Coincidences

Chapter 7: Dresscoded

thats the tank top she was wearing which is why it was a big deal, if youve been to public school you know. anyways i couldnt say bralette bc thats too small i just meant whatever tf this woman's wearing

The ride to her house was quiet and it was late when Ella unlocked the door and got in. Mike was sitting on the couch watching "Criminal Minds" and her parents were probably sleeping.

"Where were you?" Mike asked, in a nonchalant way, focused on the TV.

"Just needed to clear my head for a bit." She said. She didn't feel the need to hide it for herself but she wasn't sure if Luke would want her older brother knowing they went out, or whatever.

But a possessive part of her did want to keep the outing all to herself, so she didn't even tell Sam.

On Tuesday, Mike had an early morning practice and if Ella wanted a ride with him she had to be ready by seven.

She brushed her teeth and her hair while she has half asleep then picked out an outfit; blue jeans, a lacey black tank top and a white v-neck shirt on top.

They got to school early so Ella went to her locker to waste some time. She sat down on the ground, leaning back on her locker and pulled out her phone to reply to a text from Thomas.

Thomas used to attend Fincher before his parents moved to Arizona at the end of the previous year. He had a lot of friends and it was really sad to see him go to finish his senior year somewhere else. They hadn't really talked all summer because he was busy and she had been depressed because of the breakup.

He was telling her about how there was a lot of cute guys in his class and he was going to facetime her that night and tell her all about the new people he'd met. At 7:30 Thomas had to go so she turned her phone on silent  and unlocked her locker.

She was bending down to get a book from the bottom when she felt someone's presence above her. She straightened up, turning around too quick, and the next thing she knew she could feel hot liquid spilling down her chest.

"SHIT!" She faintly heard and looked up to see Luke right in front of her holding two Starbucks cups, both of which had spilled onto her when she turned and bumped into him. She ripped her v-neck off and tried to wipe at the hot liquid. She was in some sort of shock because she couldn't feel anything, but Luke was quick to drag her to the nearest washroom. He filled his hands with cold water and started splashing it over her chest until she swatted his hands away.

"Stop! what the hell are you doing?" She cried. Then she noticed his hands were trembling and he had been throwing the water at her as if his life depended on it. He had a desperate, dazed look in his eyes. She grabbed his hands firmly to stop his shaking and calm him down.

"Luke! Look at me, I'm okay, it's fine." She held his hands tight until he finally looked into her eyes and his hands slowly stopped shaking. He tightened his hands over hers for a minute before letting go completely and putting a safe distance between them.

Then he let out a laugh, "I can't believe I came into the girls washroom for you, Bennett."

What the hell? Two seconds ago he was in a different world and now he was dropping jokes? It was like he had shown Ella a vulnerable side of him that he hadn't wanted her to see.

"What just happened?" She said.

"Well I know you come with Mike to school so I bought you a cup of coffee on my way to practice, but I took you by surprise so y-"

"No, I mean what happened right now." She said in a firm voice, cutting him off.

He subtly clenched his jaw. "Nothing happened. I was just trying to help you."

"That wasn't nothing, Luke."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Just say thanks for the coffee next time without overthinking everything. " He pushed past her and left the washroom.

Only then did she feel the stinging burn of the hot coffee on her chest.

When she collected herself she dried her tank top under the hand dryer. She tried washing and drying the white top but it was a lost cause. She got her books and went to chemistry a few minutes after the bell rang. She was embarrassed about what she was wearing but she was just glad that whole fiasco with Luke had happened before anyone was at school.  What a dick.

Jacob wolf whistled at Ella as he saw her skimpy top and Ella held her books to her boobs and gave him a dirty look. Calum averted his gaze as if he hadn't seen a lot more. Luke looked right past her.

She frowned and went to her seat.

"You little slut! Why didn't you tell me you were gonna look like a snack today?" Sam whisper-yelled at her. "Now I'm gonna look like shit walking next to you all day."

"I'm not wearing this on purpose I'll tell you what happened later." Ella said. The start to the morning had put her in a foul mood.

After chemistry she went to English only to be stopped at the front of the class on her way to her seat.

"Ms. Bennett what do you think you're wearing in my classroom? This is a place of education, not a place to show off your body. It is a distraction to the people around you and I'm insulted that you think it is okay to wear this at school." Mr. Revi said in a loud, authoritative voice. Everyone who had been filing in had heard him and was now looking at her. It was embarrassing.

That was the last straw to the day.

"Insulted? You're insulted? That it's 70 degrees out and I would rather show some skin than have a heat stroke? The only person here that is distracted by my shoulders is you, Sir, so please kindly keep your eyes off my underage body." She said sweetly.

He had slowly turned red throughout her speech.

"Get out of the classroom, Ms. Bennett. I can assure you that the principal will be hearing about his disrespectful behaviour."

"Gladly." She said with a big smile on her face as she left. It slid off her face when she was outside and she realized how much of an idiot she was. She wasn't even wearing that top on purpose.

She let out a sigh and headed to her locker to text Sam if she had any spare clothes she could wear for the rest of the day.

She heard footsteps behind her and soon Luke was walking alongside her.

"Damn El! That was the most bad ass thing I've seen all week! Did you see his face?"

"Go away."

He sighed. "I got you into this mess. Let me get you out."

He gently grabbed her wrist and led her in the opposite direction, towards the gym. He stopped them where the football team had their lockers and started opening one.

"What are you doing?" She said, annoyed even though she let him bring her here.

"I keep spare clothes in my bag and my locker. Bringing my bag with me to a "bathroom break" would've been too suspicious, wouldn't wanna look like a drug dealer at a new school." He winked at her.

"Why do you keep spare clothes with you?" She asked, watching him take a plain white t-shirt off the hook of his locker.

His back stiffened for a second before he shrugged and said, "No reason. Here." He handed her the t-shirt. "And sorry for being an ass this morning."

She put the shirt over her head and tied a knot at the back to keep it from falling down to her knees.

"Thanks Luke." She said genuinely and smiled at him. She walked away and when she was turning right into the library, she caught a glimpse of him still looking at her, his locker still open.

Huh. Maybe he wasn't such a dick after all.