✔ DRUNK words, SOBER thoughts ✖ hemmings au

24: Slammed Doors & Costume Shoppes

LUKE.

Despite the fuckery that happened this morning with my mum's car, nothing would have made me feel better than being in Ari's presence. Her caring and kind heart in addition to her loud-mouthed, asshole-ish comments were enough to make me feel at ease. Receiving a pink slip to the main office due to some emergency wasn't exactly how I wanted to start Biology, but when I pressed the office landline to my ear to hear my mum crying on the other end, I was glad they pulled me out before Mr. Dillard could explain meiosis and mitosis.

All this bullying bullshit should've ended the moment mum and I left Sydney. I worked so fūcking hard to make sure it didn't happen again only to be sucked right back in. But it was worse this time around; my mum's life was put in danger and it hurt me to no end.

I didn't want to blame Ari or the guys-- I could never do that. But life in Percival Shores was going really well until Ari happened. Being her friend was both a blessing and a curse. With her, I could be myself. Being me was so easy around Ari that being someone else didn't appeal to me. Though in retrospect, deeming myself Ari's friend meant being back at the bottom of the social chain and being the target of humiliation and social torment.

But it was in moments like this, chilling out with Ari while watching funny movies or falling into a blissful nap with her, did I forget about such torment. As cheesy, cliche, and Nicholas Sparks-esque did it sound, there was no bigger travesty than being Percival Shores royalty and Ari was the trick to pacify it all.

"Are you gonna stare at me like a creeper all day or..."

I rolled my eyes at Ari's sudden, snarky comment, unaware that she had been awake. She had fallen asleep in the middle of watching Tangled and with no one to sing along with me, I knocked out shortly after. I woke up before she and accidentally elbowed her forehead-- it wasn't entirely my fault. I didn't notice how she had snuggled right up to my side, her head in perfect proximity to an elbow slam.

"Well you have an ugly bruise on your forehead that looks like a moose and I can't take my eyes off it," I teased, though unbeknown to her that I was the reason for said bruise. "Also, I think you've drooled slightly on my shirt. If I wanted to wash it, I would've thrown it into the washer."

"Ugh, you make me want to punch infants Hemmings," she groaned, turning around to face the wall and I chuckled in her expense.

Without really thinking, I wrapped a leg around hers and draped an arm around her torso. She was so tiny and I felt like I could cuddle her like my favorite stuffed toy penguin.

"What are you doing?" Ari's voice was muffled against the pillow, but I could still decipher the words.

"I just wanna cuddle my bestest friend," I stated with a shrug. She could've pulled away from me; annoyingly groaned, kicked me in the balls and ran away, but she didn't. Ari simply stayed still, no reaction, and I was happy. I liked this.

"What time is it?" She suddenly asked.

"Umm," I scanned my eyes around my room, searching for my phone but it was nowhere I could see. As I trailed my eyes, they landed on Ari's bum that was nicely displayed inches away from little Lucas. And in the back pocket of Ari's jeans was her phone. I grasped the device and pulled it out, pressing the button to check the time.

"Are you looking at the time, or are you enjoying grazing your hands on my ass?" Ari was the queen of sass today but I liked it. It made me smile and it distracted me from all the bullshit going on in my life.

"It's 2PM," I told her, opening up the pocket with a finger and slipping her phone back in. "You were here the entire school day. There's like two more periods left. What are you gonna tell your mum? Pretty sure the office called home."