Outcasts Page 9

  I shrug and look away from him. “I don’t have a problem.” I lie.

  He scoffs. “Please. You can’t just all of a sudden act like a bitch to me and say nothing is wrong.”

  He did not just call me… “Well, now I definitely have a problem. I don’t appreciate the name-calling.” I snap at him. I try catching up with the rest of the group, but Aiden catches my arm again.

  “Look, I really don’t understand why you’re giving me the cold shoulder,” he says. “I have no idea why you’re pissed off.”

  “Are you pretending to be my friend?” I ask him suddenly.

  “No?” It sounds more like a question than an answer. “Who said I was pretending?”

  “Ryan and I were talking and—”

  “Riley!” someone calls out behind me. “C’mon, the girls are taking the pictures now!”

  Aiden looks at me. “Can we talk about this after you’re finished?”

  I just nod and walk away from him.

  ***

  Taking the pictures isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The couple pictures are a little awkward for me though. Lucas holds my waist a little tighter than I want.

  I’m talking with Kelly when Ryan approaches us and starts to talk to her about something. But she soon leaves, leaving us alone.

  “Riley,” Ryan says as he stands next to me, “are you still mad at me?”

  I glance over at him. He has his lip sticking out like a puppy and his eyes are wide. I smirk. “You look ridiculous like that.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he says.

  I sigh. “I guess I forgive you.”

  He grins and wraps his arms around me. “I feel so much better now that we’re cool.”

  “You might want to let go. We wouldn’t want your girlfriend to get the wrong idea, would we?” I ask him.

  “Nicole is just going to have to accept the fact that you are now my best friend,” he says. He frowns then. “Why are you worried about her anyways? Did she say something?”

  I look at the ground. “It’s okay, Ryan—”

  “She told you something, didn’t she?” he asks. “Don’t listen to anything she says, Riley. When Nicole gets jealous, she says a lot of stupid stuff.”

  “I don’t understand why she’s jealous.” I shake my head. “I’ve never done anything to her, so why am I all of a sudden a waste of space?”

  Ryan frowns. “What?”

  “It’s nothing,” I tell him.

  “She called you a waste of space?” he aks me. I don’t answer. “I can talk to her—”

  I shook my head. “Just leave it alone. Don’t make this situation worse than it actually is.”

  He sighs. “Fine.”

  “You have no respect for anyone! All you care about is yourself, Aiden, and frankly, I’m sick and tired of this attitude of yours!” we hear someone shouting.

  Mine and Ryan’s attention turn to Robert who is currently yelling at Aiden. But Aiden is just standing there with a cigarette between his fingers and staring at his dad.

  “I’ve had it up to here with this crap, Aiden,” Robert says. “I don’t want you at the wedding if you’re going to act like this. If I so much as hear of you being at the wedding, I swear I will—”

  “You’ll what?” Aiden asks, challenging him. “I’m eighteen, Dad. I can do whatever the fuck I want. And I don’t even want to come to this fucking wedding anyways.”

  He and Robert have a stare down before Aiden chuckles bitterly. He throws the cigarette onto the ground and stomps on it. He then starts walking in our direction.

  Aiden looks at me angrily. “You can’t say I didn’t try.” I nod and look at the ground as he walks away from everyone.

  Everyone just watches Aiden as he walks down the sidewalk. Part of me wants to go after him, but another part of me tells me to give him some space. He’ll talk when he wants to talk.

  Anna walks up to Robert and says something to him that I can’t hear. Robert just sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

  Ryan whistles next to me. “Well, that was quite a scene.”

  I nod in agreement. “It was.” I look to my left and notice Robert making his way to me.

  He offers me a small smile. “My son is just a ray of sunshine, isn’t he?”

  I don’t know what to say.

  “It’s, Riley. Am I correct?” he asks me and I nod. “From what I’ve heard, I understand that you and Aiden have been talking these past few days.”

  Who cares about Aiden and me? And why is it a topic of conversation now?

  “We have,” I say slowly.

