Gabriel & Athena, Book One: Fate (A Wattpad Featured Story)

CHAPTER 6: RUMORS

Chapter Soundtrack - Chapter 6: "They" by Jem

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            "Athena, are you ready yet?" Nathan called from the other side of my bedroom door.

            "Take it easy, Nate, I'll be there in a second.  Since when are you in such a hurry to get to school?  Don't Brian and Andy usually pick you up like five minutes before the first bell rings?"

            "No," he snapped.  "I just don't wanna wait around for you forever."

            I looked myself over one last time in the full-length mirror hanging on the inside of my closet door.  I wasn't wearing anything special, but I had put on a little lip gloss and mascara and had taken a flat iron to my normally wavy hair, making it straight with the layers more visible.  I wasn't interested in looking like anything but myself, but a few tweaks here and there couldn't hurt.

            I grabbed my book bag and hurried out of my bedroom, practically running into Nathan.

            "Finally," he muttered, starting to make his way towards the front door.

            What was with this kid today?  My curiosity as to why he wanted to ride with me this morning was now peaked.  Usually his friends would pick him up and drop him off, but they were apparently otherwise occupied.  Or so he said.  He opened the door and ran out to my car. 

            "Bye, mother," I yelled over my shoulder as I grabbed the doorknob and shut the door behind me.  I could hear her start to yell something at me about breakfast, but I was now in a hurry to know what was going on with my little brother.  Nate and I weren't the closest siblings on the block, but we were still family.  And he was acting very strange this morning.  I climbed into the driver's seat, threw my bag in the backseat and pulled my seatbelt around me.  As I turned the keys in the ignition, I stole a glance at him.  His eyes were focused straight ahead, as if he were staring at something far off in the distance and if he moved his eyes for even one moment, the world as we knew it would be over.

            "Alright, give it up," I said, backing out of the driveway.

            "Give what up?" he asked, giving me a confused look.

            "Nate, is there something you want to talk about?"  I figured I might as well get to the point. 

            He looked at me nervously before returning his gaze to the front.  Sparrow High was only a five-minute drive from our house.  I glanced over at him again, hoping he would spill before we got there.

            He licked his lips.  "So, there are some rumors going around at school," he started.

            "And?"  I said.  "What's so special about that?  There's always rumors flying around."  I looked over at him.  "Are the rumors about you?"

            "No," he said quietly.  "They're about you."

            "What exactly are people saying?" I asked, trying to keep my emotions in check.  I could only imagine the tales people were telling.

            "Well, they're kind of saying you're dating Valente and that the two of you are pretty...um...close," he said cautiously. 

            It was obvious he was editing.  I'm sure the secret service didn't have anything nice to say about me, and the boys probably weren't any kinder when it came to Gabe.  Jealousy really did bring out the worst in people.  I made a right and turned onto the street that would eventually lead me into Sparrow High's parking lot.