Chapter Six

Gabby's POV

A little more than a month somehow managed to slip by. It was funny, really, how my and Caliegh's relationships with Francis, Antonio, and Gilbert- the Bad Touch Trio, as they called themselves- progressed over the weeks.

The longer we knew them, the more I liked them, yet the more they got on Caliegh's nerves. I absolutely adored them; they were older and cooler than anyone I'd ever dreamed of being friends with, and they actually seemed to like me. One time, I'd been standing in the lunch line and Francis walked up behind me and jabbed me in the ribs. I squeaked and dropped my entire tray, proceeding to curse him out on the spot. Gilbert, who'd been watching (and cracking up) from a distance, commented on how I had a potty mouth like a guy. And for whatever reason, that made me feel kinda nice.

It was totally different for Caliegh. She'd never been very happy to see them from the start, but every day she seemed to grow more and more tense in their presence. Gilbert constantly hit on her like there was no tomorrow, touching her as if they'd been dating for months, and it was pretty amusing to see how many ways she could hurt him till he backed off. Still, every day he'd come back as if she hadn't left bruises on his shins the last 20 times he flirted with her.

In fact, my sister seemed to dislike the BTT so much that I didn't understand why she stayed at our table. Well, that's a lie: the one thing- or person, I should say- keeping her there was Alfred's bro. He was the sweetest thing ever, I swear. So quiet, so socially awkward, so…. the opposite of Alfred. And so perfect for Caliegh. But I wasn't gonna bring that up anytime soon, because if I did that, she'd pair me with Alfred.

Honestly, I wouldn't blame her for going there. Out of everyone, I have to say I'd bonded with Al the most since school started. We had the same wicked sense of humor; same love for unhealthy food and contradicting want to not be fat; same taste in music; same obnoxious, unlikable-yet-also-lovable persona; same stereotypical dumb blonde traits (though for me, that only involved common sense. Matthew, who happened to be next to me when I was checking my grades, actually asked if I could tutor his brother). Not to mention how similar we looked. I'd promised my best friend back in New Jersey that I'd never replace her, but Alfred and I got along so well that I was beginning to regretfully take that back.

"So, Gabrielle."

I glanced up from my homework during my free period at the sound of Francis's voice. "That's Gabby to you, punk."

"Oh, désolé. Gabrielle." Francis smirked; I gave him a light punch to his arm. He just shook his head and sat next to me on the sofa.

"The librarian's gonna be back from her lunch break in 10 minutes, then she's gonna tell everyone to shut up. So speak quick, Frenchie," I advised him, abandoning my algebra homework for now and proceeding to doodle on the top of my paper.

"Don't worry, this won't take long anyway." Francis casually draped his arm around the back of the couch, barely touching my shoulders. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything; he made romantic advances on everything with a pulse. "Tell me, mon ami. What's going on between you and Alfred?"

"Today, you mean? Well, tonight we were gonna watch Vampires Suck…" I answered sarcastically. Francis chuckled slightly.

"You know what I mean. There are some sparks flying between you, non?"

I looked up from my notebook, my pencil still sketching absently. "Non. He's too much like me. That'd be, like… selfcest. Or at least incest, 'cause he's like a brother to me."

"That can change."

"I like someone else anyway." The words left my mouth before they even registered in my mind. It had been such a natural comeback, but… why? I wasn't that good at lying, and it's not like that was an excuse I'd often used…

Francis glanced down at my notebook for a fraction of a second, then looked back up at me with a mischief only a Frenchman could harbor flickering in his blue eyes. "Ah, quel dommage… Well, whoever he is, good luck with him." Something about Francis's tone made it clear that he knew exactly who I had a crush on, but how was that possible? I didn't even know who I liked like that.

Shaking my head slightly as Francis got up and went to hit on some girls by the computers, I returned to my notes. I think my heart stopped for a fraction of a second, and I could feel a blush rise to my cheeks.

I had absently been doodling Danish flags.

Most often, I sat with the BTT, Alfred, Matthew, and my sister at meals. However, I did try to designate at least 2 days each week that I sat with the Nordics. It had come to my attention that a few people- though most strongly Francis- thought Caliegh should date Lukas. The more I sat near him, the more I saw where that made sense. I can't really describe it, but they just seemed… right for each other. To sum it up: they were both usually apathetic, with their faces in a book, yet could be damn scary when you pissed them off. Which didn't take much to do.

See, it didn't take long to determine the Nordics' views on me. Tino seemed to like everybody, so we got on pretty well. He was a real chatty guy, and didn't seem to notice that the only things we could easily talk about were gay rights and Christmas. Still, there was just something about him that made it impossible to frown in his presence.

Berwald… didn't really talk. Plus he was really dang scary-looking, so I've never had a conversation with him. He's never objected to me hanging around his people, but I don't think he's exactly for it. It seems, really, that the only person he talks to is Tino. Let me tell you this before I forget: those two are the most precious thing I've ever seen. Berwald kinda just unintentionally glares at everyone he sees, but when he looks at Tino… I'd never doubt for one second that he loves him with all his heart.

Emil doesn't seem to like anyone, except this one Asian guy whose name I think is Kaoru. He especially, though, does not like me. He's a pretty reserved guy, and I'm, well… I ain't reserved. Apparently, the guy's in denial about being related to Lukas, so he refuses to call him "Big Brother" like he wants. Mathias and Tino jokingly try to get him to use the nickname with them too, so I chimed right in with making him call me Sister Dearest. When he refuses that, I just try to make him acknowledge Lukas as his brother. Which, honestly, is probably the only reason Lukas hasn't taken me outside to the pond and held my head underwater.

I don't exactly know when it started, but I've developed a habit of annoying the hell out of Lukas. I'll read over his shoulder (I'll never admit that I actually find his books interesting. He better not ever read this), snatch the occasional French fry off his tray, and, even though he hates it, call him "Lukie." I picked that dreaded nickname up from Mathias, whose very presence seems to make Lukas just steam.

Mathias… I've definitely bonded with him the most out of anyone but Alfred. I learned a lot about him: although he's only in the grade above me, he's been held back a year. His favorite beverage is beer, which he has consumed so many times that it's literally impossible to get him drunk anymore. He loves the color red and is really gifted with an ax. If he wasn't so brain-dead, I'd easily fall in-

Whoa, whoa, no. Not gonna go there.

I was slaving away at my English homework in study hall while Mathias attempted to distract me with a story about a litter of Great Dane puppies he'd helped deliver when I was reminded of the little scene with me and Francis in the library. Did my subconscious mind acknowledge some type of feelings that I myself wasn't fully aware of?

"There were seven of those little buggers, man. The mama's first litter, and all of 'em were perfectly healthy," he was babbling. I looked up from my homework, about to actually act attentive to his story and ask if he'd kept any of the puppies, but then I accidentally caught his eye. What a shade of blue they were… It was like I was staring into the ocean. He was sitting backwards on the chair in front of me. There was only a desk between us; if I stood up and leaned forward, I could bring my face to his, and….

Oh, my god. What the hell?! Mathias was my second-best male friend. Why was I fantasizing about kissing him?! This was getting out of hand; I needed to talk to someone. Alfred couldn't be serious for more than 10 seconds, and I was afraid Francis's advice would involve setting us up on some romantic rendezvous… I needed a girl's word.

…wait. This wasn't middle school, where 95% of my friends were female. I'd been in Ms. Héderváry's office once, to talk about my parents' divorce, and even though she was nice and one of my favorite teachers I wasn't ready to trust her THAT much yet. That meant my only female confidant was my sister…..

Oh, boy.