  “Has he told you anything? I mean, has he talked to you at all about the wedding?” Robert asks me, frowning.

  “He has,” I tell him. “I had convinced him to come here and to the wedding…” Aiden is obviously not welcome at the wedding anymore.

  Robert sighs. “I see. Well, I’m glad he listens to someone around here.”

  He walks away to Anna and the rest of the bridal party. Ryan glances at me and raises his eyebrows. I shrug.

  When Aiden wants to talk, he will.

  Chapter 14

  Our first wedding rehearsal will be this coming Tuesday. It was supposed to be last week, but Anna changed it because of pictures getting in the way.

  It’s now Sunday morning. My mom leaves to go grocery shopping. She claims we need more healthy food instead of buying junk food. Which is a load of bull crap to me. We do have enough healthy food. I think she wants me to eat healthier so I don’t gain weight and not fit into my dress.

  I am currently sitting on my couch, eating a Hershey’s bar, and watching The Big Bang Theory. Oh how I love Sheldon. He is, hands down, my favorite character.

  My phone buzzes next to me and I groan. It’s probably Mom, I think. I pick up my phone and glance at it. It’s a text from Lucas. He and I had exchanged numbers sometime during the photo shoot on Thursday.

  Hey Riley, wanna hang out today?

  I frown. Lucas is nice and all, but I’m watching The Big Bang Theory. Wow, I am pathetic, blowing someone off to watch a show on TV.

  C’mon, Riley.

  My thumbs roam over the keyboard on my phone before I actually start typing my message back.

  Sure. What do you wanna do?

  I smile to myself. See? I can go out and socialize with people. My phone buzzes again and I look down at it.

  We could see a movie.

  A movie will be fine. I agree and Lucas tells me he’ll pick me up around four. It’s almost three now, so I have plenty of time to get ready.

  ***

  “So what movie are we seeing?” I wonder out loud. I’m sitting next to Lucas in his car and he’s driving us to the theater.

  He shrugs. “Whatever is fine with me.”

  “What do you want to see?” I ask instead. I hate it when people say they don’t care what movie we see. We all want to see a certain movie.

  “I wanted to see Fast & Furious,” he says, smiling. “What about you?”

  I don’t want to see Fast & Furious. But I’m not going to tell him what I’m thinking. “I haven’t really paid attention to the movie trailers lately, so I don’t know what’s out.”

  “We can decide when we get there then,” he says.

  We fall into an awkward silence. I stare out the window and watch as we pass different stores and neighborhoods.

  “Are you excited for the wedding?” Lucas asks, breaking the silence.

  I look at him and shake my head. “Not really.”

  “You’re not?”

  “No. I didn’t want to be in the wedding in the first place, but my mom made me do it,” I tell him. I notice we are pulling into the parking lot at the theater and my eyes scan over the movie posters.

  “The Great Gatsby,” I whisper excitedly. The book was absolutely amazing to read. When I saw the previews of the movie, I promised myself I would see it. I completely forgot that it’s out.

  Lucas parks and we
both get out. “So, The Great Gatsby?” Lucas asks me.

  I blush. “You heard me?”

  “It wasn’t exactly a whisper.” He laughs. “I wouldn’t mind seeing it. It actually looked pretty interesting.”

  “Then off to buy tickets!” I exclaim. We walk towards the building and make our way inside.

  I had only been to the theater a few times. Lame, I know. I almost forgot what it looks like in here. I glance up and around to take in the surroundings. A group of girls pass by me and give me weird looks.

  Just because they’re in booty shorts and small tank tops doesn’t make them better than me.

  I’m in my jeans, a Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt, and my old beat up Converse. I’m comfortable, so that’s all that mattered. I feel someone’s arm on my shoulders and I look up at Lucas giving me a goofy smile in return. He holds up two tickets in front of my face.

  “I’ve got the tickets already, so let’s get snacks,” he suggests. I nod and we start walking. It feels odd with his arm around me though. I need an excuse to get away from his grasp.

  “I’m going to go to the bathroom before we go in.” I lie. I pull myself away and look around for the restrooms. I see the sign not too far away.

