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《《 YOUR POV》》
"No."
Mike rolled his eyes and Dustin let out a heavy sigh, I only stood behind them, my arms crossed as I had refused to go along with their plan of asking Erica to be Lucas's fill in.
"C'mon, Erica! We need you!" Dustin exclaimed, desprate to get Erica to agree.
"I said no. It isn't my fault my idiot brother decided to ditch your lame ass club to play a basketball game." She sassed, holding her books as she walked out of the school and towards the bike rack.
"Look, Erica, you're one of the best D&D players I've ever seen. You've leveled up your character faster than I did, than Mike did, than Lucas did! You're a legend, and we need you!" Dustin begged, holding Erica's bike as she tried to pull it from the rack.
"First of all, get your nasty ass hands off my bike." Erica said to Dustin, causing him to quickly retract his hand.
"And secondly, isn't there some other nerds your age who you could ask?" She asked him, pulling her bike out.
"Well, yes, but we want you!" He told her, stepping in front of her bike as she mounted it.
"Even if I did want to play with your silly little Firefly club-"
"Hellfire." Mike corrected.
"Whatever. Even if I wanted to play with your Hellfire club, what am I gonna get out of it?" She questioned him, getting no response.
"Uhh..." Dustin stalled his words, unable to find a proper answer.
"You'll get to...be in our presence...?" He told her in a questioning voice.
I watched her get on her bike as she shook her head at him, putting her pink unicorn helmet on and connecting the straps underneath her chin after setting her books in her basket.
She was about to say something, which I was sure was gonna be another refusal, but I spoke up before she could.
"We'll give you fifty bucks."
"Where the hell this club at?"
After running to Erica's house to get her things, as well as a somehow necessary large American flag that she wore like a cape, we finally made it back to school.
We walked down the halls, listening in on the faint sound of the band playing the national anthem and what sounded like a Muppet, singing it.
We arrived at our club room, it being an empty classroom as one of the teachers was nice enough to offer Eddie the room for our meetings, on the terms of as long as he doesn't leave a mess.
I pushed the door open and we all filed in, gathering around the table that was all set up with our D&D board and pieces.
Eddie sat in his chair at the end of the table, attentive to the younger girl as we all walked into the room, Mike shutting the door behind us.
He stared for a moment, his eyes on Erica for a second before they started to flicker to me, Mike and Dustin.
The other members also stared at her, their eyebrows raised in confusion.
"You got a staring problem?" Erica asked him, clutching her D&D binder.
"I just...I don't understand why there's a child in my club room when I specifically asked for a replacement." He said, his hands going outwards as he spoke to us.
"I'm not a child." She retorted.
"I beg to differ." He said as he leaned across the table towards her, and the others chuckled as they stood behind him.
He sat back in his chair, looking at the three of us, his expression unreadable as I couldn't tell if he was angry or pleased.
"Explain yourselves." He said to us, clasping his hands together like he was some kind of Cult leader.
"She's our substitute. She's a great player, one of the best actually." I told him, stepping forward towards Erica.
"What?" He asked, confused by my statement.
"She's the one who's playing for Lucas tonight." Dustin clarified, and Eddie only stared at us before letting out a scoff.
"Absolutely not." He said.
"You wanted a sub. We delivered." Dustin told him, pointing his hand towards Erica as she stood in front of the table.
"This is Hellfire club.
Not babysitting club." Eddie told us, looking back at Erica.
"I'm eleven you long haired freak." She replied to him, sparking a smile on his lips as he looked at her.
"My, my, this child has an attitude problem." He spoke, earning another amused chuckle from the others.
"So, what's your name, child?" He asked her as he rose to his feet, slamming his hands down on the table as he slid from his chair, or his throne as he calls it.
"Erica Sinclair." She answered him, looking up at him with a twisted glare.
He laughed.
"So this is Sinclairs infamous sister?"
Erica turned around to the three of us, a sigh escaping her lips and an eyeroll accompanied it.
"He's sharp." She stated.
Gareth and Jeff laughed, but they immediately stopped when Eddie turned to them, annoyance clearly evident in his eyes.
"What's your class and level? Level one dwarf?" He asked her, and the other three all laughed at his words.
