||Fireheart||
The day was mostly a blur of class after class. Struggling to remember what class I had next and how to get there, what the teacher's name was, and where I should sit. I was tense with nerves, practically trembling with the force of my worry.
On the bright side, there was at least one bright side to my morning. On my way to algebra, I passed this girl in the hall. I'd passed several girls in the hall all day, and just about all of them were really pretty, but the second I saw this girl it was like every other girl paled in comparison to her. I didn't even know how to explain her beauty. Her hair was a long, silky brown with just the right amount of wave to it; her eyes were dark brown and very large, ringed with eyeliner she didn't need. She was wearing a long-sleeved tee that hugged her body, and a simple black skirt that showed the long, slender legs underneath.
And when she saw me looking at her, she gave me a smile that could melt any man's heart. I had to really focus to get myself to smile back without drooling stupidly on myself. I was such an idiot.
Then she was gone. That quickly we'd walked past each other and she was headed in the other direction, and I was nothing but another guy to her. Damn, why did I have to be such a dork?
After that, my day went just about normally until lunch. It was a relief to get to have lunch. A break from all the absolute terror of the rest of the day. I just wanted to calmly find somewhere to eat and-
And that most definitely wasn't going to happen. I don't know how everyone else managed to get to the cafeteria so fast, but it looked packed. Not a single seat wasn't taken. People were cramming themselves into every table, and they were filling fast. There was no way I'd be able to quietly sit alone. I wanted to curl up somewhere and die.
Why couldn't I have been homeschooled? I wondered with a sigh as I slowly made my way down the aisles and aisles of tables. I could be home right now, giving myself my lessons and eating whatever I found in the fridge. At least then I wouldn't have to face this mob of idiots.
Somehow, though, I managed to get lucky. "Fireheart!" I heard someone call. I spun around and there was Graystripe, sitting at a table and waving me over to join him. I didn't even hesitate before dropping down into one of the empty seats. "You looked lost," Graystripe commented mildly.
"I felt lost," I admitted without shame. "How did you find an empty table?"
Graystripe shrugged. "I don't exactly know the science behind it, but I do know that there's always at least one table that's available." He grinned at me. "Cheer up. Look at it this way: You'll never have to face the mob again!"
"What do you mean?" I asked, dubious. I'd still be coming back tomorrow, and so would everyone else. The "mob" wouldn't suddenly go away.
Graystripe patiently explained. "Where you sit on the first day is typically where you'll sit for the rest of the year. People don't usually switch it up. So everyone here has claimed their seat, and you've claimed yours."
That did sound good, but I was hoping that wouldn't come around to bite me later. I liked Graystripe, most definitely, but I'd only just met him today. However, I didn't think he seemed like the menacing, stab-your-back type.
I also noticed that we weren't alone at the table. Another guy was sitting with us, though I had to wonder if he was old enough to even be in high school. He was at least a head shorter than me, and even though I was a pretty skinny guy, this kid was even skinnier. He wasn't looking at either of us, just staring at his food. Graystripe caught me looking and said, "Oh, yeah, this is Ravenpaw. Ravenpaw, this is Fireheart, the new guy."
Ravenpaw looked up, his shaggy black hair falling into his eyes. "Hi," he said, giving me a shy smile. I tried to return a much warmer smile, but he looked away again, like he was nervous.
Graystripe rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't mind him. He's just shy. He'll warm up to you, I promise."
We ate in silence, Graystripe and Ravenpaw with their bought lunches, me with my packed lunch. Graystripe was talking away, when I noticed her again. She was walking away from the lunch line, surrounded by a pack of girls that were chattering away. She seemed to be the only one not talking, but she had a small smile on her face.
Graystripe followed my gaze. "That's Spottedleaf," he informed me.
I wasn't sure how to respond. "She's cute," I managed to say casually. Graystripe knew better though.
"Yeah, she is. But she's off limits," he warned. I tried to look like I didn't know what he was talking about, but Graystripe knew too much. "I saw how you were looking at her, all moony-eyed, and I'm just saying, you can't go there."
"Why?" I asked curiously. "Does she have a boyfriend?"
