Treat Me Like a Game, and Ill Show You How Its Played

Chapter 20: I Have Something To Show You

"You okay?"

"No, no, not really." I muttered.

"Well, it shows me not to get on your bad side... he looked like his eyes were gonna pop out of his skull." Luke laughed, turning on the music, "I have a dilemma..."

"I wouldn't ask me to solve any problems when I can't fix my own." I muttered, staring out of the window of the passenger side window, "But okay."

"Well, you see... I have this friend. Actually, cousin... yeah, um, I have this cousin and he likes this girl that he met when he was in elementary school. He's a... junior-"

"Okay, I got it. Your cousin is a junior who likes a girl he met in elementary school. Easy, go on." I say, continuing to look out the window, watching birds fly out of the trees. I wonder what it's like to be a bird. To escape for awhile and just travel anywhere you want to go. No limits. No one stopping you.

"He wants to plan out a date for her. He asked me but, since I'm not a girl... I'm asking you. Not to be awkward or anything... he just wants it to be perfect." He says uneasily and turns on to his street.

"Well, whats she like?" I question with a raised eye-brow, interested. I turn to look at Luke.

"Um... total romantic, I'm pretty sure... Like you from what I heard." Luke rushes out.

"Well, let's see. You could go to the beach with a walk to the park afterwards. He could bring you roses and bring you to a nice restaurant. That's what I picture anyway." I say. Luke whips out his phone after he pulls into his driveway, tilting the phone away from me so I can't see who he's texting, "Secrets don't make friends, Luke."

"It's my friend."

"You said cousin..." I raise an eye-brow.

"What'd I say?"

"Friend..."

"Oh, I meant cousin, sorry." Luke mutters. He taps the screen and slids the phone into his pocket, "Oh, I finished that drawing, you wanna see it?"

"Is that even a valid question?" I smile and he laughs saying, "I'll show you it tonight. I just gotta add a few touches."

***

"RILEY DID WHAT?!" Jade shrieks on the other line. Its currently five p.m and she's still stuck at the hospital with Noah sitting in that uncomfortable chair. He's been there all day with her even though she insisted he'd go home to rest, but he just took her hand saying, "I'm not leaving you again." which I honestly thought was the sweetest thing ever, "Please don't tell me she slept with him or he slept with her or I swear, I will take my crippled ass over to his house and beat him with my crutches." Jade mutters angrily. I constantly hear Noah saying, "What? What happened?" but Jade doesn't answer, saying she'll tell him in a minute. Its been five minutes so you an imagine how annoying it is probably starting to get for Noah and my ears.

"I'm gonna have to explain it again aren't I?" I mutter.

"Yup."

"Well, put me on speaker so Noah doesn't have to wait any longer." I sigh, rolling my eyes.

"He has virgin ears though..." Jade whispers into the phone and we both laugh.

"I do not have virgin ears!" I hear Noah shout in the background and we erupt into laughter again. I hear a click and I assume I'm on speaker, so I begin, "Okay, so after I visited you, Luke drove me to Riley's to see him because I haven't heard from him in awhile-"

"See, that's when you should've known somthing was up, Claire. You were just in a fire and your boyfriend-"

"Ex..." I correct Noah.