Mike and Dustin both looked at eachother before looking at me, and I shared the same expression.
"My name is Lady Applejack, and I'm a chaotic good half elf rogue, level 14. And I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow agonizing death.
So are we gonna do this? Or are we gonna keep chitchatting like this is your mommy's book club?"
All of us looked at eachother again, not shocked by Erica's words, but moved and suprised that someone had spoke to Eddie that way.
Of course it'd be Erica to crack him.
And she did. He smiled at her after a moment, holding out his hand to her.
"Welcome to Hellfire."
She stared at it for a second before taking it and giving it a firm shake to seal the deal.
After getting everything ready and set up, we all took our seats to play.
Most of the session went by well, Dustin throwing his mini tantrums when he missed a hit, or Mike getting frustrated with Eddie's plot line every five seconds, me getting a few good rolls and then immediately getting one horrible one, Gareth and Jeff just joking amongst eachother, and of course Erica's snarky comments when someone made a bad call.
It was a usual playthrough until we got to the church, the part Eddie said would 'absolutely blow our minds'.
We all listened in, curious about the next set of our journey as we arrived at what we all didn't know was a huge plottwist.
In the church, he spoke of a group of hooded cultists in red cloaks, sitting on their knees in a circle, their heads bowed as they chanted a sacred chant.
"The hooded cultists chant,'Hail lord Vecna' " He whispered, his voice giving the words an eery feel.
" 'Hail lord Vecna.' "
"They turn to you." He said, his eyes looking into all of ours.
"Remove their hoods. You recognize most of them from Makbar." He told us, referencing back to a place we battled at earlier in the campaign.
"There is one you do not recognize." He began, awakening curiosity in me.
"His skin shriveled, desicated, and something else..." He mentioned, sparking questioning glances from the others.
"He's not only missing his left arm...but his left eye!" He spoke, standing up and covering his left eye with his hand.
"What!" Everyone furiously threw out their own series of suprised yells and shouts, all knowing that we already defeated Vecna.
"No! No!" Dustin yelled.
"Shit!" Said Mike.
"This is total bulshit! He died!" I yelled to Eddie.
"Vecna's dead!" Jeff also shouted to him.
"He was killed by Kas!" Mike added.
"So it was thought my friends, so it was thought." Eddie said, settling us down as he moved the Vecna piece from behind the board.
"But Vecna lives!" He shouted as he slammed the piece down onto the thrown, confirming to us visually that Vecna was really alive and well.
Shit
"You are scared. You're tired, you are injured." Eddie pointed out, leading to the options he was about to give us.
"Do you flee Vecna and his cultists?
Or do you stand your ground and fight?" He asked us.
"Come on." He said as he watched all of us look around, thinking about what decision to make as we weighed the pros and cons mentally.
I looked up at the rest of them.
"C'mon, guys. This isn't really a contemplative moment. We've fought and fought and fought. Are we really thinking about backing down just because we're at a small disadvantage? We didn't come this far to only come this far, alright?" I said to them, earning nods.
"I agree. I say we fight." Dustin spoke up.
"To the death." I added, staring him in the eyes.
"Yeah...to the death." He said.
"To the death." Mike spoke with a nod.
"To the death." Erica said without hesitation.
"To the death!" We all chanted.
"To the death!" We shouted as we banged our hands down in the table, all looking at one another.
"To the death!" We continued on, causing a large smile to form on Eddie's face.
"To the death!!!" Dustin screamed out as he leaned his head back and shut his eyes.
"Alright! You asked for it then.
Who's rolling first?" Eddie asked us as he picked up the two ten sided red dice, holding it out towards us.
"Let me take a crack at this shriveled up Vecna freak." Erica said, taking the two dice from Eddie's hand before holding them in hers.
She shook them, everyone looked on intensely as she did so, shaking them about five times before finally letting go.
They rolled out, landing one on a 10 and the other on an 8, a hard hit towards Vecna.
Everyone jumped up, yelling in celebration at the roll.
"Hard hit! Vecna grumbles in pain from the hit to his side, knocking him to his knees immediately." Eddie said, giving a proud smile to Erica.
