Page 85 of Finding a Melody

“Aren’t you bothered by it all?” Paxon asked.

Cadence seemed to think over her response. She finally smiled and pulled out a notebook and slipped out a piece of paper from between pages and moved it to the middle of the table. We all leaned forward to look at it.

“Are these chibi characters?” Bryan asked.

“They’re us. Hazel drew this for me during study hall.” She stared at the drawing with a big smile.

Hazel did a really good job of capturing the essence of all of us, especially Cadence. Cadence was in the middle of the group with a serious expression, holding headphones against her head, music notes surrounding her, her mouth open like she was singing. It was like she was in her own little world, happy to be there. And while we were interacting with each other in the same way, she was still the center of our attention, like she captivated us while she sang.

It was remarkable. And frankly, true. Our focus had shifted more toward her since meeting her. I didn’t know what that meant, but it didn’t feel bad.

Hazel was good. I needed to give her a hug or something when I saw her next.

“Why didn’t you tell us when this all started last week?” Justin asked.

“Truth. I had hoped it’d blow away. Probably would have if we didn’t almost die over the weekend.” She slid the drawing back toward herself and carefully put it back in the notebook like it was the most precious thing in the world to her. “The rumors don’t bother me because I know not everyone thinks that and the people who don’t blindly listen to or believe in rumors are the only people who’d matter to me.” She met our eyes. “You guys know the truth, you know it’s all bullshit, and that’s all that matters. If someone is blindly going along with this shit, then I don’t want them in my life.” She shrugged.

“They’re nasty rumors though,” Bryan said in a deeper voice, getting angry.

I nodded my agreement and said, “Rumors are dangerous for other reasons too. What if people actually believe you’re like that. They might try something.”

She grinned big. “I have to just stick with you guys, then, don’t I?”

Slowly, I grinned back, amazed with her once again. “Fuck yeah. You aren’t allowed out of our sight. Not even to use the bathroom.”

“You can’t do that,” Paxon said.

“Well, no one in the bathroom would want to hurt her,” Justin said.

“That’s bullshit. Our Candy Pop is too adorable. Everyone wants a piece of her. It’s our duty to keep her safe, especially since we caused this mess in the first place.” I leaned back and crossed my arms. I liked that decision. I liked the idea of having to stay close to her a little too much.

“I agree,” Paxon said. “We should stick close to Cadence in case anyone tries anything. The rumors will blow over eventually, especially once someone else does something else that grabs everyone’s attention.”

Bryan pushed up his glasses. “We’ll close ranks for now. Keep the assholes away. They won’t dare to do shit with her if we stick close by. They wouldn’t want to mess with all of us.”

While everyone voiced their agreement, Cadence was wide-eyed as she stared at everyone around the table in surprise. When our gazes met, I smiled big, letting her know we were completely serious. She wasn’t alone in this mess. We helped make it, we can at least own up to it.

“I’m in,” Justin said and then yawned big as he fought off how tired he was.

We weren’t going to give Cadence a choice, but luckily it seemed she didn’t mind too much. That was good news for all of us. Proof that she was opening up to us.

“Um, Cadence?” an unfamiliar voice called out softly from behind us.

I turned to see a stranger behind us with a tray, looking nervously at us before focusing on Cadence.

“What’s he doing here?” muttered Bryan, his dislike clear.

I looked back at the boy, his dark skin, curly dark brown hair, dark eyes, thin frame. He was smaller than us, clearly not an athlete. I really couldn’t figure out who he was and why he was calling for Cadence.

Something in my stomach didn’t sit right when I looked at him.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Micah!” I said in excitement, jumping to my feet and going over to him. The boys didn’t say anything as they watched. “Come join us.”

“Are you sure?” he asked nervously, looking behind my shoulder at my group.

“Of course.” I grabbed his arm and carefully pulled him with me so he didn’t spill his food. “Come meet my friends.”