A little while later after Jack and his brother David left, Jake and I now sat at the little restaurant at the end of the street that I lived on. The same one that I ended up storming out of yesterday. Currently we were waiting for our friend Kale, who always seems to be late because he was so busy creating the craziest hair styles. I was picking at my fries as Jake ate a very messy beef sandwich. He was going to town with it; it was like he never ate in his whole life. I couldn’t help but stare at him in amazement after five minutes. I think his sandwich and him really needed to get a room if he kept at it.

“You really need to work on your manners. No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend,” I said as I took a small bite of a fry as I got an evil look from Jake for not eating. At least I think it was for not eating and not because of my little comment I made. Of course if I didn’t eat, there was something wrong with me. Or, at least that’s what Jake told me every time I decided not to eat around him. Really I think I'm just too disgusted with his eating that I just lose my appetite.

“For your information, I don’t want a girlfriend,” Jake said before stuffing the last of his sandwich in his mouth. He had some of the sandwich’s sauce still lingering on the corners of his mouth. It was like we were three years old all over again. He also had no intention of cleaning it off anytime soon. Guys could be such pigs when they eat, “Leah, if you knew some things about me, you would understand why I don’t want a girlfriend ever.”

“Please explain,” I said with curiosity in my voice. I knew he was hiding things from me, and I wanted to know what they were. I looked at him, waiting for him to fess up what was on his mind. He actually lucked out of telling me anything because Kale suddenly plopped right next to him in the booth. Kale also seemed to fail to mention that he was bringing a friend with him, who had to sit awkwardly next to me.

“Sorry I’m late,” Kale said as he stole a handful of my fries. Jake and I just looked at him as if he came from another planet. It must have been the hair because it was bleached blonde and shaved bold in the back. Kale looked at us, clueless of what we were thinking, “What?”

Jake just switched glances between Kale and his friend. Apparently Kale was not getting the hint, so I just blurted it out, well it was not the same thing Jake wanted to know, but still, “Hey idiot, did you get in a fight with your hair dresser?”

“It’s the latest craze in the music industry,” Kale responded as he popped a fry in his mouth. Jake just shook his head at Kale with disbelief. After a while we learned to not question Kale’s reasons behind his craziness or his hairstyles. I would hate to hear what the next style is going to be. I don't think Kale even knows the reason behind his craziness, “I’m thinking about copying one of those musicians in that new band under that one record company.” My point exactly.

“You can’t even remember your inspirations because of all that bleach you like to use,” Jake said with a little chuckle of amazement. I had to giggle as well because it was quite funny. Kale is the only person I knew that never paid attention to anything. He just did whatever he felt like without thinking of any consequences.

“Anyways, Kale,” I said pointing to his friend next to me, “Who’s the friend?”

Kale looked up from eating his fries. It was as if he completely forgot that he had a friend with us. I swear I saw a fry hanging out of Kale’s mouth before he spoke. He didn't even bother swallowing what was in his mouth before answering. Kind of gross when you have to witness food flying everywhere as he tried to stuff more food in his mouth around his words.

“Derik, this is Leah and Jake. They don’t have a thing, so date Leah all you want,” Kale was very testy today it seemed. I wanted to slap him for his little introduction, but Jake was nice enough to take care of that for me. I tried not to laugh as Kale looked at him like he didn't know what it was for. Or, as if he did nothing wrong, “Owe, what was that for?”

“Leah isn’t something that is up for sale,” Jake lectured. Kale just put up his hands as he did the “sorry” face, in a snotty way. Kale then continued to eat my fries and Jake just stared at him even more. Kale looked at him as if he wanted to know what his problem was this time. I don't know why he was bothering with the stare down since they were pretty much all gone by now, “Those are Leah’s fries. Get your own food.”

“Why? She’s not eating them,” Kale defended himself.

“She can’t if you are eating her food. Give them back to her,” Jake lectured more. I let out a sigh because something like this always happens when Kale and Jake are together. They always end up arguing over absolutely nothing and it’s starting to get annoying. At first I thought it was cute, because they reminded me of a married couple. But after hearing it every time they were together, it got old quick. It was like mixing water with oil while the oil was on fire.

I did a quick glance at Kale’s friend while the two continued to argue, just to see what he looked like. He was pretty cute. He had short dark brown hair and wore a light blue plaid shirt. I couldn’t tell what color his eyes were, but from what I could see, they looked brown. He also had a very masculine face, making him look older then what he probably was. It was clear that he was extremely attractive and I had to admit that he was someone I could see myself dating.

He currently looked pretty bored, resting his cheek on his hand. He played with his blackberry cell phone with his free hand, spinning it on the table as he watched Kale argue with Jake. That image made me check out the progress of the argument, and they were now playing tug-o-war with the nearly empty plate of fries.

I let out another sigh as I asked if I could be let out of the booth. I needed fresh air. If I stayed any longer I was going to get a serious headache. I wasn't in the mood of listening to this argument escalated to food flying all over the place. Resulting in the restaurant staff making us cleaning up and kindly asking us to leave for the day. I could feel Jake and Kale’s eyes on me as I got out of the booth and headed towards the door. I might have had Kale’s friend’s eyes on me too. But I wasn't going to make it my business to see if he actually was or not.

