Chloe's P.O.V
Hailee and I went back to our dorm feeling satisfied with our study group, both us feeling like we would ace our first exam. Kason goofed off some of the time, but when Kason wanted to be, he could actually be pretty smart. It was a little surprising how much he knew for someone who claimed to have never studied in his life. Luke on the other hand, was extremely smart. He was probably smarter than me and just as smart as Hailee.
In our dorm I wanted to tell Hailee about Luke earlier. I wanted to tell her that he wanted to be friends with me again, but I was nervous about her reaction. I played with my hands nervously as I pondered on whether or not to tell her, and then decided I wanted to tell her because it excited me. She–of all people–knew what our friendship meant all those years ago, and I figured she would be happy for me. "You wouldn't believe what happened today," I said as I got out a cold water from the fridge and went and sat down on the couch while Hailee was watching her favorite tv show.
Hailee quickly turned her head to face me, her tight dark curls bouncing from the movement. "What? Is it about Kason?" she asked with a smile creeping on her face. "Because if it's about Kason I'm going to say I told you so."
I scrunched my eyebrows, already feeling frustrated. "No, not everything's about him," I sighed, rolling my eyes. It's okay, Chloe. You don't need to get frustrated over everything. Just cool down and speak. There ya go. I cleared my throat. "It's actually about Luke."
"Luke?" she asked almost with urgency. She sat up a little straighter and her blue eyes widened. "What about him?" she asked and paused the tv.
I fidgeted my hands. "It's actually kinda weird," I laughed nervously.
"Weird in what way?" she asked then she looked at me as if I was ridiculous. "Please don't tell me that you like him. I thought we discussed this," she dipped her head, pushing up her glasses and folded her arms.
I could feel heat rise in my cheeks. "No, it's not like that. I don't like him like that. It's just that we got to talking today and he asked me if I wanted to be friends with him again."
"What?" Hailee's face scrunched up, wrinkling her thin nose. "He asked you if you wanted to be friends with him again?" Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Well yeah, but it wasn't just one-sided," I tried to explain, feeling more ridiculous as I continued. "He said that's what he wanted but asked if that was what I wanted." Even saying it out loud didn't sound believable. It sounded like a crazy girl who just wanted to get closer to Luke and would do anything in order to make seem like it happened.
"Okay…" Her eyes gave it all away. She didn't believe me.
"You don't believe me, do you?" I asked quickly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
"It's not that, it's just…weird," she shrugged. Her eyes grew wider. "What did you say back?"
"I said that I wanted to be friends with him again," I admitted, looking down at my lap.
"Do you really?" she asked with sass like it also wasn't believable that I wanted to be friends with Luke again–which was only partly true.
"I do, I promise," I said and sighed. "It's just crazy that it happened randomly like that. He even said that he thought I hated him."
"Well you should have hated him for saying what he did in sixth grade," Hailee nodded. "I thought after that you wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore."
I cringed at the thought. Maybe he was different now–maybe. It hurt to think about what he said about me back then. To other people it might not have seemed like a big deal, but it mattered to me, especially since I was insecure about it. Perhaps I should listen to Hailee. She was right. Except there was still a part of me that still wanted to be friends with him and give him that second chance. Everybody deserved a second chance, right?
Well screw it. I'm going to be friends with him again gosh darn it. It was time to listen to my heart versus my brain. I've used my brain my entire life to make decisions, I might as well let my heart get what it wants for once.
I went to bed that night feeling giddy about my newly found friendship with Luke. I couldn't sleep, and I wanted to text him, but I had no clue as to what I would say. I shifted under my pink covers and stared at my photo of Miss Kitty. I missed her dearly and wondered how she was at home without me.
I fell asleep and it was the first night in years since I last dreamed about Luke Armstrong.