All Or Nothing; Chapter 9

Sorry for the lack of updates! But here we go... :)

I packed up my school studies fast, and rose from the chair. Taylor's gaze got caught in my actions, his eyebrows creasing, and eyes full of questions.
"Why are you in a hurry? It's only lunch."
"Uhh, I'm going to try to be more social, make new friends. Ya know?" I zipped up my backpack, and threw it onto my shoulders.
"Mhm, I'll talk to you later, then?" a hint of disappointment.
"Yeah, bye, Tay..." I pushed in the chair to the desk, and walked away, taking a last glance at my first friend. He channeled a tad bit of frustration. I pushed the image out of my head; walking to the cafeteria.

Jocelyn shot up her hand in the air, motioning me to sit towards her table, about a table away from Josh's posse. Trembling, I scarcely noticed that Josh wasn't in place with his friends. Where was he?
"Nervous wreck," I mumbled to myself. Why was I even getting caught up in this? I focused back on my possibly new friends.
There sat 4 other super-model girls aside Jocelyn. They looked at me as I walked towards them, judging. Each of them wore the same matching gold charm bracelets. Jocelyn smiled in delight. She was their leader, and she admired the attention. I pulled up an extra chair in-between 2 of the girls, smiling gently.
"Girls, this is Hayley Williams. The girl I've been telling you about." she folding her skinny arms across the table. The other four girls smiled at me.
"Hayley, this is Allison," she pointed to another blond girl with brown-green eyes, much different than Jocelyn. She was about the same size as Jocelyn was, but her features were different. She wore a yellow short-dress paired with leggings. Her make-up was perfect, and natural. Her hair was shoulder-length, a natural beach wavy texture.
"This is Marina," she gestured to a brunette girl with light brown eyes, wearing a aquamarine blue off-the-shoulder blouse. Her hair was long, and looked soft and straightened, going down her back, softly framing her face with small layers.
"This is Jennifer," Her hair was a shining light brunette-blond, it was almost difficult to describe her hair color. Her hair was layered past her shoulders, short departing from the sides of her face, growing longer at the middle. Her eyes were a stunning green, and she wore a unique, strong, smiling expression. Jennifer wore a strapless navy blue top, paired with a green and white striped flowing cardigan, and a simple black skirt and red flats. She had the same high-fashioned style as Jocelyn.
"And this is Alannah," Jocelyn smiled. Alannah was Jocelyn's best friend. A very, very dark chestnut brunette with deep blue eyes, small orange burts of orange surrounding them. Her bangs were pinned to the side of her face, as the rest of her hair freely hung slightly past her shoulders. Unlike the other girls, she wasn't very high-fashioned. She was in fact, wearing a flattering dark purple t-shirt under an "Adidas" sweater, and Light wash Guess skinny jeans. Her makeup was also natural, liquid eyeliner and mascara. Saying that, her skin was perfect.
"Hey," I greeted, in a song-song tone, acting more confident than I really was.
"Hi, Hayley," Marina was the first to talk. "So, you know Josh Farro?"
The four other girls leaned in, closer to me, in a secretive manner, expecting some gossip. Were they Josh-disciples? Oh, please, no.
"Mhmm," I bit my lip at the thought of him, and naturally smiled.
"OhmyGOSH, you LIKE him!" Alannah lightly punched me in the arm and winked. They weren't bad. In fact, they all seemed like normal girls; with amazing taste of fashion and a skill to grab attention.
I laughed. "ME liking JOSH? You're too funny."
"You know," Jennifer smirked to Marina, "I bet that whole fight this morning was about you, Hayley."
My eyes widened. Did they know? Did they hear? "Impossible."
"I don't think so, Hun," Jennifer rested her elbow on the table, her hand supporting her head. "You see, our girl Allison, here used to date Don." She giggled, then held her other hand to whisper to us asides Allison, "She still is in love with him! She won't admit it; though."
"Jenn, shut up, I don't!" Allison cracked up, throwing an olive from her salad at Jennifer's head.
"Ha! Head shot!" The girl giggled in a high-pitched, warm voice.
"You're so dead, later on!" Jennifer slumped in her chair, picking up the olive and throwing it back at Allison. "You know you still like him!" The other girls including myself laughed at their actions. They seemed really fun, really easy to talk to. I, dumbfound, laughed along with them.
Allison only blushed, her face going tomato red! "No I DON'T!"
"Suuuure," Jocelyn, Marina, and Jennifer all stated at the same time. I was surprised to hear myself blurt it out in unison with them. They all looked at me with excited grins on their faces.
"What?" I smiled.
"You know what, Hayley? I think the 5 of us are going to get along very well!"
I smiled, these girls actually seemed normal, unlike the image they projected. Intimidating, smart, social. They were nice, funny... Could I be one of them? Did they expect me to? Were they just using me?DIfferent scenarios raced through my mind.
"Aaand, according to Don, Josh kindda has the hits for you."
"What?! That... Can't be," I chuckled nervously looking down at the table.
"Well, according to Don, it is." Allison winked. "Only thing is, Josh says that about every girl, huh? What a douche."
Despite the sting of disappointment, Which I found odd, I agreed 100%, and learning that the queens of the school thought the exact same, and wasn't in love with him, unlike most of the girls; brought a huge smile to my face. They weren't those girls that expected all guys to like them. They seemed independent. Powerful.
I had a totally looked for people that have seen his outer shell.
"So," Jocelyn cleared her throat and changed the subject quickly, "Umm. I kindda have an announcement to make."
We all leaned in towards her, each of us wearing a curious smirk.
"So, you guys know Ryan?"
Not really.
"Mhmm," the girls rolled their eyes. Probably a guy I wouldn't want to mess with. I found myself copying the girls annoyed looks, and lip pouting.
"Well, like I predicted, she's hitting."
Gasps and wide eyes slowly made their way around the table. So, some chick Jocelyn doesn't like was hitting on him... Ryan? Maybe a guy that she likes, too?
It was interesting to know all of this. It felt like I was instantly accepted. It was a feeling I've never got to experience before. They were confident in me keeping gossip around their little clique.
So was that it? I'm now part of Jocelyn's clique?
I better keep this on the low.
"I've got a plan," Alannah took out her deep red Blackberry, jolting down a few notes with super-hero fast thumbs.
"Oh, really?" Jocelyn grinned at her best friend. The other girls crowded closer to Alannah, wondering what she was writing down. Alannah kept her Blackberry un-visible, hiding it teasingly away from them using her super-hero fast thumbs, and once she was done, she handed her Blackberry across the table to Jocelyn.
Jocelyn took it happily, holding the Blackberry close to her blue eyes.
We were all quiet as we waited for her approval. There was tension.
Marina had a wondering look, staring back and forwards at Alannah and Jocelyn.
Allison was playing with her hands under the table.
Alannah grinned happily, expecting her best friends' reaction.
Jennifer wore a devilish smirk as she twirled her hair. She was probably the third wheel with the two mighty best friends.
I examined everybody's face until somebody spoke a sound.
Then suddenly, Jocelyn burst out laughing clutching the Blackberry in her palm.
"Alannah, this is perfect! I love you!"
She handed the Blackberry back to the beautiful girl.
"I thought you would!" Alannah cracked up, placing her Blackberry back into her jeans pocket.
Suddenly all our faces rose, and the tension was gone.
"What?" I laughed, now looking back at Alannah and Jocelyn.
"I'll tell all of you girls in about a week...?" she looked at Alannah for a dismissing look, and Alannah nodded for a sign of confirmation. "Alright. A week from now. 'Lan and I have to discuss it. Right now, always keep your eyes out for Ryan and... You-know-who."
I looked like an idiot trying to understand everything that was going on. But I nodded, keeping an unsaid promise.
Then, Lunch was over with the ring of the bell.

