AN: Sorry guys! This one was freakishly slow, but between school and work, I haven't had much time to update. Let me know what you guys think!
Thank you all so much for your reviews! They keep me going, ya know? ;)
I hope you guys enjoy it! Review are always welcome!
Bad idea indeed. Maybe it would be wise to leave right now. At least she would still have her dignity intact—well, mostly intact.
She hesitated and took a step back, eyes shifting back to the comfort of floor, where all eyes that were on her could no longer be seen. Although she couldn't see them, she could still feel them. She felt as though a snarky comment was needed, but courage seemed to escape her at this very moment.
As she stepped back yet again, she felt a looming presence standing in front of her. She didn't even need to guess to know who it was. Slowly, she peeked up to steal a glance at the man standing in front of her. Yup, you guessed it. It was Adam. However, a piece of her (albeit a very small piece) felt relieved it was him and not one of his friends.
"What're you doing here?" He whispered. Although, she didn't know why he was whispering, as she knew they heard every word he was saying, whether he was whispering or screaming at the top of his lungs.
"I-I thought you said I could join you, and I was a little bored, so I decided to come. But, if I'm intruding, or if you didn't really want me here and you were just being nice..Oh god I feel so stupid. I can leave if you want. No..no I'll just go. I'm sorry..I didn't mean to."
Now she was just rambling. God, she felt like an idiot. He was just being nice to her! Why couldn't she see that? Ugh, no matter how intelligent she was in school, common sense seemed to always escape her. To make matters worse, she would feel her face get warm...which meant she was blushing.
Now coming here really was a bad idea.
Adam obviously caught on and quickly silenced her.
"Hey, hey slow down," he said smiling.
A genuine smile was plastered to his face. She had finally spoken more than a couple words and he was elated.
"It's not that I don't want you here. In fact, I'd really like it if you joined us. I just was a little surprised to see you here, that's all. Please don't assume you weren't wanted. But, if you do want to leave, you may. My offer still stands though."
His no longer needed to whisper, as conversation returned to normal in the room behind him, and the TV volume was blasted. She was thankful they caught her feeling of awkwardness. If they were listening, they were doing an amazing job of not showing it.
She considered his offer again. On one hand, she could just leave and not worry about making an idiot..well MORE of an idiot of herself. On the other hand, she really needed company, and this was the only option available to her at the moment.
She was deep in thought, staring straight ahead at..well him, considering he was blocking the view of everything else.
"Angie?" He said softly, trying not scare her.
"I think...I think I'd like to stay. If you don't mind," she muttered, feeling the blush creep back to her face.
"Of course I don't mind!" He exclaimed. A little too enthusiastic for Angie's taste, but he was beaming and looked like a kid in a candy store. How can anyone say no to that?
Adam stepped aside to reveal the living room, and her insides began to sink. Everyone was looking at her once again. Her eyes nervously searched for a place to look to avoid their gazes, but she was quickly failing.
Just as the thought of leaving crept into her thoughts for the millionth time, Angie felt something on her back. She looked over to her left to see Adam staring back at her with a reassuring smile. And it was his hand that was gently placed on her lower back. Now normally, she would have screamed and yelled at the person touching her to the point where they were mentally scarred. She hated physical contact...it just wasn't her thing. Hugs, handshakes, kisses all repulsed her. Sometimes a high five would be justified, but those only lasted a fraction of a second. However, this, THIS was different. It was almost calming..almost.
"Guys..this is Angie. Some of you may remember her from way back when," Adam said. He seemed almost proud to Angie. She mentally rolled her eyes.
She was greeted with a few smiles, hand waves and a couple of 'hellos.' After that, they all returned to their normal conversation. They all seemed friendly enough. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
"Are you doing alright?" He asked quietly.
She looked up at him once again. Trying to maintain eye contact, she nodded. She needed to prove to herself and him that she wasn't nervous. It was working—to an extent. She still felt a tad nervous, but she could still feel her confidence easily overtake that.
Adam dropped his hand from her back and led her to where he was seated several minutes earlier. As they approached, Adam's friend quickly got up from the recliner that he was sitting on—which was conveniently located next to the couch Adam was sitting on.
"Oh," she muttered. "You didn't have to do that. It's okay..I'm okay..I can easily sit on the floor..or a chair."
Both Adam and his friend laughed.
"How rude would I be if I didn't move and offer you my seat?" Said the unknown friend, who was still laughing at her comment. "Besides, those guys are annoyingly loud. I'd probably punch them if I didn't move anyways." He was smiling, and Angie guessed he was picturing punching said friends in the face by the amused look he had on his face.
Angie couldn't help but smile back.
"I'm Chris by the way." He stretched out his hand, clearly for Angie to shake.
It felt a bit formal, but she shook hands with him anyways for the sake of Adam and not trying to be rude. Besides, he was being really friendly, and she would seem like a complete jerk if she ignored him.
"Angie," she said politely to him.
He laughed again. "I know. Adam was just telling-"
He stopped abruptly. That amused look slowly leaving his face, being replaced by a wicked smirk. However, he said nothing else, and the amused look quickly returned.
Angie turned to look at Adam, but as she did, his gaze quickly shifted from Chris' back to her. She could've sworn she saw a look of anger on his face, but considering he was doing nothing but smiling, Angie quickly dismissed her earlier thought.
