Luke's face was firmly pressed against the library desk. He had no intention to do any of his homework. He would've preferred being swallowed alive by an octopus right then. He heard McQuaid groan beside him, before the impact of his own head with the desk became evident.
Behind them, Tyler was randomly clicking away at the computer. Luke didn't know what he was trying to achieve, but he knew he was feeling pretty low as well. Today was just not their day.
"So what's up with you guys?" Luke finally broke the silence.
"I'm not sure I really want to talk about it," McQuaid stated.
"And since when did you "not want to talk about it?" Luke scoffed.
"It's like I have this giant black hole in my stomach which is absorbing all my happiness and taking away all my old personality..." McQuaid sighed.
Luke sat up and glanced at Tyler, who gave him an awkward smile.
"Things didn't work out with Emaline," he informed Luke.
"Thanks, Tyler," McQuaid groaned, his face completely hidden.
"Oh... Well I know exactly where you're at, man. It'll get better," Luke told McQuaid, slapping his shoulder.
"Did you know?" McQuaid snapped.
"Know what?" Luke questioned.
"About Kate and Emaline?"
"What about Kate and Emaline?" Luke asked, furrowing his brow. However it was beginning to dawn on him. "Wait, they're...?"
McQuaid nodded into the desk. Luke looked at Tyler again who looked down into his lap.
For some reason, Luke didn't seem surprised. He was only a little overwhelmed by this new information.
"Well, that's..." He didn't know what to say.
"Heartbreaking, gut-wrenching and soul-crushing to the very core, am I right?" McQuaid finished.
"Something like that," Luke said, his head no longer in the room with them. "I've gotta go."
He stood up and hurried out of the library. As much as he'd come to accept Kate's sexuality, he couldn't help but feel a little weird about her now actually having somebody that wasn't him. Sometimes he wished he hadn't fallen for Kate Messner, because all it had caused him was pain.
This thought drained away immediately when he saw her, though, standing at her locker during movement time. He tried his hardest to avoid contact with those chocolate brown eyes-
"Luke!" He heard her call.
"Oh, hey Kate. Didn't see you there," he chuckled.
"Can we talk?" She asked.
Luke had a feeling he knew what this was about. "Look, I'm completely fine with this," he mentioned calmly.
"With what?" Kate looked a bit confused.
"Wait, what do you want to talk about?"
"There's kinda a lot to say..." Kate sighed.
"Hang on, AV room should be free?" Luke offered.
"Sure."
They made their way to the AV room, where Kate sat down immediately. Luke stroked one of the cameras, as it made him think of the movie.
"I just wanted to say sorry," Kate began.
Luke stared at her, trying to think of what she'd done wrong. "Why?"
"About your dad. If I hadn't have got involved he wouldn't have turned up on Saturday," Kate explained.
"Oh..." Luke hadn't even considered that. "Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault he's an asshole."
"What's going on with him?" Kate asked.
"I don't really know. My mom said she's going to talk to him but she doesn't know how that'll turn out. She's been acting differently. I think she can sense this has something to do with me," Luke told her.
"Do you think you'd give him a chance?"
Luke paused. "I don't know if I want to. In case it ends the same as last time. And I don't want him to hurt my mum. Especially now that she's happy."
Kate nodded. She must have been thinking about her dad in all this too.
"Look, I also want to talk to you about something," Luke expressed.
Kate raised her eyebrows. "Shoot."
"You and Emaline?" He wasn't sure if that was the right way to bring it up.
Kate's eyes flickered. "How did you-?"
"McQuaid. He... actually I don't know how he knows," Luke frowned.
"Can you not... you know. Talk about it, out loud. It's just it's a new thing and I don't want it screwed up," Kate pleaded.
"Hey. I'm your friend. You can trust me," Luke stated. There was a small silence between them. "So, Emaline? Of all people. Pretty bold huh?"
Kate's face broke into the biggest grin he'd ever seen on her face.
"She's sweet when you get to know her," Kate reassured him.
"I'll take your word for it. She kinda scares me if I'm honest," Luke chuckled.
They both sat in amusement, before Kate took his hand. "Thank you, Luke."
"Hey, I'm happy for you," Luke told her. "You deserve everything, Kate Messner."
A/N
Sorry, it been a couple of days. Been campaigning hard. Hope you're enjoying the story :)