I really didn't care to find out what Jocelyn was talking about. I mean, really it was like, once that I sat at her table, right? It's not like I was going to stay with her clique forever. I couldn't get what they said out of my head.
Josh liked me?
Maybe. No. No, no, no.
I threw my backpack on my back, and locked my locker, and now; it was time to go home. Wayyy too much happened for me, today. Much for my liking. How many questions were to answer?
Oh, there's another one. I sighed.
The first thing I saw was Taylor's blue Punchbuggy. I smiled, catching his attention. He waved, driving the buggy near me, stopping, rolling down the window, then rolling his eyes, with a teasing smile.
"Oh, so by 'making new friends,' you just 'so happened' to become part of Jocelyn's little group? You're much different than I thought you were." he unlocked the car, motioning me to get into the front passenger's seat.
"Is that a bad thing?" I smiled as I opened the door and crunched into the car. I knew it was a compliment. Probably not every girls grabs the attention of Jocelyn and her clique. I was just lucky. I think...?
"No, it's not at all. I'm just... Wow." he looked stunned. Like he couldn't find the words to say.
I laughed.
"So how was it? Being an Alpha, catching the attention of the whole student body? That you're the new girl in her group?"
"What? Nobody was watching us."
"You have no idea how many people are talking about you, Hayley." He chuckled, putting the Buggy in drive, and started driving away from the school.
"In a good way? Bad way...?"
"First of all, kindda both. And you're like the talk of the school. I mean, first of all, you've got Josh's attention, now Jocelyn's. No girl has ever done that. And really, all the guys just think you're hot in general."
"Oh, jeez." I grimaced. Then I decided to ask him something with my new-born confidence. "What do you think of me?"
"Huh?"
"You're a guy aren't you? Tell me what you think of me."
He gulped, trying to hide his nervousness. "Err, want the truth?"
"No, Taylor, I want you to lie," I giggled sarcastically.
"Well, the first time I saw you, i thought you were pretty. You looked sad, and you seemed unique. So I went to talk to you."
"Ahh," I liked his answer. I really, really liked his answer. It was so sweet, probably much different than some perverted guy in our school. He was really a sweety. That's what I admired in Taylor.
Neither of us said a word until we reached my house. "Thanks for the ride," I smiled back at him as I picked up my backpack.
"No problem. Any time, Hayley. Oh, look. Farro's waiting for you."
"What?" I squinted my eyes toward the front porch.
I was him, alright. The red mark on his eye that was there this morning was a gray-black. He waved a me, with a crooked smile.
"Aww shoot," I muttered, then turned back to Taylor, now looking a little disappointed, but wore a happy smile. I wanted to punch myself.
"Well, thanks again, Tay. I'll see you tomorrow." I breathed.
He nodded as I turned to face Josh.
Here we go.