Complicated People, Complicated Love

Almost

Maya

       The three of us help Lucas into his house. He's limping and his eye is almost swollen shut. "Thanks guys," he says as we lower him onto the couch.

      "Do you need one of us to stay tonight?" Riley offers, he's not in much of a shape to care for himself.

       "No, I'll be fine, thank you though," I see Lucas lower his arms and grimace. "You guys can go, honestly, I'm good." Riley and Farkle move to go. I stay back.

       "Um, you said I used to stay here all the time right?" I ask Lucas quietly. He nods. "Can I maybe stay tonight? Archie's at home and you need help," I say, trying to make my point. I look over to Riley and Farkle who are smiling at each other. They move to the door and close it behind them.

       "Of course you can stay," Lucas says. I give him a smile. I go towards the kitchen and into the freezer. I grab two bags of ice and go back to Lucas. I hesitantly sit on the couch next to him.

       "Here," I say handing him one of the bags.

        "Thank you," he takes it and puts it on his eye. The other bag is for his knuckles. Without thinking about it, I take his hand and place it on my leg, putting the bag on ice on it. His hand tenses as I place it on my thigh.

       After maybe ten minutes of silence, Lucas takes the bag off of his eye. "It looks better!" I say happily. He smiles at my enthusiasm.

       "I think I need to sleep," he says, making a move to get up. I stand up quickly and help him up. I put his arm over my shoulders and walk us slowly to the stairs. It's hard to get him to the top but we do it, and he doesn't complain about the obvious pain he's in. "My parents room is right there, I'll sleep there tonight," he says, pointing to a door on the left.

        "Okay," I say quietly. I take him to the room. It's huge! It has a skylight and the bed looks like it's made of clouds. I contain my awe and lower him to the bed. He lays back and I take off his shoes. I pull the blanket over him and he smiles at me. "What?" I ask, smiling back.

        "Nothing, it's just I used to do this to you. Tables have turned," he says, closing his eyes. I back out of the room and close the door behind me. I walk to Lucas's room and smile, I knew where it was. I turn on the light switch and as soon as I see the room I get another memory, I'm laying in the bed. Lucas is shaking my foot to wake me up. He tells me he made bacon and kisses my neck. I pull his head down to mine and we're kissing, a lot. Most importantly, I'm happy.

        I shake my head and the memory disappears. I slowly make my way over to his bed and sit down. I spot a small stuffed hippo on the pillow. "Cornelius," I whisper.

                                 . . .

       I wake up and the sun is already out. I roll out of bed and see I'm still wearing clothes. That's strange. I know I'm not home, but at the same time, waking up on Lucas's bed felt so normal to me. I open the door and my socks almost slip on the hardwood floor. I laugh a little at my stumble and make my way downstairs. Lucas is on the couch eating cereal and watching... Wizards of Waverly Place? Oh my god.

        "I love this show!" I exclaim. Then I remember my age and wish I could take the comment back. He jumps a little, not knowing I was awake and then laughs.

        "I know, me too," he picks up a box of cereal next to him and an extra bowl. I sit down next to him and make myself some cereal. "How'd you sleep?" He asks, turning down the volume on the tv.

        "Really good actually, I think I'm used to sleeping in your bed," he smiles and eats some more cheerios. "You look better," I say. His eye isn't swollen anymore, just a little blue.

     "Thanks, I feel a lot better."

         We watch the show in silence until we finish our cereal. Lucas takes the bowls to the kitchen and washes them, he limps a little but he seems to be fine. I want to ask him to do something for me, but I'm nervous. I don't know why, but I am.

        Lucas sits back down next to me and laughs at something the tv said. I'm too distracted to hear though, I'm staring at his beautiful face, trying to build he courage to ask. He senses me looking at him and looks back at me. "You okay?" He asks.

       "I want to try something, will you do it for me?" I ask.

        "Anything," he says, turning his body more towards me.

         "Kiss me."