Luna

06 | another distance

I try to ignore them, but the sight of the two of them together still does something to my heart.

When I close my locker, Mikaela yells, "Hey, Loony Luna! Always alone, huh?"

I still don't look at her and continue walking, but unfortunately, I have to go in their direction to reach my class.

"Why do you even bother to go to this school when nobody wants you here?" She sneers.

Tyler chuckles at his girlfriend. "Baby," he whispers at her before giving her a peck on the lips.

I keep walking, holding the book tightly against my chest, feeling their gaze piercing right through me as I pass by. My heart burns, but I don't even know whether I have the right to be angry or not.

As the lunch break arrives, I approach Luna. "So it's gonna be the same time, same place?" I raise my eyebrows, crossing my arms on my chest as I lean back against the desk in front of her.

Luna, who's packing her books, stares at me like she doesn't understand my question. She frowns.

"After school?" I ask. "We should get the assignment done by tomorrow, and we haven't finished the conclusion part yet."

Her mouth drops open, and she abruptly shakes her head to signal that she doesn't agree with that, making me squint at her. "I don't think we need to do that. It's okay, Max. I'll do the conclusion."

Her gaze drops onto her lap, and that makes me frown. Again, she becomes distant. She even avoids my eyes while we're talking. She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, and just when I look around, I find some of our classmates tear their gaze away from us, as though they have just been caught staring.

Weird.

"You actually think that you can do it alone just like that?" I ask, unable to hide the irritation in my voice.

"I don't mind doing it for us," she insists.

"Then what about my idea?" I ask. "The conclusion takes 50% of the mark, and you don't think that I have a say in that?"

She goes silent, and I sigh.

"We should discuss it one more time," I say. "And based on the progress we accomplished yesterday, I don't think that it will take longer."

Still, Luna doesn't respond. But then, she clears her throat. "I just don't think we should waste time when I can help both of us. You can always send me your part through e-mail."

Her answer makes me want to roll my eyes, while my heart tries to not sink after I hear that the time we've spent is considered a waste for her.

I've thought that we'd broken the ice yesterday, but what can I say? My assumption is right -- Luna Klein lacks teamwork capability.

"Hey, Max! You coming?" A guy shouts from the doorway, my other classmates standing beside him, waiting for my answer to join them for lunch.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a while," I shout back, hinting them not to wait for me, and they exit the class with curiosity lingering on their faces.

I shift my attention back to Luna, scrutinizing her, and I can sense that it makes her even more uncomfortable.

"Do you fucking hate being paired with me?" I shoot her the blunt question -- I don't fucking care. I can be blunt when I want to.

She takes a deep breath. "No, of course not. Why would I?"

I scoff. "You don't find my company pleasant, do you?"

"What are you talking about? It's not like that."

"I see," I whisper, lowering my face toward hers, which makes her automatically push herself back against her chair. "Then why don't you look at me as we speak now?" My voice is low as I ask her.

She bites her bottom lip and lets out a long sigh before finally daring to meet my eyes, as though she's mustering the courage to do that. I look into her chocolate eyes, and the atmosphere between us becomes tense that I have to straighten up, pushing myself back against the desk in front of her.

The silence that suddenly fills the classroom makes me look around again, and that's when I notice the others snapping their heads away from us.

Caught again.

My lips purse. Luna tears her gaze away from me again, and she looks like she can't wait for this conversation to be over. I wonder whether it's because she hates me that much, or because the rest of the class are watching us.

Right. She has never been a fan of attention, hasn't she?

One thing for sure is that she won't meet me again after school today.

"Give me your phone," I say, startling her.

She looks at me with a lost expression.

"Just give it to me. Goddammit," I insist, and she finally gets the idea.

She hands me her phone, and I dial my own number before saving it into her phone.

"To keep in touch about our project," I say firmly, handing her phone back. "And you better fucking pick it up when I call you."