Chapter Five

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Seven Years Ago

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"Eden, let's hang out after school," said Gus. "The three of us."

Eden was eating lunch with Oliver and Gus, her two best friends in the world. Her other friends weren't even close to being as good as these two were. Besides, she'd started to make less friends nowadays. Ever since she hit puberty, people her age didn't talk to her anymore. She didn't know if it was her or if it had more to do with Gus and Oliver. They'd definitely glowed up since elementary school.

Gus had a tan complexion with bright, blue eyes and blonde hair that covered his forehead. But not in a gross way. It was more of a Sam Winchester style.

Even though he wore glasses, he didn't get teased for being a nerd like most of the other kids. Rather, he was feared. He was the king of sports around school and had good grades, too. He could have been even more popular if he didn't keep to himself so much.

Then there was Oliver. Where did she start with Oliver? His skin was lighter than Gus's, but not pale. His green eyes and floppy black hair made every girl crazy for him.

Just as Gus was the king of sports, Oliver was the king of the school. He had the type of personality that instantly attracted everyone to him and held them there. He was the most popular kid in school, even though he was only a freshman.

His grades were average and he could hold his own in sports, but his real talent was music. He could play piano, guitar, and drums and sing practically any note. However, only a select few knew that about Oliver. He preferred to keep it a secret. "I'm not hiding it," he would say. "I'm just not telling anybody about it." Eden thought it was a waste of talent.

Eden herself could play the trumpet, got mostly A's and B's, and was picked among the top few people in P.E. In other words, she was an average person. Totally unworthy of having the two most popular boys in school for best friends. But here she was.

She couldn't trust the girls who tried to be her friends. She knew they were just trying to get close to her so that she'd put in a good word for them for either Oliver or Gus. Usually Oliver. She'd been fooled once. She vowed she never would be again.

The boys steered clear of Eden for the most part. Once a boy had picked on her. The next day he'd apologized and he'd avoided her ever since. She heard that Oliver and Gus had gotten to him. After that, most of the boys were too afraid to even look in her direction.

"Can't," said Oliver, breaking her train of thought. "My mom's making me go shopping with her." He made a bored face and rolled his eyes. Eden giggled.

"What about you Eden?"

"Yeah, I'm free," said Eden. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking about going to see the new Milantis movie." Gus looked down at his sandwich, rubbing the back of his neck. "But since it's just you and me, we can do something else."

"Milantis sounds perfect. What time?"

"Our normal time."

"Got it."

Gus nodded. "Sounds like a date."

Eden nearly choked on the dry BLT she was eating. J.J. Holmes High School was a good school, but just like any other school cafeteria, the food left much to be desired.

Even Oliver looked up from his phone, surprised. "What now?" he asked.

Gus blushed as he realized what he said. "Uh, I just meant, it's a plan," he stuttered.

Oliver arched an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Listen, Mathis, she's MY date to Homecoming. You can't have her." Eden heard the joking undertones in his voice, but apparently Gus didn't.

"That's not what I-" Gus stopped abruptly. He turned to Eden. "Homecoming?"

Eden blushed. "He asked me last week." She shrugged. "Who better to go with than my best friend?"

"I see."

Eden realized too late what she'd implied. "Gus, I didn't mean-"

"I know." Gus picked up his tray and got up from the table. "See you tonight, Eden."

"Gus-" Eden started to say, but he had already left.

She felt terrible. She hadn't meant to make Gus feel more inferior to Oliver than he already did. But that's exactly what she'd done.

"What's his problem?" said Oliver, watching Gus leave.

"Ollie, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"Why'd you tell him we were going to Homecoming together?"

"Why?" Oliver said nonchalantly. "We are, aren't we?"

"Yes, but-"

"He was gonna find out sometime. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't know already." He looked at her. "What's the big deal anyway?"

"He probably thought you would find somebody else to go with and I would go with him or that we'd all go together." Eden sighed. "I don't know, Ollie. He must be feeling pretty left out right now."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Oliver offered.

"No, I'll do it." Eden put her head in her hands.

Oliver walked around the table and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Richie."

She nodded. Not even Oliver's touch could cheer her up.

"Look, I gotta go. I suggest you leave soon, too. The bell's about to ring."

He was right. Almost as soon as he left, the bell let out a shrill BRING BRING BRRRRIIING! that Eden hated, especially right now. Eden slowly got up and made her way to her next class.

Eden spent the rest of the day thinking about how to make it up to Gus. She REALLY wanted to go to Homecoming with Oliver. But if Gus was that torn up about it, she wouldn't go with him. Eden knew Oliver would be fine if she didn't go with him. He could find another girl to go with him just by turning around. But Gus... if she didn't go with Gus, then he wouldn't go at all.

She was so focused on her dilemma she barely noticed that the school day had ended. She gulped. Eden had two hours to make her decision. Whether she was ready to or not.