I N D I G O
I looked at Tanner blankly before shifting my gaze to the other three guys standing with him. The first kid seemed a bit intimidating; he was largely built with tattooed sleeves. He had honey brown eyes and dirty blonde hair that was styled as an undercut with a little taper and more length on top. The next one seemed to have a friendlier face and was less burly. His eyes reminded me of caramel and it matched well with his auburn colored hair; his hairstyle was more laid back as it was in what people call a 'man bun'. My eyes abruptly stopped at the raven haired boy that I was ogling over earlier; his eyes were like bottomless pools of blue and I wanted to drown in them. I heard someone cough, which snapped me back to reality. I looked over to see Tanner chuckling lowly as my cheeks began to heat up. He pointed at each guy, introducing them one by one, "This is Jake, Tyler, and Milo."
Milo. That's a nice name.
All three said 'hi' in unison but I was only listening to him. His voice made me shiver, but definitely not in a bad way. Not being able to speak suddenly, I gave them all a small wave and then turned around to make my exit. "You don't eat lunch?," Tanner asked, stopping me before my board hit the pavement. My heart beat began to race as I turned around to see him and the other three looking at me in a questionable manner. I just shook my head and managed to escape quickly. If Jim found out I ate without his permission, I'd be digging my grave after school.
M I L O
I watched as a girl I had never seen before skated around the parking lot. She had thick brown hair that fluttered in the wind as she flew past the cars; she was petite and a bit skinny, but her jeans allowed me to see that she had curves as well. She seemed content and it was calming just to look at her.
Tanner's hand waved in my vision partially blocking the cute little brunette. "What?," I growled out. "What are you gawking at?," he asked innocently as he traced my gaze. "Ah-ha! I was wondering where she was," he said excitedly. For some reason, a tinge of jealousy bubbled in my stomach making me feel uneasy. As if he read my mind, he quickly added in, "Calm down, she's in my class." Then he yelled for her to come over.
"Indigo, meet the gang," Tanner cooed.
I watched her intently as she took in each of us. But when her dark green orbs landed on me, I legit felt my heart skip a beat. I'm officially screwed and I know nothing but her name. I felt like we were the only two in that parking lot at this moment; I was lost, searching through her forest like eyes. There was something off about them though.. my mom always taught me that the eyes are windows into our souls. And hers seemed rather darkened with bags that were placed under them. Tanner coughed to break our stare which made me internally growl at him.
When introducing us, I noticed a small smile playing on the corner of her lips when he stated my name which made me smirk with pride. I was waiting to hear her voice, hoping it was as melodic as she seemed. To my disappointment, she just waved at us and turned to leave. I quickly looked over to Tanner, silently pleading him to stop her.
"You don't eat lunch?," Tanner questioned her.
I watched as the color drained from her face as she violently shook her head.
What was that? Fear?
And with that, she hopped on her board and left us standing there, confused. "She doesn't talk?," Jake asked. Tanner shrugged his shoulders, "She did in class... a little." Another flash of jealousy hit me. I wanted her to feel comfortable talking to me too. I huffed in aggravation. I was used to girls practically throwing themselves at me.
"I knew she'd peak your interest. Give her time, Milo, she's-- different," Tanner said as he patted my shoulder.
I N D I G O
It was final period and I was thanking my stars for getting me through today, including the awkward lunch with Tanner and his friends. My last class was art, which happens to be my ultimate favorite besides Spanish. I'm terrible when it comes to expressing my feelings since I'm not allowed to at home, painting helps me do this in a quiet fashion. Just as I planted my canvas on the easel, a wavy black haired girl with stormy gray eyes plopped down in the seat next to me making me jump. "Oh hell, sorry sweetie!," she screeched. I gave her a brittle smile.
"I'm Veronica, but you can call me Vera! And that lunatic behind you is Emily," I turned my swivel chair around following to where she was pointing, "but you can call me Em," stated the other girl, who had medium sized straightened ginger hair with teal shaded eyes that had gold and brown flecks in them; they reminded me of sunflowers. I'm sure I should have introduced myself, but I spewed out what you would call 'word vomit' instead, "this school seems to have some friendly people in it..." My eyes widened in realization when I realized how rude that was. "Oh my goodness, Em! Look at her blush! It's adorable!," Vera sang. Both girls had erupted into giggles and I truly could not help but join in.
We spent the entire period talking about the school, the different clubs that are offered, our drawings, and other things. I have never had friends before... but these two girls never judged me when I said something odd or asked weird questions, and I liked that.
Just as the last bell rang, Emily asked, "Want to go down to the coffee shop?"
