Straight To You

five

"And?" I ask, taking a seat across from Lana at the table we stop at.

"And you totally just told him off!" Lana blurts, blue eyes wide. "No one tells him off!"

"Why not?" I quiz, wondering what the big deal here is as I open my lunch bag.

"He's like a star around here," Lana tells me, waving her hand for emphasis as she speaks. "Captain of the football team, comes from an important and wealthy family, you know, that kind of thing. All of the the girls around here want to be with him, and all the guys want to be him."

"Not all the guys," a voice mutters from my right. I look up to find Lucas, watching as he takes a seat next to me. "Ignore her, Morgan," Lucas murmurs, stealing one of Lana's fries from her tray. "She's just as obsessed with Jack Crawford as everyone else is in this town."

I raise an eyebrow as I study Lucas skeptically. "And you're not?"

Lucas snorts as if I have just told the world's funniest joke. "Of course not," he says with a smirk. "I'm his cousin, so I'm practically immune to his charms."

This is news to me. Raising my eyebrows, I ask, "You're his cousin?"

Lucas shrugs. "Our dads are brothers, so, yeah, last time I checked." Lucas's smirk widens as he looks at me, his expression a little taunting. "Look at you," Lucas teases, biting down on his lip ring. "Not even a full day in Aster Pines and you're already a Crawford groupie. That's cute."

I snap out of whatever trance I was just put under and roll my eyes. "I am not a Crawford groupie," I hiss. "Besides, he practically just ran me down in the hallway, so . . ." I trail off, raising my eyebrows as I shrug, as if this gesture is all I need to finish my thought.

"Sounds like Jack," Lucas mumbles, stealing another of Lana's fries. "Too absorbed in himself to acknowledge anyone else's presence."

"Sounds like you two don't get along," I note, unable to stop myself from smirking. This is nice, sitting with people who may potentially become my friends. It's different in a good way. I could get used to this.

"We used to," Lucas responds with a casual shrug, not offering anything else on the subject.

"What happened then?"

"Jack became Aster Pines's number one football player and I didn't."

My smirk widens at this, and I bump Lucas with my shoulder. "Someone sounds jealous," I tease.

Lucas rolls his blue eyes in annoyance, though the hint of a smile appears on his lips. "I'm not jealous. Although, it would be nice if my mom stopped pretending that Jack was her son. That hurts."

A laugh escapes my lips and Lucas smiles at me, eyes shining in a way that makes him all the more attractive. For some reason, butterflies appear in my stomach. I quickly grab my water bottle and take a sip, trying to drown the butterflies away.

"So if Jack's the football star"—I pop one of Lana's French fries into my mouth—"what do you do?"

"I'm on the swim team," Lucas admits. "Football isn't really my speed."

It's easy to tell that Lucas is a swimmer. He has more of a lean frame, but he's a little muscular too. Not that I noticed, or anything.

Lana rolls her eyes at this, as if Lucas has just told a bold-faced lie. "Lucas has been playing football since he was in diapers," she tells me. "Just like every other guy around here. The only reason he didn't join the team is because he can't stand Jack."

I raise an eyebrow at Lucas, silently asking if what Lana has said is true. In response, he merely rolls his eyes.

"I can't stand my cousin," Lucas agrees, adding, "but that's not the reason I don't play."

He doesn't elaborate any further, so I don't ask. Instead, I change the subject. I've since learned through my own personal experiences that when people don't want to talk about things, they simply don't want to talk about things. There's no use in trying to pry for information, so I just leave the subject be.

"So, how long have you two known each other?"

Lana laughs at my question, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "Aster Pines is a really small town. We've all known each other forever."

"Don't worry, Morgan." Lucas turns to face me, offering a wink. "I'm sure you'll fit right in." With that, he bumps his shoulder against mine, grabs my apple, and then walks off.

I watch Lucas go, unable to explain why my heart is suddenly beating so fast.