"I'm next!" Mike shouted as he reached for the twelve sided die.
He shook it in his hands before shooting it out, we all watched as it rolled but weren't too thrilled when it landed on a 2.
"Ooh.." Eddie winced, reaching over to knock down Mikes piece.
"No damage. Vecna laughs as he rises to his feet, paralyzing you with his touch as he walks towards you." Eddie told him, causing Mike to sigh out as he looked at his knocked over piece.
"My turn!" I said as I reached over, grabbing the bright red D20
"Whoa, whoa!" Gareth said as I picked up the die, looking majorly confused.
"What?" I asked.
"You're going for the twenty already? Don't you think that's a huge risk for the state were already in?" He questioned me, looking a little scared.
"Well, yeah. That's the point. I want to take a risk." I told him, feeling a little more confident than I probably should.
He didn't say anything else as I picked up the die, shaking it between my hands before throwing it outwards.
It rolled for a while, and for a second I thought it was about to go off the table, but it stopped right at the edge.
I couldn't believe it.
I rolled a 19.
"Hell yeah!" Mike shouted as he turned to me, his hands up signaling for a double highfived to which I gave.
"I didn't think it would be that high, honestly." I said with a chuckle, the others still looking amazed at the roll.
"How do you feel about taking risks now?" I asked, looking over to Gareth.
"Like I should take them everyday." He answered and I offered him a smile.
"That was a...very critical hit. Vecna mumbles out again, a tear worthy pain shooting through him. But he's not done with yet." Eddie told us, picking up the dice I threw.
"Okay, okay, I'll take him down then." Jeff said as he reached for the dice, picking up the four sided die as well as the two tens.
He rolled, but everyone groaned out as he only managed to get an 8.
"Not good enough, my friend. Much not good enough." Eddie commented before forcefully knocking Jeff's piece down.
Dustin went next, the two tens being his pick. He rolled, managing an 18.
But the next few rolls weren't as lucky, Eddie's friend, who even after eight months of knowing I still hadn't gathered the name of, made a bad roll with the twelve sided die, only earning a 3.
Gareth went with the twenty like I had, but his risk taking was more of a risk than mine was. He only got a 5.
Mike rolled once more, only getting a 7.
Dustin went again. 16.
Erica rolled, 17.
Jeff tried his luck, only rolling a 3.
Eddie was loving it. He had been proud of the winning numbers, but the losing ones meant he was going to feel better about his campaign.
He was cackling as we rolled losing number after losing number.
I rolled once more, getting a 14, which was still far from a critical hit.
The guy rolled, only earning an 8. And when he had finally gotten enough of our horrible losses, he called a timeout.
"Guys, I hate to say this, but we've got to flee." Gareth said.
"What? We're not fleeing because of some bad luck!" I argued, not willing to run away.
"Seriously? Bad luck? That's what you call that!? We're totally all going to die if we don't run! We don't have another choice!" He replied.
"I concur." The guy agreed.
"Didn't we just agree 'to the death'?" Erica asked them, causing me to nod and look back at them.
"That wasn't litteral."
"Vecna just decimated us. We can't kill him with only three players." Jeff spoke.
"You too? He only had fifteen hit points left, don't be pussies." Dustin told them.
"Pussies, really? 'Cause we're not delusional?" Gareth asked him.
"Delusional? How about not cowards." Erica corrected him, the sassiness purely evident in her voice.
"Hey!" Eddie shouted, causing our huddle to unfold so we can look at him.
"If I may interject, ladies and gentlemen. Whilst I respect the passion, you'd be wise to take Gareth the greats concern to heart." Eddie said.
"Theres no shame in running. Don't try to be heros. Not today, 'kay?" He asked us, giving us a smile as he knew exactly what he was doing.
"One sec." Dustin told him as he held up his finger, and in an instant our huddle reformed.
"What do you think, Mike?" Dustin asked.
"How many hit points do you three have left?" Mike asked.
"Sixteen." We all three answered, adding our hits altogether.
"It's risky as hell. But you're the ones on the battlefield, so it's your call." Mike told us.
Dustin looked to Erica and then over to me. "What do you guys say?"
