Chapter 46 | Lucas & Bella's sleepover
Isabella:
***
Unknown number
Lucas:
Just a heads up, I'm sleeping
over at your house today.
***
"Hey is everything alright?"
Lucas leans against the doorway leading into the living room, his duffel bag swung over one shoulder. Although he quirks the corner of his lips into a small smile, the solemn mood clouding over his features is unmissable.
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"
"Well it's almost 1 am and you're at my house suddenly saying you're staying over and 5 minuets ago my grandma came to warn me to be nice to you when you come and she looked quite distraught which means something is definitely up."
"I just wanted to a sleepover with my bestie, isn't that what best friends do?" He chuckles softly in reply, down casting his eyes to the floor.
"Seriously Lucas what's up?" I ask, concern laced in my voice. He looks seriously troubled; I've never seen him in this way.
Ignoring me, he strolls over to where I am sitting on the rug on the living room floor, surrounding me an array of face masks, nail varnish and facial creams.
"What're you doing?" He asks, placing his bag beside the sofa.
I sigh and nod towards the TV, deciding to drop the subject. "Watching a K-drama and doing self care." I point to the charcoal face mask currently covering my face. "Wanna join? You look like you need a bit of relaxation."
"Sure." He nods and sits cross-legged on the floor beside me, picking up a sheet mask and look at the packet.
"What K-drama are you watching?"
"Crash landing on you, I have about 4 episodes left." (A/N don't comment any spoilers, i am still on episode 8 ;))
He gazes up and stares at the TV for a second. "What's it about?"
"It's about this rich, business lady from South Korea who, in a paragliding accident lands in North Korea and this soldier is hiding her out until she can go back home and they fall in love."
"Lame."
I smack him on the shoulder before getting up on my knees and shuffling towards him. "And what type of show isn't lame in your book then? Riverdale?" I tease, reaching up and gathering his brown locks into a little palm tree at the top of his head so the face mask doesn't get into his hair.
His hair is still a little stiff from the gel I'm presuming he had lathered on into his hair before the celebration dinner. Lucas is in fact still dressed in the white dress shirt and black slacks that he had worn to the restaurant and his fancy attire was sending a whirlwind of butterflies in my stomach.
I hear his breath hitch at our close proximity and I'm suddenly hyper aware that my chest is right in his face. Oh God, I'm not even wearing a bra.
Once I've quickly looped the hair tie around the tufts of his hair, I quickly pull back and subtly grab the blanket from the sofa, making a show that it's really cold and draping it around my pyjama clad body. I'm wearing a baggy friends t-shirt and black sweats - very cosy for this cold, winter night.
"You never answered my question," I say, clearing my throat. "Don't tell me you're actually a Riverdale guy?"
He shakes his head, snorting. "No, I'm more of a prison break, breaking bad sort of guy," he quirks an eyebrow at me, pausing to gaze at my face. "But you know what my favourite show is?"
"What?"
"Friends." He glances at my t-shirt and smiles.
"I love friends too, it's my comfort show."
"Mine too."
"You know what," I add, wiggling my eyebrows. "Crash landing on you will be on your favourite show's list by the time we finish watching it tonight."
"But I don't know anything that'a happened in the past episodes."
I wave my hand dismissively, opening the little tub of face mask and picking up a face mask applicator brush. "I'll tell you whilst I'm doing this."
Signalling him to move forward, he shuffles right until he is sitting directly in front of me, he shuts his eyes closed as I get up on my knees, one hand clutched to the side of his face and the other using the brush to gently apply the face mask onto his skin.
His skin is warm under my touch and up this close, I get to see the light sprinkles freckles dotted across the bridge of his nose and across his cheeks. I also get a great whiff of his scent and God damn does he smell freaking amazing. I literally don't think I've met a person who smells this good. His scent is one that is of slight cologne, some sort of soap and the only way I can truly describe it is crisp.
