[color=silver][center][indent][img]https://i.imgur.com/rZ6aZOT.png[/img]		[img]https://i.imgur.com/E7aTG0I.png[/img]	 [img]https://i.imgur.com/MgLW13k.png[/img]
[sup][sub]featuring [color=lightsalmon]Nadia Josette Aurelios[/color][/sub][/sup]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/hywib0s.png[/img]
[/indent]
[hr]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/UmazZhC.png[/img]
[hr][/center]
[indent][indent][indent]After the general outrage of the homecoming pairings, lunch was turning out to be a rather enjoyable affair. If Mari had, to be honest, this Salem guy was honestly pretty damn cool, even if his dweeb side was showing occasionally. He was a combination of her older brother Marco Jr.s’ quick sense of humor and easygoing attitude, Archer and Kirk’s love for literature, and her younger brother Marshall’s playful sarcasm. It didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes and that he was getting along so well with two of her dearest friends. Even if she wouldn’t admit it outright, Sol was always happy to have more people in her friend circle. And, curiously enough, it looked like Salem Rivera was fitting right in.

Fate really was a funny thing.

On the other side of the coin, Salem was enjoying himself too. He had good company and the food at King’s Academy was especially good, better than his last school that cut corners despite the outrageous tuition fee. It was so good, Salem had scarfed down his fries before he even realized it; it hit the spot, but it left him wanting to more. Cheekily, Salem sneaked his arm around Marisol so he could steal her fries from the other side. When she didn’t notice, Salem internally shrugged his shoulders and continued to gather some of her fries.

Taking a moment away from the conversation to look around the room, her eyes fell on Sonny. Smiling, she waved enthusiastically at him, motioning for him to come over to their table. In other circumstances, she would have given him the darkest of death glares for having chosen to spend his company with Nadia instead of them. But she was in a terrific mood today, and not even his ‘who the fuck is that’ face could get her out of it. Hell, not even Judas coming up and snatching Archer away could pop her happy bubble! She would [i]obviously[/i] ask him all about it later, but her focus was on something completely different now.

As Sonny saw, he just ignored them. He was curious, of course, but there really was no way in hell that he was going to willingly go over there. He would look like a fool, but there was something eating at him about who that guy was that was with Kirk and Archie and Marisol. She had no problem avoiding him for god-knows-why, but she had no problem perking it up with some new nobody. 

[color=darkorange]“Can you believe the nerve of her?”[/color] He said to Nadia, clearly annoyed.

Stopping midchew, the redhead looked at Sonny with a mildly confused expression. [color=lightsalmon]...uh...no?[/color]” Came her muffled response, although she would finish before looking towards the target of Sonny’s ire. [color=lightsalmon]”I thought you two were friends.”[/color]

She had him there. [color=darkorange]“She’s the oldest friend I have, but as of late, she’s been acting like a big you-know-what. Avoiding me as if I did something wrong. And this is after her meds had her speaking nonsense. And now she’s throwing all of it in my face as if [i]I’m[/i] the one who did something wrong.”[/color] Sonny let out a slight huff, looking over at Marisol who was [i]still[/i] gesturing to him. [color=darkorange]“And [i]now[/i] she wants me to go to her? That’s some mixed signal kind of shit, which I should know since I invented that shit.”[/color] 

Despite not entirely understanding the situation, Nadia would slowly nod. [color=lightsalmon]”Have you tried asking her what’s going on?”[/color] She asked. [color=lightsalmon]”When people do that, it usually means something’s wrong.”[/color] Granted, she was more than certain that it had some sort of relation to the entire Sonny/Vic kiss back at the party that resulted in a car getting smashed, but there was no way she was going to say that out loud.

Damn it, he really hated when people used common sense when talking to him. Just for once, Sonny would like people to side with him - even if he was being unreasonably unrealistic. [color=darkorange]“The last time I talked to her, she said she loved me, but she was also high on those bipolar meds they had her doped up on, so she obviously wasn’t really meaning it,”[/color] he said in reply, scowling somewhat. [color=darkorange]“But fine! I’ll go over there.”[/color] He uttered as he stood up, looking over at Marisol’s unnerving grin and her willing hand waving at him still. [color=darkorange]“If it’s a trap, I’m doing my wiggle dance naked,”[/color] he teased Nadia, leaving their table.
 
Nadia’s jaw dropped for multiple reasons, although she closed her mouth, shaking her head at him. [color=lightsalmon]”I’ll...be waiting here,”[/color] She said as she looked down at her salad, albeit with a small smile.

As Sonny casually made his way over to the Misfits Table - the table that he should’ve been at, not the Fakefits - he had a looming thought the back of his mind that this was just another attempt for Marisol to embarrass him. She had no problem doing it when she practiced her batting swing on Victoire’s car and sure as hell had no problem doing the same thing when she said those out-of-character things to him a couple of weeks ago. He just knew nothing good was going to come from this, but there was a small part of him that was [i]hoping[/i] this was going to be different. She didn’t seem like the usual bitchy self she tended to be and in good spirits. Despite everything, he was glad she didn’t have the cuckoo clock popping out of her chest as she had before.
 
He stopped in front of the table, though he didn’t take a seat. He didn’t see himself staying [i]that[/i] long; it was only going to last for a few minutes so she could say what she needed to say and so that he could find out who the walking churro was. [color=darkorange]“I’m here. Now start talking.”[/color]

[color=brown]“Well, hello there, Sugar!”[/color] Mari said cheerfully, shooting Sonny a wink. [color=brown]“I just wanted to introduce you to someone.”[/color]

The ‘someone’ Marisol just so happened to be referring to shoved the last of his stolen fries into his mouth before sheepishly lifting his hand in an indolent greeting. Salem chewed furiously, hoping he could finish the food and swallow quickly enough that he avoided an awkward silence on his part. It was only polite that he introduced himself, especially to the guy his new friend had been excitedly gesturing over for the past minute or so. 