"Anyways, thank you for the seat," she said calmly, looking back towards Chris as she spoke.
"No worries."
And with that, he moved away from them quickly, easily squeezing himself into a loud card game that was taking place on the table in the middle of the room. At the rate they were going, she could only imagine the fighting that would ensue if someone were to lose right now. She smiled at the thought.
"Would you like to sit here?" Adam asked, pointing to the chair, but also taking in the game at the same time.
"I don't mind. I'm okay anywhere," she said quietly. If he were a human, he would never be able to hear her over the screaming and cheering that just erupted from the game. Someone must've won or something..
She quickly took her seat as the game ended, and everyone slowly returned to their seats. Chris managed to fit between two more friends. She was thankful for that.
"Did you want us to fill you in?" Another one of Adam's friends chimed in as he was grabbing a bottle of beer off of the table.
Angie quickly looked to Adam, who was staring absentmindedly at the TV. Of all the times he chose to not pay attention, this had to be one of them.
"I..um sure?" It came out as more of a question, but he understood the point. And apparently so did everyone else. As the friend tried to recap the game, almost everyone in the room had to add their thoughts and opinions to every play and call that was made. It was almost overwhelming to keep up.
Angie looked back again at Adam. His eyes slowly shifted away from the TV back to her, an amused look now appearing on his face. He held her gaze for a second and looked towards everyone in the room. They seemed to have forgotten the recap and were now arguing amongst themselves about the game. For a bunch of twenty something year old looking men, they sure were acting immature and stupid. But then again, weren't all men like this during sports games?
Adam reached for a new beer himself and as he did, he yelled "Enough!"
That silenced everyone quickly.
"Great job on the recap guys," he said, taking his seat again.
More silence.
"Would you like another recap?" Adam asked politely, turning towards Angie again. "But this time, I'm sure people will regret interrupting it, so that shouldn't be a problem," he said coolly, never looking away from Angie.
"I'm fine. Thanks," she said worriedly, afraid he would hurt someone if they interrupted by accident.
Adam had a long drink from his bottle as his friends laughed.
"He wouldn't hurt a fly." This time it was Chris, who smiled and winked at Angie.
"I would if you provoked me enough," replied Adam.
He got a couple of nods of agreement from his companions. Who wouldn't get upset if they were being provoked enough?
She was intrigued. These guys could go from joking around to dead serious in a matter of seconds.
Adam offered her a drink, but smartly offered her a non-alcoholic beverage. He knew she had never touched the stuff, and wasn't about to offer it to her now.
She took the bottle of coke from his outstretched hand, and slowly unscrewed the cap, not ever hesitating once. She gently took a sip and warily stared around at his friends. Nobody was looking at her, so she took this an opportunity to see his friends. Some faces were familiar, most were not. Angie counted ten friends, including Adam, all staring intently at the TV. The game was back on, so she knew she wouldn't be bothered for a while. Overtime was dangerous though. The game could end at any second, so she divided her attention between the game and her guests.
Each of them held a beer and looked as normal as any other group of guys hanging out. You'd never be able to tell any of them was a vampire from the way they acted or moved, or were currently lounging. They all seemed so..normal, except for their looks. They were all fairly tall, each of them easily clearing 6 feet. One could see they didn't spend every minute in the gym, but they were FAR from scrawny. They all looked fairly strong and well built...just not the muscle headed bodybuilder look. Jeans, shorts and t-shirts was the outfit of choice for all of them. They all looked so well put together. She wondered how many girls they all had falling at their feet. What if they all hung out together on a regular basis like they were now? They must've caused a ruckus amongst girls if they hung out in public like that. Angie rolled her eyes for real this time. She wasn't easily fazed by looks.
As she scanned each one of them, her eyes finally rested on Adam. He was just as focused on the game as everyone else, but occasionally looked over to make sure she was alright. Angie smiled at him when he looked over again. He smiled back and returned to the game again.
When standing next to him, Angie knew he was tall. Angie guessed he was 6'4." He was one of the taller ones in the group. If she was standing next to him, she had to crane her neck to look up at him. He looked just as strong as his friends, if not stronger. Even though his shirt was somewhat loose, Angie could still see he had quite a few muscles on him. His brown hair was short, and (Angie thought) suited him. His eyes were a blue—almost grey coloured and his face had a rugged look. He also had that "5 o'clock shadow" that added to his look. If one didn't know any better, they would assume he looked about 27. With a pain of dark blue jeans and a grey plaid shirt, he looked just as normal as any other guy..just a lot more attractive. She realized most people couldn't pull off plaid..but it made him look like ...a lumberjack.
She giggled at the thought.
Adam looked quickly over at her and smiled, almost as if he knew what she was thinking.
That wasn't their skill was it? If it was..she sure as hell was embarrassed right now.
She wracked her memory. Nope, she remembered her parents telling her what he could and could not do. Mind reading was NOT one of them.
Satisfied she was in the clear, Angie leaned back and finally began relaxing. She finally started to watch the game, but for some reason, she found her attention waning. She yawned and could feel herself nodding off as the game progressed. She was so comfortable with the buzz of the TV and the occasional commentary from Adam and his friends that it wasn't a surprise she was still tired. This had to still be the most exhausting day in her life. She placed her drink on the table beside her and tried desperately to stay awake. After several attempts, sleep began to win the battle, and Angie let herself nod off.