Avery's POV
I stared at my locket in astonishment. At first I believed it couldn't possibly be mine. Maybe she'd found one just like it? But how would Eva even know I lost it?
It had to be my necklace.
I open it after a minute of just staring at it and see the exact pictures my locket contained.
It was mine.
Where'd she find it at though? I look inside the envelope and don't see any other note so I grab the previous one from the top of the recycling bin and look there too. There was nothing else on the piece of paper.
I clasp the locket around my neck and grab all my things and make my way out of the library and to my 7th hour class.
***
School ended about two hours ago. In those two hours I'd been thinking about Eva and my necklace. My head was running wild with possibilities and thoughts about her. About her family.
How was she? How was aunt Jane and uncle Edward? How were things in general?
I hear the door open and look up to see Callum standing there. "I've been knocking for like five fucking minutes. I was pretty sure you died or something!" He yells melodramatically.
I roll my eyes and lie back down. "And you didn't bother to open the door and check on me sooner?" I say to him.
"What if you were changing or something?" He runs his hand down the back of his neck and taps his foot while feeding me his lame excuse.
I look back up at him again and raise my eyebrows at him.
"Don't give me that!" Callum shouts and points a finger at me. "I'm not sure yet!"
I raise my hands in surrender and smile to reassure him. "I didn't say anything." I say in a teasing tone with a smile.
"Shut up."
I lift my fingers to my lip and do a sealing motion and toss the metaphorical key at his face.
"My lips are sealed." I say just to piss him off.
"I hate you." He falls onto Dawson's bed and stares up at the ceiling, much like I was a few minutes ago.
"Anyways" he drags out "what's up with you and Keegan's new shag?" He asks.
I feel a burning in my chest at him just using Eva and make note to ask about her at dinner tonight.
"Talk about my cousin like that again and I cut your tongue off. Slow and painfully Callum."
"Okay one, seriously? How come you guys don't talk or anything? Two, I could kick your ass any day Aves." Callum says holding up his fingers like Dawson did before he dragged me out for dinner.
I snort. "You wish Wells."
"You wanna fight?" Callum says sitting up and glancing at me, smiling.
I grab my scissors on my bed side table and point them at him. "Let's go."I say
He gulps and falls back on the bed once again. "I'm suddenly very tired."
I toss the scissors back on the table. "That's what I thought."
"So back in her being your cousin thing?" Callum tosses his hands around in the air and lifts his legs to the ceiling. He places them on the wall and turns to face me, his head hanging off Dawson's bed.
"Dawson's gonna suffocate you with a pillow in the middle of the night if you get his wall dirty." I warn him.
"Pfft, no he won't."
I stare at him for a while until he changes his position and decided to sit up and tuck his head on top of his knees.
"But seriously. Spill the tea."
"Do I seem like he type to need a therapist to pour my feelings out to?" I questions rhetorically.
"No. Maybe a therapist for your violent tendencies and mental issues but not for the girly feelings thing."
"Don't make me use the scissors." I sit up and raise my pillows again my headboard and lean back.
"Kinky." He says with a smirk.
"You know about the whole Jake thing so gimme the gossip on the Carmichael-Morales family feud."
This time Callum falls on his stomach and positions his head on his hands and lifts his calves up.
I sigh and cross my arms. "You tell anyone and I will rip that lip ring right off. Got it?"
He nods but stands up.
"You just begged me for the story and you're leaving?!" I shout confusedly.
"I need popcorn." Callum shrugs and rushes out before the pillow I chucked at him hits him.
***
"So Dawson?" I ask in a voice much too sweet for me.
"Will you have eyebrows tomorrow?" I say twirling a piece of my pasta on my fork.
There were different reactions to that. Callum laughed since I told him about the text.
By that I mean he stole my phone from me and sat on my back while going through everything.
"You're lucky we like you." He says frowning at me. He was curious.
"I don't." Keegan says with a sarcastic smile on his face.
"Are we still on this?" I lean back in my chair and groan. Why doesn't he like me yet? I'm a very lovable person.
That wasn't very believable.
"What happened the other night didn't change how I'm gonna treat you. You still annoy the shit outta me." He says referring to our not so terrible conversation while we were alone. Or when he defended me and beat the shit out of that one guy.
I drop the fork I was using to twirl my spaghetti with and see that a lot of the boys repeated my action.
"You two hooked up?" Axel asks laughing lightly. "Nice." He pats Keegan on the back.
"Axel please. I have more self respect for myself. I'd never sleep with...him." I scowl.
"Who would you sleep with then?" He asks genuinely curious.
"Do you know how much of a dick you sound like right now?" Elliot says staring at him like an he's the biggest idiot in the world.
Maybe he was.
"Is it because you're a virgin?" Bentley looks at me. He gets kicked under the table again. Again? "What'd I do this time?"
"My god..." Elliot says to himself.
"It's not like we're being offensive." Axel shrugs. "I'm sure she talks about this stuff with Mona."
He had me there.
Callum starts laughing as he recalls my texts with Sawyer and Mona from earlier. When he gains attention he plays it off as a cough and apologizes.
But when they aren't looking he wiggles his eyebrows as he knows the obvious answer.
"Are you calling us chicks?" Dawson says finally speaking up.
"I'd be a hot chick." Callum says flipping his non existent long hair over his shoulder.
"I'm living with idiots." I splutter out while looking at the boys attempting to act like a group of girls.
Elliot was the only one sitting out but I could tell he wanted to join in deep down.
I groan loudly and motion my hand for him to go ahead.
He shakes his head but quickly changes his mind and joins in.
I secretly take a few pictures and send the ones of Axel to Mona and the ones of Elliot to Sawyer and change the boys contact photos.
"Come on Avery. You should act like a girl too." Dawson smirks at me and starts laughing once I scowl at the insult.
Stupid.
Once everyone gets back to their normal conversation and dinner Victor asks if I'm gonna be here for the party.
"...what party?"
Everyone around the tables begins to yell and groan at him.
"I thought we agreed not to tell her!" Dawson shouts at him.
Why didn't they want to tell me? Were they embarrassed or something?
"Well no one fucking informed me about that..." he awkwardly mumbles while sliding down in his chair.
"The hell?" I shout over them. Everyone quiets down and avoids eye contact with me.
"Look...Avery...it's not like that. It's just that most of us see you as a sister we don't exactly want you in that scene." Elliot tells me.
"It gets...messy sometimes." Victor tells me which confuses me.
"Weren't you just asking if I was coming?" I question.
"Yeah, to get you not to come. No offense Aves." He adds on quickly after.
"If it makes you feel better Sawyers not coming?" Elliot tells me in a what I'm guessing is supposed to be comforting manner, it comes out as a question though.
"She hates parties." I say blankly.
He smiles sheepishly and shrugs.
I figure it's a good time to subtly interrogate Axel. "Is Mona coming?" I say after shoving a bite of garlic bread in my mouth.
"Ye-Don't know. Probably." Axel says suddenly changing his answer.
"Great. Then I'll come with her." I smile and ignore their protests.
***