Split Ends (A Luke Brooks fanfic)

Chapter Seven: Keep It

I stared into my locker. Or rather through it. I wasn't thinking about what was in front of my eyes, but behind them, in my brain. It was the cliché 'Heart VS Brain' dynamic.

"What are you doing?" Said a male voice behind me, making me jump. I turned to the culprit.

"Oh, Jai. Hey." I smiled, ignoring his question.

"Looking a bit distant are we?" He asked, reaching behind me to shut my locker for me.

"Thanks..." I muttered, tucking some hair behind my ear. Jai's eyebrows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" He asked, tipping my chin up with his fingers and studying my eyes. Jai could always read my eyes.

"Why are you confused?" He asked, removing his fingers from my chin. I contemplated telling him.

Pros?

Would get it off my chest.

Possible advice.

Inside information?

That's probably all.

Cons?

Luke was his brother.

He might think I'm a slut.

Could tell Luke.

Weighing it up was pointless. I sighed at my own stupidity. This would never work. Ill just die slowly and painfully, but quietly. I'll definitely die quietly.

"I'm sorry Jai, I still haven't quite worked it out myself." I sighed. He nodded reassuringly.

"I'm always here." He kissed my forehead and left off to his class. I guessed I should get going too.

At lunch I sat with Jason. It was very quiet and awkward and we hardly spoke, stabbing at our salads aimlessly. We would occasionally look over at each other and smile weakly. I just wanted to leave.

"I love you." Jason whispered into my ear. My head whipped round. What the fuck. What the fuck??? We'd been dating two fucking months and...fucking hell. My face looked like it had been coated in super glue, the shock plastered all over it.

"Jason, how can you say that?" I half whisper-screeched. I thought the football obnoxious type were supposed to be the me's in this relationship and I was to be the Jason. Who tells someone they love them after two months? My head was exploding from a terrible migraine. I got up from the table.

"I'm sorry..." I apologised, before half running out of the canteen.

My day had been those words running through my head. I still couldn't get my head round the fact he could be so deluded to believe that he loved me. Even if somehow he did love me, I didn't love him back. I knew that for sure, I knew what love felt like. I gulped.

"Okay, class dismissed." Mr Presley invited. The class crowded into a clump around the door, trying to find their way out of the door.

Outside the school, Luke was sat on a wall. I tried to veer past him but he spotted me anyhow.

"Cress! Are you busy?" He asked nervously.

"No, what's up?" I replied. Lying had crossed my mind but, I needed to face the truth.

"Well, with it nearing Christmas and everything, I was thinking we could go see the lights and then grab a coffee or something warming?" He suggested. This made me smile.

"Go on then!" I encouraged. He laced his arm around mine and we skipped off into the direction of the lights- Oz style.

Luke's P.O.V

They say you can't fall in love with the same person twice. Truth is, I never fell out of love with her. She was always the one for me, but part of me couldn't step over the hurdle, part of me still doubted her, what she could do to me. I wish I could, but It wasn't as easy as it sounded. We were walking through the city, arm in arm, we look more like girl and gay best friend than anything else. We reached the street, full to the brim with people, which was decked with beautiful lights. Since we'd come straight from school, I didn't have my camera, so I took out my phone and began to photograph the gorgeous lights. I looked over to Cresseida, who was doing the same as me. We'd always shared a love of photography, that's why we took so many pictures of us together. Her glossy blue eyes were in awe at all the pretty lights. She was trying to catch a glimpse of them all, but she was too short.

"Here," I offered, bending down so she could climb onto my back.

"No it's ok."

"Cresseida." I said sternly. She clambered onto my back and stood up.

"It's so beautiful." She remarked quietly.

"Almost as beautiful as you." I immediately regretted saying it once the words had left my mouth. Luckily, she thought I was joking, and whacked me around the head.

"You can put me down now." She ordered. I bent down again and waited for her to get off my back. She landed successfully, pulling down her shirt at the bottom.

"You wanna go StarBucks?" I shouted over the people and Christmas music. She nodded. I grabbed ahold of her hand and argued my reasons;

"I can't lose you." I yelled. We danced through the crowds attempting to actually GET to the highstreet for about half an hour. I mustn't get her home late again. We couldn't find a Starbucks, so we entered a small corner coffee shop.

Cresseida's P.O.V

The aroma of coffee beans hit us as soon as we stepped foot in the establishment. We ordered our drinks. Luke offered to pay, which obviously I point blanc refused to let him do, but he managed to convince me in the end, making me feel guilty. I had a Cinnamon Latte and Luke had a Hot Chocolate. The taste of the latte was essentially Christmas in a cup.

"So, the ever daunting subject of our Media work," Luke began. "When will the time come where we will actually do it?" He mused. I snickered.

"I'm not sure, but we'll have to display them in three weeks, and we've hardly done anything." I worried.

"We'll get it done, don't worry." He comforted. Once I had finished my drink, gave off a small shiver, but Luke didn't see. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my lipbalm. Whilst applying the lip balm, I felt Lukes eyes on my lips and suddenly fet really self concious. I placed the lipblam on the table and reached down to get a tissue from my bag. When I looked up, my nose scrunched up and my eyebrows raised. Luke was rolling up the lipbalm, and before I could protest, he began to apply it to his plump pink lips, dodging his lip ring. His eyes never.left me. What. The. Hell. What was he doing that for? Maybe his lips were kind of dry like mine. My eyes travelled downwards and focused on his lips. He rubbed them together and then made a puckering noise, before rolling back down the lipbalm and putting it on the table infront of me. For some odd reason. What he had just done seemed way too sexual to be done in public, with all the little children watching, but it really wasn't as bad as I saw it. "Mm. Vanilla." He remarked, smiling softly at me. I was still baffled. I picked up the balm from infront of me,

"Here, keep it." I scrunched up my nose again. He pushed my hand back.

"No its, my lips were just a little dry." He gave me a wink. I decided to flush bright pink and began to sweat like a pig.

"I probably better get going." Fumbling with the lipbalm, I frantically pushed my chair out and picked up my bag. I thanked him for the drink before stepping out into the chilly evening air.