✧
Luna strutted down the hallway in search of at least one familiar face as she gripped the strap of her backpack in her hand and the other hand carried a drink from the cafe. She was on the verge of giving up before deep rumbles of laughter had caught her attention and spotted Jordan, JJ, and Spencer crowded around a locker.
The black-haired girl had skipped over excitedly, clamping a hand down on Jordan's shoulder and making him jump in place.
"Hey, you scared me...woah," Jordan's eyes roamed her figure. "Nice skirt."
She glanced down at her skirt, flattening down the ends, while a smile tugged on the corner of her mouth. "You just like it because it's short."
He held his hands up feigning a guilty expression. "You caught me."
"So, what are we doing?" she switched the topic, peeking over JJ's shoulder and glancing at the phone, heavily avoiding the curious set of eyes on them. "Oh, is this Spencer's catch from the Combine? Peter would not shut up about this."
"Nice catch at the combine, Spencer," a girl said as she passed by the group, giving him a flirtatious grin. "Impressive hands."
An amused expression washed over Jordan's face. "Layla better watch out."
"Layla ain't got nothing to worry about, alright?" Spencer chuckled.
"Anyone else confused as to why Asher moved into his ex-girlfriend's house instead of his cousin's?" JJ threw his hands up. "I know I am."
Luna leaned against Jordan's side, allowing for him to wrap his arm around her. "I said the same thing. I even went over to convince him to come home with me. But, Asher doesn't want my stepdad finding out what happened."
"And you're really okay with this, Spence?" JJ asked.
"I didn't have a choice, alright?" Spencer shrugged. "As long as he sticks to his room, and out of our way, we straight."
"Now...this is a man," she jabbed her thumb at Spencer. "Take notes, boys."
"Hey, I'm a man," Jordan scoffed, looking to the side and eyeing Layla and Asher. "Spence just, uh, make sure you watch your back with him, alright?"
Jordan tugged Luna in the opposite direction of Layla and Asher, making her utterly confused at their sudden need to leave. Jordan's anger made sense considering what happened between Asher and Liv but it took a lot to piss off JJ.
"What did Asher do to piss you guys off so bad?"
"You know that stupid boy whose face you were practically devouring after the game?" JJ sighed.
"I've kissed a lot of people," she shrugged. "Let's be a bit more specific."
"Asher gave your stupid boy-toy our playbook," Jordan stepped in, rolling his eyes. "That's why they kept outsmarting us in the first half."
"I'd be pissed, too," she scoffed. "Speaking of my boy-toy..." she winced, thinking back to that whole homecoming weekend. "I need to talk to him."
"About what?" Jordan asked.
"End things, I guess," Luna hummed. "I kind of ghosted him and I feel bad."
"Do what you gotta do, girl," JJ bumped her hip lightly.
"Or don't," Jordan stepped in, snatching the phone from her hand. "He's not the nicest guy in the world."
"He's actually pretty nice," Luna snatched her phone back. "And jealousy is not a good look on you."
♡♡♡
Luna stepped out of her car, shutting the door, and took a glance at the front exterior of the Baker house. She took a couple more steps closer to the house, placing her hand on the door, and inhaled sharply, memories from last year flooding her brain. Taking a very intoxicated Asher to her house, in the process, he had accidentally revealed to having sex with Olivia due to his drunken state, and Luna, the next morning had stormed over to the Baker house, extremely pissed off at her friend for betraying Layla.
Only to find her passed out on the couch high off some pills. If Luna was being honest, that entire year was a blur for her, and she didn't even notice her friend was going through her own issues until it was too late. Which Liv then fessed up to during one of Luna's many visits to the rehab center, also detailing what happened between her and Asher at the party. But, by then Luna hadn't even cared what had gone down between them while accidentally betraying Layla in the process and not even realizing.
Mr. Baker swung the door open, noticing the teen lurking out front in a daze. "Luna?"
"Coach," she smiled softly, blinking her eyes out of the trance. "Sorry. I was out of it. Is—"
"She's upstairs," he pointed at the stairs. "And like I told you, call me Billy."
"Never gonna happen," she mumbled, stepping into the house. "Ever."
"But, I insist," Mr. Baker prodded.
"If it'll make you happy," Luna chuckled. "See you later."
Mr. Baker sent her a wide grin, patting her on the back before Luna made a dash for the stairs. Not wanting to run into any other members of the Baker family considering she was only there for Liv.
"Olivia Baker!"
Liv jumped at the sound of her friend's voice, widening her eyes at the girl who practically burst through the door. "Luna...how the hell did you get in here?"
"Billy let me in," she shrugged, dropping down on the edge of the bed. "Ew...I'm never calling your dad by his first name."
"What are you doing here?" Liv questioned. "No offense."
"Oh...I bought you a gift," she slid over the gift. "Nothing major."
Liv furrowed her eyebrows at the bag. "It's not my birthday."
"No, not your birthday," she shrugged. "Just your soon-to-be 1-year sober anniversary."
"You...you remembered?" Liv glanced at her with soft eyes.
"It's not something you can forget," Luna frowned. "And as your best friend, there are just certain things I'm supposed to remember. Plus...I told you I'd be here no matter what, and that's what I'm doing."
"I remember refusing to see you when I was at the treatment center," Liv sighed. "But you...you fought so hard for me to talk to you and...for me to even see you. I'm sorry for pushing you away."
"Don't apologize, lover," she wrapped her arm around her. "You can push me away all you want, but I am not going anywhere."
Liv let out a small laugh, grabbing the gift bag. "I'm opening this, now."
Luna just shrugged, feeling like a mom who was about to watch her child open gifts on Christmas morning. While Liv sifted through the bag and grabbed the items.
"Luna...this is a very expensive bracelet," she grasped the red box in her hand. "I can't accept this."
"I got one for myself, too!" Luna exclaimed showing off her wrist. "They're friendship bracelets. Also, my mom's a neurosurgeon and my stepdad is the CEO of his own company. I don't think this purchase even made a dent in our pockets."
"You had me at me, 'they're friendships bracelets.' Thank you," she clasped the bracelet around her wrist. "You know, Luna, sometimes I feel like you're the only who cares."
"Oh, Liv," Luna sighed. "People care, you just have a habit of keeping things bottled up inside. You gotta tell your parents and Jordan how you're feeling or they'll never know."
"How'd you know I was talking about them?" she questioned.
"Because I have extremely busy parents, too," Luna shrugged. "And sometimes they don't understand what the hell's going on with us, unless we tell them."
Liv smiled softly. "Thank you. You're my best friend in the whole world."
"The whole world," Luna giggled, kissing her cheek. "And then some."
1x12