The Art Of Love / l.h ✔️

37

~Fae's POV~

Luke ended up eventually going back to his house on Monday, since his mom was insisting that he come back home. That made sense, after all. He'd been staying here for just around three and a half days.

Now, on Wednesday, I sat in my room with Josh, who was looking over at me while I was working on a drawing. "So what's up with you and Maria? She was fine for a while, and then she suddenly just stopped sitting with us again. Any time I even say your name, she acts like I haven't even said anything and switches the conversation." He said, raising a brow curiously. I sighed deeply and dropped my pencil onto my sketchbook, deciding to stop working on the drawing that I was doing. "Luke was staying at my house for a while because his parents were out of town, and she found out. And, well, you know how she is." I sighed, closing my sketchbook with a hard frown on my lips. He raised a brow. "She got mad at you, I'm guessing, then?" He assumed, to which I lightly nodded. "Of course." I mumbled.

He blinked and shook his head, sighing. "I'm sorry." He apologized, a truly upset look on his face. I just sent him a little smile and shrugged my shoulders, slipping out of my bed so I could put my sketchbook away. "It's not your fault. Maria is the one choosing to be like this." I dismissed, putting my sketchbook under my nightstand with the rest of them. That was where I kept all of my sketchbooks, paints, pencils, and the lot. "What are you going to do?" He wondered, his eyes locked curiously on me as I stood up and turned back towards him.

I lightly shrugged. "I don't know any more. I'm...starting to think there's nothing to be done. She knows she's treating me bad and yet she's not doing anything to change it. I just...I think that this the end of the line for our friendship." I admitted quietly, hating that I had to say it. Some people just had to go at some point, I guess.

Josh eyed me and sat up on my bed, frowning. "Really?" He asked, his face lit up with sheer surprise. "You...You really think that there's nothing else that you guys can do?" He frowned, his long legs hanging off the edge of my bed. I paused, going and sitting down beside him, his eyes following me as I moved. "Honestly? No, I don't. She's...I don't think she's someone I can fix this type of thing with. Not anymore, anyways. Maybe if she hadn't changed things would be different." I said, shrugging.

After a small beat of silence passed between us, I grew a little worried. "Why?" I asked quietly. "Do you think I'm wrong in thinking that?" I wondered, cocking my head to the side as my brows furrowed curiously.

There was a small smile that nudged up onto the edge of his lips and he shook his head slightly. It was so slight that it was almost hard to catch, but I caught it anyways. "No, I think you're right." He admitted, a somewhat sad look in his eyes for me. I couldn't help but to feel the relief flood through me and I lightly nodded my head, looking down at the floor.

Both of us fell quiet, thinking about the same thing as the other. My friendship with Maria was nearing the breaking point.

**

"Hey, little dove." Luke grinned as I walked out of my house on Thursday afternoon, his tall frame waiting patiently for me while he leaned against the column on my porch. "Hi." I smiled, peering up at him as I shut the front door behind me and then locked it.

When I turned back to him, he scanned his eyes over my figure and smiled to himself. "You look adorable." He said, his blue eyes glimmering. I giggled and looked down at the yellow overall dress that I had on with a sweater beneath it. My turtleneck sweater had red, black, and yellow stripes on it and the sleeves fell a little too far down over my hands, while my feet were covered with a simple pair of brown doc martens.

"You think so?" I asked, a smile on my face as I looked back up at him again. He chuckled and grabbed my smaller hand in his, intertwining my fingers with his. "I know so." He hummed, beginning to lead me down the porch. My smile refused to leave my face as he led me to his car, which he had borrowed so he could take me out. He'd told me on Monday, before he'd left, that he wanted us to go out somewhere. Of course, though, I didn't have a car and neither did he. However, he managed to get his dad to let him use his car.