L A N A
"Are you sure the cops won't come for us? I feel like I'm being watched. Am I being too paranoid? I feel like I am. Are you sure we're safe?"
It was the morning after The Sirens raided the town's candy store with Everett. Let's just say that the way Everett was rambling about how panicked and anxious he was, he might as well have sat by the front door of his house, waiting for the cops to come get him.
I grabbed my history book from my locker. "Not until you lower your voice."
Everett blinked and then was suddenly aware of the people passing us through the hallway. Tensing up, he cleared his throat and inhaled a deep breath. "Okay. Sorry. I'll stop overthinking it."
After closing my locker, I glanced at Everett. Today he was wearing a military green hoodie and grey jeans. The November cold had flushed his cheeks a deep red color while his nose made him look like Rudolph. His coconut brown hair was concealed beneath a black beanie which I suddenly realized was mine. However, he made no movement or sign to return it. I guess he must've forgotten. I tried not to think about why I just didn't ask him myself or just pulled it off his head.
He started walking alongside me down the hallway. We reached my classroom which was currently empty of students since it was still ten minutes until the first period was starting.
"Well, bye," I said, briefly.
However, just as I was about to turn my back to him, Everett's voice stopped me. "Wait, before I go. You texted me last night after I got home, but I had already fallen asleep by then. I saw your message this morning. What did you want to say?"
When I met his questioning gaze on me, I immediately regretted sending that message. "Um, it was nothing."
I tried to leave once again but this time Everett grabbed the hem of my baggy black and green flannel's sleeve and with a softened smile said, "Lana. Hey. What is it?"
I dropped my gaze before sighing and said, "I just...I wanted to ask if you, um, if you had fun. Did you?"
Astonishment touched Everett's face first before it broke into a genuine smile. "Wow. You're really shy, aren't you? Is that so hard to ask?"
"Baka," I muttered.
He smiled. "Don't worry, I had fun. It was cool to get to know you and your friends."
Even though we told him bits about our pasts and how we got together, there was so much more to us. So much more that he didn't know but probably speculated over. I was surprised he didn't ask many questions. Instead, he just listened. I liked that.
I was ready to go to my seat in the classroom now but there was something else I was contemplating on telling him. My cerebral palsy. I felt like it was important that he at least knew this part about me now that we were friends.
"Cerebral palsy."
Everett blinked. "What?"
I nodded at my feet. "My foot. It's cerebral palsy. It used to be worse. I got surgery when I was younger. Now it's kinda crooked and I just limp."
Everett raised his brows as surprised briefly touched his face before he responded with, "Oh. Okay. Cerebral palsy. Got it. Does it hurt or anything when you do all that Wolf stuff?"
Now, I blinked. "Wolf...stuff?"
"You know, climb, jump and fight. You're really good at it."
Surprised, I nodded. "It aches a little but I mostly get exhausted."
Everett smiled softly. "Okay. Thanks for telling me. Not gonna lie, I've been a little curious for a while now."
It felt kind of good to tell him. I didn't know why but it just did. It was scary and uncomfortable for me to share things about myself and my life with others, but for some reason, it wasn't so bad to talk to Everett. At least about the small things. The bigger things and events that had turned me into who I was today, I don't think I could share that with anyone. Not even Everett. Just the thought of it terrified me.
"So what's next for the Student council?" I asked, changing the topic before he could get the chance to ask anymore ask questions about me. It felt like telling him about my cerebral palsy opened the door for more questions, but I wanted to close that door now.
Everett's eyes suddenly pooled with excitement. "Oh, yes! It's time to get the elevator and the school bell fixed."
I nodded and when he noticed the hallway was getting crowded, his eyes briefly widened. "Oh, shit. The class is starting soon. I should go. I'll see you later. Bye." His arm briefly brushed against mine as he hurried past me. I turned around and watched him race down the hallway, slowly swallowed by the growing crowd.