[color=8BCCC5]“Uh, hi,”[/color] Salem said ungainly, having chewed his food too slow and feeling as if he should have waited to eat his fries after the introductions were over with – even if it meant his thievery would be discovered. Being the new kid was hard. [color=8BCCC5]“I’m Salem Rivera. Uh, I’m new here and...yeah.”[/color]

[color=darkorange][i]Well no shit.[/i][/color] 

That was Sonny’s first thought when Salem — [color=darkorange][i]what a stupid name[/i][/color] — had said he was new. Yeah, of course, he knew, or else Marisol wouldn’t have introduced him to her best friend of eighteen years as ‘somebody’. Had he been here for a while, Sonny would’ve run into him at some point. So, him saying he was a new student wasn’t exactly the kind of thing that required a doctorate to see. And god, he cringed at the name Salem. His parents must’ve hated him from the moment they laid eyes on him. 

As he swallowed the urge to say what he was really thinking, Sonny simply gave …[i]Salem[/i] a nod of acknowledgment, shook his hand and turned his attention to Marisol. [color=darkorange]“So is that it?”[/color] Sonny asked her point blank. She better have more than just introducing him to this newbie.  

The attitude earned him an eye roll and a frown from Marisol. [color=brown]“What’s up with you?”[/color] she asked him back, taking a few fries from her plate and stuffing them in her mouth. [color=brown]“You pissed because I called you away from Little Miss Sugar over there?”[/color]

Sonny had to laugh. The fact that she even acknowledged Nadia was proof enough that she was bothered by it. [color=darkorange]“You jealous that I chose to spend my lunch with her instead of your jealous ass?”[/color]

Marisol scoffed, and even though she rolled her eyes again there was no hiding the anger that was slowly boiling up inside them. Tensions were slowly building up between them, the way it always did when two stubborn bulls faced each other head-on. [color=brown]“Give me a fucking break. The world doesn’t revolve around your vain, narcissistic ass, Sonny.”[/color] she spat, getting upset that her stupid best friend didn’t know how to take a fucking joke these days.

Well, this sure as hell was awkward for Salem. Did they have some sort of relationship? If they did, he really didn’t want to be the one to get between them when he was a non-issue in the first place. Either way, Marisol was a friend and Salem doesn’t think he really likes Sonny if this is how he treats a lady and a friend or a lady friend. Salem was still confused about their relationship.

Hesitantly, not wanting to overstep his boundaries by getting involved but also not wanting a spectacle to take place or Marisol’s feelings to get hurt, Salem lifted an arm in between them as if a barrier. His outstretched palm slightly brushed Sonny’s shoulder in a non-aggressive motion for him to step back. 

[color=8BCCC5]“Hey, let’s just relax, guys.”[/color] Salem attempted to soothe.

As soon as Salem decided to open his mouth, Sonny’s immediate attention was directed at him, a scathing gaze taking the place of his previous neutral expression. [color=darkorange]“The grownups are talking, Sally, so just sit there and try and remain as boring as possible. I’m sure someone like yourself can manage that much,”[/color]  Sonny calmly stated, smiling

Frowning in annoyance, Salem stood up to his full height, towering over this Sonny guy by at least six inches. He didn’t bother getting into Sonny’s space but rather glowered by Marisol’s side with a scowl that twisted the scar on his chin menacingly. [color=8BCCC5]“Really, you’re calling yourself a ‘grown-up’? All I see is a skinny punk picking a fight for no substantial reason. Why don’t you take your supposed mature ass back to your table, because I think we’re done here.”[/color]

[color=darkorange]“Because I was called over here to meet somebody Marisol thought was worth my time, but all I see is an overconfident giant who is two seconds away from finding out he’s got nothing but height over me,”[/color] Sonny remarked. He wanted Salem to try it - he really did. It would give Sonny just enough justification to floor him and make Marisol realize he’s just like every other man in her life.

[color=brown]“Jesus fucks, man,”[/color] Marisol cursed out loud, shaking her head while she got up from her seat to stand right between Salem and Sonny. This was [i]not[/i] how things were supposed to go. All eyes were on their little scene now, and it was frankly pushing her off. [color=brown]“Both of you: drop it. Son, I was just playing with you in the first place. All I wanted was for you to meet this dude, but I'm sorry it was such an inconvenience to you,”[/color] she spat, grabbing her belongings from the table. [color=brown]“Guess you better go back to Sprinkle Shine,”[/color] Sol said sarcastically, giving Sonny one last scathing glare before turning on her heel and walking away. 

As he watched Marisol walk away, Sonny’s eyes casually glanced towards Salem. Just as he was about to rush after her, Sonny stepped in front of him, stopping him. [color=darkorange]“Word of advice newbie: watch out for her. Once she tires of your good guy act, she’ll toss you aside for the next flavor of the month,”[/color] he said, smiling at the lanky fellow. After a brief shoulder pat, Sonny motioned his head towards Marisol. [color=darkorange]“Go on, little chihuahua. Your master’s waiting for you.”[/color]

Salem stared Sonny down but didn’t deign to respond to him. Huffing air through his nose, Salem swung his bag over his shoulder and ran after Marisol.[/indent][/indent][/indent][/color]