"You really gotta ask?" Erica responded.
I smiled.
"You already know my answer."
Dustin put his head down for a moment, contemplating his answer before letting out a sigh, his face hardening and his expression becoming more determined than it was a second ago.
"Screw it." He turned around, our huddle coming apart once more as we looked on at Eddie.
"Lets kill the son of a bitch."
"The chances of success are 20-to-1." Jeff said, looking over to Dustin as we walk towards the table.
"Never tell me the odds." Dustin replied.
"Give me the D20." Dustin requested to Eddie, who only smirked his way before picking up the twenty sided die.
He held it up before tossing it Dustin's way. He caught it, holding it in his hands and shaking it roughly before tossing it out onto the board.
It rolled for a few seconds until it came to a stopping point, landing dead on an 11 which flamed amusement in Eddie and dread in the rest of us.
"Thats a miss!" Eddie said as he shook his head, the rest of us groaning out in defeat from the failed toss.
"No! No! Shit!" Dustin said as he angrily smacked his papers away from his seat.
When we finally stopped complaining, Eddie stood in front of us, looking at our group before speaking.
"Now...Lady Applejack, (Your D&D name), which one of you is brave enough to go next?" Eddie asked with a wide smile, looking from me to Erica.
"I'll go." I told him, nodding at him for the die.
He picked up the D20 and tossed it my way, his smile never fading as he obviously expected failure.
I shook the die after catching it, holding my hands out in front of me before letting go of the black die.
It sprawled out onto the table, fumbling past each number before settling onto a ledge of the board, stopping it at 20.
We went to celebrate, but Gareths knee hit the table and the die rolled one more over to a 1.
"Ooh, sweet sweet failure." Eddie said towards me with a playful grimace to which I replied a confused expression.
"Wait, does that count? Please tell me Gareths little knock didn't count!" I said to Eddie, everyone behind me also staring at Eddie for the victorious number.
"I let the dice decide." He told me, earning a jaw drop. I shook my head at him.
"Fuck no, you're the game master, you decide!" I shouted, but he only smiled back at me calmly.
"And I decide to let the dice decide."
He answered, and I felt an urge to flip the board over and punch Eddie in the throat. But I didn't.
I turned around to Gareth, only to find him moved away from his spot and sending me a guilty smile from his new one.
I rolled my eyes.
"Way to go Gareth."
"Sorry." He replied, and I only chuckled.
"I'm kidding. Eddie's just being an ass today." I said, and I saw Eddie's eyes dart up at me in amusement as he threw my piece from the board.
"Lady Applejack...you're their only hope." Eddie said, handing her the red 20 sided die.
"No pressure by the way." He said, still attempting to throw us off with his words. Though they didn't work on Erica.
She just rolled her eyes as she took the die, holding it in both of her hands as she held then out in front of her.
It felt like time slowed down as she held the last throw of the night in her palms, the sound of the die being juggled around could be heard throughout the entire room as it was dead silent.
No one made a noise as she shook them, and after about thirty seconds of her shaking it, we all were impatient to see what her throw was.
"Come on!" Dustin shouted, more towards the die than at Erica.
"Please! Please! Come on!" Gareth also asked, his hair bouncing as he shook his head, his words coming out as a desprate plea towards Erica.
Finally she let go, shooting her hands outwards, her blue beads on her wrist rattling as the die left her hands.
We all leaned forwards, watching in full curiosity with pleading eyes as the die rattled on the table, rolling through every piece on the board.
Finally, finally it came to a stop.
We all leaned over to look at the die on the table, and it was as if time stopped.
On the die, a big 20.
There was no leg hitting the table as we all jumped up, yelling and shouting as we celebrated Erica's throw.
"Holy shit!" I yelled.
"Crit hit!" She shouted, causing another eruption of screams and shouts to echoe through the room, and probably through the halls.
"What? What?" Eddie asked, completely shocked by the number that was rolled.
He clapped his own hand as he looked on at our celebrations, offering a smile to Erica.
"Thats why we play!" He said, unfurling his arms out overtop of the board, looking as if he was handing over the victory to Erica.
And she very much so, deserved it.
