Luca
~
"What was that about?"
Shit.
I pause before heading toward the other direction, slowly brushing it off.
"Huh? Oh, nothing. Mrs. Lopez had us partner up for an assignment."
He draws his eyebrows together, then nods.
Good—he dropped the subject.
"Any word on your truck?" I ask, squeezing through the small crowd that forms in the hallway.
"A few more days and it will be good to go. You still don't mind bringing me home until then?"
I shake my head. "Of course not."
If only you lived somewhere else, I would be completely fine dropping you off home.
"How's your mom doing, by the way?"
The pupils in his eyes dilated a little at the mention of her. They've had a rough couple years, and I can understand why he feels uneasy about it. He runs a hand through his ashy-blonde hair.
"She's been better," he says calmly.
We stand up against the wall as our next class empties out of the classroom. "Still sober?"
He clenched his jaw. It's always a hard conversation. Anderson is open to me about her struggles, but I know it's still difficult for him to talk about.
"For now," his voice is low. I can tell he regretted those words. "I didn't mean it like that."
I place my hand on his back. "I understand, man."
His body loosens up a bit as we make our way into the class to find our desks. When we sit down, I think more about his mother and how quick someone's life can change because of addiction.
The diner has been so slow tonight. Every time I lean against the counter, my palm always slips out from under my cheek—with the little sleep I got this night. The door suddenly chimes, and I stand up on my feet, as I glance near the door I spot Cassie and Sydney step inside. They are both in maroon spirit shirts and tiny black shorts. I think they just got done with cheerleading practice.
It's hard to not stare at Cassie the way she walks around the bar and slides into a dark red booth. Sydney sits opposite her, and they both start to look at a menu, laughing about something on Cassie's phone.
Curiosity starts to silently kill me.
With my notepad and pen in my hand, I stride toward them. I can hear my heartbeat echo through my ears. "What can I get the two of you?"
Sydney smirked. "No, Luca. Don't you mean "Qué les puedo dar a ustedes dos?"
I'm impressed by her Spanish. Even Cassie raises an eyebrow. I start to speak when she cuts me off again. "I'll have chili fries and a small vanilla shake."
"Oh yes, I'll have the same thing." Cassie agrees and smiles at me.
I don't think she has ever smiled at me before. Maybe when we were kids in middle school, but not as teenagers. I find my eyes slowly drifting back to the notepad as if I'm writing down their order, but I actually just scribble a bit, then write down She Smiled At Me.
It doesn't take long for the other jocks to step into the diner. They are wearing their letterman's and dark blue jeans. All of them are wearing the exact same thing. Trent Gibbens and Cole Moreau copy Marcus for everything. And I mean everything.
All of them even have the same light brown hair and green eyes. Total douche trio, if you asked me. One time the school was giving an award to their star athlete, and it just so happened to be Marcus that month. When he walked on stage, the two of them followed and just stood there awkwardly as he accepted the piece of paper.
Just thinking about it makes me cringe again.
They notice the girls in the back corner and slide inside the booth with them. The annoyance is eating me alive. Why do they have to come in during my shift? Couldn't they have waited until my life sucked slightly less.
Great.
I hand them their plates of chili fries and their vanilla shakes. When Cassie tries to grab the glass from me, Marcus snatches it out of my hands.
"Hey!" she scolds. "What was that for?"
He wraps his right arm around her tiny body, pressing her into his chest. The way she looks up at him sends a knot to my stomach.
"Sorry babe, I just don't want him touching you."
Seriously?
"He was handing me my shake."
"And I handed it to you," he replies nonchalantly. Pretty much acting like I'm not even standing here.
Her eyes pierce toward mine and I lower my head and shrug. "It's fine."
Marcus tries to challenge me even just by speaking to her. When he sees the look on my face he leans further into the booth, bringing Cassie to him and kissing her on the forehead.
He's so idiotic.
I step away and head back toward the kitchen. As I make another table their drinks, I clench my jaw with frustration. You could tell how uncomfortable she was. Just the way she looked away from him and out the window. She chews on the side of her mouth when she's nervous or sad and she did that shortly after I walked away.
