Good Luck Charm (Completed)

Stores and Whores

*6 years earlier*

"I don't understand why we can't go to the movies this Friday." A young Vincent crossed his arms. Lucas sat on Vinny's porch, smiling at his phone, and not paying attention to what his friend was saying.

"I told you. Sydney wants to go to the mall. I can't say no to my girl." Lucas replied, leaning against the door frame. Lucas had been a chubby child, but in middle school he had started doing all different kinds of sports and had lost a ton of weight. Then he became captain of the middle school soccer team, got popular, and scored a girlfriend. Obviously with them being so young it wasn't a very real relationship, but it still bothered Vinny. "You understand, don't you?" He gave puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." Vinny relented.

"I'll make it up to you. I promise." Lucas thought for a moment, "How about you come with us?" Vincent couldn't imagine a way to spend his Saturday that could possibly be worse, but he knew he didn't want Lucas and Sydney alone together, "Syd's is really fun." Lucas offered, and Vinny wanted to mutter 'only for you' but his held tongue; she was not fun, she was a self absorbed jerk. "Please. I'll feel awful if you're stuck home while I'm out having fun."

       "Fine." Vinny relented.

       "Thank you!" Lucas pulled him into a quick hug, then darted off back next door.

The next day Vinny arrived at the mall to see Lucas' arm already around Sydney. Vinny felt a strange feeling of tightness in his chest he'd never felt before... It wasn't anger or sadness, but it wasn't neither. He didn't like how he felt, and he liked the way Sydney was looking at him even less.

"Oh. You came." She shot Vinny a thin mouthed fake smile. Lucas looked between the two of them with a goofy grin.

"This is going to be so much fun. My two favorite people, together." Lucas remarked. Sydney rolled her eyes, checking her nails.

"Let's go in Forever 21." She said, immediately dragging Lucas behind her. Vinny reluctantly followed the pair. Lucas sat on a bench while Sydney tried on outfit after outfit, and asked for his approval. Usually boyfriends hated this stuff, but Lucas was so entranced with her, his smile never broke once. Vinny sat on his phone, trying to slide under the radar as much as possible. He was a third wheel, sitting directly next to his best friend.

"Who are you texting?" Lucas asked, trying to look over Vinny's shoulder, after Sydney ducked back into the fitting room.

"Nobody." Vincent insisted, blocking his phone.

"If it's nobody, then why won't you let me see it?" Lucas asked. In truth Vincent was texting his new friend Hailey, and though he didn't like her in a romantic way, he still felt weird about Lucas knowing of her existence. "It's fine. I don't need to know." Lucas let go suspiciously fast, so Vinny slowly brought his phone back to check his messages. In a flash, Lucas grabbed the phone straight from Vinny's hand, and began eagerly going through the smaller boys messages. Lucas laughed in triumph, and held the phone out of Vinny's reach.

"No!" Vinny called trying to get back his phone.

"I just want to see who it is!" Lucas explained, but his face fell when he saw the name at the top. "Who's Hailey?" His tone suddenly turned somber.

"She's just a friend from school." Vincent replied. Lucas smirked, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"A girlfriend?"

"No. I don't like her like that." Vinny insisted.

"You're not going to replace me are you?" Lucas asked after a moment. Vinny was livid at Lucas' jealousy, feeling the boy had just gone and replaced him, and now was saying he wasn't even allowed to make new friends.

"What like how you replaced me with Sydney?"

"That is not the same." Lucas' tone turned serious. "Besides I wouldn't need Sydney if you could like me how I like you." He mumbled just quiet enough that Vincent could barely hear.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The smaller boy asked.

"Nothing. Go back to texting Hailey."

"How do you like me?" Vinny pressed.

"Just leave it." Lucas pleaded. Vincent opened his mouth to say something else, but Sydney came out carrying her bags, and the odd group moved over to pay.

"Let's go look at the boys stuff for you, Luca" Sydney insisted, leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder. They walked over to the Men's clothes, Vinny trailing behind. He scoffed at the trendy nature of clothing, knowing there wasn't a single thing in that section that Lucas would be caught dead wearing. Sydney picked out a flat-brimmed hat, and placed it on Lucas' head. Vincent thought he looked like a trucker, but kept his mouth shut.

"Doesn't he look cute, V?" She sneered, leaving her hand on the small of Lucas' neck.

"He hates hats. Lucas, tell her you hate hats." Vinny stated, remembering how anxious wearing anything that pressed against his head made Lucas feel, going so far as to choose Soccer over Football to avoid helmets.

"I love it." Lucas stated, eyes not leaving Vincent, as if daring him to disagree, but Vinny simply hung his head in defeat. If Lucas wanted to suffer through his hat wearing phobia, that was fine by Vincent.

Back in the mall Lucas wrapped his arm around Sydney where he was sure Vinny could see. Vincent clenched his fists at the payback mechanism. When we reached the food court Sydney surprised Lucas by pulling him into a deep kiss, he yelped, but didn't pull away. After that Sydney smirked at Vincent, and walked off to get her food. Vinny wanted to kill her. She didn't have any right to touch him like that. She didn't deserve his affection.

'That should be you.' Popped into Vinny's head, and he let go of his anger sheepishly. Vincent felt he was a jealous freak for not being happy for his friend, and he had no right to ruin the experience of having a first girlfriend for Lucas like that. At the next store Vinny snuck out while they were browsing and called his mom to pick him up. Vincent refused to talk to Lucas for a while after that trip.