Time After Time

Part 6

"Hey." I reply back with a monotone.

"My cousin's throwing a huge party this weekend, ya know, 'cause he starts college next week. Wanna come?" Jacob's dumb voice rolls out his words.

"Naw, I don't think so." Just keep the conversation as quick and dull as possible, Corey.

"Come on, man!" He shoots his voice, failing to convince me. "Alicia's gonna be there." The way he says this is as though he thinks this is my deal breaker, as though I actually want to deal with that bitch again.

"No, I'm not going." I say firmly, wanting to just hang up the phone.

"Whoa, Corey, I'm just trying to help you score!" Jacob laughs and it's the same laugh he throws at our classmates who ride their bikes home.

"I don't want to score with another rich, spoiled, my-daddy-will-sue-you, bitch again, okay?" I end the sentence as I feel my hands tighten.

"Whatever, fuck you." I hear vaguely as I slam the phone down.

I'm so fucking done with that shit.

I switch off the light and collapse to my bed, letting my anger melt away as Lux fills up my dreams.

•

Lux's P.O.V.

My alarm clock blares through my room and I slam down the snooze button. I groan and roll over, not quite adjusted to getting up early yet. Closing my eyes and rolling over, I try to convince my brain to go back to sleep. Slowly, a thought passes through my mind, a reminder that I never thought I'd ever have. My date with Corey is tonight. I quickly raise up and rush to the bathroom, hopping into the shower. My heart races as I run through the moments of yesterday, reliving them in my head as though sleep had given me amnesia and I've just regained my memories. Once I finish, I go to my closet and pick out an outfit. I might as well wear the same outfit to school that I'll wear on my date, I don't want to seem too eager, even though I totally am. I flip through each item in my closet and come to a white crop top and pair it with a dark but vibrant purple high waisted skirt. To pull it together, I add my denim jacket and white adidas. After I finish blow drying my hair out into waves, I apply my light makeup and feel ready to go. I take one last glance into the mirror and practice how I'll react when I see him at school. Oh, hi Corey. I mimic a blush and giggle. Oh, hey. I say, aloof, and quickly look away. God, Lux, what are you doing? I scrunch my face and take a deep breath. No matter how much you practice, you know you'll fuck it up. I shake my head and go downstairs. My mom is still asleep, she usually stays in bed until noon. I decide to go to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and coffee. When I turn on my car, Space Age Love Song plays and I squeal with excitement. Disbelief that I will always tie this song with the moment I was in Corey's car for the first time, disbelief that he even spoke to me, let alone likes me, disbelief that I will be going out tonight with the guy I've been crushing on for 3 years. At this point, I've already accepted the fact that I'm in the Twilight Zone.

•

"So what are you gonna wear tonight?" Lucy asks while we're at our lockers.

"This." I reply, putting my Calculus book away.

"Cute!" She replies, scanning my outfit. "But lose the jacket." Lucy tugs one sleeve down, revealing my shoulder.

"Really? I don't know..."

"Yes, really! See, you won't seem desperate because you wore the same outfit to school. But you'll have made a slight change that's noticeable," She raises her eyebrows and smacks her pink gum. "and totally more sexy!"
We both look over and notice Corey walking down the hall with Alicia, him slightly more ahead of her as she tries to keep up. "What the hell?" Lucy says as I quickly look away, hiding my face behind her locker door. We both stay quiet as they stop close behind us on the opposite side of the hall.

"Look, I don't want to, okay?" I hear Corey say, sounding upset.

"Why?" Alicia whines, making me feel like I'm about to vomit. "You used to love to." She says seductively and I feel Lucy's hand on my shoulder, making me think that my thoughts were shown in my expression.

"Yeah, well that was back when I was a complete idiot. Plus, I found someone I actually like spending my time with." Corey bites back at her and my heart races.

"What? Who?" She angrily demands and I'm praying he's talking about me.

Corey doesn't say anything for a while and I wonder if they left. "It doesn't matter, alright? Keep your nose out of my business from now on, you and the rest of your fuck ass clique." I hear him walk away and I close the locker door just as the is bell ringing.

I look over at Lucy in awe. "Holy shit."