Behind These Refuge Walls

Where was Max at times like these? Did I not understand correctly when he said that he learned at Stratford? Not to mention he had not made any appearance at the gym, which shocked me. He seemed to be Gerry's usuals. And although I passionately despised his eagerness, today was the one day I desperately needed it.

Because as I stood on that purple couch in the Victoria's Secret shop watching girls half my weight catwalk in pieces of material which looked like they were cut off from someone's drapery, I could hear the dwarves inside my head slowly (but surely) lose control over their bodies and run frantically from one side to another, some dying from the collision with my head's walls, others pulling at my insides and begging me to run.

Aside from the usual high pitched exclamations like 'Oh my God! Charlie, look at this!' and the rhetorical 'CJ, does this look good on me?' (I say rhetorical, because the second one of them asked me this, the girl would disappear out of my sight for another full hour) and other monosyllabic sentences accompanied by giggles, I was given no attention whatsoever.

You had to be mentally retarded to not realize what they thought of me. Not only were they under the impression that I did not sense their jealousy ('Oh my God, Charlotte, I can't believe you ended up with Ryan.'), but they also thought I was so utterly stupid that I failed to understand the diplomatic bitchiness ('That shirt fits you so well' - insert faint smirk -, which could also be translated into 'bitch, do not ever show up wearing that shirt' or 'my God, you look ugly as fuck, but don't worry, I'm here to make you look good').

To add even more flavor to this hideous shake, every single teenager that went to high school and passed us by either gave me a glare or avoided eye contact. I realized I had blatantly underestimated Paige's popularity (or any of the other girls', for that matter) - not that it really made any difference. My celebrity status was probably something worth looking into after this.

It was funny how I actually used to love shopping. Well not 'loved', but I got a certain level of satisfaction when buying something new, but this particular experience made me sick.

But no moment with Paige's group would have been 'perfect' without the gossip. During four hours time, I found out about the high school and its students more than I could have learned in two years. Much to Paige's dismay, I didn't turn out to be the great gossiper she wanted me to be. I talked very little, a detail that seemed to itch at the girls' brains (if there were any).

"Danielle is...well, she's a big suck up and all," Paige continued her charade, "I mean, she always spends her time with Ryan. It's no secret that she likes him or anything. But there's something, like, really weird about her, like, I don't know what. Like, right, girls?"

"Like, totally. You should, like, avoid her."

"Like, she's so not worth it."

Ah, yes, and the unavoidable, all-time present, never failing word 'like', sometimes seasoned with the word 'totally' make a perfect appetizer, main dish, second dish, third dish and whatnot. Did I happen to mention I'm not much of an eater?

"Ryan invited me to that cool party next week. It's gonna be like, totally awesome."

And blah blah blah, blue is out, pink is so in, I should have a deep cleavage, but not too deep, but very deep and the whole world would be worthless without them. Overall, the only question that bugged me the whole time was 'Why the fuck did I agree to this?!'. And everything along that line.

The intellectual conversation regarding cleavages between Paige and Meredith (or was it Muffy?) was suddenly interrupted by my ring tone. Curious eyes turned in my direction, increasing the urge to hit them all with a pair of boots - or whatever else at hand.

From: Nate.
How's shopping? ;)

With the excitement of a person who had just discovered freedom and the speed of a Nascar racer, I began texting.

Would you believe me if I told you I'm having the time of my life?

Not really, came my brother's immediate response, followed by another quick text message.

but ur in need of making friends as it is. we could phone the local asylum, tho.

I don't know what made me snort: the idea of me making friends or the picture of me having tea with Archie, the man who thinks he can talk to coffee machines.

"Do I detect a flirty smile at that text message?" Clearly, Paige and I had different definitions of the word 'flirty'.

I did my best to smile ever so ironically, also attempting to send with my eyes the message 'You. Are. Stupid.'

"It's just my younger brother."

"Oh," she gasped, then giggled at her mistake.

