𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 ; lucas zumann

[9]REAL LIFE

LORIE EXITED THE PHOTOGRAPHY seminar with a lot more than photography on her mind. She didn't know why the fact that Amybeth was coming to Yale for a couple of days was so troubling, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. The event had been put off because Amybeth's flight was delayed, and she was probably arriving in Connecticut that very second. Although, all through class Lorie had thought the same thought, meaning if she was right Amybeth would've arrived in Connecticut a seventy times.

The girl yawned as she walked down the hall, wondering what she would do for lunch. Alright, that was a lie. She was wondering how close Lucas and Amybeth were. God! Why couldn't she just stop thinking about it? It was only for a couple of nights, and Amybeth had been nice over social media.

Come to think of it, it would probably be even harder for Lorie if Amybeth was super nice. Then she'd feel guilty for doubting her, and guilt made Lorie Jacobs so incredibly strange things. Like when she was six, she spilled her tea on her mother's new Manolos, and the girl hid them in a drawer underneath the oven. Watching her mother search for the shoes for three hours made Lorie feel even guiltier, and she went off and bought her mother a fancy puppet with all of her savings, as if that would make up for the ruin of some $961 shoes. Then she'd tried to distract the woman by putting on a huge puppet show, while her face started to sweat nervously. Half way through the show she'd broken down in tears and run up to her room, leaving her mother dumbfounded. Long story short, the Manolos remain underneath the oven to this day, but after the puppet show Rose gave up her search.

It wasn't long before Lorie's mind wandered back to Amybeth, but the girl didn't have to remain a figment of Lorie's imagination.

"Lorie!" Lucas' slightly raspy voice called out behind her.

The blonde turned round, where she saw the beautiful Amybeth McNulty and the even more beautiful Lucas Jade Zumann. Not that he was beautiful, or anything.

"Hey," Lorie smiled, surveying the smaller girl.

Amybeth had amazing hair, shiny auburn locks that reached just above her shoulders. Her blue eyes were adorned with a lilac eyeshadow, which looked really nice and a subtle winged eyeliner. Her lips had remained untouched, or at least only by some clear lip balm. The girl's outfit was pretty nice too, with a short-sleeved, cropped and furry purple and pink stripy top. On the bottom half, she wore a pair of wide legged flooded jeans, which she paired with some yellow converse.

"Hello, Lorie, is it?" Amybeth beamed. "Lucas told me all about you. You're so pretty!"

"He did?" Lorie murmured, looking over at a slightly pink Lucas.

"I actually have a class to get to," Lucas blurted out. "Lorie, if you're free maybe you could take Amy around?"

"Of course!" Lorie said. "It would be great to get to know you, and you can meet my roommate Kaya."

"Cool!" The redhead said. "Bye Lucas!"

"Bye," Lucas said. "And bye Lorie."

"Goodbye," Lorie said softly, as she noticed the same sort of intensity in Lucas' eyes.

***

"I love your room!" Amybeth squealed, observing all the drawings and posters stuck up on the walls.

Lorie responded with a grin, before plonking down on the bed.

"So, what's the deal with you and Lucas?" Amybeth asked, sitting beside her.

"Oh, don't worry, we're just friends," Lorie told her. "We barely know each other."

"Yeah right," the other girl laughed. "I saw the way he looks at you, he's never really looked at a girl like that before."

"You don't seem mad," Lorie stated, changing the subject. "I thought you were going on a date."

"Is that what he told you?" Amybeth giggled. "No, no of course not. We're just really good friends."

Trying to hide her relief, Lorie pinched her mouth into a small smile. "He didn't actually say that, I just wondered."

"A lot of people ask, but Lucas is like my brother," the girl replied, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "But, back to you. He totally likes you!"

"Fuck it. I'm not the kind of girl who picks petals off flowers to tell if someone likes me. If he doesn't that's fine," the blonde said firmly, crossing her arms. "Besides, he barely knows me! He doesn't even know what I'm majoring in, and I don't know what he's majoring in!"

"That doesn't mean anything," Amybeth told her. "And, for the record, Lucas is majoring in Environmental Studies, and I only found out today."

"Environmental Studies?" Lorie asked, feeling a sharp bit of breath escape from her lips. "He cares about the environment."

"Yeah, he really does," Amybeth said in response to Lorie's not-so-question.

"That's... admirable," Lorie said.

"Ha!" Amybeth giggled. "You could say that. I guess."

The door opened, and in walked Kaya, holding a plastic bag. Lorie uttered a silent prayer that it was takeout.

"Hey," Amybeth said. "You must be Kaya! I'm Amybeth."

Kaya, who looked a little confused, raised her eyebrows.

"Hey! Lorie didn't say she had friends visiting," Kaya said, kicking off her shoes and flopping down on her bed. "Good thing I brought extra takeout!"

Lorie smiled at the prospect of food, and uttered a small 'yay!'.

"I'm actually a friend of Lucas'," Amybeth said. "And now I'm a friend of Lorie's!"

"And mine too, I hope," Kaya grinned, opening up the bag and laying out all the boxes of food in the floor.

"Without a doubt!"

"God, I'm absolutely starved," Lorie said, grabbing a box of rice and lamb kebab eagerly.

"Me too," Amybeth sighed.