Emerald Eyes

Chapter 10.

    The rest of the week passed really fast. Ryan and his friends - actually, my friends now - hung around me a lot. Which, though I really liked because it made me feel included and wanted, it also meant that Lucas didn't have very many opportunities to talk to me. So we didn't talk much, which I was actually perfectly fine with since Lucas seemed determined to get me to divulge all of my secrets.

      I was actually really conflicted about that. On one hand, I was happy that someone actually cared to learn about me and actually wanted to get to know me. But then, on the other hand, I really didn't like sharing secrets. Not that anything going on in my life was really private, but it was really personal, and I was seriously not used to people getting personal. So I was glad that we hadn't spoken. I planned to keep it that way until I figured out exactly how I felt about the whole thing.

      That was the only reason I was avoiding Lucas this Friday. Certainly not because I'd seen him with that girl again. This time, they'd been outside class, talking. Lucas had been leaning down to speak in hushed tones against her ear. She'd looked ecstatic, with both hands on his chest, fingers massaging the muscle there.

      They'd seemed very... close. A little too close to not be in a relationship, or at least interested in each other. So why did Lucas want to know about me if he had her? And I was sure any guy would be happy to have her. She was very petite, a few inches shorter than me, and very slender. My wrist was probably the size of her forearm. She had bedroom hazel eyes that, surrounded by thick black eyeliner, smoldered at every guy that looked at her. She didn't dress provocatively, per se, but the way she dressed made it easy to infer that she was no prude.

     Which made me think about how stuck-up everyone thought I was. A stuck-up prude. Well, that girl was certainly no prude.

     Not that I cared, of course. Lucas was obviously not interested in me romantically, so why should I care who he flirted with? I didn't. So my avoiding Lucas had absolutely nothing to do with that girl. At all. I didn't care who Lucas talked to... or whispered to.... I didn't who massaged his chest. The chest that I'd felt up close and personal when he'd hugged me. It was such a very nice chest....

     I shook my head, dislodging these weird thoughts. I didn't care at all. Not one bit.

      After school, I went to see a movie with Ryan and everyone. It was the one we had been supposed to see last week, but I had missed it. So they'd given me another chance, although Caleb seemed determined to spoil every twist.

      He kept chattering as we all bought tickets, popcorn and candy and went into the dim theater. We sat down, and he started talking about how the hero's girlfriend died in the end, how it was a huge twist and nobody saw it coming. I munched on my Milk Duds and listened. Not that I cared, really. I didn't much care about the movie. I'd only come to apologize for ditching last week and because I'd wanted to talk to Jackie.

    Jackie seemed like the only person in this group that I really clicked with. Emma seemed to dislike me, although I wasn't sure why. Maybe because she thought I was stealing Jackie away from her? I didn't know, but I tried to be as nice as possible. And Jackie's boyfriend didn't seem to really care about me, but Jackie insisted in him coming with her whenever she came over to talk to me.

    The movie started, jerking me out of my thoughts. I popped another Milk Dud into my mouth just as Jackie whispered something to me. I leaned to my left, putting head near hers to hear what she was saying.

      "What's been going on with you?" I stared at her for a moment, trying to decide what to say. Be honest or tell her the easy answer? She mistook my hesitation for misunderstanding. She asked the question again, louder this time, and was shushed by the couple sitting in front of us. I shrugged apologetically at her and used that as an excuse to turn back to the movie. I really hated talking about my problems.