Already sick of the pitiful conversation, I glanced at the girls who had now grouped at a table, having just ordered their drinks. All their eyes turned to a girl only slightly younger than us. She didn't seem familiar to me, but to them, her grey sweater with a golden emblem told too much. They watched her with a mix of disgust and what I clearly understood as fear (of the unknown, more likely). And right there, to my great shock, they began throwing insults at her in public.

"Nice sweater, sweet-cheeks. Did your granny leave that to you?"

"What a tramp," Paige said.

Whereas I stood like a complete idiot, staring at the scene - much like many other people who, for all normality sake, were having a cup of coffee at the local mall -, the strawberry blonde girl kept on unfazed. She grabbed her coffee and strolled off in all her joy.

Wow, simply wow.

"What was that all about?" I blurted.

Melinda rolled her eyes as she scooted further and made room for Paige and I at the table.

"Just some Massey chick," she explained, as though the name should make everything clear all of a sudden. It didn't.

"Massey?"

All activity at our table stopped and I was pinned by several "OH MY GOD!" stares.

"You mean you don't know what Massey is?" Melinda gasped. I felt the incredible urge to slap my forehead in a 'd'oh!' kind of way.

"Of course she doesn't, stupid," Paige chimmed in. "She only talks to Jake."

I don't know if I should feel insulted.

"Yeah, I'm new," I added dumbly.

"Oh well," Paige sighed, adjusting her mini skirt and taking an 'I'm going to give you a history lesson' kind of look, "Massey is basically the rival high school in the whole city. No, scratch that, state."

Some of the girls nodded eagerly before returning to their previous actions. They all obviously knew the story.

"Massey is the oldest school in city and is on rivalry terms with Stratford for years. It is said that Massey has the richest kids around, but that's just a load of bull. I know my state and trust me, there are more well positioned kids at our school than at Massey." Of course it came down to money.

"And what does this rivalry consist of?"

Paige smirked slyly, glad to finally have my attention for the day.

"Anything, from football to science projects, Stratford and Massey have always been rival schools. But anyway, as I was saying, Massey students are complete freaks. Be warned, CJ." So now we were talking about a school of horrors? She noticed my skepticism and rolled her eyes. "They're very drawn to themselves and rarely show up at parties."

I could help but fight back a sarcastic laugh. "So if someone's not into parties, that makes them a freak?"

The girls rolled their eyes. "You're obviously not getting it. When I say freak, I mean a person who acts like he or she is insane. Melinda here once dated a guy from Massey."

"Big mistake," Melinda intervened. "I convinced him to go to this party and when we got there, he went completely berserk. He was sweating and it was almost as if he was going to jump at everyone's throats."

"My guess is they're entirely anti-socializing," a brunette declared, making Paige and Melinda nod.

"Not to mention rude," the before-mentioned added. "Do you remember that time when Danny, who at the time was my boyfriend, called that Massey red haired a slut and all the kids totally lost it?"

"Oh, yeah!" the brunette exclaimed. "I was there. Oh God, Charlie, honestly, those idiots totally sent some of ours in hospital. Their guys are complete brutes. Not to mention the girls are such hypocrates."

"It's hypocrites," I corrected.

"I know, right?!"

For a second I was so overwhelmed with all the information they kept bombarding me with that I failed to fully comprehend. And when they finally looked at a group of boys approaching, I let the thoughts sink in, fully aware of Paige's sly eyes.

"So you're saying Massey is basically a high school for the mentally ill?" Alright, so maybe I was paying too much attention to the subject, but hey! I had to. It was the most interesting thing I had talked about all day.

Paige opened her mouth to respond, but the voice that came wasn't hers.

"It is, but you don't have to worry your pretty head with that while we're here."

I turned abruptly to face three boys that I recognized from some of my classes, all from Ryan's crew. Their names, I didn't know. All I knew was that they were complete assholes. Then again, they matched the divas around me. Paige blushed evidently and giggled at the sight of the boys.

"Paige, love, who's this? I don't think we were introduced," the tallest of them said, still watching me. I noticed how his words stung Paige, because she turned to me with a bitter expression.

