Chapter Twenty-nine: The Peanuts Gallery

Each year, Applewood sponsors a Valentine's Day dance. I absolutely hated going, but I went anyway because Micah always wanted to go. It was held to fund the art club. I supported the cause, but the dance was always so boring. Even now, I still had to go. This time it was because of my best friends were going and were afraid I'd sit at home alone binge eating.

They were right, but it still hurt. I just wanted to sit at home and watch TV while eating a tub of cookie dough. I couldn't help but want to stay home and drown in my thoughts. My inner she-devil had been invading my thoughts lately. Ever since she suggested I liked Griffin, she hasn't stopped talking about him. It was annoying.

I couldn't help but consider it. What would happen if I did like him? It's not like I could do anything about it. He and I were from two different worlds. At this point, it wasn't whether I liked him or not. It was more of why I would like him.

We went over this already. He's-

I swear if you call him the forbidden fruit one more time-

Fine, fine. I'll go mess with someone else.

Wait, seriously? You can do that?

No! It was sarcasm, you idiot!

I knew Kira and Indie wouldn't let me get out this, so I had Tanner hide the ice cream from me. I had to at least try to fit into my dress. I didn't want to wear a dress, but they forced me. Personally, I didn't see the point of wearing a dress in the winter. It was stupid to me, but I didn't have a choice.

I decided to wear my homecoming dress from last year. It was easier and I didn't have to spend money. It was a cream one-shoulder dress that ended at my knees. My ankle strap heels matched. My hair was in a curly afro as always. I didn't bother putting more than eyeliner on my face. I slipped into a pale pink cardigan and was on my way.

I walked into the gym expecting a number of things. I expected a cheesy dance with hearts everywhere and pink and red displayed everywhere. I expected the music to be overplayed pop love songs.

I was proven right.

What I didn't expect was Taylor and Brooke to be standing next to each other, talking about God knows what. Taylor glanced over at me and a smirk instantly took over her face. She turned to Brooke and began talking more animatedly.

I wasn't in the mood to talk or argue. I didn't even want to be at this dance. My main goal was to show up and leave quietly. However, no matter how hard I tried not to draw any attention, it became impossible. I was fine until I got greedy and tried to grab a cookie.

The entire tray fell.

"Shit," I muttered to myself.

"Oh my gosh! Mackenzie, are you okay?!" It was Taylor.

"I'm fine," I glared at her. I turned to the woman behind the food table and frowned once I recognized her. She was the art teacher. This was her event. "I'm so sorry. I can go buy some more-"

She shook her head, "No need. No one eats them anyway."

"Well at least let me pay," I reached into my purse and pulled out ten dollars. "For the art club."

She smiled at me, "Thank you, Mackenzie. Your donation is appreciated."

I smiled and turned around again. The majority of the room was watching me. Brooke seemed to be examining me. She raised her eyebrow and gave me a once-over. I frowned and searched for my friends. Unfortunately, they were both late, so I was alone.

That wasn't so bad. I had fun talking to a few of my old friends. We were actually having some nice conversations. It only got worse when Brooke strolled over to me. I sighed quietly, knowing I couldn't avoid her all night.

"Hey, Kenzie!" Brooke squeaked.

"What do you want, Brooke?" I rolled my eyes.

She pouted, "And here I thought we were friends."

Friends? That's a funny word for mortal enemies.

Tell me about it.

"Listen, I was thinking we could be friends. We started out pretty rough-"

"It's your fault!" I growled. "Excuse me if I don't want to be friends with someone who made me cry over my dead grandmother."

The group of people around us began to grow. I tried to keep my temper, but I couldn't stand to look at her face. She reminded me of everything I hated about myself. She was a manifestation of my insecurities and shallowness. So, looking at her sparked a rage I didn't even know existed.

"Kenzie-"

"Call me that one more time-"

"And you'll what? Cry to your little boyfriend?"

I felt a dangerous amount of rage build up. A little more of this and I'd be forced to sacrifice my ladylike look. I may have heels on, but they never stopped me before. If I had to drop her, I would do so.

"Kenzie!"

Kira and Indie came running at me. Bradley and Julie followed closely behind. They were all dressed nicely. I was happy to see Julie and Kira together in public. Julie finally came out. Her dad didn't have a problem, but her and her mom got into an argument. After a few days, she finally accepted her. Now Kira and Julie spend a lot of time together in public.

I was genuinely happy for them.

Indie's expression fell when she saw Brooklyn, "What do you want?"

"Oh look, the Peanuts Gallery. I'm shaking in my boots," Brooke mock shuddered.

"Brooke, don't make me do something we both regret," Indie growled.

"And what will you do exactly? I was simply trying to talk to my dear friend, Mackenzie," Brooke grinned. "But I'll leave."

