The next few days flew by faster than the two weeks ever did. After the kiss we shared in that hallway, Lucas asked me to officially be his girlfriend. In the blink of an eye, our relationship changed from best friends to that impossible and unachievable level: Boyfriend/Girlfriend. In all the years I've known him, I never knew he felt this way about me. Regardless, even after all the times I tried to deny my feelings, I fell for him. I fell for my best friend. But, two things were still eating me away on the inside:
1). Now that Lucas an I are together, is it going to be harder to hide my secret from him?
2). How was I able to hear Ginger's thoughts back in Mr. Seabourge's office?
I couldn't shake these questions. I was so paranoid that I even had a nightmare about my secret being known. "Adelina... Adelina!" My father's voice cut through my thoughts and snapped me back to reality. I looked away from the car window and looked at my father.
"Hey, don't fall asleep on your way to school, Shortstack. You have chem first period right?" Literally everyone has a nickname for me, it's actually hard to put a number on how many nicknames have been given to me. "Yeah, I have chemistry for my first period. Plus, I wasn't falling asleep, I was thinking." I stated to my father, who then gave me a knowing smirk before asking, "About what?" He has the wrong idea, I can already tell. "I was thinking about the upcoming Algebra project. So far, we were only told that we would present them once we finish it." I lied to him, and of course he didn't believe me. "No, you were probably thinking about Lucas." He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.
I laughed and pushed on his shoulder. I told my parents about Lucas and I being a couple, they went off the hook, I've never seen my parents so happy about me having a boyfriend. Typically, I'd expect them to be ready to kill Lucas, I guess I was wrong.
"Your mom and I like Lucas. We trust him, Adelina, but if he ever hurts you-" "Dad, he would never hurt me." I interrupted my father. See, that's the reaction I was expecting, only maybe about 20x more dramatic. "I know, I know. I just don't want your heart getting broken, that's all. I know you're tough and thick skinned, break ups still suck, Shortstack."
My father reached into the cup holder and pulled out some money, my lunch money. This is the usual routine since the school year started: My father drops me off at school with $20 and my mom picks me up after practice, then we all go home. I took the money and put it in the front pocket of my backpack.
"Hey, aren't you trying out for swimming today after school?" My father asked me. I've told my parents so many times, mostly just due to me being nervous as heck about it. "Yeah, but I'm really clueless when it comes to swimming. I mean it has some similarities to track and I've seen Lucas swim a lot, but I still don't understand it." I said, spilling out most of my thoughts to my dad because I was so nervous about trying out. To everyone else, it's just a normal sport: teams pinned against teams, like how track is. But to me, all sports seems like packs of wolves fighting each other, just depends on what your strength is. Pretty ironic, right?
"Shortstack, relax. You're an incredible athlete. You'll make the team. Do you have everything you need?" My dad looked around the school's parking lot for an empty space as I grabbed my duffle bag from the back seat. "I have my swimsuit, a towel, a hair brush, ponytail bands, goggles, a swim cap, and my flip flops." I listed everything as I dug through my duffle bag. My dad found a spot near the front and I saw Lucas waiting for me. I was about to get out when my dad stopped me, "Actually, you forgot something." My father wagged his finger at me. I did? I have everything I need for school and tryouts. What did I forget? My father pulled out a charm bracelet from his glove compartment. "You forgot this," he said as he put it on my wrist.
I admired all of the charms: there was a moon charm, a treble clef charm, a heart-shaped charm, a cherry charm, a bat charm, an orca charm, and a howling wolf charm. I smiled at my father. "It's a good luck charm," he started, "I know you were bitten by a dog when you were young, but the wolf alone is strong, independent, and fearless - like you Adelina. I know you're going to rock those tryouts, but I wish you luck, kiddo." I hugged my dad and thanked him for the bracelet.
I got out of the car and grabbed my bags, then waved bye to my dad as he drove out of the parking lot. Then, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist as I was greeted by a familiar, sweet voice, "Hey, babes." I turned around in his arms and faced Lucas as he pulled me in for a kiss. It lasted for a bit before we broke it and he let go of me. "I thought we agreed to never call me that." I said to him and smiled a bit as a blush crept it's way into my cheeks. "Now, I don't remember our contract saying it was off limits if we became boyfriend and girlfriend." Lucas stated coolly as he leaned down to kiss me again, I had no arguments. A group of guys walking by saw us, one of them whistled at us. We stopped kissing and looked at them as they high-fived each other. 'They're arrogant,' the voice in my head bluntly stated, and it wasn't entirely wrong.