Repairing the elevator and the school bell, huh? I'd be shocked if he pulled that off despite the expected complaints of the students on why he would spend the school's already low budget on fixing the elevator that nobody except me had use of. It was true. Nobody used the elevator two years ago before it broke. It was just me. Would he do it just for me? For some reason, I found that hard to believe.
~
"Have you been eating?" Isha asked as I watched her crouch down and grab five strawberry lollipops from one of the bottom shelves in the town's grocery store.
I used to enjoy food. I always had an appetite. I was always craving Pizza, sushi, and ice cream. However, ever since mom and dad died, foster home, running away and all the shit with Miles and Carlos, my eating habits and sleep habits had been fucked. Sometimes I didn't eat anything, other days I ate a lot, and it was the same pattern with sleep.
Getting back up and meeting my gaze, she took my silence as a no and sighed. Wrapping her arm around me as we continued down the aisle of candy and chocolate bars.
She frowned. "Isn't there anything you want to eat then?"
"Sushi."
"Then let's buy some! I know your favorite sushi was your mom's homemade but we gotta work with what we have. The sushi here is good too. You've had it before and you like it."
"Okay."
"Really? Okay! Come on-," she started saying happily but cut herself off when a familiar woman was standing only a few away from us, and Isha's cheerful expression fell.
The woman was a much older version of Isha with the same petiteness, brown skin, and small, round brown eyes. Dressed in dark blue jeans, a white sweater, and a long brown coat, she was watching us with a grumpy look on her face.
Isha blinked. "Mom. Ma?"
"Is she one of the girls you're staying with?" She asked, eyeing me critically from head to toe.
"Her name is Jada. This is Lana," Isha replied, watching her mom with puzzled eyes but with a sense of sadness and longing in them.
"Will you ever drop this act so that you can come home again?"
Being a part of a gang and being gay. That's what Isha's mom called an act. It wasn't. It was about family, safety and identity. She couldn't just drop it.
"This isn't an act," Isha said, her voice clear and firm but slightly shaky.
"We're her home. She's better off without you," I quickly said, without thinking through my words.
"Don't you talk to me!" She snapped with a glare before moving her gaze back to her daughter. "You-she ran from her foster home. Slept on the streets. Look at her filthy clothes."
My stomach dropped while Isha tensed up next to me and her voice grew sharper, "Ma, don't say that about her. You don't know what-"
"-The other two are practically the same. How can you live with people like that?" She continued, causing me to curl my hands into fists.
"Excuse me?" Out of the blue, Kiana, the pretty Iranian girl who worked at Lakers Burgers and hung out at the Laker, appeared. Her hair was purple now though and matched her pastel purple eyeshadow. She was wearing a grey sweater type of dress and black leggings with a pair of brown boots. She always seemed so chill and easy going but today an annoyed expression had drawn her brows sharply together.
"You're creating a scene. I think you should leave before the employees here have to make you," she said, stepping between Isha and her mom. Isha's mom scowled at Kiana but she glared back with her arms crossed over her chest.
Eventually, Isha's mom gave in and stormed off but not before looking her daughter straight in the eye and saying, "I wish you weren't my daughter."
I genuinely saw the moment Isha's heart broke to pieces. I squeezed my eyes shut, inhaling sharply before clenching my jaw.
Kiana turned to us and sighed before admitting, "No offense but she seems like a shitty person."
Isha closed her eyes for a moment and I squeezed her hand. Then, she snorted and sighed as sadness passed her face. She clenched her fist around the lollipops in her hand as her eyes turned glassy.
"You okay?" Kiana asked, softly. She was looking at us both, but we didn't say anything. I guess that was enough of an answer for Kiana.
"Wanna get out of here and grab burgers and milkshakes at the diner? My treat."
"We're having sushi," Isha said, rapidly blinking back her tears.
She smiled. "Why not both?"
~
"What the fuck? That's so shitty of her," Carmen said, frustration clear across her face.
Jada, seated next to Carmen across from us at our usual booth at the diner, sighed with disappointment. After Jada and Carmen met us at the diner, Kiana had treated us to burgers, fries, and milkshakes but I stuck to my sushi and a milkshake. By the time Isha had finished two burgers, a handful of fries, and a large cup of vanilla milkshake in silence, she pulled her hood over her head, concealing her sorrowed eyes.
