Disclaimer: The characters are not mine!
A/N: A very short chapter-ette update. But never fear! Will be updating more today...Oh and, I can't say this enough: Please review! I can't tell you how happy each and everyone makes me.
CHAPTER FIVE: RUMORS ARE TRUE
Clare invited Natalie to eat lunch with us; an invitation Natalie readily accepted. Lunch was fun but I felt unsettled the whole time, hyper self-aware and trying very hard not to make a fool of myself.
"I don't mind Animal Farm at all. It's actually pretty good compared to The Pearl," Clare was saying, when Eli joined us at our usual table outside.
"That's it," he declared, dropped his brown paper bag on the table and delicately lowering his backpack gently onto the seat next to him. "I hate P.E. I swear, the only purpose gym serves is to bore us out of our brains 'til we can't take it anymore and we kill ourselves".
"Eli Goldsworthy," Clare said, as though that explained everything.
"And yes, the rumors are true," Eli added, grinning.
"Really?" said Natalie skeptically. She was smiling and biting her lower lip. "Because people say you're obsessed with death".
"Clearly," said Eli sarcastically, laughing. He gestured over his shoulder at his large, black and very ostentatious hearse (a.k.a. Morty), which was parked nearby and clearly visible from where we were sitting.
"Wow," said Natalie, sounding impressed "Sweet ride".
"I like to think so," said Eli, grinning wickedly.
"Excuse him," Clare added laughing, "He's a little full of himself".
"Like I said," said, coming around to mine and Clare's side of the table "all the stuff you hear is true". He put an arm around each of us and flashing a thumbs up.
"I'd like to mention that only applies to Eli," said Clare, playfully pushing Eli's arm off of her and taking a bite of her sandwich.
"And what about you, Adam?" asked Natalie, laughing.
I froze, heart was going haywire. I don't know if it was trying to escape through my mouth because all of a sudden I felt like I was going to hurl or maybe break through my chest because it was so pounding hard. Somebody told her. I knew it was too good to be true.
Clare must've correctly interpreted the look on my face because she was on top of it before I could even muster the strength to utter a syllable.
"Yup," she said, "QB 2's brother, obsessed with comics, super smart and loves the band, The Dead Hand… in fact, didn't you and Eli go to the reunion show?"
"We did," I said, finally able to speak and so gratefully for the smooth subject change.
"You're kidding?" said Natalie, "You're lucky. I love them".
I'm sorry, did she just say she loved the Dead Hand? Kill me now.
"Sav borrowed his dad's sweet truck for the occasion and we got totally busted," Eli recalled excitedly. "Tell her, Adam". He hit me on the shoulder with the back of his hand as if to pass on the story telling baton. It hurt a little bit but I was a little too flustered to care.
Natalie turned her attention towards me, waiting for me to tell the story. I glanced at Clare, and she gave me an encouraging nod. I took a breath.
"Well, they played 'Your Paisley Jacket' as an encore, so we had to stick around but that made us short on time, so…"
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