Keep Away

“Hey Riley,” I shyly said, peaking through his bedroom door. “Can we talk?”

“Mmmph. I'm sleeping,” he murmured, flipping onto the other side. He face was pressed against his pillow and his arms were cuddling around the family dog, a golden retriever name Captain.

“It's only for a bit.”

“Talk to Connor about it.”

“We got into a little argument.”

“Again?” This time, Riley sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. He squinted at me for a few seconds before leaning against the wall. “Okay, we'll talk.” He closed his eyes then opened it again. “I think I might be awake now. Wait, hold on.” He did the same with his eyes and shook his head hastily. “Okay. Yup. I'm awake. So what's up?”

“Well, I just wanted to ask you something about - “

“Wait a minute!” Riley stared intently at me. “What I've been told by Connor is that you don't talk to anyone. So I'm actually pretty surprised that you'll talking to me right now.”

“Um...” I suddenly felt uncomfortable again. “There's a reason for um....that.”

“Wanna tell me?”

“I don't really want to.” I had already mistakenly told Connor, I didn't want to tell Riley about my sad life.

“C'mon Trinity. You can tell me.” He gave me a smile and I nearly died in the inside. He looked so much like little kid that this smile was equivalent to a puppy dog face.

“Look, I'm a nobody at school.” I blurted out, feeling angry at myself that I fell for it. “I just don't want to be seen talking to you guys because....I don't want you to end up like me.”

“A nobody? What are you talking about? You're nice, why would anyone hate you?”

“I've been asking myself that for a while. Sorry I'm bothering you with this.” I answered back quickly.

“No! I'm flattered that you're trusting me with this.”

“It's not really a surprise.”

“Okay, what I asked earlier...”

“Oh. I guess talking to you at home is a good thing, because nobody will see. It's just that Connor and I are naturally enemies, I guess. So I can't talk to him properly.”

“I get it now,” Riley nodded in understanding. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Um...uh.....do you promise not to tell?”

“Promise!” He said this so genuinely that I just had to trust him.

“Okay um....do you know um....Braiden?”

“Yeah I know who he is. Tall kid with brown hair right?” I actually cracked a smile and punched his shoulder.

“I'm serious! Um....I....um....”

“You like Braiden?” Riley dropped the bomb and I instantly freaked out.

“Shut up! Why are you saying it out loud!?” I was panicking. “What if someone hears you!?”

“Yeah, like Braiden can hear us from a couple blocks away.” Riley chuckled. “So...Braiden, huh? I'm not saying this in a....wrong...kind of way, but he's pretty likable. I just can't get over the fact that he's a bit too quiet sometimes.”

“No, I like it a lot.” I started grinning. “It makes him seem more mysterious.”

“I don't know why you're talking about this with me!” Riley started laughing. “I'm no good with this girl talk.”

“Well, you're his best friend and I thought I'd let you know.”

“Shouldn't you be telling him that yourself?”

“I can't! I just met him today! Besides, I'm not really good with romance.” I looked away.

“Really? Connor told me that you're writing a novel right now. I think he mentioned that it has a bit of romance in it...”

“Okay! Okay! I get it! B-But that's not! I'm not the Shamin in my book! And Braiden isn't like an Edward. The two get together by chemistry and I'm not sure if I can do the same. Besides! I'm role playing. I'm writing Shamin's life, so I'm in control of their actions and I'm the one who decides the ending, and - “

“Look Trinity, you and Braiden look good together. I'm pretty sure you two have chemistry and everything will be okay.”

“You really think Braiden and I look good together?”

“Are you kidding me? You guys look great.” He ruffled my hair, which surprised me the most. I barely knew this guy, but he was acting as if he knew me his whole life.“If you guys got together one day, I wouldn't complain.”

“It's hard to believe that people are so nice these days.” I gave him a grateful smile.

And so the night went on and I swore we developed a beautiful relationship together.

Xxx

“Trinity!” I had just gotten my tray of food when a loud voice calling my name, ran across the cafeteria. The table near me, that consisted of the fabulous four, with Braiden attracting my attention the most. Thomas, the naturally loud one, was yelling, “Come sit with us!”

I shot a panicked look at Thomas, while Connor just shook his head. Everyone around us stared.

“Did you hear me?” Thomas called out again. “I said, you should come and sit with us!”

“I...” I could barely speak. “I don't think...”

“What? Speak up!” I wanted to tell him so badly that I wanted him to shut up. He was attracting attention. Unwanted attention.

By now, everyone stopped looking except for a few curious stares. I hurried up to their table and replied in a shaky voice, “P-Please stop yelling...”