As soon as I got outside, I sat on the bench. The restaurant put a bench outside for the smokers ever since the ‘no smoking in public places’ was passed. Even if I didn't smoke, I still found the bench convenient. Especially when there was a pending food fight waiting to happen inside. This way I can just wait out the aftermath and leave when Jake gets kicked out. Maybe we can go back to my house and play some video games.

“Can I sit next to you?” Derik asked as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. I just nodded as I scooted over a little bit. , “the name is Derik Seadonna. I'm new in town.”

He offered a hand as if he wanted to shake hands, making me take up on his offer. His hands were rough as if he spent all day doing manual labor. He smiled at me as I pulled my hand away when he showed now sign of letting go. Then he stared at me, making me feel a little uncomfortable. He kept staring, making me wonder what was going through his head at the moment. The whole thing made me feel like a science experiment giving off fascinating results.

“What?” I asked. He continued to stare at me with the same childish smile on his face, not saying anything. It was as if I should know why he was staring at me. Honestly, I was just glad it wasn’t a smirk like the one that David gave to me earlier. I still want to slap the guy for that. Just for that it made me enjoy Derik’s company. Also I noticed that he wasn't really the talkative type and it was something that I liked about him. I never got those guys that always talked about themselves and their interests. Like Mr. Aaron's son yesterday. He was annoying.

“Not going to introduce yourself?” He hinted and then took a long drag from his cigarette. I didn’t think I had to introduce myself since Kale already did that for me. I might as well humor him. Or, he would probably keep staring at me until I finally did.

“Even though we went through this process already with Kale?“ I asked only getting a nod from him in return, “my name is Leah Rickabe. That’s all you are going to know,” I said. Derik just continued to stare at me, this time it was like he was studying me. His smile was gone now. He watched every move I made, “Am I that fascinating to you Mr. Seadonna?”

He let out a small chuckle as he took another long drag. I looked at him trying to figure him out. Who was this guy and why was I so attracted to him? He had the same pull on me as David did. I just hope Derik doesn’t say something similar to what David said or I was really going to slap someone. Let's just hope that he didn't, or my last hope in guys was going to be forever gone. It feels like they just piss me off too easily.

“You’re prettier then what Kale made me believe. But, by the looks of it, you met someone that you didn’t really care for by the name of David,” He said blowing out a white trail of smoke, “You seem pretty irritated, and only David can bring the worst out of people like that.”

“You know him?” I asked as curiosity sprang into my mind. My heart did a little flip at the idea that I could actually learn something of David. Something that I shouldn't be so excited about since I was currently hating him. But he was someone that I just couldn't stay away from.

“He’s someone that most of us can live without. Huge flirt, but that is just because of his ex,” Derik said as he finished up his cigarette, “I don’t know much about him, but I work for his dad so I’m pretty much stuck with him. Since he pretty much is like my manager and I have to follow his orders.”

“What happened with his ex?” I heard myself ask. Like he knew the answer to that. He just told me that he didn’t know anything about David. But, he did say that they did spend a lot of time together. Maybe he might know something that might have been said while they were working. Never know unless you ask, right?

“She ran off and died in a car accident,” I heard the familiar voice of David, Surprising me. It kind of sounded closed off making Derik look at the ground as if looking at me would tick David off. I turned around to see him standing next to me, making me wonder when he showed up. A very unhappy look was on his face as he stared down Derik, “You shouldn’t be talking about me behind my back, Derik.”

Jack walked up behind David with an unsure look on his face. He had someone else with him. The new guy looked a lot like David, just a little bit more younger. Seeing all of these new faces in town was starting to be a little weird for me. This new guy had a black jacket on with dark blue jeans and his shoes were the same brand as David’s just all black. Something told me that they were related in some way or form. Brothers, maybe? Only because they looked so much alike.

Derik stood up suddenly. Something was in his eyes as he stared down David. It was like he was challenging him to something. David just looked at him as if he was accepting the challenge that Derik was offering. Jack ignored it and walked into the restaurant leaving the rest of us behind. He was probably going to get Jake. Probably a good idea, that way he didn't have to get kicked out.

“Looks like you guys are at it again,” the new face mentioned. He even sounded younger then David. He stood behind David with an amused smile. He ended up scratching his chin a little bit, making me noticed the wedding band hanging on a chain around his neck. Either he was married or it belonged to a deceased family member, “This is going to get interesting. Looks like I just got into town just in time.”

“What is?” I asked without the intention to speak. His response was just to give me a smile that went from ear to ear before he went back to watching the stare down. The action made me think that he wasn't going to answer my question.

“They just challenged each other on who gets the girl first,” he told me, still smiling, “If I were you, I’d go with David. Derik will just hurt you worse than David would. Plus David thinks you are his true love.”

“Ricky, that’s enough,” David suddenly said. Never taking his eyes off of Derik. But Derik ended the stare down by storming off towards a Saturn hidden in the parking lot. I watched as he drove away not sure what all had happened.

“Chill out, Dave. Its not like she believes in that kind of stuff anyways. She’s not like us. Well at least not yet,” he said putting up his hands defensively. Now getting a death glare from David.

I just stared at the new face with a curious look. What the hell was this guy talking about? To me he was sounding like a crazy person talking nonsense. Why would I date either of these guys? I just met them. But, something tells me that my life was going to change forever and it was because all of these new people were now part of my life.