up my cousin and she’s dating this guy named Walter. She said that she tried to call him the night before, but that she couldn’t get through because she said he said he was in a no call zone. What an idiot, right? Only no call zone is out with the trailer trash on the TR. Might as well just admit to...”
Lawrence let the conversation fade into the background, slowly dissipating into a dull mumble as he let his gaze flitter up and over the girls with his big brown eyes, a slow smirk growing to the left of his mouth.
Julie’s light brown hair fell down onto her thin shoulders, just touching the top of the pink shirt she wore. It looked to be about two sizes too small for her, and he thanked heaven for growth spurts as he examined the small, heart-shaped emblem on the center of her chest. Her jeans clung tightly to her diminutive hips, so form fitting that they didn’t even have pockets, just smooth denim travelling down her long legs and withdrawing into the black leather cowboy boots she’d taken to wearing lately. She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she spoke, trying to find a comfortable position to stand on the cracked, shattered sidewalk as she continued with her story.
Jesse Newhook nodded along, smiling politely as she listened to Julie. She had short black hair that had been braided on the back and sides, yet gelled into spikes on the front. Her eyeliner was a deep purple and had been layered on thick, offset by shimmering pink lip-gloss that winked at him every time she moved her head. It was an odd combination that somehow managed to work for her. She wore a Coral Beach Cougars sweatshirt so big that it didn’t stop until it reached her knees, hiding even the shorts underneath it and showing only her bare, shivering legs. His eyes lingered on them for a moment, then travelled back up until they met with hers before moving on.
Nancy Kelly was a strawberry blonde with hair that went straight down to the base of her spine, moving and flowing with her when she laughed. Her smile seemed too bright for the size of her petite, heart-shaped face, with the sides of it almost touching her eyes at times. Her nose was cute and turned upward, even though from what he’d seen of her so far, her attitude was anything but. She was still wearing the dull brown, grease-smelling uniform from the restaurant she worked at, not even caring how she looked and somehow looking beautiful all the same. His gaze focused on her and stayed there, watching her as his mind drifted slowly into fantasy.
“Ahem,” Julie coughed dramatically, tapping her foot as she glared down at him. “Got comfortable, did we?”
He raised an eyebrow to her, then sat back up and placed his hands in his lap. “Um... Yeah.” He blushed, tossing a smirk at Nancy.
She smiled back, regarding him for only a moment before she resumed her conversation with Jesse.
Julie scoffed at Nancy, then turned her scowl back towards Lawrence. “Why’re you here again?”
“Free country,” he shrugged, running a hand through his long, black hair.
Julie shot him a look.
“Relaxing before my Chem test,” he amended quickly, pushing off the stairs and getting to his feet. “But I get the feeling I may be able to do that someplace else.”
“You must be psychic,” she drawled sarcastically, sticking out her tongue at him as she turned back toward her friends.
He stepped forward to say something else, then stopped himself and let out a sigh. Frowning as his shoulders drooped, he turned and started walking toward the corner, kicking stones off the sidewalk as he went.
Nancy’s gaze followed him for a second, the smile fading from her lips until Julie began to talk again.
“So, anyway, I’m there at home and then there’s this knock on my door and it’s them, and I’m like, what the hell? What are you doing in my house?”
Nancy nodded, not really hearing what was being said anymore.
Jesse looked from Nancy to Julie and then back again, cursing softly to herself. “I gotta hit the washroom,” she said under her breath, stepping between the two and heading around the corner.
“Whatev,” Julie piped, making a little ‘w’ with the thumb and forefinger of each hand without even realizing she was doing it, then continuing on with her story.
Jesse jogged around the corner, seeing Lawrence just up the street. When she thought she was a safe distance from the girls, she called out to him. “Hogan!”
He stopped, turning around quickly. His hands were up as if to block something, but he loosened quickly upon seeing the semi-gothic brunette stepping up towards him, almost out of breath already. “Jesse? What’s goin’ on?”
She stopped a foot shy of him, pausing to consider her words. After a moment, she bit her bottom lip, realizing she had no idea what she wanted to say. Huffing, she grabbed him by the arm of his shirt and pulled him between two buildings. “Look... she likes you. Okay? She won’t say she likes you, but she likes you.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, brushing the tip of his nose and smirking to himself.
Her dark eyes darted around
