Smiling, Jackie watched as Danielle walked back past the trees. Her skirt swayed with each step she took, her bag bouncing and hitting her back. Jackie snapped out of watching her walk away by Oliver, who leant across the table.

“Why did you bring Miss Popular over here?” he hissed, fists clenched on the table. His hoodie was wrapped around him tightly, like a protective veil. She could have sworn the hairs on her neck stood up, and the leaves seemed to stir on the ground, she even swore she heard the rattling of the bench.

“Don’t yell at her – you just got invited to the biggest social event… that you’ve ever been invited to,” Nia squealed, grabbing Jackie tightly by the arm. “How did you do it?”

“Women love me?” Jackie joked, arching her shoulder up slightly with a smile. Nia squealed again, her fingers flexing out in front of her as she squirmed in her spot. Oliver visibly relaxed at Nia’s excitement, which was really sweet, his fists unclenched and shoulders sagged slightly.

“Oli, you need to go,” Nia slammed her hands flat against the table. Her eyes were hard, trained on Oliver who shrunk back slightly. “If not for you – you can’t let Jackie go alone!” Nia whipped her head back and forth between the older two. “I need you to go, live for me,” she pleaded, sinking under the table slightly. Her big, dark doe eyes focused completely on Oliver. The boy looked stuck in headlights, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“I’m getting hardcore drama vibes,” Jackie chuckled, patting Nia on the back in an effort to calm her down. Nia just pretended to sob, curling herself into Jackie’s side.

“Fine, I’ll go,” Oliver gave in, “But don’t for a second think I’m going to enjoy it.” Oliver pulled his earphones from his pocket, jamming them into his ears with more force than necessary. His compliance caused a high-pitched shrieking from Nia, who almost launched herself across the table to wrap her arms around Oliver.

“How – How did you get the Danielle Adams to come over here?” Nia groaned, propping her head on her hand. Dark eyes begging for Jackie to spill how she, within the span of an hour, had managed to befriend who was clearly at the top of social hierarchy. Nia’s full hair was splayed out around her – she had a lot of growing to do, but she was a gorgeous girl. Her soul shone through her doe eyes. Jackie patted her on the shoulder, remembering that it was her Father who taught her to appreciate small things from people.

“I just really connected with her, ya know,” Jackie said. “I was good friends with girls like her back home.”

The lunch bell went, cutting their conversation short. Nia’s exasperated groan summed up how they all felt. Their goodbyes were quick, Nia’s next class was practically on the other side of the school, but Oliver lingered. Slowly, Jackie picked up her bags, assuming that Oliver had something to say. She took her time. Without being too obvious, Jackie sized him up. She watched the way his pale skin had a fine layer of sweat – like he hadn’t slept properly in a long time. He radiated ice. A cold persona in temperatures that had began heating up. But Oliver was always cold – his hoodie coated in old stains and torn slightly. It could have almost been a fashion statement if it wasn’t for the old coffee stains around the sleeves, not the height of a look. But his dark brown eyes were cold. The way they darted over her face. It was like cold sparks of electricity danced untameable in his eyes. Shivering, Jackie slung her bag over her shoulder.

“I’m only going to that party for Nia,” he finally spoke, earphones still in and hands in his pockets. “I don’t go to these parties,” he continued. Ice flooded into his words, filling the air around them. Jackie felt the urge to put her jacket back on. “We both know people aren’t really like this,” he paused for a moment, his eyes never leaving her. “People like that aren’t friends with people like me.”

Jackie nodded, taking in what he was saying. “I get the vibe you think you’re not good enough to be someone’s friend, but trust me, when you stop thinking like that no one can stop you from making friends with people.”

With that being her final input, Jackie walked back into school.