I was about to refuse the offer but Jim wouldn't be home until 6 and I felt like I deserved some kind of positivism before I go home to more beatings. As if on instinct, I nodded my head and followed the girls a few blocks down the road to a little yellow painted cafe.
"Hello, my little trouble makers! And who is your friend?," asked a middle aged woman who slightly resembled Vera with her black locks in a messy up-do and smokey gray eyes. "Mom, this is Indie," I looked up to see the woman smiling widely at me. "It's nice to meet you ma'am," I stated politely. "Oh please dear, call me Cora." I smiled and nodded at her.
"There's my girl!," a man sang from the back. He had salt and pepper colored hair, with rather familiar iridescent blue eyes. "How did the Physics test go?," he asked as he wriggled his eyebrows in a teasing manner at Vera. I heard her groan from behind me and watched her mom playfully roll her eyes. "I got a 97 dad, now quit embarrassing me, will you?," she pleaded. My eyes shot up in fear-- holy shit... Jim would kill me for talking to him like that.
When I glanced in the older mans' direction, I expected anger to fill his facial features but instead, he laughed. I scrunched my nose in confusion... is this what it's like to have a real family? My face began to feel warm and I realized I was blushing, again.
"Dad, this is Indie. Indie, this is my dad, Giovanni." I smiled at the man in return, not feeling the fear rise up as I made eye contact. "You can call me Gio, honey. If my baby girl brought you here, then you must be special. It's usually just the two of them." My smile grew as he said this, making my heart swell. I'm special?
"What can I get you ladies?," Cora asked.
"The usual for us, momma C," Em stated casually.
"And for you sweetie?," Cora asked, directing the attention to me.
I felt my palms start to sweat. I've never even been to a coffee shop before. I have no clue what I like. As if she already knew what I was thinking, she handed me a warm paper cup, "It's called Vanilla Bean. Try it and let me know what you think!" I thanked her and went to join the girls in the back booth. We continued our chatting some more; talking to them became second nature to me until the front door of the cafe swung open. All four of the 'bad boys' walked in, Milo immediately taking notice of me, which in return made my cheeks the shade of a tomato.
Vera let out a little giggle and I glared at her, making her gain her composure quickly. "Sorry Indie, it's just my brother never really pays attention to... girls." My mouth flung open in shock at her statement. "Your what?," I squeaked. Her and Emily shared a look and both broke out into another fit of laughter. This time I glared at the both of them; if looks could kill, they'd be six feet under right at this very moment.
"Helllllo ladies," the ash blonde haired kid, I remembered as Jake, sang. Emily scowled at him, while Vera looked at him with adoration, earning an eyebrow raise from me. "We meet again, Indigo," the husky voice rang in my ears. I looked up to see Milo smirking down at me, and without even asking, slid into my booth. I gave him a small smile, then turned all of my attention to my coffee cup. The design on it was bland; just the title Santino's Shop written in calligraphy decorated the front. I thought to myself that maybe I could help draw a more creative design for Cora.
I was brought out of my thoughts when he nudged my arm. I looked up to see his blue orbs dancing in amusement, "You seem distracted." I blushed a little not knowing how long I had been looking at the coffee cup now. I tucked a few strands behind my ear and couldn't help but scold myself at how silly I must seem to him. I could've swore I heard him lowly growl in a rather seductive manner, and it made me shiver all over. What is this boy doing to me?
"N-No. I was just thinking of a design for this cup," My eyes shot open like a deer in headlights, realizing I couldn't stop the words that came out of my mouth. Why would I tell him that? Kill me, now.
"You draw?," he asked, and sounded seemingly interested.
"Uh, yeah. Yes. Well, I mean-- no. Wait, yeah. Yes?," I babbled. He threw his head back laughing so hard. I wanted to scowl at him or be irritated but his laugh... dear God. I felt the smile creeping up on my face and felt the chuckle escape my lips. Then it was the two of us cackling while everyone at the booth stared at us in confusion and awe.
"Lets go see a movie!," Vera yelled after Milo and I had calmed ourselves.
"I heard that new Avengers film is good and the next one is at 6:45," Tanner chimed in. And that's when reality came into play. "What time is it?!," I yelped. My sudden panic had gained the attention of everyone. Milo looked at me with concern flashing in his eyes, "It's 6:15, why--," I flung my body out of the booth, thanking Cora for the coffee as I bolted out of the cafe as quickly as possible.
I hopped on my board and raced home. Not only was I late, but I hadn't made Jim any dinner. There was no doubt in my mind that tonight was going to be painful. I'm beyond screwed.
P L E A S E • V O T E