My eyes dance across his sharp features as I apply the mask and my heart flutters at the sight. God is he beautiful.
He has a cut just above his eyebrow from the fight earlier on today and one on his cheek. His bottom lip is slightly swollen still, making it the ever more plump and my gaze lingers on his mouth for quite a while. My thumb brushes his bottom lip absentmindedly and Lucas takes in a sharp intake of breath as I do so.
I quickly retract my hand.
He clears his throat. "So tell me what happens in the other episodes then."
"Right." I begin telling him in great detail the play by play of each episode of crash landing that I had watched so far, Lucas listening intently as I finish layering on the mask onto his skin.
"That actually sounds quite interesting," he replies, opening his eyes and blinking a few times to adjust to the light once I've finished applying the mask.
I pop the lid back on the pot and sit back on my bottom.
"Yeah it is," I sigh wistfully. "It's so romantic, they're literally soulmates."
"Soulmates?" He repeats, cocking his head to the side. "Do you believe in that type of thing?"
I pause for a second, tapping my finger on my chin in thought. "Yeah," I say with a nod of my head in the end. "I do, I think there is someone out there written for everyone." I tighten my ponytail before stretching my legs out in front of me and leaning with my back against the couch. "How about you?"
He nods slowly. "Yeah, I guess."
"Oh really," I say surprised, causing him to nod again. "How do you think soulmates meet?"
Lucas sighs and shuffles on the floor so he's more comfortable, leaning back against the sofa so he's mirroring my position. "Well, I think they often just meet normally. They could be class mates, friends, even someone you see in your local Target every so often; I don't think there is that whole love at first sight thing or like a sudden electric feeling that flows through you the moment your eyes lay on them for the first time. I think it's a gradual feeling, like I feel as if there is this magnetic pull between the two people that you'll only be able to tell over time. I think it'll only be noticeable when you realise that despite circumstances, timing and every other obstacle in life thrown at the two people to draw them apart - the two souls are always pulled back to each other in the end."
My mouth parts open slightly in shock. I did not expect him to say something like that.
At my stunned expression she shakes his head and chuckles. "Why do you look so shocked?"
I shake my head and snort. "That was deep."
"Yep," he agrees, nodding slowly. "I'm feeling like contemplating all my life decisions today."
"Are you going to tell me what's up with you tonight?" I prompt, raising a brow. "You legit resemble a lost puppy and it's scaring me."
This causes him to bark out in laughter. "Paint my nails and I'll tell you."
I lift my head up from the couch. "Really?"
"Yes," he respond amusedly. "Don't you remember when you said that we could paint each other's nails if we ever had a sleepover?" He adds, referring to when I had drunkenly told him that on our drive back home from Dylan's birthday party two months ago.
I narrow my eyes at him. "Okay fine, but you have to paint mine after."
"Fine by me."
I pick up the black nail varnish and screw the lid open before taking his right hand into my left one, his rings pressing against my fingertips. "Now spill," I tell him as I begin to coat his index finger nail in black polish.
"Well you know how I'm grounded," he begins with a sigh to which I nod my head at in reply.
"Well after the celebration dinner, Aidan took our team to a party at his cousins house and I went along with them with the intention that I'll only stay for an hour so my parents don't get suspicious."
"Oh no I can see where this is going."
"Yep," he nods solemnly. "Anyways, I got a little...carried away," he gazes up at me for a brief moment, his cheeks tinging pink slightly and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "And lost track of time so about two hours later I got a call from my father who began screaming at me to come home and I guess he heard the party in the background which got even more mad. It took a while to get a wasted Dylan and a slightly drunk Aidan into the car to drop them home so it took over an hour to get home which got my parents even more angry and they started screaming at me blah blah and saying shit blah blah acting like they care about my well-being etc. It's the fact they were going on a rampage about all of this, acting like they're concerned about me when in fact they truly don't give two shits about where I am or what I do. If they did care then they wouldn't be gone from home 90% of the year and would turn up to things like my birthday or my football games or even call when they are away but they do nothing. Zilch. Most of the time they don't even pick the phone to ask how I'm doing when I'm home alone for weeks on end."
