The Art Of Love / l.h ✔️

12

~Fae's POV~

"Hi." I greeted Luke as I got onto the bus on Thursday morning, having grown used to the switch up in route that Ms. Harding had suddenly formed. He was always on the bus before me now, both when I got on the bus in the morning and after school.

He looked up at me as I came to a stop beside him, silently waiting for him to get up for me. At this point, he knew what I expected, but I also knew that he almost never did what was expected of him. "Hey, little dove." He muttered, scanning his gaze down the length of my body to examine my attire. His eyes flicked back up to meet mine just a moment later, careless about the fact that I now knew that he'd sort of just been checking me out. Then, I wondered if that could really even be considered checking someone out. After all, he'd just been looking at my outfit, nothing more. That was normal of someone to do. I did it all the time.

Like I had known would happen, he never stood up, just looked up at me as he leaned back into the seat more. I shook my head a little bit as I fought a smile, carefully slipping past him before Ms. Harding could speed off and make me fall on him again. If I'm being honest, that had happened more times than I was willing to admit. It was often because I struggled to get past his too long legs, especially in the small space.

I plopped into my seat and the bus began to take off down the road to the next stop, my thigh pressing against the cold of the bus wall. As I was staring out the window, I began to think of Maria. These last few days, she was still not talking to me once again because she was mad that I'd never told her about Luke and I being friends. She wouldn't even sit at our table during lunch anymore. Josh, of course, didn't involve himself much in the drama other than telling her she needed to "take a serious chill pill." Tracy, on the other hand, had decided to split herself between hanging out with Josh and I or with Maria. One day she'd sit with Maria for lunch, and then she'd sit with Josh and I the next.

"Hey," I said to Luke suddenly, turning my head to look over at him. "What were you doing at the mall last Friday, anyways?" I wondered, cocking my head to the side curiously. He glanced down at me and shrugged, his arms still crossed over his broad chest. "Shopping. Just like you, judging by how many bags you had at your feet." He muttered, earning a soft giggle from me. I lightly shook my head and smiled up at him. "Actually, only about three of those bags were mine." I corrected, not wanting him to think that the several bags that had been on the ground by my feet had all been mine. In fact, most of them had actually been Maria's, since she was the shopaholic of our group.

As his gaze peered intently into mine, I noticed his brow cock up just the slightest bit. "Really? What'd you get?" He hummed. I was sure he couldn't have actually cared at all about what I'd bought at the mall, but I couldn't help but to smile a little. It was sweet of him to ask, even if I was sure he was asking just for the sake of pleasing me. "Well, I got a few things from Ulta, a couple of sweaters, two pairs of pants, and a skirt." I listed off, peering up at him. "This skirt, actually." I realized, looking down at the skirt that I had on. I'd almost forgotten that I'd decided to wear my new skirt today.

My skirt was a light blue denim that I had put a black belt around the waist of, since the skirt ended up being a little bit too loose around my waist. It fit perfectly over my hips and thighs, though. I'd put on a cropped black tank top and a light blue flannel with white plaid lines. Lastly, I paired it with a simple pair of black converse.

Luke glanced down at my skirt and suddenly reached out, boldly brushing his finger along the bottom of my skirt. I felt myself flush as his fingers brushed against my inner thigh, but he seemed unaffected. "It looks nice on you." He muttered after he pulled away, leaning his head back as he crossed his arms over his chest once again. Still blushing, I peered up at him. "Thanks." I said awkwardly. He chuckled and his eyes peeled open, lifting his head so he could look down at me. "Speaking of the mall," He began, scanning his eyes over my face. "What the hell was the deal with your friend? You know, the one who was eye-fucking me?" He asked, a frown on his lips.