Chapter Nine: Lucky & Starstruck
"i'm not saying that i am perfect. make
mistakes, but I make 'em worth it,"
~ ryland james
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I was zipping up my luggage with a grimace as I tried to close it with everything inside.
While I knew there were more things inside because of the candles I was packing, trying to zip it was a serious workout.
"Clover! Breakfast!" Mom bellowed from downstairs.
A yelp left me when the zipper suddenly moved quickly from my force. "Okay!" I shouted in reply before sighing with relief.
I stepped away from by bed before dropping my luggage on its feet next to me. Deciding it would be a later problem to bring it down, I turned to my mirror behind me and straightened my sky blue sweatpants and white, ribbed tank top.
Days passed since Thanksgiving, it now being Saturday. Jared and I saw each other a few times since then, but I spent most of the time with family. Mom's birthday was yesterday, so I hadn't seen him since Thursday.
Reaching the bottom of the spiral staircase, I walked past the archway and entered the wide space, seeing my family seated in the six-seater, circular table right in front of the island.
Random discussions bounced between us until we finished and cleaned up. With that, I jogged to the basement entrance and headed to my workstation. I made a batch of caramel macchiato candles impulsively last night, so I needed to remove the popsicle sticks that were keeping the wicks straight before cutting them.
I grabbed three and jogged upstairs again, only for my feet to freeze the second I opened the basement door. Despite me being in the living room now, I could hear the voices by the front of the house, clear as day.
"Well, it was very sweet for you to bring," mom gushed, sounding so... unlike herself.
Jared's familiar, soft chuckle echoed throughout the house. "It was no problem. It was the least we could do after Monday."
I didn't realize that I was gripping the handle of the door harshly until I slightly stepped forward, only for the floorboard to creak from underneath me.
"Clover?" Mom called out after a moment of silence. "Is that you?"
After giving myself a few seconds to catch my breath, I released the handle and stepped away from the door before closing it shut behind me. "Yeah!"
There wasn't a response until I turned the corner next to me, only to immediately lock eyes on Jared, who was standing in front of the door, hands shoved in his jean pockets.
He smiled amusingly when our eyes met, but said nothing until mom spoke. "Look what Gloria made for us. How sweet," she smiled, lifting her hands to reveal zucchini bread in a pan.
Mom was holding it with a plaid kitchen towel while in her baggy, dark grey dress that ended by her knees. Her dark hair was left down but held back by a clip, revealing the tired lines around her eyes.
"You going back today?" Jared asked, my eyes swinging back to his.
I parted my lips but quickly closed them before nodding. "Yes, she'll be leaving. But sadly Cyrus isn't being the best brother," mom sighed, my confused eyes searching for hers.
She, however, was watching Jared. "How about you? When are you leaving?"
"Right now, actually," he admitted while I gaped at my mother. What did she think she was doing?
"Oh, dear! Would you please go back together? Cyrus is being no help at the moment." That was such a lie. Mom is such a dirty liar.
His eyes snapped to mine, watching me intently while I swallowed. "Up to you, Lucky."
I glanced to mom, who was raising her brows expectedly. Well then.
"Okay, yeah. Sure." I internally cringed while lifting my full arms. "Just give me a sec. I need to grab my things from upstairs."
He nodded. "I'll help."
"And I'll take this to the kitchen," mom chimed in, lifting the pan in her arms before spinning on her heel, walking in my direction. Her brows still rose as she passed me before entering the room.
When I whirled my focus back to Jared, and I smiled as stepped through the archway. "You didn't tell me you'd stop by."
He took a step closer to me, taking his shoes off with a sly smirk. "It's called a surprise, Lucky. Look it up."
"I thought surprises were supposed to bring enjoyment?" I raised a brow, taking another step toward him.
Hearing that, his eyes playfully narrowed before advancing to me. I held my breath when he was only a foot away, cocking his head playfully. "You're right. I don't bring enjoyment. I bring much, much more pleasurable things," his voice lowered.
Since he was tilting his head down to meet my gaze, some of his hair fell, so it was slightly covering his eye. I regarded his expression with a mocked smile.
"Pleasurable like falling on your—"
He clasped his hand over my mouth before laughing in disbelief. "You're not gonna let me forget that, are you?" I shook my head, his hand still covering my mouth. "Damn."
