it could be worse ~ lumax

dinner?

"I don't want to be here anymore," El complains while sitting down in the cafeteria.

"Only three more classes," Mike chimes in, trying to offer positivity to his girlfriend. She huffs in response. "So, what did you guys do at the sleepover?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Max retorts with a playful smile.

"I met Lucas!" El beams. Max sighs, knowing El will give him a play-by-play of their night. "And then he brought out his baby sister, and Max went into full-on mom mode," El exclaims.

"Max? Mom mode? There is no way," Mike snickers.

"I did not go into mom mode. I just knew how to calm a crying baby," Max defends herself. She has always been good with kids, which seems to shock everyone.

"Whatever," El dismisses. "He practically fell in love with her. You should've seen how he looked at her!" Max couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Oh my god, and he never brought up the Facetime call!"

The Facetime call. Max had forgotten about that whole ordeal, but El was right. He never mentioned the interaction, even when they were alone. There was nothing awkward between them Saturday night; it was like nothing had happened. Now, she is curious if he even remembered.

The bell rang, leaving Max to sit with her thoughts throughout her study hall. After a long debate in her head, she decided to text Lucas.

You busy tonight? Max typed out and stared at the message. Is that too casual? She asked herself.

"Whatever," She mumbled and hit send.

Lucas was sitting in his AP US Government class when his phone buzzed.

"I thought I told everyone to silence their phones!" The teacher boomed. "For the last time, can everyone please shut off their phones!"

All the students take their phones out and turn on the do not disturb mode. Lucas couldn't help but notice the message from Max. He felt giddy the rest of the class, waiting to respond to her.

Relief washed over Max when she got a text back.

Nope. Want to get dinner or something?

Max's eyes practically bulge out of her head. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she was expecting when she texted him, but going out to dinner was not it.

If she told her dad she was going to study with El, then he would allow Max to go out on a school night. Another plus would be getting out of their "family" dinner; it was a no-brainer.

Sure. Where should we meet?

Do you like Benny's?

Max smiled at her phone. Benny's was one of her favorite restaurants. Not necessarily because of the food but because of the comfort the diner brought her. The restaurant is small and warm-toned, and the people are always friendly.

Sounds good to me. 6:30?

Yup, see you there

Both of them walked into their last class of the day radiating happiness.

"Why is she so happy?" Mike whispered to El as Max came to sit across from them.

"I don't know," El wondered. "What happened?" The brown-haired girl directed Max.

Max simply gave El her phone with the texts from Lucas pulled up while she went to go grab clay for her next ceramics project.

Classmates glared and shushed El when she squealed in excitement.

"You initiated that!" El whisper-screamed. She was astonished her best friend had it in her.

"Damn. Mayfield's getting ballsy," Mike commented, handing the redhead's phone back to her.

"First of all, I didn't expect him to ask to go out to dinner, but I feel like I owe him an explanation for the Facetime call," Max justified, as she began to roll out the clay into a slab. "And we're going as friends. It's not a date or anything."

El raises her eyebrows while listening to her best friend."But you wish it was a date?"

Max sighs, "Honestly, I don't think so. I just want to get to know him better."

"Isn't that what dates are for?" Mike questions.

"Shut up, Mike," Max deadpans.

"Well, what are you going to wear? Can I come over and help you?" El bubbles up again.

"We're going to Bennys, so I'm just going to wear leggings and a sweatshirt," El's eyes widen at her words. "El, I'm not about to dress up for this. Plus, I told my dad I was meeting you to study."

"Holy shit. You're lying to your dad for this guy," A grin engulfs El's whole face.

"I'm not lying for him; I'm lying for myself. I can't stand another fake family dinner," Max expresses.

"Valid. You need to call me and tell me all about this dinner when you get back," El demands.

"Trust me. I will," Max swears.

Finally, the bell rings, signaling the end of the school day. Max can already feel her nervousness spread through her body.

I know this chapter is a bit shorter than I normally publish, but I have so much homework and am writing instead which is not good. Hopefully, I'll release another chapter this coming week, but no promises.