before the pain | luke (JATP)

XX

"Oliver is beating up Liam" These words made Mila almost have a heart attack as she didn't even look at the boys running to the parking lot, she opened the door seeing a crowd of people in front of her, Reggie and Alex right behind her, they walked into the crowd until they were on the first line of the show.

"I told you to stay out of this Oliver! " Liam yelled, pushing his best friend to the ground, Mila widened her eyes and gasped, looking for Aera who stood on the other end of the fight. "Tell me the truth! Did you do it?" Oliver yelled back as he stood up, his lip was bleeding and Liam's eyebrow was hurt.

"Listen it's not my place to say!" Liam answered, Oliver took Liam by the collar, his eyes were burning with fire as his heart was beating in his chest faster and faster, yet you could see the pain, all the pain as he looked at his best friend and asked him. "Did you fuck her?" Oliver asked Liam's eyes went to Aera who stood still, tears in her eyes as she looked at the two most important boys in her life.

"Did you?!" Oliver asked again, throwing Liam to the ground, Liam was still quiet, not saying a thing, his eyes were only on Aera, who was in the middle of an anxiety attack, that was until her eyes met Mila's... and because their eyes met, Aera screamed louder than anyone had heard, right before Oliver was about to kick Liam right in the face.

"NO! HE DIDN'T HAVE SEX WITH ME"

The whole crowd became quiet as Aera walked in and pushed the two boys away, she looked at Liam and then at Oliver. "I didn't touch him okay? Liam and I didn't do anything Oliver" Aera was crying, as she looked at Oliver who clearly didn't believe her. "Who then? Who did you do it with?"

Aera's eyes went from Mila's to someone in the crowd, who was crying as well. Of course, no one would ever think that those two only hated each other, because they knew they couldn't get each other, both of them in relationships and both of them right at that moment, too scared to confess their feelings.

"Caroline... I had sex with Caroline"

You see this sentence left the whole crowd of the school in shock. Caroline and Aera had hated each other since they stopped being friends in the younger grades. Yet at the party, Caroline had come to Aera too drunk for anyone's good, only for Aera to take her to the bathroom, help her, and when they laid in the bathtub, an hour later, their tongues had collided and their clothes were off.

Which was interrupted by Liam searching every room for Caroline, after the fight between Bobby and Oliver. Liam promised he wouldn't break his best friend's heart, yet some days prior the time we are now, Oliver stormed to Liam's house in tears, telling him everything that Aera had said, which of course wasn't much.

Liam had listened and not said a thing, but said he would beat whoever this guy was up, yet when Oliver began seeing Liam and Aera looking different at each other, he put two and two together, yet he never noticed how his girlfriend had looked at her. How hate had slowly turned into a heartbeat and how ignoring had come into teasing.

"You.... what?" Oliver asked, believing he had heard wrong as he looked into Aera's eyes, which was wet by her tears. "I'm sorry..." She whispered, yet Oliver took a couple of steps away and looked at Caroline who was looking at him with eyes filled with pity.

Of course, Aera didn't know that Oliver believed her to be the love of his life... yet Caroline did.

"Never... speak to me again," Oliver said with deadness in his eyes, as he walked away. Aera's eyes met Mila, who suddenly had everything explained, why Aera had been acting weird and why Aera couldn't tell her...

"What are you still looking at, go home idiots" Luke yelled, Mila hadn't even noticed Luke standing at the other end of the circle. Mila and his eyes met as almost everyone else left the parking lot, gossiping about how Aera cheated on the football star.

Caroline tried to say something, but Aera put up her hand, shaking her head. "Don't... say anything" Aera sighed and held her hand to her head, as Daliah and Reggie helped up Liam, who was bleeding every piece of his face.

"Enjoyed the show?" Aera asked, looking at Mila, who was still standing frozen in the middle of the now emptier than before. "No..." Mila said back, Reggie Alex putting his hand on her shoulder. "You told him didn't you, wasn't that what you said Liam? Little miss weirdo girl, finally speaks up and doesn't even say the truth" Daliah said as she walked closer to Mila, who if it wasn't for the boys, would have been terrified.

"I... just tried to do the right thing" But with these words was Mila's cheek burning, yet not by the hand she thought, she looked at Daliah with a surprised face. "You ruined two couples by your little word slips," Daliah said with murder in her eyes as she looked at Mila.

"How is it Mila's fault Caroline and Aera couldn't keep it in their pants?" Bobby asked, almost in shock he just defended the weirdo. Caroline and Aera didn't say anything, as their eyes met before Daliah shook her head.

"I hope you know... that Monday morning, you're dead meat Garcia" Liam said looking at Mila, as he held his hand on his bleeding eyebrow. "I hope you know that if you touch her, you'll have us after you" Alex tried to say, yet he ended up sounding more scared of himself than making Liam terrified.

"Let's just... go " Aera spoke, looking at her friends who nodded in agreement, she looked at Mila who was still standing frozen. "I hope you're happy... I guess you can date him now" Aera spoke, her voice sounded broken.

"You knew" Mila whispered, licking her lips trying not to get tears in her eyes as she looked at her former best friend, who smiled looking down. "Of course I knew ... you are my best friend remember" And with that they walked away, leaving the four boys and Mila alone in the parking lot, Mila wiped away a tear running down her cheek, her whole body felt numb.

She felt her face turn white and how her legs were about to fail her, but two arms were quickly around her. The smell of peppermint calmed her down as she began crying into his shoulder, holding Luke close in her arms, leaning her head against his chest listening to his heartbeat, as her tears made his shirt wet.