When he dropped his hand, he tilted his head toward the staircase. "You gonna show me your room, Lucky?"
I snorted and nudged him away. "No."
He only smiled amusingly before his eyes scanned what was in my arms. "What's that?"
"Oh." I chuckled awkwardly before lifting my arms upward. "Here, take one."
His gaze didn't move from mine as he did so, watching me with curiosity. "It's my caramel candle. I thought you'd want another one," I explained, watching as his expression changed to delight and a hint of surprise.
"Yeah, I can't refuse a free candle," he cleared his throat after quickly sobering up. He gripped it tightly and held it close to his chest as he crossed his arms. "You have a bag?"
I nodded. "I'll bring it to the stairs, you can take it down from there."
With that order, we both walked upstairs. After shoving my extra candles into my school bag, I dragged out my belongings to Jared, who was waiting at the top of the stairs.
He lifted it with ease—being an obvious show off—and took it to his car that was parked in front of our two-car garage. Time slipped passed us after that, as I said goodbye to my family and slipped into my jacket before we got on the road.
Thirty minutes into our two hour drive, I offered for us to pick up food. He surprised me by suggesting Taco Bell, since it had always been my favourite fast food place.
We got our tacos not too long after that, but we ended up parking so he wouldn't have to multitask driving and eating.
"You're getting lettuce all over your car," I groaned, watching him bite into his second taco, only for everything to spill everywhere. "At least put a napkin on your lap."
"Napkins are for pussies," he grumbled, taking another wide bite of his taco.
I leaned back against the seat and laughed. "You sound like Adri."
He nodded and quickly finished chewing before glancing to me. "I just realized that, too." He smiled to himself before shaking his head. "Your taco good?"
"Yeah." I picked up my second chicken taco and sighed. "It should be illegal to taste this good. You think they put drugs in their food?"
When he didn't answer right away, I twisted my head and watched as he studied me soberly. "What?" I asked, setting the taco down on the napkin laying on my lap.
His unfocused gaze seemed to zero back on my eyes. "I wanted to ask for a favour," he began, and I raised my brows expectedly.
"Which is...? I'm not playing football with you again. You're a bully."
"Am not," he grinned, which slowly transformed into a smirk. "You'll get used to it."
"What? Losing?"
He nodded confidently. "Precisely."
"Ah, I can't wait to throw the ball directly at your—"
"Look who just admitted they'd throw a ball again!" His chin elevated with gleaming eyes directed toward me, pridefully.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to my taco. "You're annoying. Continue."
There were a few moments of silence before he spoke up again. "I want you to come to my next fight."
Unintentionally, I tightened my grip on the soft tortilla before calculatingly, angling my head to face him once more. He observed me with a sober expression before continuing. "I mean, you used to love watching those wrestling matches."
My brows shot up. "Yeah. Because Adri and I would bet who would win. We also didn't personally know the fighters, Jared."
He pressed his elbow on the arm rest between us, leaning forward. "Bet on me then, Lucky."
His crystal blue eyes scanned my expression to see if I was actively showing my feelings. After a few seconds, I tilted my head back and watched him apprehensively. "I don't want to watch you get hurt, Jay," I admitted softly.
"You'll be my lucky charm." He gave me a lopsided smile. "What do you say, Lucky?"
After a few breaths, I exhaled with a nod. "Okay."
His first response was a grin before he turned back to the wheel, nodding as well. "Okay." I watched as he jaw worked for the next few seconds before he spoke up again. "It's tomorrow, so I'll pick you up."
"Tomorrow?" I gaped, his eyes peering in my direction. "You gotta give a girl more time, Jay. I have to mentally prepare to look attractive."
His eyes darkened. "You don't need to mentally prepare for anything."
"Because it'll take too long?"
"Because you're already attractive," he informed, appearing as though he meant every word.
My eyes focused to my lap to avoid the blush growing on my cheeks. "Come on, Lucky. Don't get all shy on me now," he teased, reaching over the console to pinch my chin softly, lifting it so our eyes met. His humour slowly dissipated the longer he stared at me. "You know you're beautiful. Trust me, you don't need any form of preparation."
I parted my lips. "Thanks," I managed to choke out without my voice faltering.