  Right as I’m about to enter the ladies’ room, I hear someone giggle and squeal. “Aiden, stop!”

  My head snaps in the direction where I hear the voice. Near the restroom doors, Aiden has some brunette against the wall and is kissing her neck. She is giggling like crazy and he has a slight smirk on his face.

  I frown and push the door open to the ladies’ room. Well, I have to say that Aiden is the last person I would have expected to see here. And that’s the first time I’ve seen him with a girl. Is that his girlfriend? Are they on a date?

  Why do you even care, Riley?

  After I go to the restroom and wash my hands, I walk out of the bathroom and accidentally hit someone with the door. It isn’t a hard hit, but I definitely hit someone.

  It’s the brunette Aiden was just with. She scowls at me when she sees me walk out. “Watch where you’re going, bitch.”

  I hold up my hands. “It wasn’t me. It was that door.” I point to it. “Evil door, I tell you.”

  She stares at me like I have three heads. “Was that supposed to be an insult?”

  What an airhead.

  “No,” I say slowly. “I’m going to leave now.”

  When I try making my way around her, Aiden appears at her side, and he raises his eyebrows when he sees me.

  “Led Zeppelin girl,” he says, sounding surprised. “What’re you doing here?”

  “I’m going to see a movie, obviously,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  He rolls his eyes too. “Well, no shit. Who are you here with?”

  “Lucas.”

  “The one from the party?”

  I cross my arms. “The one you punched at the party? Yes, that Lucas.”

  “Hold on.” The brunette interrupts us. “How do you know my boyfriend?” she asks me. So she is his girlfriend.

  “I’m in his dad’s wedding,” I tell her.

  “I’m not your boyfriend, Molly,” Aiden says, sounding annoyed.

  So she isn’t his girlfriend? I’m confused.

  She takes a step away from him. She looks at him with big puppy eyes. “But you said the other day—”

  “I say a lot of shit, Molly. But I don’t recall saying you were my girlfriend,” Aiden says to her.

  I duck my head and slowly start to walk away. Well, that was awkward.

  Lucas sees me and approaches me. “Hey, what took so long?”

  “Ran into some people.” I wave it off. “Now, let’s go watch the movie.”

  ***

  The Great Gatsby totally lives up to my expectations. It’s truly amazing and I feel like watching it over and over again until I can no longer stand it.

  I don’t think Lucas enjoyed it as much as I did, but I don’t care.

  We walk out of the theater and I toss the popcorn bag into a nearby trash can. I sigh happily and look at Lucas. “Thanks for bringing me here. It was actually kind of fun.”

  Lucas smiles. “Anytime.”

  We walk out of the building and I notice the sun is just about to set. I stretch and instantly feel lazy.

  Someone suddenly grabs hold of my arm, making me jump. With wide eyes, I look over and I see Aiden standing next to me, smiling.

  “You scared me!” I pull my arm away and smack his arm. He just chuckles as I hit him.

  “You should be more aware of your surroundings,” he says, smirking. “I could have easily picked you up and ran off with you. Especially since you weigh nothing.”

  I do not weigh nothing! I weigh…well, I don’t know how much I weigh, but it’s not nothing! I squint my eyes at him. “What do you want?”

  “Are you still mad at me or something? It’s been like three days,” he says.

  I’m not mad at him. He didn’t really do anything to me in the first place. I was madder at Ryan than anyone, but I forgave him right away. “No. I’m not mad.”

  He smiles. “Great.” He glances over at Lucas. “Hey, man, is it okay if I steal her away? I’ll take her home.”

  Steal me away?

  Lucas looks at me. “Are you going with him?”

  I look at him, then at Aiden, then back at Lucas. “Yeah,” I finally answer.

  Lucas looks slightly disappointed. “Okay. I’ll talk to you later then.”

  I give him a smile. “Okay.” He walks to his car and I watch him leave.

  “I’ll talk to you later then,” Aiden mimics Lucas. “Please.”

