#Chapter5
---Tingles and Two Buff Dudes-01
As soon as Charlotte and I stepped into the school I got a weird feeling in my stomach.
Instead of being glared at, people actually smiled at me and waved.
Weird.
/"Aspen? Is that you?/" I hear Kayden ask as I walk into first period. I quickly sit beside him which makes Charlotte groan in annoyance before she plops down in the seat on my left.
/"Do you know why everyone is acting so.../" I say as my voice trails off since I'm trying to find the right word
/"Weird?/" He asks which causes me to nod my head
/"Yeah. You notice it too?/" I ask which causes him to nod his head
/"Who hasn't, There's a rumor going around that you're trying to fit in/" he says with a sad tone which causes me to place my face in my hands and groan
This is what I was afraid of.
It's like our school is afraid of change.
/"Obviously most of the students love it,/" he says in a cheerier tone
/"Then there's Maddie/" he says in annoyance which causes me to laugh as I look at him
/"I wouldn't worry about her, she'll be too busy flirting with Charlotte/" I say with a hopeful voice and a wave of my hand
/"What about yesterday when she found something else to do/" he whispers as he points to the cheek I got slapped on.
I just look down at my lap and hope that Charlotte didn't hear that. If she did she wouldn't even hesitate to bring it up later.
-
First and Second period flew by so fast that it's currently lunchtime.
As I walk into the cafeteria I immediately sit down at a booth with Kayden as we wait for Charlotte.
She said that she was bringing me lunch which made me upset that she was sneaking off of campus again but she just brushed off my worry.
/"Maddie at three o'clock/" Kayden whispers across from me
/"Wha-/" I say but get cut off by Maddie's voice
/"Are you new? I haven't seen you before/" Maddie says as she slides into the empty space beside and touches my arm
I slowly turn to her and hope that she doesn't slap me. When I'm fully facing her she raises her eyebrow at me in question.
Does she really not notice me?
/"Well, I asked you a question, silly/" she says with a lighthearted laugh as she loops her arm with mine
Is she high?
/"Maddie, it's me. Aspen/" I say which causes her to stare at me in confusion before she suddenly starts to burst into laughter
/"You're funny, you should sit at my lunch table./" She says as she points to the table with all of the popular students
Surprisingly, they're all nice to me.
It's only Maddie that has a dislike for me.
/"You wold fit in so well over there/" she says with a wide smile as she plays with the ends of my hair
Okay, this has to be a joke.
What do I win?
Concert tickets. A backstage pass. A vacation.
/"I don't fit in over there/" I say as I turn to Kayden for help which turns out to be useless since he shrugs his shoulders and looks away
/"What are you talking about? You're a total babe magnet/" she says as she pulls me out of the booth and towards the popular table
I press my feet farther onto the ground only to end up tripping over my feet.
/"Kayden, Tell Charlotte to help me when she gets here/" I say since Charlotte has the biggest effect on Maddie
/"You must be friends with Charlotte since you're sitting at her booth,/" she says as she walks us towards the table
/"Of course we are, because I'm Aspen/" I say with irritation evident in my voice
/"You're hilarious,/" she says with a laugh as we each pull out a chair and sit at the table
/"How?/" I ask as I awkwardly sit there
/"You're really committed to pranking me, aren't you?/" she says with a mischievous look in her eye before winking which causes me to facepalm
Is this how Hannah Montana felt?!
And where is Charlotte?!
-
I barely made it through the rest of the school day.
I was avoiding Maddie while at the same time I was looking for Charlotte.
I walk into the school parking lot only to see Charlotte leaning against the hood of her car with a smirk on her face as she looks at me.
I quickly make my way towards her.
/"Where were you?/" I say with a serious tone as I cross my arms which causes her to pout at my facial expression
/"Why? Did you miss me?/" She says with a smirk which causes me to roll my eyes
/"I'm being serious, Charlotte./" I say /"You disappeared and were nowhere to be seen/" I say as she stares at me intently
/"I was worried about you when I couldn't find you/" I say as a tear rolls down my cheek
After lunch I was able to sneak away from Maddie so that I could look for Charlotte, but she was nowhere to be seen.
If something happened to her and I wasn't there to help her I would never be able to live with myself.
She grabs my hips before she pulls me into a tight hug which causes me to wrap my arms around her neck and lay my head on her shoulder.
/"I'm sorry,/" she says as she tightens her grip around my waist
/"I had an emergency that I needed to take care of/" she says with an emotionless tone which causes me to pull away from her so that I could look into her eyes
/"Emergency?/" I ask with confusion evident in my voice which causes her to tense
/"It's nothing that you need to worry about. I'm craving salad, do you want to go to your favorite restaurant?/" She says as she quickly changes the subject. I decide to drop it since she obviously doesn't want to talk about it.
/"Yeah, lets go/" I say which makes her smile before she walks to the passenger side door and holds it open for me. I blush as I get into the seat before she closes the door and jogs around to the drivers seat
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