I can't stop glancing at her through the kitchen window.
If only someone else could see what I do...
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
The next day in Biology, Mrs. Higgins is demonstrating our lesson on Ecology and Evolution. We go over the origins of organisms and how they survive, or don't survive in their habitats. Anderson yawns rather more loudly than he intended to, making her turn around.
"Am I boring you, Mr. Young?" Her voice travels through the room as she gets his attention, crossing her arms against her chest.
Every day she wears black as if she were going to a funeral.
Even her dark hair blends in.
He sits up hurriedly. "Uh, no, of course not."
I can't help but chuckle under my breath.
She unlocks her arms and continues to write on the board. "Our final exam will be after Prom. I will let you study now with a partner before the bell rings."
A few students swap seats and pull out their notebooks once they find a partner. I don't have to move since Anderson sits right beside me.
"There's no way in hell that I'm passing this class. Who even has the time for Ecology and Evolution?" he chants into my ear.
I roll my eyes as I turn around in my seat. "You need it for college, genius."
He raises an eyebrow. "Who said I'm going to college?"
"You're going to college."
I don't even give him time to argue. He exhales, feeling defeated before running a hand through his hair. "Can't say I didn't try."
"Can you two keep it down? Some of us are trying to study." Penelope Rowan whisper-yells across from us.
"This isn't the library, sweetheart," he mumbles, making her roll her eyes. "We aren't the only ones talking."
"Yeah," she directs her attitude toward him. "But you two are the ones being obnoxiously loud."
"Obnoxiously?"
"Just shut up," she demands, turning around at her desk and hiding her face back into her Biology textbook.
Anderson turns to me. "What the hell was that?"
I shrug and give him a clueless look. "This school gets weirder by the minute, I swear."
A soft knock comes from the door, and Mrs. Higgins opens it and allows Cassie to step inside. What is she doing here? My eyes wander to Anderson as he blinks rapidly at me and then we both look back at her.
"Sorry to interrupt your class Mrs. Higgins, but Principal Treadway placed me here as one of my credits for college."
I feel like we're back in middle school. Her bashful smile and pink, rosy cheeks feed off the room, letting us know how nervous she is. She tucks a small strand of her dark chocolate hair behind her right ear. A few looks around the room gives me the impression that she's embarrassed. She starts to chew on the inside of her mouth again.
Credits for college? She must be behind, which I find hard to believe because she's been an A honor roll student since I met her.
"Happy to have you, miss Harlow, please find a seat." She welcomes her before pointing to an empty desk that happens to be
right
beside
me
I feel my eyes bulging out of my brain.
She walks slowly, keeping a tight grip on her shoulder bag, and following the row that leads to her new seat. My eyes stare at her every move until she sits down and looks back at me, making me immediately shift in my seat and stare toward the wall.
Smooth Luca. Real smooth.
It gets awkwardly quiet for a few seconds until someone speaks.
"I'm sorry."
Am I hearing this right?
Cassie Harlow is speaking to me?
The head cheerleader, the most popular girl in the school, who happens to be my long-time crush, is talking to me?
Yes, she spoke to me yesterday at the diner, but she was ordering her food.
This is entirely different.
And technically, she was talking to Sydney wanting the same order as her.
"I'm talking to you, Luca." She speaks again, making me follow her eyes as they gaze into mine. The green in her eyes grabs my attention.
"S-sorry," I cough out. "It's just, you've never spoken to me before." I start to laugh awkwardly when her words sink in.
Wait—
"What are you sorry for?"
Her voice is so soft that I'm having a hard time hearing.
"Marcus," she breathes.
I wasn't expecting that. She shouldn't be apologizing for him anyway.
"Marcus?"
Cassie nods, resting her elbow on the desk and her palm on her cheek. "I'm sorry for how he treats you, I'm getting sick of it, honestly."
I quickly shake my head. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
"Yes, I do."
So, Sydney was right. She is getting tired of him. There wasn't really much to say to that. Yes, he's the biggest dick I know, but even she already knows that.
"It's not your fault and honestly, I'm used to it."
• • •
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