He takes a quick pause to take a deep breath and lower his voice. "Yeah so anyways I started saying all of that to them which got them even more riled up because they know it's the truth but didn't want to admit it or even apologise and then my dad kept changing the subject and turning it onto me saying how I'm so disrespectful this, that and by this time I had enough so I stormed upstairs and called abuela asking if I could stay over here because I couldn't stand being at home with them and she said yeah and then I packed my bag and yeah, now I'm here."
I pause on painting his nails, my face softening at his somber expression. I can sense there's more to this than what he's letting on.
"That sucks," I tell him, rubbing lazy circles with my thumb on his hand. "You don't deserve to feel that way, especially by your parents as well."
I pop the lid back on the nail polish and place it down on the floor before gazing up at his mask clad face. His eyes hold a various number of emotions, sadness being the most prominent and my heart squeezes in sympathy.
"You always have our family, you know we all care about you," I tell him softly, my voice barely above a whisper.
It is the truth however, what I'm telling him.
Although there a times where I want to bash his face into the wall and there is still that feeling of blame and hatred for what he caused continuously bubbling in the pit of my stomach, there is also still that unmistakable feeling of care for him rooted deep down within me. Even if it is deep, deep down.
"You're basically another Quintero, my mom and grandma definitely like you better than me and Sofia adores you."
This causes his lips to quirk into a small smile. "What can I say," he says smugly. "I'm awesome."
I roll my eyes playfully, a smile of my own playing on my lips. "I think I'm the only one in the family that doesn't like you."
"But that's because you love me," he teases, his smile forming into a full blown smirk, amusement flaring in his eyes.
Ain't that the truth.
My heart sinks as that thought pops into my head and my smile instantly drop. Ugh stupid intrusive thoughts.
As much as I try to deny it, deep down I am well aware that my feelings towards Lucas aren't purely platonic and that it's isn't just nostalgia that I'm feeling.
But the issue is that I don't want to feel that way. Those feelings can't come back. They can't. Not when Lucas is completely oblivious to what he did to me and most certainly not when he doesn't even think of me in that way whatsoever.
Lucas notices my sudden change of mood.
"What's wrong?" He asks, his eyebrows drawing together, a frown replacing his smirk. He tips my chin up with us thumb and index finger. "Belly?"
I'm about to brush him off when the pattering of footsteps break me out of thought and I quickly prise away from Lucas and our close proximity. My abuela strolls into the living room only a moment later, a bundle of blankets and pillows clutched in her arms.
She places the pile down on the sofa, staying silent as her eyes dart between Lucas and I before shutting them and wincing.
"I just ruined a moment didn't I?" She exclaims, smacking her palm against her forehead repeatedly just as Lucas and I shake our heads no very fast.
"Dammit!" She cries, turning around and stomping out of the living room. "Te equivocaste conmigo!"
Lucas and I chuckle simultaneously, shaking our heads at my grandmothers dramatics.
"Let me finish painting your nails," I tell him once the laughter dies down. I pop open the yellow nail varnish, grabbing his hand again and beginning to paint a little circle on his thumb nail.
"You know after this, are we going to have a pillow fight?"
I look up to see Lucas staring at me with a suggestive look on his face and I give him a dead look in response.
"Maybe, just so I can suffocate you with the pillow."
"Oo kinky," he winks and I roll my eyes in mock disgust.
"No, after this," I begin, blowing air onto his thumb to let the nail polish dry faster. "You're going to paint my nails and then we're going to wash off our face masks, you're going to get into your pjs and then we're going to watch the last few episodes of my k-drama and then you're going to cry with me because I've heard the ending is very sad."
"And then we're going to fall asleep cuddling?"
"No."
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AUTHORS NOTE:
I quite like this chapter a lot teehee :)