All Those Other Girls

Why Did You Do That?

Lucas picked me up at the front of my house. I walked out, clutching a white bag in my hand with my money and phone.
"Hey." Lucas said, opening the door of his black car for me.
"Hey." I replied, "Why'd you pick me up?"
"Wow. Not even a thank you." He said, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry! I didn't mean it like that. I just meant, won't Mindy get suspicious?" I said.
"Yeah. Wait..suspicious of what?" He asked.
"Well, remember what I said? We can't tell Mindy that we're a couple yet. Remember my plan?" I asked, winking.
"What? We can't tell her that we're together?What's the point in that then?" He spat.
"Geez. What's with you this morning? Your being so annoying!" I yelled.
"Look who's talking." He mumbled.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" I said.
"That time of month?" He asked. I glared at him.
"Why the heck would you say that?! Don't you know that's one of the wort things to say to a girl? Especially your girlfriend?" I threw back.
"Are you even my girlfriend?" He said. I blinked back tears.
"I-I'm sorry, Z. That wasn't nice." He said, looking down. I took a deep breath.
"Please. I know this is unfair. But if you want to keep our relationship, will you please understand that this means a lot to me? Please.." I said. He took my hand.
"I'm sorry. That isn't fair on you. I will do this for you. It's not that I want to brag to Mindy or something, I just want people knowing. That we're we now. Not just individuals." He said.
"It's ok. I want that, too. But can we please keep it together for this lunch? Then, you can tell everyone." I said. He nodded.
"Of course." He said. I kissed him on the cheek.
"Let's go, we don't want to be late." I said, and he started the car.

"Here's one." He said, pulling into the parking spot. He stopped the car and I got out.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Ready." He said, taking my hand. I pulled it away.
"Lucas. You know that looks suspicious." I said. He rolled his eyes.
"This whole thing is stupid. C'mon, let's just blow this off and go over to-" He started, but I interrupted him.
"No. Lucas, I've already said how important Mindy's friendship is to me." I said. "I don't wanna mess this up." He looked away, but nodded.
"Okay. Let's do this so we never have to do it again." He said.
"Thanks." I said.
"No worries, babe. Ready to go?" He asked. I nodded and we walked towards the restaurants.

We sat down at a table for three. Luckily, Mindy wasn't here yet. Lucas didn't seem ready yet, but he was going to have to pull through. I wasn't going to loose my only friend because of him. I spotted Mindy out of the corner of my eye. She saw me and smiled. Then she saw Lucas. Her smile turned to a frown, but she tried to hide it, plastering a fake smile on her face. I waved, smiling sweetly.
"Hi Mindy." I said.
"Hi!" She said, coming in to hug me. I hugged her back, awkwardly. Lucas chuckled, but I gave him a death stare, so he stopped. He cleared his throat.
"Hello Mindy." He said.
"Lucas." Mindy replied, acknowledging him.
"So, let's order shall we?" I blurted out, trying to break the awkward silence. They nodded, and Mindy sat down. She looked at the menu.
"So, should we start off with some starters?" I said.
"Hmm well I'm allergic to garlic so I won't have any of the bread." She replied. Lucas rolled his eyes. I elbowed him.
"Sure, sure. So how about some fruit?" I asked.
"I'm fine with that." She mumbled.
"Lucas?" I asked.
"You ladies decide." He said, leaning back.
"Okay. So some fresh fruit and what else?" I asked.

It seemed like it went on forever. Mindy was somehow either allergic to everything. Finally, the waiter walked away.
"Your order will be ready soon." He said.
"Thank you." I said. Mindy looked at me.
"So, what have you been up to today?" She asked.
"Not much. I was just...doing some leftover homework." I replied, looking at Lucas. He looked a little agitated.
"Cool." She said.
"What about you?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Oh I went to the movies last night with Laura. It was fun." She said. I gulped.
"Oh. Fun." I said.
"What did you do last night?" She asked, sensing my nervousness.
"Me? Oh I..I..." I tried to think of something but I couldn't. I looked at Lucas. He looked like he was about to blow. I took a deep breath.
"More homework." I said.
"Cool. So did you do the-" Mindy started, but Lucas interrupted her.
"Okay, I'm done. I can't sit here and watch you lie about our relationship like it's nothing. Mindy, you wanna know where Zia was last night? She was with me. At the movies. On a date. Yep I said it. We're dating. And I know you're jealous because you have a crush on Zia. I know you are acting like this because-" Mindy sat up.
"Lucas?! You think I like Zia?! Oh boy you've got this all wrong! What the heck is wrong with you?! I'm not a lesbian, stupid! I never even liked Zia! I liked you! I like you Lucas! But I didn't want to tell you because I already know you like Zia!! Every time when I see you with Zia, I get all grumpy because I know that I never have a chance with you! And I saw you at the movies, I saw you two kissing, I was in the parking lot when Zia got into you're car, and I was there when you saw her in the cafeteria and whispered in ear! I've seen it all! And you know what?! I'm done! I don't want to see either of you ever again! You're both crap, and don't worry about keeping this from me! You can kiss until you swallow her!" Mindy took a breath, and then sobbed. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the door.
"Wow. Even when she's mad she doesn't swear. Also, how'd she know we kissed? What a stalker."Lucas chuckled. I turned around.
"What the heck is wrong with you!?" I yelled.
"What? Zia, she's the one that just-" He started.
"I don't wanna hear it! I just saw what happened, you think I'm blind?! You lied to me! You made me look like a fool in front of one of the most popular girls in the school! And maybe Mindy and I are very different, but you wanna know one thing we have in common?! We both think you're a lying, self absorbed, piece of crap!! And I'll never, ever see you again!" I picked up my bag. "We're done." I ran out of the restaurant. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt as if a bullet had just been shot into my heart. I pulled out my phone, and called an uber. I was done with whatever that was.