Read Online Starkissed by Brynna Gabrielson - Free Book Online

kidding.
    “Um...”Caroline stutters. “Yeah, definitely...”
    Something hits my leg. I jolt and glare at Caroline. “Why are you kicking me?”
    “I think that was me actually.” I look over and stare aghast at Liam who has planted himself down right beside Caroline.
    She looks from me to him, then back to me. She’s not talking, but I can read the little twitches on her face that are screaming, “omigodomigodomigod.”
    What the hell is Liam doing at our table? And wait, isn’t that Jeff Trafford – quarterback – beside him. And...
    “Hey, mind if sit here,” Michelle Trabeck is standing beside me, indicating the open spot on my right. I blink at her. Michelle is a senior and captain on the cheerleading squad. Angelina considers her one of her closest friends, but never once has Michelle spoken to me.
    “I guess not.” What the hell is going on here? Seriously, one photo with Grant West and the popular table decides to move to the other side of the room to be near me? No freaking way. But sure enough, they’re all trickling into the cafeteria and filling up all the seats at my table. They don’t even go near their usual spot. It’s like they had some sort of agreement before coming to lunch that they had to sit here.
    “Oh hey,” Paul says, appearing on Caroline’s right, he nudges her. “Can you squeeze over a bit?”
    Too entranced by Liam’s presence, she barely notices him.
    “You know what?” Michelle pipes up. “Maybe you should sit over there,” she points toward a half empty table across the room. “We’re kind of full here.”
    Paul looks down at Caroline, his confused smile sagging into a disappointed frown. He starts to retreat.
    “Paul wait!” I hear my voice crack above the loud chatter of the table. I’m almost as surprised to hear myself as he is. I shove a little to the right. “There’s room here.”
    “Well look at that,” Michelle says with a little snap in her voice.
    I stare down at my plate, no longer interested in the hot dog or tater tots before me. I shove it toward Paul whose appetite is only surpassed in impressiveness by his metabolism.
    “What the hell is going on here?” he mutters in my ear as we both watch Zane, Shanae, Tara, and Alex try and squeeze in at the end of the table.
    “Nothing good.”
    ***
    The idea of popularity is something I’ve considered. Believe me. I’ve often wondered what it might be like if everyone knew my name, if to the rest of the school I wasn’t just somebody’s sister, but Sydney Kane. But it’s never really enticed me, not like it does my sisters. There’s always been something in each and every one of them that craves the spotlight in some way, shape, or form – especially during high school. For Arianna it was heading up the student council and being an honor student. For Alyssa it was starring in the school plays, having her pictures in art shows, and dating hot, misunderstood musicians. Ava led a rampage against the cafeteria for not serving vegetarian friendly meals, and did so in a low cut top and denim mini-skirt. She wasn’t typical popular, but that didn’t stop people from rallying around her. And just look at Angelina. She’s a cookie-cutter cheerleader and natural born bitch. This high school has been ruled time and again by Kane girls. But I’ve always been happy with the sidelines. Sure, sometimes I wish people would get my name right, and that they wouldn’t be so surprised I come from the same gene pool as my sisters...but that doesn’t mean I’m yearning for this kind of attention.
    Last week, hell yesterday, these people didn’t even know who I was. Okay, that’s not strictly true. I mean Liam knows me, but only because he and Angelina were so hot and heavy for that brief slice of time and I may have walked in on them making out in the rec-room a few weeks ago. For a guy who appears so confident on the football field, he was quite bashful to be found under my sister with his shirt cast