[14] Ezra: 'Group Hug!'-2

Stupid, stupid, Ezra. The regret I'm feeling at that moment is unmatchable. "Hey," I turn and reach forward, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I never formally apologized for all that. I'm really sorry, man." "Shut the fuck up, Ezra." Micajah growls, and the glasses he always wears does nothing to diminish the power of his harsh glare, "I never took any of that personally and we worked it out after that. So if you utter one more word . . ." "Thank you," I grab him by the back of his neck and pull him forward in a surprise hug, making him chuckle as he pats my back heartily. "Thank you," I mutter once again, pulling back and grinning, to prevent the sudden emotion wrapping around me from taking control and making me doing something stupid like cry. This. This is family. Not whatever the hell my father forced me into believing for eighteen years. "Well," Seneca blinks rapidly as her voice comes out watery, making the two of us gape at her in surprise, "What? Shut up! Have you not seen eyes sweating?" "Group hug!" I call, grabbing her arm and dragging her close as I wrap the two most important people in my life in a tight hold. Trust me, there's no such thing as too many hugs. "Aw," Seneca coos, but wraps her arms around us and hugs us nonetheless, not caring about the strange looks people were giving us in the hallways. "Love you, guys." Micajah's voice comes out muffled as his face is squished between us somewhere, and I grin. "Yeah, love you." The moment would've just been all the more perfect if Nyah had been here. Soon, I vow to myself. ~ "Just come on, Ezra! The food here is not that bad!" That's Micajah. Yeah, moment over. We're now barely inside the cafeteria, and the stench of the plastic filled-toxics they serve as food here is turning my stomach. I have to leave this place. Pronto. "Noooo," I protest as vehemently as I can, fighting the evil to-be-Ryes as I try to free my arms from their tight Alpha-blood fueled grips, "All cafeteria food is absolute crap and you know it! Just lemme go to that pizza place! I won't even make you two go with me!" "Ezra." Seneca calls a bit sharply, surprising me as she lets her grip go and crosses her arms in a pissed-off manner, "I'm just asking you to try it once." I sigh. When she put it like that . . . it seems like a reasonable enough request. They take my sigh as a sign of silent acceptance happily, and Micajah lets his grip on my arm go as well. Unfortunately for me, the queue in the front of the cafeteria has moved forward and it is now our turn to buy the food-effectively cutting off any possible time I can get to formulate my escape strategy. Dammit. I grumble lowly under my breath as I receive a stacked tray from Micajah-who's buying whatever without asking me, because you know what? I'm not gonna dignify this place by actually ordering something because every freaking dish here is gonna taste like the same kind of sludge anyway. So yeah, no use wasting my breath. I move to stand to the side as Seneca receives her tray, continuing to bemoan my fate that I'm destined to be stuck with such nerds for the rest of my life. They say that if your biological family is not good, you can choose your own. Maybe I should try that shit. Who am I kidding, really? I laugh to myself at that. Once my brother is done buying his food as well, the three of us turn around and take in the crowded hall properly for the first time. There are rows and rows of tables that seem to go on endlessly, and one wall of the huge room is taken up by big windows that give a clear view of the lawn and garden area where there are even more tables and stone benches. But yeah, I'm not looking forward to getting pigeon shit on my food so, no, thank you. "See!" I cry triumphantly with a gloating grin as I gesture to the full room where not a single table seemed to be available, "I told you we shouldn't come here. Looks like even the tables are agreeing." Seneca and Micajah share a look of defeat. Yes. "Fine." Micajah sighs. "You win," Seneca concurs as well, balancing her tray on one hand as she places the other on her hip with a bored look. "Aha!" I exclaim, grinning fully now, "Did someone just say that I won-" "-Not so fast," A familiar female voice interrupts my delighted crow, making me turn in their direction in shock. "Alpha, Aleph and Beta." Tatum Karas-aka Junior Seneca who left the party in almost tears the other night when her best friend found his Mate-greeted, continuing, "I have a whole table all to myself. You're welcome to join if you'd like." Her politeness and the fact that she'd come up and spoken to us just like that, surprised the hell out of me. I hadn't pegged her for a social person who preferred interacting with acquaintances much. Mm, looks like I'd been a little too quick in assuming things. Micajah is the first one to recover from the suddenness of it all and speak, "Tatum, hello! Please don't be so formal and yes, that would be awesome. Thank you!" He exclaims, grinning his usual friendly grin. "Yes, Tatum. I think we're past those formalities." Seneca chimes in as she too gives her smile, nodding in hello. "Oh, man!" I blurt out, finally recovering from my momentary paralysis and tsk-ing in disappointment, "I'm very happy to see you, too, Tatum, but your timing, pfft-it sucks." Tatum chuckles in response, making me immediately relieved that she isn't as miserable as I'd thought she is. Or is just too good at hiding it, my brain supplies, and I can't brush it off as unreasonable doubt either. Because for people like her who're treated with pity wherever they go, the facade is the only thing that helps them get through. And there you go, Ezra. You're doing the same as others and showing her sympathy. "So, how's HillBridge treating you three?" Tatum starts with a smile once we're all seated comfortably around one of the tables jammed up against a window with the perfect view of the garden-huh, must be perks of being a regular here-and I have to grin automatically at that. "Yes, it's been quite an adventure, alright," I mutter under my breath as I look around the crowded room one last time to check if Nyah is in here somewhere with Alessia. But she goes to that pizza place every day for Alessia's sake, remember? Damn, no possibilities of running into her here then. Tatum says something in surprise at my comment about it all being adventurous, and then Seneca mutters something drily about ignoring my sorry ass because I'm a love-sick puppy or something along that lines. At that, my attention is dragged back to the table and I scan Tatum's face quickly-having a sharp reminder of her downright sorrow-filled expression from the other night-but she seems perfectly fine as she nods along and laughs at whatever my friends say. So, maybe I'm the one overreacting here, then. Soon, Tatum's future Beta, Angier and his Mate, the Blythe girl both join the table, and I look around and realize that this is not so bad. College is not so bad. I have a Mate who's on the right track of our non-relationship for once and things are going well. Even the woman who'd been in utter misery seems to be happy and vibrant in this environment. So maybe things will work out for everyone in the end. A loud laugh from Tatum grabs my attention all of a sudden, and no matter what, I can't shake off the thought that she's hiding behind layers and layers of fake smiles and held-back tears. And no friend of Ezra can be that unhappy in life. Yeah, sue me. I just referred to myself in third person. Anyways, I'll have to keep an eye on this Alpha. Along with my Alpha-woman, Nyah Pineda. Damn, since when did my life become a soap-opera filled with female Alphas?