PROMISE // reggie mantle

two

the back to school hustle and bustle of riverdale high was overwhelming as i stepped into the hallway after storing my art pieces in ms. ortega's art classroom. people ran everywhere down the halls, crazily excited to see their friends after a long summer break, however the person that i was not crazily excited to see screamed my name from the opposite side of the hallway. it was tucker, yelling my name for what felt like the hundredth time since i walked through the doors.

"LILAC PORTIA!" he pulled on my arm as he finally reached me, my face going red with embarrassment.

i tipped my arm away from him, "what the hell, tucker?"

"why didn't you answer any of my texts last night?" he crossed his arms over his chest, one of his dark eyebrows raising as his green eyes stared back at me in curiosity.

i sighed and rolled my eyes at the same time, fidgeting with the pearl bracelet on my wrist. i didn't want to look him in the eye because in my mind i knew that when those sea green eyes stared back into my own crystal blue ones, i'd forgive him in an instant. just the touch of his hand grabbing my arm was the perfect awakening to the butterflies in my stomach.

tucker scoffed as i continued to ignore him, his hands hitting the sides of his khaki pants. "is this because of last night?"

i stopped playing with my bracelet and stared up at him, softly murmuring, "that was the third time this week, tuck."

he licked his lips at my words, turning his head to look down the hallway, not wanting to look me in the eyes. he always did that when he knew he was wrong. he never wanted to look into the eyes of someone who was correct while he wasn't. i rubbed my hand up and down my arm as he took my face in his hands, rubbing the sides of my cheeks with his thumbs.

my heart swelled with incredible emotion and love as he held me that way in the hallway, in public. suddenly i was actually tucker hasting's girlfriend and not some girl who lets her boyfriend push her around.

"im sorry, baby," he whispered, his eyes burning holes through mine, seeming sincere. "i'll make it up to you i promise."

i smiled at him, kissing his nose making him scrunch up the body part. i loved when he scrunched his nose, it made me feel all giddy inside. he brought his plump pink lips to meet mine in a brief kiss before pinching my butt as a goodbye. he met up with his football friends down the corridor, my mind still hazy with incredible love as i watched him descend down the hall.

"hey," a voice said from behind me. but instead of turning to recognize the voice who spoke from behind me, my mind focused on tucker. my heart was pumping at a fast rate and the goose bumps on my skin were rising with every thought about the sandy blonde boy. "lilaaaaaa."

"isn't he amazing?" i gushed, my heart clenching in my chest as i fluttered my eyelashes, feeling the prick of cupid's love arrow.

"too bad he's an asshole to you," it was archie andrews, i knew that by the tone of his voice and by the way he cared about me when it came to more serious things like my relationship with tucker.