After much shouting and yelling about how great of a game it was, we eventually filed outside to celebrate more out there.
Everyone from the basketball game was starting to leave, the sun had been set for a while, and it was time for the people of Hawkins to head in from their one exciting night of the year.
I caught sight of Lucas as we walked out, he was standing still, looking straight over in our direction as his team walked up ahead of him.
I sent him a smile and a wave, noticing the down look on his face.
But he didn't send either back.
One of his teammates ran up to him, grabbing him and saying something to him before running off.
Lucas stood there for another moment, looking back quickly before turning around and walking away.
I felt a little confused but brushed it off, figuring that whatever was going on didn't concern me and I should just be happy for our club for the big win.
"You ready to head home? Mom's probably waiting by the door in the dark with a shotgun right now." Mike joked, walking ahead from the still excited group.
"Sure." I answered, catching up with him to head home.
We walked past the crowds of kids standing around conversating, making our way to the parking lot before heading onto the main road.
We passed the basketball team packing up their trunks with dufflebags, most of them yelling something about a party.
We almost made it to the road when I suddenly heard somebody yell out.
"Hey! Hey!" Me and Mike both turned around, Mr. Cocky Jock being the one we were met with.
"What do you want, Jason? Here to brag about winning your game?" I asked him, earning a head shake.
"No. I'm here because I have some things I wanna say to you now." He told me, referencing to our conversation earlier today.
I looked over to Mike, noticing his confused glare towards Jason.
"Just go on..I'll catch up." I told him.
He was hesitant, but after I looked at him expectantly for a few seconds he finally went on, turning around every now and then to see what was happening.
"Alright, go on with it." I said, looking at Jason boredly.
"I just want to say that you were wrong about what you said earlier. We won this game tonight and it gave people hope. I'm gonna be the salvation this town needs. I'm their saving grace right now." He said, and I was about to double over laughing but then realized he was serious.
I let out a chuckle.
"What. Did you really just say that? That's actually hilarious. Who the hell are you giving hope? And what exactly do you think your saving with your salvation?" I asked with a laugh.
"Okay, look, it's not funny, alright? These people need me, they need someone to give them hope." He spoke, sounding overly determined.
"No, what these people need is to tell them the truth. That it's never going to get better and that they need to get over themselves. But they'll never get that so they'll settle for you." I responded, earning a head shake.
"No. I am showing them the truth. I'm showing them that there's more to life than death and destruction. That's what they deserve, especially in a place like Hawkins." He argued.
"Alright, no, Mr. Jerky Jockwad. They don't. Stop trying to instill false hope into them. There is nothing in this town other than death and destruction and that is entirely the point. If they want hope and salvation than they need to leave." I explained.
"Thats not true. And I'm going to continue to keep trying to prove that to them. It's negative people like you that they keep listening to, that's bringing them down. They need someone who can bring then hope. Like me."
"Okay, let's see how much hope you're giving people in ten years when you're living under a bridge because your basketball scholarship didn't do shit to get you a career. And when you wonder why this town had gotten so bad, you can reflect on the day you told them a basketball game would solve all their issues." I told him.
He shook his head.
"You're wrong."
"And I'd like to hear the reason you come up with as to why you're so right."
He didn't say anything else and I took that as my cue to leave.
I walked out of the parking lot, feeling eyes still trailing me even when I got down the road a ways.
I eventually caught up with Mike, him not being too far as he had walked pretty slow.
"What was that about?" He asked me, not wasting any time as I settled my walking in the spot to his left.
"It wasn't about anything." I answered.
"I'm not an idiot, Y/N. Now tell me what the hell that was about!" He said.
"It's not anything, Mike!"
"Just tell me what the hell it was! It's not everyday I see you talking to the basketball groupies!" Mike shouted, stopping in his tracks to look at me.
"Okay! I confronted Jason in the locker room after the pep rally this morning! I told him his speech was bulshit and that what he said wasn't right! He just stopped me a minute ago to try and tell me I was wrong but I put him in his place again! Is that what you wanted?" I yelled back to him.
"You stood up to Jason? Wow, that's actually kinda brave." Mike complimented.