“You were just standing there. I thought you didn't hear me.”

“Thomas,” Riley spoke up. “She's self conscious about talking to anyone at school.” His worried eyes met mine. “Aren't you Trinity?”

I just gave a quick nod.

“Wait why?” Thomas asked stupidly.

Riley looked at me again and I desperately prayed that he wouldn't tell Thomas why. He seem to understand me and said, “It's for a personal reason.”

“I don't get it.” Thomas simply shrugged.

“It's okay Trinity.” Riley scooted aside, so that there would be an open spot between him and Braiden. “Come and sit down. No one's judging you.”

I stared at the boys for a while and thought about everyone around me. Is it really so wrong to have lunch with them? All this time I wanted people to stay away from me because I was an outcast. These people were the nicest ones I've ever met. I looked at Braiden and he gave me a smile. For some reason, I wanted to do it for him. I walked over to the side where Riley and Braiden sat, but not before Connor opened his mouth.

“Changing your mind again?” He said this in such a nasty tone that I was taken back.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, I'm just saying that you always do this. You're so frustrating to be around! There you go again, changing your mind again!”

“Connor, why are you always trying to start a fight?” Riley snapped.

“I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm just trying to make a point.” Connor glared at me. “I think you need to go Trinity.”

“Dude!” Riley gave his brother a shocked expression.

Connor rolled his eyes. “Like you said yourself, you should stay away from everyone else.”

“What the heck are you talking about Connor? This isn't elementary!” I've never seen Riley look so frustrated before and it was all because he was standing up for me.

“I don't care.” Connor glared at me again. “Just get out of here Trinity.”

“Seriously dude, you've lost your mind.” Thomas punched Connor in the shoulder.

Connor scowled and shoved Thomas back. “Shut up!” He turned back at me. “Why are you still here for? Go away!”

I don't cry. I never really did, not even back in elementary when I got my cookies stolen once. I never even cried when I found out my mom wasn't coming home. I especially didn't cry when everyone started ignoring me. Crying was the biggest weakness someone could have. It made someone so vulnerable and people looked at you with such pity. Connor's tone was so harsh, I didn't know a person could sound so.....cold. Everyone near me witnessed me getting yelled at. I was most embarrassed by Braiden who helplessly sat there, with sadness in his eyes.

With that, I ran off, still gripping my tray of food, that would now never get eaten after Joan had given me lunch money. I ran off to the hallways and slumped down in front of my locker. I felt something wet under my eyes and quickly wiped them away with my napkin. A slight squeak escaped my lips. Why was Connor so mean to me? I buried my head in my arms. I guess I do deserve it. I acted so mean to him, when he was just trying to help me.

“Trinity?”

“Go away.”

“I can't.”

“Someone's gonna see you with me. Please go away.”

“I can't just leave a crying girl over here.”

“I'm not cryi-” I found myself staring into Braiden's blue eyes and I quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed again.

“You okay?”

“No.” I said flatly. “G-Go away.”

“Even if I go back, Connor will rip on me for chasing after you.”

“Why did you even follow me?”

“Like I said earlier, I can't just seem to let a crying girl run off by herself. I'll lose 50 man points.” He cracked a hopeful smile. “Besides, I don't believe anything Connor says. You're a good person. Connor's just being a dick.”

“No, everything he says is true. I'm messed up.”

“Stop saying that. No you aren't.” He sighed. “I'm a quiet person, so I'm very observant. I know you're not a bad person. Believe me.”

“Thanks.” I was still looking away. He was honestly too cute to look up close. He tapped my shoulder and I turned to face him. Smiling, he handed me a slice of pizza.

“I was hungry, so I grabbed two. You want the other one?”

“No thanks.”

“C'mon just take it.” He looked over at my tray. “Corn beef isn't that good, trust me.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, taking a bite. “This is good.”

“Pizza makes everything better.” He grinned, taking a bite of his own slice. “Oh, you liked the song we sang right? We actually made a recording of it earlier. Would you like it for your iPod?”

“I don't have an iPod.”

“Seriously?” Braiden almost choked on his pizza. “Well um....that's shocking. You need to get one.”

“I don't really listen to much music.”

“That's crazy! I'm gonna give you a list of recommendations right now. Oh! You should listen to this band called Short Stack. They're really good and - “ I could only smile to myself as he rambled on about his favorite music. I wonder if he was this talkative around his friends? Wait....does this mean that he considers me as a friend?

“Cute couple.” Braiden stopped and we both looked up at Connor, towering over us. He was staring at us with bitterness in his eyes. Then he turned and walked off, giving us one last sharp glance over his shoulder.