Chapter 21 - Friends

                                    

                                          
Chapter 21 - Friends
"I want to explain everything to you, but I can't..." Jackson's words were playing on repeat in my mind. It wasn't until I'd sat down in the cafeteria with the guys and started eating, that I realized I hadn't acknowledged his confession. In the moment I had been so caught up with what he said about them promising not to hurt me that I'd completely disregarded his initial statement. Part of me couldn't help but wonder if he'd phrased it that way on purpose...
What could he possibly have to explain? Does he know more than he let on about this 'boss' man who's blackmailing me? The only reason I had gotten into Jackson's car in the first place was to get answers but now it seemed as though I had more questions than before. Not to mention, Slate's heated gaze from across the table only made me regret getting into the car even more. He hadn't told the rest of the guys about where and who I'd been with just before lunch but he did manage to make petty and not so discrete comments about it every chance he got. 
At one point Christian was talking about how they were being forced to read Romeo and Juliet in english class and how he couldn't understand why Juliet ran off with Romeo and disappeared without telling her family. And you know what Slate said? Something along the lines of 'Ask Willow, she seems to have a lot of experience with running off with random guys and disappearing without telling anyone.' As if. The guys had eventually caught on to the tension between Slate and I and it seemed as though they were doing everything they could think of to get rid of it.
It definitely didn't help when an unfamiliar brown haired girl made her way to our table and placed one of her artificially tanned hands—that had alarmingly pointy fake nails—on Slate's shoulder.
Slate turned his body around to see who the hand belonged to which inadvertently caused the brunettes hand to end up on his chest. I was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming desire to forcefully remove the b*tches hand from Slate's chest but I wasn't going to embarrass myself like that, I wasn't going to give in and showed that I cared, I wasn't going to lose the unspoken game Slate and I were playing.
Slate smirked up at the brunette and it seemed that that was all the confirmation she need to take a seat on his lap. She leaned down and whispered something in his ear and I could only assume it was something suggestive by the way he winked at her in response. My grip on my water bottle tightened causing it to make a slight crunching sound but other than that I kept my face impassive. The brunette eventually acknowledged everyone else at the table and I saw her eyes visibly widen in awe as she saw how good-looking the rest of the guys were. 
As soon as her eyes settled on me they went from wide to narrowed within a split second. I resisted the urge to slap the look off her face and instead gave her an innocent smirk. I could feel all the guys worriedly looking between Slate and I, as if they thought I might jump over the table at any moment and rip the brunette right off his lap. I grabbed my tray that held the remnants of my finished sandwich and got up from the table abruptly.
"I'm going to see Mr. Santiago, I have to ask him a question." I announced not to anyone in particular. Okay so maybe I was lying about having a question but I did still want to "apologize" to him for being arrested in the middle of his class.
"We have him next period." Slate said raising a question eyebrow at me. I let my gaze momentarily flicker to the place where his hand was resting on the brunettes thigh before looking back at him and rolling my eyes.
"It's a long question." I replied briskly before saying a quick 'goodbye' to the rest of the guys and making my way out of that godforsaken cafeteria as quickly as I could without looking suspicious. Jealousy was rolling off me in waves and I needed to get a grip. Slate isn't mine.