  I frown at Aiden. “You’re being rude right now. Maybe I should have gone with Lucas.” I cross my arms.

  “I’m glad you didn’t though.” Aiden smiles brightly. “Because we’re going to have fun right now.”

  Oh no. I was wondering when we’ll try this again. “What are we going to do?”

  “It’s a surprise,” he says. “C’mon, let’s go before it gets too dark.”

  I follow him to the parking lot. We approach a silver car. I feel like I’ve seen this car before.

  “Is this your car?” I ask curiously. I don’t remember Aiden having a car.

  Aiden shakes his head. “No. It’s my friend Alex’s.”

  Alex? I think about the name and the car for a second. Then it hit me. This is the same car I had gotten in with Aiden when he basically kidnapped me. And Alex was the guy driving.

  We get into the car and I buckle my seatbelt. “Why do you have his car?”

  “He lets me borrow it every now and then.” Aiden shrugs. He starts it and then we are off.

  “Wait, what happened to that one girl you were with?” I ask, remembering the brunette.

  Aiden smirks. “I left during our movie and told her I was going to the restroom. But I never went back.”

  That’s actually quite hilarious but mean at the same time. “You are an evil person, Aiden Callaway.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” he says. “I’d say I have a different personality than others.”

  “But doesn’t everyone have a different personality than others?”

  Aiden sighs in frustration. “Don’t make me drop you off on the side of the road.”

  We say nothing else after that. I glance out the window and see that we are pulling into the parking lot of the public library. I’m about to ask what we’re doing here but Aiden gives me a look that makes me shut up. We both get out of the car and Aiden walks around the car and pops the trunk open. He grabs a black backpack and I immediately feel nauseous.

  “Follow me,” Aiden instructs.

  Instead of arguing with him, I follow him like he told me to. We walk to the side of the building, which has me more curious as to what we will to do. We walk to the back of the library. Aiden takes a few more steps before stopping and setting the black backpack on the ground.

  He holds his arms out and gestures to the library. “We have r
eached our destination.”

  I glance at the library and my eyes widen. There’s graffiti all over the wall and even on a separate wall that hides the dumpster. I stare in awe at the wall covered in art. It isn’t all that gang crap either. It’s graffiti art.

  Aiden crouches down next to the black backpack and reaches inside. Whatever he pulls out, he tosses it to me. “Think fast.”

  I catch the object and look down at it. It’s a spray can. I’m about to ask what it’s for, but then the answer occurs to me.

  “Aiden, I can’t graffiti a wall!” I exclaim.

  “Don’t talk so loud!” he whispered. “It’s fine as long as we don’t get caught.” He assures me.

  I roll my eyes. “Oh, that makes it so much better.”

  Aiden ignores my last comment and walks up to the wall. He takes the spray can and starts to spell something out on the wall:

  Riley.

  “Don’t put my name!” I say angrily. My name is in a bright blue color, making it stand out.

  “Maybe I should put your last name too,” Aiden smirks.

  I open the spray can in my hand and I start to spray the wall too. I finish and take a step back.

  Aiden.

  The color I used was a bright pink. I smile and look at Aiden. He nods. “Not bad, Summers, not bad at all.”

  He grabs another spray can from the back and opens it. He starts to spray something again. I just stand there and watch what he’s writing. I smile when he finishes.

  Fuck what they think.

  It’s exactly what Aiden would say. Bet he lives by that motto too. He looks at me and motions to the wall. “Go ahead, Summers. Have a go at it.”

  “I don’t know what to write,” I say, staring up at the wall. There are so many pictures and quotes.

  “Just write whatever comes to mind,” he says, shrugging.

  I frown and bite my lip. I think about it then smile. I start to spray once again.

  “Don’t put ‘Vandalism is bad’ either,” Aiden tells me.

  I chuckle as I continue to spray. It’s just one word. Nothing too crazy.

  Outcasts.

  Aiden grins when he sees the word. He sprays on two arrows that go from our names to the word outcasts. Aiden looks at me and smiles. “I believe I have turned you into a rebel, Ms. Summers.”