the propinquity effect

13

+13+

8 hours left..

I stayed in front of my locker. Stuffing some of the stuffs I won't need for that day because I was tired and I needed to sleep as usual. Michael called me a few hours back, saying he would be back before I would realize he was gone. Oh but I realized it, I realized that he was gone and I was obviously tired of missing that shit.

Luke had been amazing, as per usual but we hung out once that night. We didn't kiss or do anything major we just hugged a lot and he would hold my hand when he was afraid he would lose me in the crowd. He was just being paranoid and I knew and he knew about it, but he never let me go even when I told her I'd be fine.

Luke also had been busy practicing for his upcoming tournament that Friday. Everyone said that he had been amazing, cooperative and would do at least one slam dunk every practice. They said that something made him happy, made him alive and made him realize that there was someone worth winning for. I didn't mind, we were too busy with each other's stuffs to realize that we had not been talking.

By each other's stuffs I meant him with his basketball and me with trying to get enough sleep since Michael went to Germany. Oh my God, that boy just won't stop popping into my mind. I was dizzy and nauseous because I had just gotten my period plus I only had two hours of sleep.

Before I knew it, Luke had leaned on the locker beside mine. Arms crossed over his chest and hoodie up, as if he didn't want anyone to know he was there. To answer your question, no we weren't together. The entire school claimed they would ship us if we would get together. Even my entire group of friends that admitted they didn't like the popular crowd said that Luke was different. I was sure he was different, from the way he talked to the way he stared at me me. Luke was different, the good kind of different.

Some basketball players greeted him with their ritual handshake on the way and I was forced to put up a smile. They cheered us on and all I could do was roll my eyes... boys are just so immature sometimes. It wasn't like we would do anything nasty. God, just thinking of that made me barf a little in my mouth.

The basketball captain beside me dug his hand into his pocket then brought out a pink ticket. It wasn't crumpled, it was straight and looked like it just went out of the printing station which was huge because who knew what that pocket contained. He put it in front of his face then I read the label quickly.

'Valentine's Day Dance' it read and I smiled. Luke wasn't asking me out, was he? He was just probably messing with my brain or something like that. He looked like the kind of boy that would love to mess with people's brains. He then slid the ticket so the other one showed from behind it, he bought two Valentine's Day Dance tickets. One for him and one for his unknown date but I decided to ask him anyways.

"Luke Hemmings, are you asking me out to that cliche dance?" I pulled my mathematics notebook and put it on the stack above the other books. I hugged it close to my chest then shut my locker, leaning on it so I could at least look at Luke a little. His head was taller than mine, obviously, because I was just a little midget compared to him.

"If you want to, this is not the prom proposal or whatever it is called. I just wanted to know if you'll be going." Luke licked his bottom lip, waving the tickets in front of my face as I snorted. I shook my head and the happy expression on his face changed.

"Social things aren't my thing," I lied to him. Even though I didn't like going to social events to socialize I won't forget about Luke. I felt that he would actually kill himself if he would come to one of the most important event of the year alone and dateless. That would be social suicide for Luke Hemmings.