"This is Charlotte." Was she doing it on purpose? Oh yes, she was! "She's the new kid from Miami."

"Oh, the hot chick who told of Danielle in Spanish class!" another one exclaimed.

"Yeah," Paige muttered. "Charlotte, this is JoJo," she pointed to an Afro-American boy with dreads. "Michael." Paige nodded with a smirk to a white boy, rather well built, with a short haircut, somewhat resembling that of Ryan's.

"And this," she said with a giggle as she attached herself to the boy in the middle who was still not looking away from me, "is Damien."

"Very nice to meet you," he blurted, pulling away from Paige. Ouch. I took his hand like the lady I was and smiled politely.

"Charlie for short," I decided to clarify. He smirked. Despite the 'I'm the center of the universe' attitude, he was rather attractive, in a weird kind of way.

"Come sit with us, guys," Paige finally said, tired of Damien's attention towards me.

And before I knew it, conversations were started and flirting began, but I barely paid attention. I tried not to get distracted by Damien as he watched me. It wasn't easy though, because with his glances came the glares of Paige and the other girls. So, like Ryan, Damien was off limits as well? As fifteen minutes passed, I grew aggravated and when I finally decided to speak up, I was silenced - go figure - by a very agitated Melinda.

"Paige!" she hissed, interrupting her friend from snogging with Damien. "Paige, don't look behind you, but we have some company."

And ironic enough, all eyes were turned towards a trio somewhere in front of a shop. Two boys and a very familiar girl walked silently, not looking around too much. They didn't seem to be bothered by the curious glances they received from people and looked like they were in their own little world. It was then that I realized that I knew that girl. It was the one girl who had kept me entertained in the parking lot today, the same who seemed like me in Health Class. Janice.

Not only was I shocked to see her rather happy, but I was stunned to see the two boys - or should I say men? - walking beside her. They were gorgeous - and that was the understatement of the year. One of them had a mohawk with red streaks that matched Janice's blue highlights perfectly. He was slimmer than the other boy and held a very mischievous gaze.

The other boy was the one who caught my attention, though. His raven-black ruffled hair fell around his head, making him look like someone who had just gotten out of bed. He was tall, with muscles that tensed at his every move, but not large enough to make him look like a professional fighter. Damn.

They began making their way towards the coffee shop, which was completely a bad move, judging by the grimaces on everyone's faces. It was then that I acknowledged the grey sweater the mohawked boy wore. Massey. My first instinct was to wave at Janice to get the hell out of here, but I had no time as in a matter of seconds they were finally a few ways from me. She frowned at the sight of Paige, but her eyes widened as her gaze landed on me. She must have seen the look in my eyes pleading for her to leave. She nodded and just as I thought it was over, shit hit the fan.

"Oh, well. The coffee shop is now ruined," Paige sighed. "Because of the trashes that walked in, of course."

Several chuckles surrounded our table, while I gritted my teeth. But Janice, much to my surprise, didn't back off. She took her coffee and approached us. The mohawked stood behind her, while the other Massey student remained further away, still holding a good look of his friends. Something in his eyes told me he wasn't very fond of Paige and her company (which, much to my dismay, included me).

"So, Paige, you ran out of tramps and now you're trying to get a grip of the new kid?"

Oh shit, no! They were not bringing me into this!

"FYI, scum, what CJ does is none of your business. But then again, you never knew not to get your nose in other people's business," came the blonde's strike.

Damien stood up with a smirk. The black haired guy stiffened so suddenly, I was shocked. I could feel my nerves yet again tingle as the group of 8 kids from my school began laughing at Janice. Bastards! They had no right!

"You can leave now, disgusting Stratford cunt with no--"

"Excuse me?!" both Janice's mohawked friend and I barked simultaneously.

The word 'cunt' hit my ears like a speeding train. The fact that it was addressed to the nice person Janice truly was was a low shot and Paige wasn't even aware of it. At that particular moment, the reason as to why Janice received that name meant nothing to me as I stood up from my seat and fixed Paige with my glare. Her minions backed off, whereas Damien watched in confusion.