After a few moments, he nodded once before pulling away. "You almost done eating?"
After dipping my head yes, we drove out of the parking lot and returned to the highway again, listing to the radio in the background. We were in the middle of talking about people from high school when he asked something I would least expect.
"What about your boyfriend? Jiff? What happened to him?" He glanced in my direction before looking straight ahead, signalling to the left lane.
I peered out my window, sighing. "It's Griffin, and last I heard, he's still in town."
There was a moment of silence. "You didn't visit him?" I shook my head. "Why not? Why'd you guys break up anyways?"
"You say that like we were meant to be together," I teased, whirling my head back in his direction. He only quirked a brow, so I continued, smiling tightly. "After the funeral... it felt selfish to ruin his mood, you know?"
When he didn't answer, I rambled on. "I mean, we were in our senior year. We still had prom and graduation, but I... I couldn't be happy. I didn't want to make his last year suck because of me. I wasn't in the proper head space to be in a relationship."
"I guess I still don't," I mumbled to myself, rubbing my forehead as I scrutinized my lap.
The radio was currently playing Hey Soul Sister by Train in the background as I anxiously waited for Jared's reply. The silence was killing me. Brutally, at this point.
"Adrianna wouldn't want you to hold your life back," he acknowledged softly, and I stiffened against the chair. "You should let yourself live."
"Like you?" I snapped defensively, twisting my head to narrow my eyes. "How do you live, Jared? By fighting and barely making any relationships with good people?"
He said nothing. "Is this why you never talk about her? You avoid her name, and the people you've lived with for I don't even know how long doesn't know she existed!"
I knew I was getting mad at him for the wrong reasons, but I had these questions bottled up in my head since I moved into campus. But there was no turning back now.
"I know," was all he muttered before I sat back in my seat, watching as we sped passed cars on the highway.
For the rest of the drive, we remained mostly silent, exchanging words here and there. By the time he was parking in front of my dorm building, neither of us spoke as we stepped out, him opening the trunk.
He pulled out my luggage while I fixed the straps of my school bag behind me. I inspected how he lifted the handle before rolling it toward me, but just as I grabbed it, he cupped the back of my arm.
My eyes lifted and met his wry ones. "I don't want us to..." His lips tightened as he softly cussed, glancing away for a moment. "I just don't want you to stop enjoying yourself because you feel guilty."
My heart strings tugged as I nodded, gasping for air. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just explode on you like that."
He smiled sadly. "I deserve it sometimes."
I nodded, neither of us looking away from the other, his hand still holding my arm but this time, moving his thumb up and down on my skin.
I was the first to drop my eyes to my feet. "I should probably... go."
This time, his hand released me before he cleared his throat. "Yeah. I'll pick you up at nine-thirty, okay?"
"Sounds good." I stepped back with my luggage in hand, flashing him a smile. "See you then."
He gave a wave and walked around his car, so he could slip into the drivers seat. But he didn't drive away until I unlocked the door and stepped inside the building.
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"Why can't you just... forget studying?" I sighed, plopping on my side of the bed as Tilly chuckled from her desk.
Her gaze lifted from her textbook, only to watch me with amusement. "If Imma fail my midterm tomorrow, Imma blame you, Coco. You down for that?"
"But if you pass?" I drawled out.
"I won't," she matched my tone, shaking my head. "Physics of life sciences sucks. I'm probably gonna still be studyin' by the time you come back."
"We'll drink after midterms are done," I promised her sympathetically. "We'll get really, really drunk."
She smirked and lifted her hands to her hair, fixing her black bandana. "We better. I'm plannin' to get white girl wasted."
"White girl wasted?" I chuckled, sitting straighter on my bed, so I was leaning against the wall my bed was pressed against.
She shrugged and turned back to her notebook. "It's a phrase."
Just then, someone knocked against the door, causing both of us to stiffen. "Lucky? You ready?"
My eyes widened as Tilly's gaze snapped to mine, smirking widely. "It's the mal'chik," she whispered loudly, and I lifted my hand to shoo her before jumping off the bed.
I strolled around it and made my way to Tilly's body length mirror that was next to her closet. My eyes glanced to my high-waisted, black joggers, which weren't too tight on my legs thankfully.