"God, you should've seen his face when I hit him with my zinger earlier today." I told him, smirking as we continued to walk.
"Seriously? What'd you tell him?!" Mike asked, curiosity overtaking him.
I began to explain our whole conversation this morning, every line I repeated to Mike got his jaw dropping. And Jason's replies had him laughing.
And then I also explained the conversation that happened a few minutes ago, getting a head shake from Mike.
"I can't believe you really said all of that to him." Mike said with a smile, looking off down the road as we walked.
"I know, right? I honestly don't know how I come up with some of the stuff I say. It just comes naturally I guess." I said with a chuckle.
"Litterly! I think you just have like, a list of badass comebacks written on your brain or something." He joked.
"Yeah. It's always fun, I guess. But I'd rather not have beef with the jocks." I said with a shrug, kicking a rock at my feet.
"Yeah, probably not. Wouldn't want to get bullied even harder than we already do." Mike responded, and I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"Well, not even that, I guess I just feel like maybe Lucas does have a chance with those guys. I wouldn't want to ruin anything he has with them, even if they are dickbags." I explained.
"I mean, sure, but do you really think Lucas will leave us for them if they take him into the popular crowd?" He asked me, sounding as if the thought saddened him.
"No...well...I don't know. He might. But c'mon, this is Lucas. He's been here for us when we needed him. He wouldn't just ditch his lifelong friends because a few popular basketball players befriend him, right?" I asked Mike, but his unsure expression didn't help my doubtfullness.
"I guess not."
Our conversation ended as we walked up to the porch, opening the front door to be met with the darkness.
"Ugh, shit, where's the lightswitch?" I asked as I fumbled around the wall.
I didn't have to search long as the lights seemed to magically turn on, and I looked over to see Mike beside the switch on the opposite wall with an amused smirk.
"Don't say anything, I'm forgetful." I said with a laugh, and he shook his head at me as we both went to walk upstairs.
But when we did, we both stopped at the sight of Karen in the kitchen, her hands on her hips as she looked at us.
"Nine. I told you both to be home by nine. No later than nine. It is ten thirty." Me and Mike both stood there, watching as she pointed to the clock on the wall that clearly showed ten thirty.
Me and Mike both looked at eachother, shock on our faces as we realized we both screwed up.
"Shit, uh, we lost track of time, I swear!" Mike said quickly, scrambling his brain for an excuse.
"Watch your mouth, Michael. And stop. I'm not going to yell or be upset." She stated, looking at the both of us disapprovingly.
"You're not?" I asked her.
"No. I understand that it's easy to lose track of time sometimes. But you can't keep doing this, now you'll barely get six hours of sleep and I'm not very happy. You two aren't in trouble, but trust me I won't be this forgiving next time." She said, eyeing the both of us as she grabbed a rag from the sink and began to wipe down the counters.
"Thank you so much, mom. We're really sorry. We honestly didn't mean to be home this late. Hellfire just...lasted longer than we thought it would." Mike told her, and she gave him a nod.
"Okay. Now both of you go up and get to bed, right now." She said, waving us off.
We both nodded back at her before tumbling up the stairs after eachother.
When we made it to the top Mike looked over at me with a grin, leaning down to whisper to me.
"Told you,
Alone. In the dark. With a shotgun."
I let out an amused scoff, shaking my head at him in hilarity before walking off to my room to get ready for bed.
I got a quick shower, I had gotten one this morning, but after the brutal day I had I figured it would be nice to take one.
Afterwards I got dressed in some shorts and a t-shirt before plopping down on my bed.
I reached over to turn my lamp off but when I did my phone suddenly rang. I flicked the lamp back on before picking up my orange phone, wondering who would be calling this late.
"Hello?" I asked, curios about who was calling me.
"Y/N." I heard a familiar voice acknowledge. It was Lucas.
"Lucas, what the hell? Why are you calling me at like eleven thirty?" I questioned him, squinting my eyes at the lamp light.
"You guys did Hellfire without me?" He asked into the phone, and I could hear the hopelessness in his voice.
"Oh. Yeah. Eddie didn't was to postpone so we uh...got a sub for tonight." I explained hesitantly, not sure how he would take it.
