true colors - jb & ag 《completed》

{twenty-two}

''I remembered her panic attacks from when we were kids. It's no big deal." Justin shrugged, brushing off one of the most romantic moments of Ariana's life with a wink and a smile.

"At least you kept her from passing out and ruining the pep rally," Yolanda commented.

"I know, right?" Penelope's high-pitched giggle abraded Ariana's eardrums as she clutched her lunch bag to her chest and sped past.

Her stomach tightened as she searched the crowded cafeteria for a friendly face. Lisa's bright smile beckoned from a nearby table. Ariana raced over and plopped down with a sigh—only to look back and see Penelope slide onto Justin's lap and wrap her arms around his neck.

"This is going to be harder than I thought." Ariana tugged her lunch toward her, knocking Lisa's water bottle over in the process. "Ugh. Sorry."

"No worries, chica." Lisa grabbed the bottle and sopped the water up with a napkin.

"Hey. Everything all right?" Brayden asked as he climbed over the bench and sat next to Ariana.

"Fine," she muttered as she watched Justin's hands encircle the hemp belt cinching Penelope's tiny waist. They'd agreed as part of their "offense plan" to keep dating Brayden and Pen—as Justin called her—in order to see what they could learn from them and also as a cover to protect Ariana and her family. But the logic behind it didn't make it any easier to watch.

Ariana dug into her lunch, and Lisa shot her an encouraging smile. They'd had a long conversation the night before. Lisa had told Ariana how she'd been camped out in the library during the pep rally, cell phone recorder at the ready, but Isaiah had never showed. And Ariana had finally shared that she'd been hiding Justin in the attic and that he was now living with them by invitation but still in secret.

Ariana's account of how Justin had risked his life to save Rainn—combined with the superhero-like reports of how he'd rescued Ariana at the pep rally—were enough to make Lisa Gifford, jaded ex–New Yorker, irrevocably Team Justin.

A chocolate chip cookie appeared under Ariana's nose. She sniffed the sugary temptation and glanced over at Brayden. His warm brown eyes glimmered with that ever-present hint of humor that made her want to laugh and hug him at the same time.

"Take it. I know you want to." He wiggled auburn brows.

She snatched the cookie and took a big bite.

"Better?"

"Much," Ariana mumbled as she chewed.

A tray plunked down on the other side of the table. "Why I pay for this slop, I have no clue." Colin Martin swiped the beanie off his golden hair and tucked it into his pocket as he sat next to Lisa.

Ariana's friend froze with her sandwich halfway to her mouth. With as much subtlety as she could manage, Ariana kicked Lisa under the table, which reactivated her arm but did nothing for the dreamy look on her face.

Colin tossed a tater tot into his mouth and launched a football conversation with Brayden that might have been in Latin. Or at least that's how much of it Ariana understood. Finally, Colin noticed the starry-eyed girl sitting beside him. He turned to her and extended his hand. "Hi. I'm Colin Martin. You're new, right?"

Proud that Lisa managed to introduce herself with minimal stuttering, Ariana let her eyes wander over to Justin's table where he and Penelope sat side by side talking to Yolanda and Ona. That's when she realized that they'd managed to split the popular table. For years Yolanda and her friends had exclusive rights to the Martin cousins, the two boys sitting beside her now.