"Oh, buzz off!" I said loudly to them. The guy put up his hands in the air, surrendering, before saying, "Woah there, baby. You don't need to get feisty now.~" I seriously hate guys like this, guys with no respect for anyone and 100% egotistical. 'Can I beat him into the ground?' I thought to myself. 'Hey, if you're going to do that, at least let me be in on the fun too!' The voice in my head demanded.
Lucas grabbed me by my waist and pulled me to his side. "You heard her, " Lucas leered at them, "Go away." The guy who was talking to us winked and finally walked away with his friends in tow. "I really really hate guys like that." I sighed as Lucas chuckled. "Bet you're glad I'm not like them, huh?" He asked me. I smiled up at him. "You bet!" I hugged Lucas and he hugged be back, picking me up off the ground and swinging me slightly. Then, the bell rang.
"Come on, don't wanna be late for class." I said as I hopped out of his arms and made a mad dash for first period. "Hey! No fair!" Lucas whined as he ran behind me.
Our relationship actually didn't change that much, we still joke around, pick on each other, and compete against each other a lot. The only difference is that we kiss, A LOT, and that I let him call me that stupid, but cute nickname. Our class was up ahead, I was still in the lead, and I can see Chase waiting for us by the door. "I win!" I yelled triumphantly as I stood with Chase by the door, waiting for Lucas. "No fair! You're once again disqualified for a false head-start!" Surprisingly, he wasn't out of breath.
The three of us walked in together and sat down in our usual spots as Lucas begins to complain about how I supposedly cheated. "Are you sure you didn't lose because you're a slow poke?" I smiled playfully at him. "Yes, I am 100% positive-" I cut him off my leaning over and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "-that I'll forgive your illegal move." He finished. I punched him in the shoulder, causing him to laugh. "So, when are you guys going on your first date?" Chase asked us, eager to know. I have a feeling this guy has wanted Lucas and I to date since Day 1 of us being friends. "Now wouldn't you like to know?" Lucas teased and punched him in the shoulder. "I do!! That's why I'm asking!" Chase cried as me and Lucas rolled our eyes.
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The bell rang and chemistry was over, We packed up our stuff and began to make our way to our next periods. "Are you ready for your tryouts today, Liner?" Chase had asked me. My nerves sparked when he asked me that, of course I'm not ready! "God, don't remind me, Chase. I'm already on edge about it." I said as I held onto my backpack strap tighter. Every time I go to see Lucas swim in his swim meets, he looks like he's enjoying everything about it: the pressure, the competition, the yelling and screaming, and the timer. In Track, I could run away from all of that for a short while and actually be free from that pressure. Great, I'm freaking myself out! It suddenly got cold...
"Hey, don't worry. You'll do great." Lucas said as he took my hand into his. His thumb brushed past my charm bracelet and he gave me a questioning look. "My dad gave it to me this morning. He said that it's a good luck charm." I smiled up at him as he smiled down at me.
"Y'all are cute and all, but I'm really starting to feel like a third wheel over here." Chase complained as he put his hands behind his head. Lucas and I laughed as we continued to make our way to our next classes. Being with Lucas, joking around with Chase, this was haven for me. We were almost to Chase's next class when I ran into someone, dropping all of my things and falling onto my butt. Lucas helped me up as Chase grabbed the things I dropped.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't see-" You have got to be kidding me. The person I bumped into was Ginger! Then, a thought popped into my head: 'The 15 days are up' I stood there stunned and the guys were shocked as well. 'Dang, even I forgot about this egg white.' The voice in my head stated. Ginger glared at me with her glowing red eyes. "How about you open your eyes, Mutt! Stop walking around like the clutz you are and actually pay attention to where you're going!" Ginger snapped at me. Lucas and Chase put themselves between me and her.
"Hey, back off, Ginger!" Chase said to her. "This doesn't concern you, sweetie, so get out of my way and let the purple eyed freak fight her own battles." Ginger demanded. "Oh, you're one to talk. You're eyes are red like vampire's. Hell, even your skin matches a vampire's. The only mutt here is you, you attention seeking drama queen." Lucas said threateningly to her face. I'm not sure why, but this side of Lucas is really hot. 'What did you just say?!' The voice in my mind yelled. 'Nothing!!' was my reply. Ginger flared her nostrils and walked away. Lucas placed his hand on my shoulder and Chase still stood in front of me defensively.
Bye bye, haven. Hello, Hell.