With that, she returned to her spot next to Taylor. There was no doubt they were talking about me and my friends. However, I couldn't care less. As long as she was away from me, they could talk about whatever they wanted. Something about Brooke sparked unprecedented amounts of anger in me.

Maybe it was her calm and mature voice. Maybe it was the fact that she was a Reaper. Maybe it was the fact that she and Taylor were friends. Whatever it was, I was over it. There are too many causes of stress in my life at the moment. On the top of that list is hiding the fact that I hadn't applied for any colleges.

This whole death thing was the perfect excuse not to apply. Before, I was always worried about college. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I still don't know what I want to do with my life. I was leaning towards something to do with entertainment. Definitely mental fitness or something pertaining to healthcare because I've always loved helping people.

"C'mon! This is my song!" Kira drags me and Julia away.

After a while of dancing, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around to see a guy giving me a strange look. He seemed nervous and excited at the same time. I raise an eyebrow at him. He takes a deep breath.

"You're Mackenzie, right?"

"Yes...?"

"Well... follow me then," He grabbed my arm and began leading me away.

I stopped, yanking my arm back, "What do you want?"

"Oh, I see. This is a part of your act! You're good at your job," He smiled. "Let's go."

"I must be super good at my job considering I don't even know what it is," I frowned. "I'll ask again: what do you want?"

"I was told you're- ehem, a lady of the night."

I felt like a cartoon character after they eat something really hot and they turn red from head to toe. Except, I didn't eat anything and I wasn't as innocent as those cartoons. The thoughts that went through my head weren't appropriate. I took a deep breath trying to calm down. It almost worked.

Until I saw a camera in the corner of my eye.

It was Taylor's phone. Brooke was smirking next to her. I knew they set this up. This had their names written all over it. I spun on my heel and marched towards them. My jaw was so tightly clenched, I was sure my teeth would crack.

"What's wrong, Mackenzie? Business not going so well?" Taylor mock pouted.

"Prostitution? A bit tacky, Mackenzie, don't you think?" Brooke tapped her chin a few times.

"What is your problem?!" I screamed, unable to contain my rage. "Why are you so obsessed with messing with my life?! Don't you have anything better to do?! Obviously not because you have yet to leave me the fuck alone!"

Taylor rolled her eyes, "Stop playing innocent. We all know-"

"Know what, Taylor?! What do you know?!" I let out a laugh. "You're so quick to start rumors about others, but let's talk about Taylor-"

I felt Indie's hand on my shoulder, "Kenz-"

I shrugged it off, "No! It's about time we talked about her! Where do we start? The fact that every single guy in this room has been offered a free night with you? Or the fact that the entire basketball team talks about who spent the longest night with you? Ooh! I know! You crying in the bathroom about getting an-"

"You think you're so perfect! At least I never tried to kill myself!" Taylor shot back.

"Oh, you're gonna wish you did!" I sprang onto her, tackling her to the ground.

Before I could cause any real damage, I was being lifted off of her. I tried fighting the person holding me, but they were too strong. That's when I realized it was Griffin. As I was being carried away, I watched as Taylor got up and glared at me. Once I was out of the gym and outside in the cold air, I calmed myself again.

Griffin put me down and massaged his temples, "Why is it always the extremes with you? Pulling you away from fights is getting old very quickly."

"She-"

"Mackenzie, why does it matter? She's just a teenage girl who's unhappy and taking it out on you so she doesn't have to deal with it herself. Why does her opinion matter so much to you?" He sighed, straightening his suit.

"Because I'm a teenage girl too! Do you know how embarrassing it is to be a teenage girl and have a guy walk up to you thinking you're a prostitute?! No, you don't! That's the thing, Griffin! You will never understand what it's like to be a teenage girl and how hard it is trying to keep your cool for so long. I've been dealing with her for way longer than I've known you and now that she has Brooke-"

"I'm sorry your life is so hard, Mackenzie. I'm sorry something as petty as gossip is such a big crisis," he rolled his eyes.

All the anger in me from the night finally came out in the form of tears. I was frustrated and angry and sad. Griffin wasn't helping by belittling my problems. His expression softened when he saw the tears coming down my face. When he tried to wipe them away, I turned away from him and balled my hands into fists.

"Griffin, just leave me alone," I sighed. "Please."

"Mackenzie-"

"No, stop trying to spin this around to make yourself look so innocent! I'm always supportive of you and here you are making my problems seem imaginary. You don't think I know how stupid this is? Because I do. Just because it's stupid doesn't make it hurt any less. Words hurt, Griffin," I took a deep breath. "I'm going for a walk. Don't wait up."

I ignored what he said afterward. I needed time alone. It was tiring having everyone around me. Indie and Kira didn't do anything except force me to come to the dance in the first place. Then proceeded to show up late. None of this would've happened if I would've stayed home watching TV.

