Pure of Heart / l.h ✔️

4

~Seraphina's POV~

Startled, I immediately stood up with Chester in my arms as Carmen came jogging down the steps first. Her eyes landed on me and a smile graced her face, hopping off of the last step. "I knew you were home. Chester was going crazy and then just darted down the stairs." She laughed, my gaze glancing back at the very large man behind her. He was so freaking tall, and handsome.

"Yeah, sorry. He gets excited easily." I said, feeling Chester still happily licking at my arms and my neck as his tail wagged. She just smiled and shrugged it off, slipping her hand into her boyfriend's before she looked up at him with a fond smile. "I just wanted you to meet Luke before you went and locked yourself in your room." She giggled, causing me to blush in embarrassment. I really didn't lock myself in my room as she made it seem. In fact, she probably spent more time in her room than I do in mine.

I glanced over at Luke, meeting his intimidating blue gaze. It took every ounce of courage in me to be able to look at him dead on, right in the eye. "I'm Seraphina." I introduced quietly, feeling shy. When Chester began to impatiently writhe in my arms, I bent down and carefully set him on the floor, letting him go. "Luke." The big man introduced himself back, a smidge of an accent left. He must've lost most of it while being here in the States, which was a shame. I sent him a tiny smile and then glanced away, hating how awkward and shy I was.

Carmen glanced up at Luke and lightly shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry. She doesn't have many friends, so she's pretty shy around new people." She apologized, only making me more embarrassed.

Then, she looked over at me. "Did you make any new friends while I was gone by the way?" She asked, curious. Of course, I just softly shook my head and watched as Chester waited impatiently for me by the foot of the stairs. He wanted to go up to my room. When he realized I wasn't leaving yet, he reluctantly came and laid down at my feet, curling into a ball. "No." I answered. "Still just me and Enzo." I said. I looked back over at her and saw she now had a big smile on her face, practically skipping her way over to me. "Is that so?" She giggled, grabbing my hands in hers and jumping excitedly on the balls of her feet.

I, on the other hand, just cluelessly stared up at her, confused. Why was she so excited? She beamed and pulled me down onto the couch as she sat against the arm, looking down at me. "Are you...have you guys....?" She trailed off and gave me a look that made me frown in confusion, furrowing my brows. "Huh?" I asked, not understanding. I pulled my hands out of hers and took off my backpack, setting it on the floor at my feet. With a roll of her eyes, she softly smacked me on my bare thigh, making me gasp in pain. "You know! Have you guys ever hooked up?" She asked, causing me to blink in surprise. "I-I..." My lips betrayed me as my throat dried, feeling the couch sink down as Luke sat down beside me. The mere thought of "hooking up," whatever that meant in Carmen's book, with Enzo made me blush hard and anxiously twiddle with my fingers.

And this action didn't go unnoticed by Carmen, who grinned. "Aw! You like him, don't you?" She gasped, but I just hurriedly shook my head. "N-No!" I practically whimpered, horrified that she had caught on. "You do! You like Enzo!" She giggled.

Beside me, Luke spoke up. "Who's Enzo?" He asked, clueless. I glanced over at him along with Carmen and huffed quietly. "He's my best friend." I answered softly, crossing my arms over my chest. Carmen giggled and playfully nudged me in the side with her elbow, making me frown. "So? Has he taken your first kiss? Maybe...something a little more?" She pressed, further embarrassing me. "Carmen!" I squeaked, horrified that she was asking me these questions. "No! He...We're just friends." I clarified, looking down at my lap.

Carmen paused and a silence settled. "He doesn't like you back?" She asked softly, to which I simply shook my head once. I knew he didn't, just like he already was well aware of the crush I had on him. I'd told him last year, during the summer when we'd been swimming in the pool at his house, and he told me he didn't love me that way. I accepted that and didn't bring it up again. There was no point because he just didn't love me as anything more than a friend, and you can't make someone love you the way you want them to. No point in dwelling on it. "But why not? You're smart, kind, beautiful." She frowned, reaching out to gently push some of my hair back and tuck it behind my ear so she could see my face.