Graystripe shrugged. "Who knows? But she's a senior. Not just a senior, but a Popular senior." He said Popular like it needed a capital letter. When I still looked confused at his point, he sighed and motioned to the table where Spottedleaf had sat. She was in the center of the girls, listening to a girl with hair so black it seemed to shine blue. "Those girls? They're in their own kind of girl gang. They basically run the school, and they only date jocks and Popular guys. There's no way you'd get Spottedleaf to go out with you."
Graystripe seemed to notice how bad that sounded and back tracked. "I don't mean that like you're so bad or something, I just know how those girls are. There are lots of other cute girls, though. I think you should ask out of one them."
I wasn't really concerned with any of that though. I was watching the other girls sitting with them. Graystripe began to point them all out. "That girl talking to Spottedleaf? She's Bluestar, and she basically leads those girls." He pointed out another girl with hair so blonde it was almost white, and was so long it reached her waist. "That's Silverstream."
I noticed another girl sitting among them. She was pretty, but I could see that one whole side of her face was red and her hair was combed down to cover her eye. "Who's that?" I asked, perplexed.
Graystripe's gaze softened when he looked at her. "That's Brightheart. She's really nice. She was in an accident and part of her face was burned. It's a real shame. She was real pretty." Actually, she still was. Even with the scars on her face, you could see how beautiful she was.
Another girl sat down with the group, and Graystripe let out a derisive snort. "Looks like Sandstorm weaseled her way into their good graces, huh?" he said, nudging Ravenpaw.
"Sandstorm?" I asked, perplexed.
"In our grade," Graystripe explained. "Snotty enough to belong in their group."
Ravenpaw nodded. "She definitely belongs among them." I didn't know what was wrong with this Sandstorm girl, but apparently these two didn't think much of her. I guessed I wouldn't like her either, but I would, of course, give her a chance.
||Spottedleaf||
Bluestar was going over the happenings of our first day like it was her job. It was driving me crazy, but I'd never say anything. Her popularity was too important to her for her to let any detail go overlooked. While it'd never meant much to me, I'd never take away something she cared about so much.
"So, girls, any discoveries?" she was asking as we sat around her kitchen table, drinking some kind of fruity drink.
"Only Sandstorm," Silverstream admitted with a sigh. I wasn't quite a fan of Sandstorm's attitude, but I had a feeling that deep down she couldn't be so bad. In the end, it would be Bluestar's decision whether we accepted her in or not.
"We'll need to scope out more freshmeat tomorrow," Bluestar said absently. "Any cute new guys?"
I was suddenly flashed back to today in the hall. I'd passed that one boy. I heard from someone he was a new guy named Fireheart, but I didn't know anything else about him. But I did see him staring at me at lunch. Without thinking I said, "That boy, Fireheart, was cute."
All the girls looked at me like I was crazy, even Brightheart. Bluestar was the one to speak up. "You can't like him, Spottedleaf."
I felt myself prickling at the comment, but I made my voice remain calm. "Bluestar, this isn't Mean Girls. You can't tell us who to like."
She shrugged. "I'm just saying, he's a freshman. A little young for you, don't you think?"
A freshman? How disappointing. He really had been cute.
Silverstream spoke up before I could. "Oh, Spottedleaf, why don't you just date Clawface? You know he wants to date you again."
I wrinkled my nose at the idea. "God, no. Once was enough for me. He's a creep."
"A cute creep," Brightheart said dreamily.
Maybe he was, but I'd never make that mistake again. It looked like I'd be staying single for a while longer thing, as long as Fireheart was just a freshman.
Just then Bluestar's front door opened and a handsome, muscley boy with russet brown hair came sauntering into the room with a grin on his face. Bluestar's boyfriend, Oakheart, was here, which meant it was time for the rest of us to leave.
On cue, Bluestar began to herd us to the door. "Shoo, guys. I'll pick you up tomorrow, 'kay?" She winked at us and blew us kisses as she pushed us out the door. Her parents would be home soon, so she only had so much time with Oakheart before they'd be home and could catch her. Rolling my eyes, I followed the other girls out the door.
