Unseen

4

"Hey, Mar. Mind if we sit with you?" 

I looked up from my chemistry notesI was last minute cramming to see none other than Kaden who was accompanied by his best friend, Dylan Mamnbe. 

My friends looked between me and Kaden which confusion all over their faces. 

"Uh... why?" I sputtered, looking at him with a clear frantic look in my eyes. Why did he want to sit with me? Why was he not with Avery and her posey right now? 

Kaden chuckled as he helped himself to the seat beside me, "Have you failed to notice that I quite rather enjoy your company, Mar?" 

"It's Addison," I muttered quietly. "But sure, help yourself." I spoke with sarcasm dripping in my words since he had already taken a seat. 

Dylan, who a little confused himself, smiled at me before taking a seat across the table beside my friends. 

My small friend circle consisted of me, Zoey, Rain, Carlos, and Justin. 

Zoey was a tall, light skin beauty who was one of the most outgoing people I knew. We had been friends since kindergarten and she knew most about me and my situation with Avery. She was a kind-hearted girl who was nice to everyone and always handled tricky situations maturely. She was the mom of the group. 

Rain was very loud and sarcastic. Most of the time she was stoned but either way, she was never very fazed by anything. She wasn't afraid to stand up to people or share what she was thinking which I loved her for because she always stood her ground and took no crap from anyone. She had a gorgeous olive complexion and very dark hair that made her skin stand out even more, brown eyes that looked like melted chocolate. 

Carlos was a fun kid. He loved food more than anything and was the best to party with. He was loud, outgoing and always joking around, making the mood light and airy at all times which I was thankful for because I tend to overthink which would get me bummy a lot. He had a tanned complexion, dark hair and mesmerizing blue eyes that anyone would kill to have. 

Lastly there was Justin. Justin was hard to get to know because he has a lot of walls up and a hard exterior but once you got to know him, you quickly learn that he's a big softie. He's kind of like the older brother I never had. He was your stereotypical jock. Brown hair and eyes, very tall and well built, on the football team, didn't talk to many people aside from some guys on the team along with the four of us. 

"I'm Dylan," he introduced, when nobody else made a move to say anything. He smiled politely at all of us. 

I didn't know much about Dylan but I had known him for some years. He was a good kid, good in all his classes except for English which I know he hates. He's on the lacrosse team with Kaden and unlike most of the team, he wasn't a jerk. 

"Addison," I smiled. "Guys, this is Kaden." I nodded towards him carelessly, ignoring that it was weird for him to be sitting with us, and then quickly resumed to going over my notes. 

"Hey, you're in my math class, right?" He asked Rain who leaned back in her chair, her hood over her head as she looked between Kaden and Dylan with eyes slightly narrowed and a hard to read grin resting on her face. 

She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, Rain." 

The rest introduced themselves and shortly got into generic conversations about classes, teachers, and sports. 

"You're dating Avery, correct?" Justin asked halfway through lunch. He had an impassive look on his face like normal, leaning forward on the table as he looked at Kaden with a cold look in his eyes. This was his protective side coming out. 

"Jus-" 

"Yes," Kaden cut me off, grinning a little but I could easily see it was forced. "I am." 

Justin narrowed his eyes, "One sister not enough for you?" 

"Wait," Dylan looked between Kaden and Justin, then looked at me. "Sister? You're Avery's sister?" He looked at me with genuine surprise, his eyebrows raising. 

"Wow," Rain started laughing, still leaned back in a nonchalant stance in her seat. "People is this school are denser than I realized." 

"I am," I muttered dully, not looking at Dylan but instead, trying to give Justin a look that would tell him to drop it. I knew why he was acting harsh towards Kaden and I couldn't blame him but he didn't know Kaden wasn't a douchebag. 

"Is there a problem with me becoming friends with Addison?" Hearing Kaden say my name instead of using the nickname he gave me was odd and not something I was used to so it made me feel a little uneasy for some reason. 

Kaden didn't look at me. He kept a strong gaze on Justin who did the same to him. 

Justin shrugged calmly, "You tell me. How am I supposed to know what your intentions are. Your best pal here didn't even know your girlfriend had a sister." 

"I wou-" 

"That's not his fault, Justin," I sighed, placing a hand over Justin's in weak attempts to calm him down. I knew he was only looking out for me but he was out of line and in the wrong right now. "If anything, I'm glad people don't know I'm related to Aves. It's fine, can we drop it now?" 

Justin tore his gaze away from Kaden and finally looked at me for a long moment before sighing. He leaned back in his seat and stared at his phone. "Whatever. Swear to God, if he does anything to hurt you, I will end him, Addy." Justin didn't look at Kaden as he said this. 

I smiled weakly, "I know you will and I appreciate it but you have nothing to worry about." 

"In case you're wondering," Kaden started again, resulting in me giving him a horrified look because I much rather this conversation end now. "My intentions are the same as yours. End whoever hurt her." 

Justin looked at Kaden with a blank look on his face for a few seconds before nodding, "Ai, you got my blessing there." 

Kaden and Justin shared a look that told me they were cool now. I would never understand the male mind for the life of me. 

I sighed in relief as I leaned back in my chair. 

Rain started laughing, "Got to say, pretty boy does bring some entertainment to this table." 

Kaden smirked, "Glad to be of service." 

Everyone shared a quick laugh before more generic conversation resumed. 

After lunch, I quickly caught up to Justin before class and stopped him.

He sighed when he turned to look at me. He ran a hand through my hair, "Look, i know what you're going to say, Addy. So, I'll start - I'm sorry for freaking out on him like that but for all I knew, he had it coming." 

I gave Justin a flat look, "I know you're looking out for me and I love you for it but you really don't have to go that hard on every guy I meet, Jus." 

He grinned, "I know, but do you blame me?" 

I chuckled, "No, of course not. Just take it easy on Kade, he's a good guy, trust me." 

Justin scoffed, "Yeah, after the last guy you met through your sister, I won't trust anyone you meet who is also close with her." 

I gave him a dull look, "What happened with Dante was a whole other situation, you know that." 

Justin shrugged, "Maybe but I'm not going to trust any douchebag who associated with your sister because of him. Now, you have a test so you should head to class before you're late." 

I smiled before giving him a quick hug, "Love you, Jus." 

"Yeah, you too kid," he pulled away from me, sending me a playful wink. "Good luck on that test." 

I laughed before scampering off to my next class before the bell rang.