You should wear jeans, Clove. You know they look better on you.
I closed my eyes tightly as my hand briefly touched the part of the pants that covered my scar on my upper thigh, before I breathed in and opened my eyes again. My top was a v-neck, collared, cropped mint tee shirt and my hair was left down, covering the right side of my face. I had applied mascara and eyeliner, but decided to put on my medium nude lipstick—hopefully I wouldn't bite my lip and ruin it.
Turning back to the door, I stepped forward and gripped the handle tightly before pulling it open, revealing a way too casual looking Jared.
He wore low-rise sweatpants and a zipped up, grey sweater. His head was tilted up, studying my outfit with a quirked lip before lifting his gaze.
He smiled cockily when our eyes met. "Hey, Lucky."
"Jared," I dragged out. "You said nine-thirty."
"So I'm a few minutes early. I just couldn't wait to get some of my luck," he teased as I tensed, stepping froward to tap my nose playfully before walking into my room. "Sup, roommate?"
Tilly didn't look away from her notes as she nodded. "Sup, mal'chik?" She muttered, making Jared rotate his head, so he could stare at me with confusion.
I rolled my eyes and pushed myself away from the door, striding around him to grab my oversized jean jacket. "Bye, Tilly." I tapped her head as I walked past her. "Let's go," I called out, stepping out of my room.
I didn't bother to glance behind me, knowing when the door closed seconds later that he was following me—despite me not knowing where the hell he parked his car.
Luckily, he managed to catch up to me before we stepped outside, where he then led me to his car before driving off. It was thirty minutes into the drive, however, when I noticed that we were driving somewhere I wasn't familiar with.
"Where are you taking us?" I asked hesitantly before turning my head to the left. Despite it being dark outside, the headlights from his car were enough to let me see his amused expression.
"Where do you think I'm taking you?" He mocked playfully. "We're almost there. Calm down, scaredy cat."
"I am not—"
"A scaredy cat," he finished with a drawl. "Yes, I remember how you like to deflect this topic."
My eyes narrowed into a glare. "What I would do if you weren't driving..."
"What would you do?" He grinned widely, clearly thinking completely different activities.
I threw my head back and groaned. "You're so annoying."
He only laughed before turning the car left. I fluttered my eyes open and saw us pulling into a small, bumpy street, which only led to a small building that had cars scattered everywhere. People were in line by the enterance, and my brows furrowed.
"We go to different locations sometimes. So cops don't find us," he explained, reading my mind. But Jared wasn't driving to where the rest of the cars were parked. Instead, he rounded them all and drove to the back, which had a sign: off limits.
He turned off the car and opened his door, and I did the same. I cautiously roamed around the car and made my way to him, watching as he kicked a basement window open.
"What are you doing?" I hissed, stepping back. The window itself was almost average size, which was rare for a basement window, and he was just... kicking it.
He straightened and gave me an amused smile. "We gotta get in somehow, Lucky," he drawled, pointing to the window. "This is it."
"Shouldn't there be a back door?" I glared, but he only shook his head no. "God, who built this place?"
He only chuckled before stepping forward on the gravel, reaching for my hand. "Come on, it's a small jump down. Trust me."
"Jared Harvey..." I warned, but still allowing him to move me toward him. "You make me wish to do violent things that even my mom would look away from."
"I take that as a compliment," he cockily grinned before dropping to his ass. "I'll go first." And with that, he fell through the window and into the darkness.
"Jared!" I gasped, dropping to my knees. There was a moment of silence before laughter followed. "God, I hate you."
"No you don't," he continued to laugh before patting something. "Come on, I'll catch you."
I followed his orders and hung my legs off the edge of the window. I felt his hands trailing up my calves, slowly moving to the back of my knees.
"Remember to push you head back," I heard him choke out before clearing his throat. "So you don't hit yourself on the way down."
I nodded and took a deep breath before following his orders. A yelp left me as I slid down, feeling Jared's hands move from my knees to my hips, lifting me slightly so I wouldn't fall straight to the ground.
He tugged me to his chest, laughing with amusement while I caught my breath. "You're so dramatic," he pestered, poking my waist slightly.
Despite us being surrounded in the darkness, I glared, feeling his smile. "You're annoying. I cannot stress this enough."