I was fed up with high school drama. Times like these make October 26th seem more appealing. It was a morbid thought, but it was true. At least then I wouldn't have to deal with the drama. I continued walking aimlessly in the night. The sidewalks were shoveled, so I didn't have to worry about trudging through the snow.

I was still freezing. I had nothing but my cardigan to keep me warm. Still, I was happy to be alone with my thoughts. It was worth the possibility of frostbite. After a while, I decided I should walk back. Indie and Kira were probably worried about me. At this point, I was shivering uncontrollably.

"Hey, are you alright?" A guy was walking up to me.

I had never seen him before. He had an oversized jacket on and a five o'clock shadow. I was relieved at the fact that his eyes weren't glowing. I already had enough Reapers in my life. I didn't need another. Still, he gave me a sense of uneasiness.

"Fine, thanks," I tried walking past him, but he stepped to the side.

"What's the rush?" He grinned. "You look a bit cold. How about I help you out."

I backed away, "No thanks, I'm fine."

"Nonsense!" He inched closer to me.

I broke out into a full sprint in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, I was in heels and couldn't run as fast as I wanted to. He caught up to me and pulled me back into his chest. I struggled against him. Immediately, my leg flew up between his legs.

He let go of me, groaning in pain. I tried escaping again, but he recovered quickly and held my arm tightly. I began screaming bloody murder. I was determined to get out of this. I just had to.

"I'll only say this once: let her go," Griffin said through clenched teeth.

"You can get it too-"

"Already lost interest," Griffin approached him almost inhumanely fast.

The guy was on the ground in seconds, once again groaning in pain. He shouted profanities. Anyone would if they went through the same thing he just did. Griffin had incomprehensible amounts of strength. He glared down at the guy before coming over to me with a concerned look.

"I'm okay," I assured him. "Thanks."

"No problem," He slipped out of his jacket and offered it to me.

"Thanks, but I'm okay," I forced a smile.

He sighed and wrapped it around me anyway, "You're covered in goosebumps. You're not okay."

He grabbed my hand and his eyes widened at how cold they were. He had me put on in his jacket pocket and he held the other in his pocket in an attempt to warm them up. The voice in my head was freaking out. I, on the other hand, was glad to have a friend like him. We headed back to the school.

I rolled my eyes, "I was trying to be courteous you, big dork."

"It doesn't work when I'm already being courteous. It's just ignorance at that point," He shrugged.

"Don't push it, I'm still mad at you," I frowned.

"I'm sorry. I realized you were right, I was being an insensitive idiot," He admitted. "It's just I never really got into the high school drama. I didn't have the time. When I did get involved, it was never for long, so all of this seems so... menial to me. Especially since you're better than those girls. You actually have a brain for one."

I bit back a smile and nudged him with my shoulder, "You have really long arms, ya know? I can hardly fit in this thing."

He shrugged again, "It looks good on you. Very professional."

I laughed, "I look like a kid who got into her dad's clothes."

He laughed too. When we returned, I was immediately bombarded with questions. I answered them all, leaving out the part about the guy Griffin had to fight off for me. That was also a reoccurring event between us. Our friendship was truly anything but normal. Then again, he's not even human, so we weren't meant to be normal in the first place.

Griffin agreed to take me home early since I've had a long night. Or so he says. I knew the real reason was that Taylor and Brooke were still there and still plotting something. I was overjoyed that I was finally leaving. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

The minute I saw my bed, my entire body felt weak. I flopped down on it, not wanting to get back up. Griffin walked me to the door and left to go do some work. Once he was gone, I realized I still had his suit jacket. I put on my pajamas and wrapped myself in it. His clothes were always so comfortable, especially since they were so much bigger than me. And they smelled almost heavenly. Not too strong with the cologne.

I found myself staring at my desk, thinking about how much time Griffin spent at it. It was his favorite spot in the entire house. I thought about getting a new and more comfortable chair considering he was always sitting in that one.

What's the use? You'll be dead in eight months and he'll forget about that old chair.

Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without your negativity.

Probably be so bubbly, people think you're on drugs.

I shook my head and smiled. Even though the voice in my head was annoying at times, it made me feel less lonely. It knew me better than anyone.

Stop getting sappy. Can't you see her trying to end the chapter?!

//

SHE BROKE THE FOURTH WALL! GASP! Anyways, It's late. I'm tired. I have to wake up in 6 hours. I have two tests tomorrow. Did any of this stop me from writing this chapter? Nope. Do I regret staying up late on a night like this? Nope. Will I do it again? Most likely. Thanks for 300 reads by the way! WOO! Anywho, thanks for reading!

Tatty Bye! <3

Edit: I'm posting this early (in my algebra class) because I'm rearranging my room and I don't have time to stop and post later. Side note: I took a test Friday in algebra and I have another one tomorrow... yay.