Between Us

☆ part three ☆

The rest of the school week crawled by, each day slower than the last. On the surface, everything seemed normal—or at least as normal as it could be with the new dynamic in our group. Lark wasn't ignoring me completely anymore, but she wasn't exactly going out of her way to talk to me either. Liam, of course, was as steady and cheerful as ever, always trying to pull the group together. Meanwhile, Kitty couldn't help but slip in her usual sly comments, aimed mostly at me or Liam. I did my best to ignore her, but the tension between all of us made even simple conversations feel loaded.

By Friday, I was relieved that the week was nearly over. The cafeteria was as loud and chaotic as ever when I sat down at our usual table. Liam was already there, halfway through a slice of pizza, while Oakley was poking at what I could only assume was supposed to be mashed potatoes. "Did you see what they tried to pass off as food today?" Oakley asked, holding up his fork and squinting at it.

Liam snorted. "Just don't think about it, dude. You'll live longer."

"I'll live longer if I don't eat it," Oakley muttered, shoving his tray away with a dramatic sigh.

Indiana slid into the seat beside him, setting her tray down with enough force to make his fork jump. "Calm down, Indi," Oakley said, clutching his chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Good," Indi shot back, smirking. "You deserve it for complaining about the food every single day. Like it's some new revelation that the cafeteria sucks." Their banter made me smile a little, even as I picked at my own lunch. For a moment, it almost felt like things were normal again.

Then Indi straightened in her seat and grinned. "Okay, so I've been thinking—since it's been forever since we've done anything fun as a group, how about a board game night? Tomorrow at my place. We'll have drinks, snacks, the works." Her suggestion caught me off guard. The table went quiet for a second as everyone absorbed the idea.

"Like old times?" Oakley asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Exactly like old times," Indi said. Her grin widened, but her tone softened just slightly. "Come on. When was the last time we actually hung out, just us, without all this... stuff hanging over our heads?" She didn't say what "stuff" meant, but we all knew. The group dynamic had shifted, and no one had really figured out how to handle it yet.

"That's actually a great idea," Liam said, his face lighting up. "I'm in."

"Me too," Oakley added quickly. "But only if I get to be the banker during Monopoly. Last time Kitty cheated."

"That was a  year ago," Kitty said, rolling her eyes as she dropped her tray next to Lark. Her tone was clipped, but she couldn't hide the faint smirk tugging at her lips. "And it wasn't cheating. It was strategy."

"Sure it was," Oakley muttered under his breath.

Lark, who'd been quietly peeling apart her sandwich, finally looked up. "Board games?" she asked, her voice calm but curious.

"Yeah," Liam said, glancing at her. "Tomorrow night at Indi's. You in?"

Lark hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yeah, sure."

All eyes turned to me next. I forced a smile, though my stomach twisted with unease. "Sounds fun. I'm in."

"Great!" Indi said, clapping her hands together. "Seven o'clock at mine. Bring whatever games you want, and I'll handle the drinks."

For the rest of lunch, the table buzzed with excitement as we argued over which games to bring and which ones were banned. Oakley immediately vetoed Risk, claiming it ruined friendships, while Liam tried (and failed) to convince us that Trivial Pursuit wasn't boring. Kitty sat back, making occasional comments but mostly watching the conversation with an amused expression. Even Lark chimed in a few times, her voice light and teasing in a way I hadn't heard in weeks. It was almost enough to make me forget about the tension that had been hanging over us.

After lunch, the group began to scatter, the noise of the cafeteria spilling into the crowded hallway. I walked toward my locker, my mind still lingering on the board game night at Indi's. It felt good to have something to look forward to, even if the thought of spending so much time with everyone—with Lark—made my stomach twist in ways I didn't fully understand.

I spun my locker's combination lock absentmindedly when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Hey, Soph."

I turned, startled, to see Lark standing a few feet away. She was leaning casually against the row of lockers, her bag slung over one shoulder. Her brown hair fell slightly into her face, and her green eyes locked onto mine, that soft gaze I used to know so well.

"Oh. Hi," I said, trying not to sound as thrown off as I felt.

For a second, she just stood there, like she wasn't sure what to say next. Then she shrugged. "So, tomorrow night—Indi's place is kind of far, and I know you don't have a car. Do you need a ride?" Her words hit me like a surprise, and I blinked at her, momentarily speechless. Lark, who'd barely spoken to me in weeks, was offering to give me a ride?

"Yeah," I said quickly, the word tumbling out of my mouth before I could overthink it. "That'd be great. Thanks."

She nodded, her expression calm, though I thought I caught the faintest flicker of something softer in her eyes. "Cool. Liam's coming with me too, so we'll all just go together."

"Oh," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral, even as my excitement dimmed slightly. "Cool. That works perfectly, thank you."

The hallway was crowded with students rushing to their next classes, but somehow, it felt like we were standing in a bubble, apart from everyone else. I fidgeted with the strap of my bag, unsure of what else to say. Lark shifted her weight and gave a small nod toward the hallway. "You're heading to English, right?"

"Yeah," I said, a little surprised she even remembered.

She tilted her head slightly. "Me too. Come on." Before I could say anything else, she started walking, and I fell into step beside her. The hallway noise seemed to dull as we moved, our shoulders almost brushing as we wove through the crowd.

"So," Lark said after a moment, her voice casual, "you're actually looking forward to tomorrow night?"

I glanced at her, surprised. "Yeah, I think it'll be fun. It's been a while since we've done anything like that."

She nodded, her lips twitching into a faint smile. "It'll be good for everyone. Indi's right—we need something normal for once."

Her words hung in the air, and I hesitated before responding. "Yeah. Things have felt... different lately."

Lark's eyes flicked toward me, something unreadable in her expression, but she didn't respond. We walked in silence for a few moments, the weight of what I'd said lingering between us.

As we reached the door to the English classroom, Lark stopped and glanced at me. "By the way," she said, her tone light again, "don't let Oakley be banker when playing monopoly tomorrow. He always cheats when he's banker."

I laughed, grateful for the change in tone. "Noted. I'll keep him in check."

She smirked, and for a brief moment, it felt like we were back to the way things used to be. Then she stepped into the classroom, leaving me standing in the doorway, my heart racing for reasons I didn't want to admit.

Taking a deep breath, I followed her inside, sliding into my usual seat near the back. Lark sat a few rows ahead, her head bent over her notebook. From where I sat, I could see the way her hair caught the light, it was pretty almost. I shook my head, forcing myself to focus as the teacher began the lesson. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about the small smile she'd given me, or the way my name had sounded in her voice. I really did miss her.