"And you're frustrating," he replied casually. "That cannot be anymore obvious."
I pushed him away and stomped in my spot. "Just lead the way, Jay. Or I can't promise not hurting you."
Like always, he took it as a joke. But my rant got stuck in my throat when he suddenly laced our hands together, guiding me to the right side of the hall.
Within the next two minutes, the sound of people chattering amongst themselves increased in volume, until it was almost as if they were around the corner. It was also evident that we were close then, because there was some lamps at this point of the hall, lighting it up.
"Okay," Jared began, spinning on his heel to face me. I was taken aback by his serious expression. "Stay next to this corner and stay close to Phineas. He'll be around here too, okay?"
I nodded and gave a thumbs up, which was enough for him to give a one-eighty.
With a cocky smile, he leaned in, until there was barely any space between us. "Can I have a lucky kiss?" He teased.
I rolled my eyes, ignoring how my heart was pounding as I lifted my left hand, kissed the back of three fingers and pressed them against his cheek. "There you go. You're full of luck now."
He pulled back and flashed me another smile, just as Phineas called out his name. "I'll take it. Stay close," he pointed, jogging backwards while I loosely waved.
"Don't die!" I called out, followed by him laughing before he stepped around the corner.
I chuckled to myself as I walked out of the hall, only to gasp in shock by the amount of people circling the middle of the room. It was well-lit, and I noticed how Jared casually strolled forward, slipping out of his shirt.
Just then, I felt someone fill the space next to me, and I turned. Only to tilt my head back several inches. God damn, Phineas was tall.
His brow quirked when our eyes met. "My guy over there is telling me to watch you. You his side piece?"
My head reeled back. "Uh. No." I glanced back to Jared and watched him deflect a punch. "Can I put three hundred down for Jared?"
Phineas' eyes snapped to mine, looking at me with both shock and amusement before sticking out his hand. "Sure, peach."
I stuffed my hand into my jean jacket and pulled out the money I prepared an hour ago. With no hesitance, I clasped it into his hand, which he instantly shoved into his pocket.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I heard a familiar voice sneer, causing my head to snap forward.
Liana stood a few feet from me, and despite her eyes being covered by sunglasses, I imagined her glaring at me. With a long, slim jacket, leather pants and a burgundy, low cut bodysuit, Liana, as always, looked great. She surprised me though, by having her typical frizzy, curly hair straightened.
I tensed when I saw her crossing her arms. "Huh. I wonder what I'm doing in a building in the middle of nowhere—oh yeah! Watching a fight," I expressed straight-faced.
She huffed. "Who would have thought poor little Clover Fields would bring herself down with the rest of us."
"Rest of us? You're the only one who sticks out here, Liana. What are you doing here, other than being annoying."
This time, she smirked and cocked her head. "Seeing if my hookup wants to hookup. But he's a little busy."
My eyes glanced over her shoulder, where Jared was fighting. "And who exactly are you planning for that to be? Jared?"
"Oh, goodie. You still have brain cells."
I stiffened but couldn't find my voice, which gave her so much more motive for her to continue taunting me with a laugh. "You don't really think he's going to go for you, right? How delusional."
She stepped closer and wore an innocent smile. "Jared might fuck anyone he wants, but he'd never lower himself to trash."
"Then what are you?" I managed to force out, but she didn't seem offended.
"Gold. Diamond. Unremovable." She dropped her hand to my shoulder, her nails digging into my jacket. "I wouldn't be surprised if you thought you had a shot. You always loved copying everything I did, or had."
My eyes stared into her glasses, not backing down. But seeing my reflection through them made me look to the side. "You're not that unbreakable, Li."
Just then, I noticed a familiar head of red hair, which made me smile just as my eyes locked with his dark green ones.
He grinned and shoved passed a few people before standing on Liana's right. "Hey, Clover. What are you doing here with..." His eyes scanned to Liana and frowned. "Not Tilly."
Liana only shook her head with annoyance before spinning on her heel, flipping me off as she walked to the edge of where Jared was still fighting.
I felt Brendan slip into the space on my left, watching the fight with me. "Who was that?"
"Blast from my past," I chuckled nervously. "Thanks for coming by. I thought she'd never leave."
