Chapter 9.
Jay wandered around the yard until all of the classes had finished, he had blown off the whole day. It would probably land him in detention, he realised, or he'd have to undergo some other sort of punishment from Fairy Godmother for skipping the lessons but he couldn't really be bothered to care much at the moment. He went to sit on a table with a good view of the entrance (literally on top of the table, not on the bench next to it, though that was also empty) and when the last bells sounded at 1 P.M. and the students began streaming out, he became more vigilant in order not to miss the crown of blue hair amidst all the others. Soon enough she appeared and Jay hopped off the table and headed towards her.
Evie was incredibly pleased with herself. She had gotten an A+ on a biology test that day and she was practically beaming, not letting the paper out of her hand for even a moment. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. It took all of the strength she possessed not to bounce around, and it made Ben and Mal, who were trailing behind her hand in hand, smile happily at their friend who was practically bubbling with excitement.
When she noticed that Jay was approaching with a smile on his face, Evie squealed and ran towards him, flinging herself in his arms. He caught her with ease, wrapping his arms around her middle and lifted her up, leaving her legs to dangle in the air. His nose buried in her hair and he breathed her in. Man, something was happening to him lately, it was like he craved her. He had always needed her and being around her always made him breathe more easily but recently it was like he wasn't himself when she was away from him for too long.
A mirthful laugh ripped through his chest at her obvious happiness and he felt like nothing could bring him down when the girl in his arms shined so brightly. It was exactly what he needed after the previous events, he didn't even need to talk to her anymore, just holding her in his arms made him feel infinitely better. He was too preoccupied to notice Ben and Mal exchange knowing smiles behind them.
„Well, if I had known you would miss me so much I wouldn't have skipped class." Jay laughed, putting Evie down and making sure she was steady on her feet before removing his hands from her waist a little unwillingly. She just smiled widely, waving the paper in her hand under his nose.
„A+!" Evie yelled happily and everyone laughed along with her.
Mal gave Ben a small nudge in the ribs with her elbow and when he looked at her questioningly she nodded her head to the right, signaling him that she wanted them to go and leave Jay and Evie alone. He caught her meaning immediately and nodded back, snaking an arm around her shoulders, while she reached up with her gloved hand and threaded their fingers. Then they slowly and quietly stepped away and disappeared into the crowd, as Ben leaned down to whisper something in Mal's ear to which she just chuckled and placed a subtle kiss on his jaw.
Meanwhile Evie was telling Jay all about the lessons he had skipped, and while he wasn't very interested in the material he had missed, he was more than willing to listen to her talk about pretty much anything, so he didn't really mind. When they noticed Ben and Mal were not there anymore, him and Evie headed to the cafeteria for lunch, assuming that that's where their friends had gone off to. Entering the room, they spotted the couple sitting on a table to the right along with Carlos and after they got their food, they headed to sit with them.
„So, Jay, not to pry or anything, but what happened this morning?" Mal questioned after a while, popping a french fry into her mouth. Although she looked nonchalant, she truly wanted to make sure things were alright with him. And, hey, if there really had been some trouble with Audrey then that was just a bonus. At the question Evie immediately threw Jay a concerned look and when her gaze met his, he hurried to reassure her through it that there was nothing to worry about.
„Me and Audrey broke up." He said, shifting his eyes over to Mal, who had to fight very hard with herself in order to stop the enormous grin threatening to break out on her face. Finally, she thought in delight. Now maybe he can focus on what's right in front of him, Mal reckoned with a small smirk, looking discreetly over at Evie to see her reaction.
They broke up… The thought hit the bluenette like a ton of bricks. Her eyes widened slightly and the corners of her mouth wanted to shoot upwards but she regained her composure with lightning speed, not letting her face betray her. I mean, what kind of a horrible friend would she be if she let the others know she was happy about the fact that her best friend had just broken up with his girlfriend? He needed her support right now, she knew that and she was ready to offer it, but she just couldn't help it. What she felt was indescribable – he was finally free. She almost couldn't believe it, it was too good to be true. She was so happy, she could swear her heart was going to burst right out of her chest.
„Man, are you alright?" Ben clapped his hand down on Jay's shoulder supportively and the other boy nodded back.
„Yeah, it wasn't gonna last anyway." He shrugged and they changed the subject.
„You guys wanna have another movie night this weekend?" Carlos suggested, munching away on a brownie.
„Yeah, why not?" Mal agreed, pushing the tray away from her since she was done with her lunch and leaned back in her chair, pulling Ben's arm over her shoulder. He just tugged her closer to his side.
„Hey, Ben, would you like to join us this time?" Evie asked, smiling at the couple. She knew Mal would be overjoyed and, after all, Ben was the one who had given them a chance in the first place, it was about time they included him in their little group. Mal threw her a small look of gratitude.
„Really?" Ben asked a little surprised. It was true that he had bonded closely with everyone at the table by now but he hadn't really expected them to accept him into their group. He didn't mind it, really, because he understood that they had grown up together and trusted each other like no one else, so Evie's offer caught him off guard, but also made him very happy. He loved Mal but he also considered Evie, Jay and Carlos his friends and if they were to welcome him, he wouldn't betray them.
„Yeah, that's a great idea, Eve." Jay agreed sharing a smile with the girl, before grinning at Ben.
„Alright." Ben smiled at the others before turning his head to place a kiss on Mal's temple who smiled broadly.
„Okay, we'll talk details later, you guys, now I have to go." Evie announced, turning around in her chair to grab her bag, which was hanging off the back of it. She stood up to leave, her arm brushing against Jay's in the process, who involuntarily shot a sad look in her direction, which made Evie giggle slightly. He looked like a lost puppy, it was completely adorable. It made her chest flutter with delight.
„Where are you going?" Mal asked.
„I have to go dump all of this in our room," Evie said, patting lightly the bag full of books, before slinging it over her shoulder. „And then I'm meeting Lonnie. Apparently she's got a date and she asked me to help her with her outfit and make-up." Evie told Mal and the two shared a girly smile at the notion of their now also friend going out with someone.
„Okay, have fun." Mal said with a playful raise of her eyebrows.
„I will." The bluenette sang with a small wink directed at all of them, which made them all laugh. „Bye, guys." She said with a small wave and her eyes darted over everyone before resting slightly longer on Jay.
„Bye, Eve." Jay offered with a smile, while Ben nodded at Evie and Carlos waved back at her, both in goodbye, before the girl turned around and walked out of the cafeteria.
She headed straight to the room she and Mal shared, throwing the backpack on her bed and pulling out one of the drawers of her dresser in search of her make-up kit. Wait, she thought halting her movements momentarily, Lonnie said she had her own kit. Closing the drawer again, Evie decided she didn't need to take anything with her and she took a very quick glance in the tall mirror before heading out.
Evie stepped out of the room closing the door softly behind her and turned around just in time to get pushed roughly against the wall. Two hands held her non-too-gently by her upper arms and she looked up to stare at a pair of cold blue eyes.