"A sub? Seriously? You replaced me because Eddie didn't want to move it?" He asked, almost sounding like he was in tears.
"Lucas, calm down, we didn't have a choice. It was either find a sub or Eddie loses his shit. And we all know that Eddie would kick us out no hesitation." I told him.
"It doesn't even matter." I heard him sniffle.
"Thats not why I called." He finished.
"Where even are you, Lucas?" I asked him.
"Bennys. The basketball team is celebrating their win." He answered.
"Bennys? That burger place that was shut down because of the suicide?" I questioned him, confused.
"Yeah. It's abandoned and the guys wanted to throw a party here so they could drink and stuff and not get caught." He replied.
"Jesus. Lucas, why are you hanging around those assholes? You aren't like them." I told him, rubbing my temples.
"Why do you care? You've all cast me out anyways." He responded, sniffling again.
"We didn't cast you out. You're still in, we just had to find a sub for tonight. Also, how are you calling me right now?" I asked him.
"Theres a payphone out back." He stated.
"It still works?"
"I guess so. I'm talking to you, aren't I?" He questioned sarcastically, and it occurred to me that we hadn't officially lost our Lucas.
"Why are you really calling me, Lucas?"
"Jason told me about your conversation." He said.
"So Mr. Cocky jocky team captain told you about the argumens, huh?" I asked, and I heard a tiny almost inaudible chuckle from his end.
"Yeah..."
"Well, did he also tell you he lost them all?" I asked as I rolled onto my back, still holding the phone to my ear.
"This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. The arguing and the confrontation. This is what's going to keep you guys from the popular crowd." He told me, sounding annoyed.
"Did you not hear our conversation today? Lucas, we don't want to be with the popular crowd. We aren't like you." I explained to him, hoping he'd understand.
"But if I'm in with the popular kids then you guys will be too, we don't have to be bullied anymore. We can all stay together and be liked at the same time." He countered.
"We don't fit in with all of them like you do, okay? We're freaks and losers and nerds and they don't like nor want people like us. They want you, not us." I said to him, and I heard him let out a sigh.
"But I want you guys. I want you here with me, I want you guys to move on up with me. I'm tired of the bullying, I just want to be liked. Do you guys not want that?" He asked, souding tired.
"No, we don't. We don't like the exposed nature of it all. We just want to exist around the popularity, around the world of cliques and different levels of assholes. We don't want the same thing you do." I told him.
"But I want you guys with me. If you don't, then we're all going to be separated. We're not going to ever interact during school, and probably barely apart from it." He remarked.
"Yeah. And that's what we see. Like I said, they don't want us they want you. We aren't basketball star Lucas Sinclair. You've always had the potential to be different, to be popular. But the rest of us...not so much."
"But what about you guys? What happens if I just become popular without you? It just feels wrong to leave the party behind. I've known you all since I was little. I can't make that choice." He noted, and I could hear the desperation in his voice.
"Well it's only yours to make. I can't tell you what to decide and neither can anyone else. It's up to you who you wanna be, Lucas. I'm sorry that things are changing, but you said it yourself, we came to highschool wanting things to be different, right?" I said, quoting Lucas from earlier.
"Yeah, I know. But it really really sucks." He responded, and I nodded even though he couldn't see me.
"It does. But it's just a decision everyone has to make one day. You have to decide if you want to take the right path or the easy path. But it's you who puts a title on them." I told him.
"This isn't what I wanted when I said I wanted things to be different..."
"Well, be careful what you wish for."
The conversation was cut short when I heard footsteps trailing towards my door before a series of knocks came to it.
"Y/N, go to bed, right now! I mean it!" Karen yelled from the hall before walking back towards her room.
"Shit, Lucas, I gotta go. Six thirty flight tommorow." I said quickly.
"Oh yeah, goodluck tommorow. Tell El
I said Hi, and tell Will I said Happy birthday." He replied.
"Yeah, yeah I will. Night, Lucas."
"Night."
I put my phone back on the table before leaning over to the lamp to shut it off.
I laid back on my pillows, feeling my eyelids heavy from the long day I've had.
And soon enough I drifted to sleep.
Tommorow's gonna be a good day.
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