Paper Hearts

16

Rachael didn't talk to me the next day, either. Whether she was walking to a class or I caught sight of her in the cafeteria, she never met my eye—and if she did, she would look away instantly, pretending to be completely oblivious to my existence. It was a tiring game, and eventually, I simply gave up. If she was going to be that way, I would let her. She couldn't stop me from preparing for the wedding with Luke, no matter how much she tried to guilt trip me.

The rumors, however, had gotten slightly out of hand. I couldn't walk anywhere without whispers springing up all around me, and although Luke wasn't in any of my classes, I heard his name everywhere I went. It was an exhausting process; it was beginning to get to the point where school was just another chore, something I had to get through in order to get to my next destination. So I would grit my teeth and bear through it.

Luke, however, was not so calm. He could tell that everything going on was bothering me, and for some reason, that just seemed to bother him. There wasn't a day that went by without him cussing someone out, or kicking a nearby object.

"You have anger issues, Lucas," Nolan Johnson said pointedly one afternoon, as I tried desperately to calm him down. "Perhaps you should try coming to my group therapy sessions."

"Not the time, Nolan," I called over my shoulder, flipping the recently-upturned chair back to its former state as Luke pinched his eyes shut and turned away from it.

"Look, this is really getting out of hand," I breathed. "You just need to calm down, okay? This is high school; things like this happen. Once the wedding comes, and we deal with it for a week, we can go back to normal. We're going to go back to normal. I'll work things out with Rachael, and you—you'll go back to picking up strangers in the parking lot. But, for right now, we just have to deal with it. Understood?"

He nodded, slightly breathless, and Nolan arched a brow.

"I didn't know you picked up strangers in parking lots."

"Nolan," Luke growled in warning, and he backed off, albeit smiling.

"All bark, no bite." he murmured, and I laughed in spite of myself. Luke, however, stalked back over to his seat and sat down with a huff.

"Are we done here, Victoria?"

"Yes," I said, hating myself for sounding so timid. "You want to—"

"I'm not in the mood for ice cream." he said shortly. "I'm going to the tattoo parlor to see if Sherry has my latest design ready. I guess I'll see you two later."

"I want to come." Nolan said, and I did, too, but I didn't say anything.

"Have fun," I told them, beginning to turn away. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Victoria would like to come, too." Nolan declared, and at the sound of my name, I turned. "And you're being horribly rude for not even offering to invite her."

Luke shot Nolan a pointed look, but threw up his hands.

"Would you like to come?" he asked, his voice exasperated, and I smiled at Nolan, who returned the gesture knowingly.

"Yes, please."

________

The tattoo parlor smelled of sharp anesthetic and pungent ink. All around us, people were lying on tables—legs, backs, arms exposed. Several artists worked at their tables with a certain determination about them—heads down, hardly speaking, their hands moving dutifully from one place to the next.

Others, however, laughed and talked with their clients, telling funny stories and jokes constantly. It made me nervous—one slip-up could cause the entire tattoo to be ruined—but by the look Nolan gave me when I opened my mouth to speak, I was far from a professional, and had no right to criticize the artists.

Luke led us straight to a small table in the back, where a girl who looked just a bit older than us stood. She had short, dark hair with violet streaks in it—the kind of haircut you wish you could pull off but know you can't. Her nose was pierced, as were her earlobes, and she wore a cropped, red shirt that showed off her bellybutton ring. She looked cool, to say the least—the kind of person you want to be friends with but are too intimidated to talk to anyways.

That's pretty much where I was at that point. Luke, however, had already embraced her with a smile. He turned to us as he looped an arm around her shoulders.

"Guys, this is Sherry. Sherry, meet Victoria. And you've already met Nolan."

"Yeah. Hi." she said, sounding equally friendly. And then she turned to Luke, her face all-business. "How'd the Venn diagram work out?"

"I like it." Luke said, "But I'm not quite sure about it. I don't think it's the one."

"Of course it's not." Sherry sighed, blowing out a breath. "We've been trying to find 'the one' for years."

"Hey, don't give up on me now; you've come this far." he joked, sitting on the table and holding out his arm wrist-up. "Surprise me."

"You got it, boss."

And with that, they launched into conversation. I took a seat and watched as Sherry drew several small designs on a sheet of opaque paper, occasionally showing them to Luke. He would nod or shake his head accordingly, and she would go back to drawing, never once allowing a lull in the conversation.

By the time Luke had decided on a design, I felt oddly jealous, but I couldn't quite figure out why.

Nolan, however, looked bored.

"He does this every week." he said to me, not bothering to lower his voice. "It's getting pretty annoying."

"Then you shouldn't have come," Luke called to him, and the boy stuck out his tongue.

"I've got nothing else to do. Mom and Dad think hanging out with other people outside of support group is good for me. I think they just like getting away from me and my honesty."

"It does get old pretty quickly," Luke said, arching a brow.

"It's not like I can help it."

"Yes, you can," Sherry chimed in, and Nolan let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Don't act like you know everything; everyone knows you only put up with him because you're hopelessly in love with him."

Sherry just laughed this comment off, as did Luke, but it made me stiffen. My eyes darted between the two, and I felt my heart race, unsure of what to think.

Don't think anything, I chastised myself, It's none of your business.

Nolan looked satisfied with himself, crossing his arms across his chest and glancing at me. I looked away.

"Why do you look embarrassed?"

"I don't." I replied heatedly, my voice snappy.

"Jeez. Just a question. No need to chop my head off."

"I wasn't chopping your—"

"Yes, you were. Don't deny the truth; it'll only hurt you later." he replied quickly, and I just looked at him. After a while, he blew out a breath and said,

"I apologize if I have caused you any emotional trauma upon informing you that you spoke to me in a standoffish tone."

"Is that what they make you recite in support group or something?"

At this, he smiled, a slight laugh escaping his lips.

"Yeah," he said, "Something like that."

And we went back to watching Luke and Sherry, the silence between us falling still among the buzz of the needles and the constant chatter.