Chapter 15: Inside Scoop and Moving On

Seeing Chad just standing there frozen in front of them, Laura stepped forward and planted herself right in his face. She crossed her arms, her icy eyes locking onto Chad with an absolute blank, humorless expression.

"You know who I am, right? Move," Laura said, her voice completely calm but chillingly cold.

Knowing exactly who Laura was and seeing that she wasn’t bluffing, Chad took a step back. His eyes darted past her, landing once again on Emma, who was still holding tightly to Eric’s arm right behind Laura. Chad gritted his teeth, then turned on his heel and stormed out of the store. Emma, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Priya all let out a massive sigh of relief. Emma finally let go of Eric’s arm, who looked thoroughly confused, and they all walked out. Chad was already nowhere to be seen. As they headed upstairs toward the food court, Eric looked over at the girls walking beside him.

"Who actually was that guy?" Eric asked, genuinely curious. He clearly wanted no part in any drama, so he kept his tone careful.

"Nobody important at all," Emma replied quickly and dryly.

"He’s been chasing Emma since tenth grade. No matter how many times she rejects him, he keeps coming back. I mean, I’ll give him credit for being persistent, but it’s his whole vibe. He isn’t pursuing her because he actually likes her or cares about her. He just wants to win her over because no girl has ever turned him down before, even though I rejected him myself," Chloe explained.

"Ugh... why are you even talking about him?" Heidi complained, nudging Chloe with her elbow.

"It’s fine, let Eric know what’s up," Priya said, placing a reassuring hand on Heidi’s shoulder.

"Exactly. He brags about being loaded, but he’s absolutely nothing compared to Laura," Monica added.

Laura glanced over at Monica, who flashed a smile and immediately wrapped an arm around her. Eric just shook his head. "Unbelievable," he thought to himself.

They finally reached the top floor, which was lined with various restaurants. They stood in the center for a moment, looking around at the diverse options.

"So... what are we craving?" Emma asked, completely bright and cheerful again, as if the whole incident hadn’t even happened.

"Hmm... I’m good with whatever," Eric replied.

"How about that place?" Monica suggested, pointing toward a buffet restaurant.

"Perfect... let’s do it," Laura agreed.

They made their way toward the entrance. As they walked, Eric felt a slight chill go down his spine, like someone was watching him from behind. He glanced back and caught sight of Chad ducking behind a pillar, keeping tabs on them. Eric didn’t let it bother him, but he couldn’t help but think about it.

"What is his deal now? There really is a guy like him everywhere you go, so annoying," Chad thought to himself.

They stepped inside the restaurant and were immediately greeted by a host standing next to a pedestal displaying the drink menu.

"Welcome! How many in your party?" the host asked.

"Seven," Emma answered.

"Perfect. Please go ahead and select your drinks first, we offer free refills inside," the host said politely, gesturing toward the menu on the pedestal.

They quickly picked out their drinks, then moved up to the counter since they had to pay before being seated. Emma handed their order slip to the cashier, who rang it up and brought up the total.

"Ready whenever you are. You can swipe your debit or credit card right here, or just tap the machine in front if you’re using contactless payment," the cashier said warmly.

The girls all started pulling out their smartphones, but Eric was a step ahead. He quickly tapped his phone against the terminal, settling the entire bill. Emma, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, and Priya, who were all still holding their phones, froze in total shock—and so did Laura, who was holding her credit card.

They all stared at Eric’s back as he hung onto his guitar. Noticing the six of them standing there completely dumbfounded, Eric waved his hand in front of them again.

"Hey... why are you guys just standing there? Let’s go in, the hostess is waiting to show us to our table," Eric said, totally puzzled.

"Oh... right, but are you really sure it’s okay for you to pay for everything?" Emma asked, feeling a bit awkward.

"It’s completely fine. You guys just spent all that time helping me pick out a ton of clothes, so think of this as my treat. Let’s head in," Eric explained.

The six of them could only nod in response, and they followed the hostess into the dining room. Once they were shown to their table, everyone slid into their seats. Eric unslung his guitar case, propped it up against the side of his chair, and stood right back up.

"Alright, let’s grab some food," Eric suggested.

"You go ahead first," Emma replied with a smile.

"Oh, okay," Eric said casually.

With that, Eric walked off toward the buffet station in the center of the room. The moment he was out of earshot, the six girls immediately leaned their heads in toward the center of the table.

"Hey... total for the six of us was $1,020, plus $230 for the drinks. He seriously just covered all of that?" Priya whispered.

"Yeah... I just hope he doesn’t think we’re a bunch of gold diggers," Chloe said anxiously.

"He’s the one who insisted on paying because we helped him with his shopping," Heidi pointed out.

"But still, this is literally the first time we’ve ever hung out with him. Emma even said he just moved here yesterday. It feels wrong for us to be the locals and have him foot the bill," Monica argued.

"I was planning on paying or at least suggesting we split it, but he just jumped right in," Emma said.

"I was completely ready to pay," Laura added, holding up her card to show her friends.

"Tell you what, let’s just Venmo him our shares as soon as he gets back, what do you think?" Emma proposed.

"Perfect... sounds like a plan. We’ll talk to him when he’s back," Chloe agreed.

"Let’s go grab some food," Monica said, standing up.

They all got up and walked over to the buffet station to join Eric, who was still busy picking out what he wanted to eat. Naturally, Emma and the others cheerfully pointed out different dishes to him.

Right in the middle of loading up his plate, "Ring," Eric’s phone started buzzing. He pulled the device out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Seeing that Caleb was calling, he answered it right away.

"Hey... you are seriously not going to believe who just called me," Caleb said without missing a beat the second Eric picked up.

"Who was it?" Eric asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Your dear older brother, Jason... he called asking if I knew where the hell you were," Caleb answered excitedly, sounding like he was spilling a piece of juicy celebrity gossip.

"Wait... why is he asking you?" Eric asked, starting to feel suspicious.

"How should I know? But don’t worry, I didn’t tell him you were in the same city as me, you’re totally safe," Caleb replied.

"Oh, nice. Thanks. So, what else did he say?" Eric asked.

"He told me your dad is actually reporting Melissa and Blake to the police right now over that defamatory video they made. Personally, I think it’s completely pointless. You’ve already been kicked out. Even if the law gets involved, the damage is already done," Caleb answered.

"Yeah, exactly. That’s why I couldn’t care less anymore. And honestly, please do me a favor, I don’t want to hear updates about them at all. I’m over it," Eric said.

"Yeah, I get it. But you need to stay in the loop, and don’t worry, I’m your inside source. Oh, there’s one more thing," Caleb said.

"What now?" Eric asked, already losing interest.

"Your ex-girlfriend just dumped Jason. She listened to the track I sent out this morning, and apparently she filled with regret and broke up with Jason on the spot. He told me himself, haha," Caleb shared cheerfully, delivering the gossip.

"Huh... is that so? Good for her, but it’s none of my business," Eric replied.

"Yeah, I figured you’d say that. Alright, I just wanted to fill you in on that. I just got discharged from the hospital, so I’m gonna go grab some food. Catch you later," Caleb said.

"Yeah. Thanks," Eric replied.

The call ended, and Eric stood still for a moment, checking in with his own emotions. But he felt absolutely nothing, just a complete blank, as if he had just listened to a rumor about a random stranger. "Sigh," he let out a heavy breath, exhausted from hearing any news regarding his family.

He slid his smartphone back into his jeans pocket. When he turned around, he nearly jumped out of his skin and gripped his plate tight because Emma, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, Monica, and Laura were all standing right next to him, clearly eavesdropping on his conversation.