38

                                    

                                          
I didn't let go of Rose's hand as we approached the table, no matter how sweaty it got. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, I was so fucking proud of her. I knew she didn't like attention, so for her to choose to sit with me, with the entire football team, it was a huge step for her. And I was going to make sure they didn't make her regret it.
When we reached where I was sat before, I turned to Jay, interrupting his conversation with Chloe, one of the girls that sometimes sat with us. "Hey, man, can you move up?" I asked him. He turned to me with a frown, probably about to tell me to fuck off, before his eyes landed on Rose. Whatever he was about to say died and instead, he nodded and shuffled along, his conversation completely forgotten.
There was a noticeable lull in conversation and I could feel a number of eyes from around the table on us, but I didn't give a fuck. "Here," I took the sandwich and chips back from Rose and dropped them onto the table between me and Jay before helping her step over the bench so she could sit between us. 
On my other side was a sidekick of Kelly so there wasn't a chance in hell I was sitting Rose beside her. "Thanks," she said, her tone so soft and scared I just wanted to pull her into my arms and never let her go. Instead, I squeezed her trembling hand and took a seat to her side.
"Is cheese and ham okay?" I asked, gesturing to the sandwich I'd grabbed for her. I twisted so I was facing her, blocking the eyes of those sitting to my left, and staring down everyone on her right.
"Yeah, thank you." 
I stroked my thumb across her knuckles. "That's okay."
Beside her, Jay was still staring in our direction and I rose an eyebrow in question, finally breaking him out of whatever trance he'd fallen into. "So," he spoke up, breaking into a smile, "you must be Rose."
He held a hand out and Rose took it, nodding her head in confirmation. "Jay," he introduced and she smiled.
"Nice to meet you."
"You too," he answered, "it's about time too, thought Matt was going to hide you away forever."
She let out a cute little laugh, blushing a little bit. I felt her relax against me and found myself breathing a little easier now. I wanted her to be comfortable around my friends and family. "Rose?" a voice from across the table sounded and I grit my teeth, twisting around to see Kelly a few seats down from Alex who was across from me. The girls around her diverted their attention towards us, none of them looking particularly friendly. "I haven't ever seen you around before."
I clenched my jaw. "That's because she isn't in any of our classes," one of them said.
"She's in top class," another sniggered. 
Before I could open my mouth to reply, Alex cut in. "That's right," he said, his voice loud enough to cut off their giggling. "You're in my calculus class," he said and Rose nodded. 
"Nerd," Darren coughed from his side.
"Rather a nerd than an idiot," Alex snapped back, making me grin. "It's nice to have someone else at the table that's capable of holding an intellectual conversation," he continued, offering a smile to Rose.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I grumbled and beside me, Rose giggled. I nudged her in the ribs. "You're not supposed to laugh."
She blushed. "Sorry." 
I smiled while she started on her sandwich before Jay spoke up again. "Matt said you guys played mini-golf last week?" She nodded in response. "How'd you manage to beat him? We've never had any luck?"
She laughed, a smirk on her lips when she looked back up at me. "He must've been having an off day." This time, I pinched her side, making her wriggle in her seat. "Hey!" she exclaimed.