"No problem." He paused, crossing her arms over his broad chest. "So who'd you come here with? This place is basically invite only, so who do you know?"
"My..." What was Jared? "... friend. He's fighting."
In the corner of my eye, I saw him nodding, but I intently watched as Jared avoided another punch. I cringed inside, but my next reactions were quick when he suddenly gave the guy an uppercut punch, causing the person to wobble and fall to the ground with a thud.
I gaped, watching as everyone screamed and made noise. Brendan was freaking out next to me, continuing to repeat, "holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit."
Giving an amused laugh in his direction, I turned back to the centre of the room and saw Jared go under the railing, only to be almost tackled by Liana. He faltered in his spot and watched her while I looked away.
"You good, Clover?" Brendan questioned, slipping in front of me. Our eyes locked before I nodded, only to see him smile nervously. "Listen, I've been meaning to talk to you about something—someone."
It was an easy guess. "Tilly?"
His cheeks flushed. "Yeah, I... I've been trying to talk to her, but she's kinda good at dodging. Do you know about..."
I shook my head. "And I don't want to know. From you, at least. I can tell you have problems but I want her to tell me."
"I get that," he nodded rapidly. "I just need help to get her alone in a room."
My brows shot up. "So she can kill me? She's made hints, Brendan, I don't wanna play with luck." I knew she was joking about that, but Tilly was a scary person.
His head dropped, clearly bothered that I couldn't be helping him. "But I do hope you both fix your problems," I offered with a small smile. "She's pretty cool."
"Yeah." He rubbed his face with his hand. "She is."
Just as I reached out to comfortingly touch his arm, my body jolted when I heard a third voice. "Who the fuck are you?"
Both Brendan and I peered to the side, only to see a half naked, bloodied Jared staring directly at Brendan—who was already taking a step away from me.
And get closer to him.
"Hey, big fan," he grinned, sticking his hand out between them. "That uppercut was sick."
Jared continued to glare as Alden slid next to him, watching me with amusement. "Hey, sunshine." I nodded once in greeting before he scanned his eyes to Brendan, only to linger. "Hel-lo."
"Who are you?" Jared deadpanned again, this time raising is brows.
Brendan matched his expression before glancing to me. In seconds, he occupied his old space and threw his arm around me, flashing a grin to Jared. "Her lover."
This time, I couldn't hold back a laugh.
I leaned down and coughed in the midst of my laughter while Brendan stepped away and chuckled. "Don't worry, Jay. He's not into my body parts," I admitted after a few seconds, straightening my back.
"Oh," Jared muttered.
Brendan smirked at Jared before glancing to Alden, who ended up holding his gaze for a few moments before clearing his throat. "I'm Brendan."
For the next few minutes, they all greeted on another before discussing the fight. During this, Jared was suddenly on my right, continuing to exchange words with Alden and Brendan, but touching my waist here and there.
The air shifted when Liana strolled up to us again—or more specifically, Jared.
She stepped to his other side and touched his shoulder, which helped lean him down slightly, so she could whisper in his ear. "Let's finish our convo," she purred, but wasn't low enough since I could hear from this distance.
Probably on purpose, I expected.
I felt my blood boiling, but just as I was about to call her out, Jared spoke up. "Liana, no," he sighed. "You've said everything you've needed to say."
Without waiting for her reply, he twisted his head to me and gave me an amused smile. "What do you say, Lucky? You treat me for some funnel cake? I won," he sang.
"And I placed a bet, so who really won?" I joked, just as Phineas stepped forward and manoeuvred his hand toward me.
I gave him thanks and grabbed the cash before focusing back to Jared. Only to see his eyes darken unexplainably before nodding his head to the hall we came from. "Let's go?"
I nodded and gave Alden and Brendan a goodbye before following him out, feeling a form of adrenaline in my veins. For what reason, I wasn't sure.
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I have assignments crawling out
of my skin, so I can't wait until the
end of next week disappears <3
I hope you lovelies enjoyed this
chapter! and I hope everything
is going well in your lives!
has anyone else listened to red
(tays version) — I expect a yes
Red was one of the first albums
i moved from Taylor swift (and
speak now), so listening to the
album again is giving me
flashbacks to when I was eleven
and scream the lyrics
but anyways! thank you babes
for reading, and I'll see you in
the next one x