"Wanna talk about it or go to the Laker and get wasted? Or both?" Carmen suggested.
Isha shook her head. "I'm just gonna go to bed and look up some memes, eat a box of ice cream and drown in my misery for the rest of the day."
"Isha. Come on. We're here for you," Carmen said, frowning.
Coincidentally, my gaze landed on Kiana who was perched up on a stool behind the counter since her shift had started a few hours ago. Her dark brown eyes rested on Isha while sympathy had stitched a frown on her face. It was too much of it though. Even back at the store. I wondered if she could relate to Isha's situation. Everybody in town knew Kiana was gay.
Suddenly, she met my eyes, and first, she was quick to look away as her cheeks tinted red but then she slowly moved her gaze back to me. It was a questioning gaze. I nodded and she pursed her lips and brushed her fingers through her hair before making her way over to us.
"Hey." She didn't look at me when she stopped by our table. Instead, her eyes were on Isha. "Feeling any better?"
Isha looked up and smiled back to Kiana. "Yeah, kinda. Thanks for the food."
"Do you want to go for a ride on my bike?" She asked, biting her lip before nodding at her white motorcycle parked next to Carmen's black outside of the diner.
Surprised, Isha pushed her hood back and glanced at Kiana's bike through the window before moving her eyes back to her. I was still confused but Carmen and Jada were giving her a look that screamed say yes!
Pleased, Isha smiled. "Okay. Sure. As long as you don't drive too fast. Carmen's speed legit always makes me puke."
Kiana nodded, excitedly. "Okay. Got it."
Isha slid out of the booth and waved at us. "Meet you guys at the Laker?"
Carmen nodded. "Yeah. See you there!"
Shortly after they headed out and jumped on Kiana's white motorcycle before racing off down the street, Ali and Everett walked in, causing the bell on the door to ring. As Everett followed Ali to the booths on the other side of the diner in the opposite direction from us, I kept my gaze on them.
Everett didn't notice me until he slid into one of the booths. When our eyes met, his face lit up and a smile spread across his face. It felt so strange when I genuinely thought about it. The way he stood up for me, supported me, worried about, complimented me, and the way he was always so excited to see me despite when or where we crossed paths. I wasn't used to being treated like that by anyone except for Isha, Carmen, and Jada.
It was strange and it surprised me every time. If he kept surprising me like this, I wouldn't know what to do anymore. I didn't know what to do about it now. Thus, instead of smiling back to him, I tore my gaze away and blew out a frustrated breath.
"Lana?" Jada's voice brought me out of my thoughts.
I looked up at Carmen and Jada were watching me with bewildered expressions.
Carmen chuckled. "What's wrong? You look so flustered."
I shook my head and grabbed a burger and took a bite. However, I froze when my gaze landed on Everett who was frowning at me.
Before I could look away, Carmen and Jada quickly glanced behind their shoulders.
For a moment, they glanced back and forth between Everett and me. Then, Carmen laughed lightly. "What's going? Flirting?"
I choked on my bite.
Shocked, Jada's eyes widened as her gaze snapped to Everett and then back to me. "Wait. For real?"
Admittedly, I was glad Isha wasn't here. Despite it not being true in any way, she still would've lost it.
I shook my head and quickly but calmly said, "What? No."
While Jada and Carmen were still puzzled, I knew Everett was smiling at me now but I forced my gaze to stay on the burger in my hands. Knowing his warm cocoa eyes were resting on me, my heart jumped and I felt unfamiliar tingling in my chest that sent warmth all the way down to my toes. I really wasn't sure what was going on with me anymore.
***
Author's note: Hi, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Everett and Lana are definitely turning into something more than friends and I hope you're enjoying it so far. Thank you so much for 3k reads!
Remember to
Vote⭐️
Comment❤️
Share with friends🌹
Follow me☺️