i hate you | l.h

fourteen

violet's p.o.v

calum had brought over a girl to our lunch table today. lydia. i recognized her from a play production they had put on here once, she was talented.

she was one of those naturally beautiful girls who have no idea that she's beautiful. her smile seemed to be contagious and she was comfortable in her own skin.

i could see why calum liked her so much.

i zoned out at the rest of calum's introduction's, focusing on the pages of my sketchbook. i could literally feel will's eyes on my drawing of a blue hydrangea. he had asked me what type of flower it was and i had explained it to him and refrained from saying how the vibrant blue of this flower reminded me of his eyes.

god, why am i so creepy?

before i could say anything to will, luke's voice echoed from across the table. he was frowning, clearly upset about something but i looked around to see that i'm the only one that heard.

even if the entire table had heard, we all would have come to the same conclusion as to why he was upset without even needing confirmation. his mom.

luke and i had been friends long enough yet i had never had the courage to ask him about her, too afraid i would hit the wrong nerve.

i watched lydia say something to him as he slouched back in his chair muttering under his breath in frustration. her eyes scanned the table to see if anybody had caught luke's outburst only to meet my gaze.

i didn't say anything. her expression was painfully clear that she was in pain for luke and i looked away before it was awkward.

i've known luke for twice as long as lydia has. actually, all of us have known him and been friends for him twice as long as she has. yet, she had managed to calm him down about his mom, something none of us had mastered yet.

looking back up at the two, i saw her reach her hand up to his shoulder as he sat back, not that he needed any steadying. she just needed to touch him and that small gesture seemed to be just enough for luke.

his eyes watched her as she leaned against him, not knowing he was staring.

his eyes were like my pencil doing a rough draft, they were tracing over her eyes then the tops of her cheekbones and then the curves of her lips.

i recognized that look. it was the same way i looked at will.

-

lydia's pov

the yellow paper with big black letters scrawled across the top of it was staring at me. it was taunting me.

"FALL MUSICAL AUDITIONS FOR BEAUTY AND THE BEAST"

i used to love theatre.

oh, who am i kidding? i used to live, love, and breathe theatre. i took every theatre class they offered here, joined drama club, and stayed after school everyday to do something with theatre.

it stopped being my main priority when worrying about college and ACT scores came into play. i'd spent everyday studying my ass off, going to the library, staying after school, getting tutored, and writing papers. and along with the crazy whirlwind of maintaining my GPA and parenting pressure, i had forgotten about my love for the stage.

"oh my god! please tell me you're auditioning for the musical!" an overly excited female voice came from behind me. i turned around to find myself face to face with anna.

"um." was my only response as i internally exploded with panic.

"great! we can go over lines together!" she exclaimed, her blue eyes widening.