"What did you just say?" I hissed, my voice low.

"Back off, new girl, this is none of your business!" Melissa counterattacked.

It took me five seconds to move right in front of the girl, who was now speechless.

"Bark at me again, bitch, and I will personally break your bones."

If only Max was here, he would keep me away from hitting these bitches. Just as that thought crossed my mind, Damien finally went into action, as did his boys.

"Let's go, baby. This place is full of idiots," Damien said, grabbing Paige by her waist.

"That's the same thing I thought," I hissed, eyeing him up and down. And just as 'cool' as they had walked in, they left. My brain slowly went back to reason and reality struck me. I was left behind. In a coffee shop. With people staring. With no ride back home. Why me?

And then she shrieked, like we had been friends for over ten years. "I knew it!"

I abruptly turned to Janice, feeling my cheeks burn. If my forehead would have read 'I need to get out of this damned coffee shop' I don't think Janice would've understood better. She chuckled lightly and nodded towards the door. So what now? I walk with Janice and her two extremely hot bodyguards? Tempting.

"I knew you were not a preppy know-it-all stuck up bitch!" she retaliated once we made it to fresh air.

"Pardon me if I ever left you with that impression." The two boys went towards a black car near us, the black haired one shooting me a short glare that left me breathless, while the other one gave her a nudge, as though reminding her something.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I opened my mouth to say something, to explain to her that there was nothing to thank me for, but I wasn't given a chance to speak. "You're a total freak, ya know that?"

That shut me up.

"Uh, ok...I guess..."

She started laughing. "No, I mean you're something else. There aren't really people in our school who would treat Melinda and Paige like that. Or Damien, for that matter. Jesus Christ, that look on Damien's face was priceless!"

At least one of us was having a blast. "Yeah..."

She stopped laughing and watched me with a dawned expression.

"Oh! This isn't going to be pretty from now on." No shit. "I, uh, I'm sorry, Charlie, really."

"What?!" I bursted. "No! Come on! I'm not sorry for that. I mean, you would've done the same after spending your entire afternoon with them. It gets unnerving. And they had no right to talk to you like that."

She smiled genuinely, making me want to crack a grin as well. Janice glanced at her buddies - I purposely didn't follow her gaze - and smacked her forehead, startling me.

"Oh, Jesus, I'm stupid! Guys, come on over." She didn't even shout, not one bit, and the two boys, who were relatively far from us, heard her. Huh, funny. It was no surprise that only the one with the mohawk rushed over, while the other one continued to stare at the skies resting on the hood of the car. Hot dude, but cranky.

"This," Janice grinned, "is James."

The gorgeous green eyed boy grinned widely, bursting with the same energy as Janice. The two really looked like a match, both wearing wacky outfits, awesome hairdos (dare I say, that mohawk looked good on James) and cheery personalities.

James extended his arm and I took it politely. Had I been smiling for the entire time?

"This is Charlotte Sanders." Janice jumped quickly. "I mean, Charlie."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Charlie or CJ is fine."

"Yeah, you look like a Charlie," James decided.

"Uh, I guess?" What did a Charlie look like?

He laughed. "Yeah, don't worry, i didn't insult you."

"Much appreciated."

"So, CJ, seems like you just missed the pink limo, but we can always give you a ride in a black Camaro."

I know my eyes sparkled at the name of the car and I'm quite sure they noticed, too, but then I remembered about the other guy. I glanced at him and sure enough, he was watching us with a blank expression.

Janice rolled her eyes.

"Oh, right. Charlie, don't mind Cain, will ya? He's just like that."

Did he even talk?

"So how about that ride, CJ?" James inquired, making me realizing I had been rudely staring at Cain. Damn it.

"I really appreciate it, but I'll just walk, okay?"

They both nodded, thankfully not insisting on the idea.

"Cool. I'll see you at school, Charlie!"

"And I'll see you around, warrior princess." James winked, making me inevitably laugh.

Funny, Janice and her friends were.