This is it. I was standing in front of the Inside with Anastasia and Matthias on either side of me, gazing up at the building that I had called home for so many years. I've wanted to leave for so long. So why is it that now that I'm leaving I feel...sad? Maybe it's just the nerves of going into something I'm not really prepared for, but it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right to think that I might miss this place. That somewhere deep inside of me I might miss my parents. I do love them in some way.
"Nyx...we should probably get going," Anastasia's small voice urged. Her voice quivered as she spoke, and I could tell that she was scared.
I took one last long glance at the building before reluctantly nodding my head. With a bite of my now shaky bottom lip I asked, "Why do I feel like I'm going to cry?"
I lowered my head, not wanting them to see the tears that threatened to spill over. I felt Matthias's comforting arm slip around my shoulder, and Anastasia's sympathetic hand gripped mine. "Because you have a heart, unlike some people," Matthias replied with a squeeze of my shoulder.
A small laugh escaped my lips that was almost...bitter? "Yeah, I guess so."
And with that we turned away from the Inside. I could only hope that things would be okay, and that everything would turn out in our favor. Because if it didn't, we had nowhere else to go.
"What did you tell your parents?" Anastasia asked as we walked further and further away. She was holding a plastic bag in her hand that had shoes for Cecily. Ander had told me that Cecily and Maddox were going to come with us. Matthias brought shoes for Ander and Maddox, and apparently Gray already had some. Something was weird with that man. He seemed to have so much more than anyone else in the Inbetween did. It was very strange.
I shrugged. "I didn't tell them anything. I snuck out while they were at a meeting. I'm not coming back so what does it matter?"
"I didn't tell my parents, either," Anastasia agreed.
"Me either. I guess great minds think alike," Matthias chimed in, nudging me with his elbow.
I cast him a half-hearted smile even though it was the last thing I felt like doing. "They do, don't they?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is horrible," Matthias whined through gags as we got closer to the Inbetween.
Anastasia rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Nyx already told you like a billion times that it was bad. So would you just hold your breath and shut the heck up?" She snapped, her voice nasally from pinching her nose between her fingers to block out the stench.
I was too nervous to laugh at their antics. It wasn't very often that I got nervous, and this was the first time that I'd really gotten anxious about the situation. I'd been keeping myself busy with coming to the Inbetween, and hanging out with Anastasia and Matthias, but now it was real. It was only hours away, and there was no turning back now. I'd made my decision and I was content with it, but there was still that underlying feeling of dread when my mind wrapped around the idea. Like I could just sense that something was going to go wrong, but I forced myself to dismiss it as that I was just psyching myself out.
"I can't wait to meet Ander," Anastasia said, startling me from my haze.
My head snapped up and I gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, you'll like him. He's really friendly and easy to get along with. Maybe you'll actually have a guy friend, Matthias, instead of hanging out with girls all the time." I directed the last part at Matthias who mumbled something under his breath about having lots of guy friends.
Anastasia scoffed and laughed. "Name one," she demanded with a haughty tone.
Matthias bit at his lip and kicked a stray rock that layed on the surface of the gravel path. "You know...that guy with t-the...blonde hair," he half-mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut in frustration with his answer.
I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud. "Every boy you know has blonde hair!"
"I don't know why I hang out with you guys. You're so mean."
I smiled and draped my arm over his shoulder. "You know we love you, Matthias."
Anastasia crumpled her face in disgust. "Ew! You might love him, but I most definitley don't!"
A distant light chuckle caught my attention, and I looked up to see the familiar figure standing in the light of the lamppost again. I nudged both of my friends. "Shut up, guys. Ander's right up there, and I'm pretty sure he just heard everything you guys said. He's going to think you're a bunch of nutjobs," I whispered with a faint smile still playing at my lips. Partly because of Anastasia and Matthias's bickering, and partly because I could see Ander in my peripheral vision. That usual giddy feeling was already beginning to bubble up inside of me, and I hadn't even looked at his eyes yet.
A silence set over both of them until we reached Ander who met us with a welcome smile.
"Guys, this is Ander. Ander, this is Anastasia and Matthias. You probably already figured that out, though," I introduced them dumbly.
Ander stuck his hand out, and Anastasia shook it politely with a smile. When he turned to Matthias I could already tell that Matthias had something to say. "It's nice to meet you," he began, "Nyx hasn't stopped talking about you since you met." A smug smile spread across his face, and I immediatley wanted to punch him. He better be glad that Anastasia was standing between us. Not that she would have stopped me, though.
Ander smirked and raised his eyebrows, glancing over at me for a second before turning his attention back to Matthias. "Oh, really? And what exactly did she say?"
I tried to stop him, but it was too late. "That you're cute, and have an attractive face or whatever. Y'know, the usual stuff," he replied with a devious grin.
I gasped, my expression aghast. "I never said that! I would never say you were cute," I blurted out. Wait, that was a bit harsh. I waved my hand in a gesture that looked just the tad bit insane. "Not that you aren't cute, but I ju-just, um, I don't-"
Cue Anastasia boy-crazy side...now! "If you don't want to think he's cute, I most definitley will," she interrupted with a flirty tone that made me want to facepalm on the spot. Why were we even doing this right now? I though tonight was supposed to be really serious?
Ander chuckled, giving Anastasia an amused smile. But then he just had to go and make everything worse. He turned his head, and he winked at me. The little jerk winked at me! And of course I go and do something equally stupid; blush. My cheeks go all fiery red, and Ander's smirk only gets more intense until I was ready to smack him. He was just staring at me, smirking, while I tried to make my cheeks cool down with my internal brain power. I'm sure you can guess how that was working out for me.
"Are you guys done with your little glaring contest, yet?" Matthias butted in, and I quickly took the opportunity to avert my eyes elsewhere.
Ander laughed lightly and stuck one hand in the pocket of his hoodie. "Yeah. Cecily and Maddox are waiting for us outside of Gray's house. So we should probably start heading towards there."
Matthias went ahead and ducked underneath the entrance even though he had no idea where he was going. He must have forgotten about the smell since he didn't say anything else about it. Anastasia stayed behind Ander so she could follow him since she was the more sensible between my friends.
Ander came over to me and slung his arm around my shoulder. I gave him a dumbfounded look. "Seriously? You act the way you just did, and you think you can just put your arm around me and make like nothing happened?" So, maybe I was overreacting a little bit, but c'mon, he was being really jerky and he was totally using his looks to get to me. Right? Or am I just crazy?
He pulled back a little, and then BAM! he puts on a puppy dog face that could make my father melt. He pouted his lip out, and made his eyes go all watery. "I'm sorry, Nyx. I was only messing with you," he said in a voice that I can only describe as ridiculous....and slightly adorable. Just a little!
I so wanted to be mad at him, but I couldn't. The face was just too hilarious, and I couldn't keep myself from laughing. "Oh my gosh, you're such a twerp," I groaned, shoving him away from me, making him stumble back a little.
A satisfied grin spread across his face. "For a second there I thought you were really mad at me," he said, coming back over to put his arm around my shoulder again.
"Trust me, I was trying to be. What have you done to me, Monroe? How come I can't stay mad at you no matter how annoying you are?"
He snickered and put his face close to mine.
Don't look at the eyes, don't look at the eyes, I mentally instructed myself.
His face lit up with his smile and the mocking expression. "Because you think my face is attractive." He pulled his face back so he could burst out laughing at the appalled look on my face.
I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "No I do not," I protested even though that wasn't neccesarily the truth.
Anastasia skipped up beside us and nudged Ander with her arm. "She totally does," she told him, grinning mischeviously.
Don't tell me Anastasia has gone crazy, too!
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