Painkiller

She was pale as it was, even pushing the pasty side, but going tanning, or even just hanging outside wasn’t what she did. She stayed in a lot, preferred it, and didn’t care that she was a homebody.

She looked back down at the book she was reading, hating that she couldn’t even control her emotions, and let them get the best of her. It was kind of a silly thing to get upset about, but then again it wasn’t.

She looked over to the windows that lined one side of the cafeteria. More times than not she stayed in when a lot of the seniors headed off school grounds to eat lunch. With not that much time, what was the point? She’d be tagging along with Rebel and his friends, and that wasn’t really what she wanted.

No, she could sit and eat, and then she was done come out here and read.

Looking back at her book, she started to get lost in the plot, but a big shadow was cast across the table and pages, and she exhaled, knowing it was Rebel.

“I’m sorry I just left like that. I guess I just needed some fresh air.” Looking up, she shielded her eyes with her arm, and sat up straighter when she saw it wasn’t Rebel, but the new guy.

“Hi,” he said and smirked. “This seat taken?” He gestured to the bench across from her.

She shook her head. “No, it’s free.” Rosie closed her book and stared at him as he set his backpack on the table and sat down across from her.

“I’m Charleston, by the way.” He held his hand out for her to shake.

It was kind of an odd gesture, but she went with it. “I’m Rosie.”

“Your friend is an asshole,” he said out of the blue, and smirked again.

He seemed to do that act a lot.

She felt herself bristle at the insult thrown Rebel’s way. “He’s my stepbrother, and he has good intentions, even if he goes a bit overboard sometime.” There was a second of silence that passed. “But he’s not an asshole.”

Well, yeah, he can be, but this guy doesn’t have any right to just blurt that out.

“I’ve pissed you off. I’m sorry,” he said, but there was something about his demeanor that told her he wasn’t sorry at all.

Arrogance. Yeah, that’s what she got off of him.

“What are you reading?” He changed the subject and pointed to the now closed book.

Looking down at it, she shrugged. “It’s just a book for English class.”

He smiled. “Does it have a title?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, sorry. People tend to not care about this kind of stuff. It’s Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone.”

He stared at her for a second, the sun behind him and casting this shadow over him. “Is it good?”

She nodded. “It’s really good, in fact.”

“What’s it about?”

She lifted a brow. “Are you really interested or are you just making small talk because Rebel wouldn’t let you sit at their table?” She was teasing.

He chuckled. “Rebel? That’s his name?”

“Nickname, but he’s been called that for years.”

Charleston nodded. “No, I’m really interested in what you’re doing. I noticed you right away in the cafeteria.”

That had surprise filling her. “What? Really? Why?”

He started laughing then. “Honestly, I don’t know. I mean you’re very pretty, and I saw you sitting across from those two Hulks, and I don’t know.” He shrugged and grinned wider.

She felt her face heat. Aside from Rebel no one complimented her, or had ever said she was pretty. She was geeky, she knew that, but she embraced that, loved who she was.

But Rosie knew what she was and wasn’t, and a guy like Charleston, who reminded her of Rebel in a lot of ways, seemed like he would appreciate a thinner, prettier girl. Like Rebecca.

“I’ve embarrassed you,” he said, but he was smiling, as if he found it amusing.

She started chuckling and nodded. “Yeah, I won’t lie.”

He sobered, and she did the same .

“You shouldn’t be embarrassed. You’re pretty.”

She cleared her throat and looked at the book again. It was time for her to change the subject now. “It’s about a girl that goes through a lot of difficult times, losing a lot in life, and ultimately finding her way.” She looked at Charleston again. “It’s a great book.”

“This might be pretty damned forward, but I transferred here because I was having a hard time at my last school. I could use some tutoring in some classes, and you seem pretty smart.”

“You want me to tutor you?” She knitted her brows. “This is your first day. You can’t possibly be failing anything.” She chuckled.

“Hey, better to be on top of shit, right?”

“I guess,” Rosie said.

It was nice to speak to someone about this stuff. She could talk to Rebel about anything, and they did speak a lot, but the truth was Rebel wasn’t interested in any of this.