Four

"Welcome to The Shack! What can I get for you?" I looked away from the menu and right into the face of Jessie. Good for him for having an afterschool job, but did it have to be here? Plus, whatever he was doing in the back with the other server was definitely a violation of the health code.

He stopped walking a couple feet away from the counter, a look of irritation when he realized it was me.

"What do you want?" His voice was flat and cold. Nothing unusual, but it was starting to irk me that he was so rude all of the time.

"Ice cream. What do you think? This is an ice cream shack." I looked up at their menu and then back down at him. "I want a scoop of The Reese's Runaway." Giving him a small smile, I quickly added, "Please."

"Why would I get you anything after what happened today?" He just stared at me dumbfounded as if he actually thought I was the one in the wrong. He was the one who hit Chrissie with the door and then refused to apologize. He was also the one who was rude to me anytime we interacted.

"Maybe, because you work here. It's your job, and I'm paying for it." I snapped back, unable to hide my irritation.

"Well, we do have the right to refuse service to anyone..." My mouth dropped open when he said that, and I couldn't seem to pull enough words together to form a response.

He continued to stare at me with a look of confusion and irritation. "What?" I asked.

Why was he looking at me like that? He shook his head before bending forward to scoop the ice cream, despite his last comment.

"Nothing. Did you do the homework in math?" I knew it! I knew he would try to get me to give him my work or something.

"Why?" I didn't meet his gaze, no matter how much I wanted to give him a dirty look. Even though it was clear that we didn't like each other, it still stung to know that he was probably only talking to me so he could copy my homework.

I bit back the urge to throw some choice words at him. I don't like to be mean unless that person did something to really piss me off. Even then, I was never a bitch to people. I'm just me with a slice of attitude, but he was getting really close.

"I was just trying to make conversation. Figured maybe we started on the wrong foot.” He didn't look hurt or mad…or any emotion really. His face was just blank. What the heck was with this man? It was like he was a statue with how little he showed any emotion.

"Oh." Boy! That was the smartest thing I have ever said.

"So, why are you so quiet all the time?" Is this his version of small talk or something? It kind of sucks.

"I don't know." I mean, I see what he means. I always knew I was a loner, and I liked it that way but that didn't make it a good conversation topic.

"You should really talk more. It would help you make more friends." Is he trying to give me advice? The new guy that made me dislike him in the first five seconds of seeing him on campus?

"I prefer not to." My head was still down, watching as he mixed the Reese's in the scoop of ice cream.

"Why not?" He stopped and looked up at me. I noticed the woman from before as she returned and set up a few feet down the counter. She smiled when she saw me looking at her, and began to mix Chrissie's ice cream.

"Because . . . I don't know . . . I've gone to school with a lot of them since the 1st grade. I've seen it a hundred times. No matter how good of friends you are with them, they seem to always find a way to turn on you or stab you in the back. I have never been in that position, but I watched it time and time again. It's just unnecessary drama." I pulled my hands out in front of me and began to fidget with them on the metal counter.

"Well, you know, everyone gets hurt eventually, but they always have someone to stitch them back up." Is he trying to be sweet now? I'm not sure who I am talking to at the moment. Maybe Jessie had a twin brother who didn't come to class today, and that was who I was talking to right now. A quick glance at his nametag ruled that theory out.

After today with the attitude and the door incident, is he trying to be nice? Really? The thought briefly passed through my mind, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was bipolar or had some personality disorder that could explain his mood swing.

"Not everybody wants to have to put someone in the position to stitch them back up." Is that really that hard to understand? When you are putting them on the spot to stitch you back up…what if they think it's a waste of time or that they have better things to be doing? What if you become a burden or seen as annoying?

"I wouldn't mind stitching you back up." He said with a smirk, his eyes not leaving my ice cream as he continued to fold in the chopped-up Reese's into the peanut butter ice cream. "So, in the middle of the night, when you get lonely and sad, you can just come on over. I would happily make all your pain go away and replace it with instant pleasure instead." My jaw dropped open as he glanced up at me with his irritating smirk. I knew him being nice was too good to be true. It was all a set-up for him to pick fun at me.

The girl making Chrissie's ice cream next to him lost her rhythm as she folded in the brownie batter, and a look of hurt flashed over her face.

He handed me the scoop of ice cream, and I gave him the twenty to cover both bowls of Ice cream. He was quick to give me my change, so I took it and walked away.

"What, no reply?" He asked as I approached the table that Cole was waiting at. He always came with us because he wanted to spend time with Chris, but he never ate anything because he was lactose intolerant and hated sherbet.

I turned to face Jessie once again.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings." I said as I pulled out the chair to sit down and took a small bite of my ice cream. I didn't bother looking over my shoulder to know that Chris was trying to start a conversation with him, much to Cole's dismay. She wasn't very quiet about her interest in him earlier in the day, and she made it clear that she wanted to know more about the new kid.

"Why the fuck would you think that?!" Jessie suddenly was almost yelling. His voice dropped, and I couldn't hear him anymore. He said something back to her, and by the look on his face, it wasn't pleasant.

"I don't know… I'm sorry." She grabbed her ice cream and walked over to the table.