i hate you | l.h

six

you've got to be kidding me.

behind me, there was an annoying tapping noise on the desk thanks to, you guessed it, luke.

he was in my english class and had decided to sit right behind me today, much to my dismay. looking at the clock back and forth while i was finishing jotting down notes, the tapping only got worse.

i finally cracked and turned my head quickly to face luke, "could you possibly save your dreams for being a drummer for anytime but english class?" i snapped.

luke barely looked up at me, still continuing to twirl the mechanical pencil in his right hand mindlessly.

"whatever," he let the pencil fall out of his hands and it clattered onto his textbook. surprised that he didn't try to retaliate by throwing it at me, i snuck a quick glance at him so he wouldn't notice.

his usually intense blue eyes seemed duller today, and dark circles were etched against his pale skin. his hair was ruffled up around his head as if he'd just woken up, and the smug look that he normally wore was replaced with a blank stare.

luke seemed to notice that i was staring so he slowly picked his head up from his textbook that he had been using as a place to rest his head. "do you need something?" his eyes narrowed.

"no, no. i don't. sorry," i said, flustered. i quickly turned around, grabbing the pencil that was laying on my desk along with my other scattered papers. i started to try paying attention to my teacher, who was droning on and on about the childhood of Edgar Allan Poe and how it connected back to his work.

"poe lived through an extremely hard childhood. by the time he was three, he and his siblings were orphans. their father deserted the family, and then their mother died. people believed that you could see how his work reflected his childhood..."

i began to zone out, letting my head lean against the palm of my head as i tried my hardest not to let my heavy lids shut. i reached into my bag and drew out my cell phone, discreetly turning it on. the illuminating light shone, showing that it had powered on.

my fingers rapidly sent a text to calum, telling him how excited i was for our "date" tonight. i wasn't completely sure what it was but i was just grateful that i was going to spend time with him despite how casual it was.

on cue, the shrill sound of the bell rang, and i rushed to get out of the classroom. before i could even take one step towards the door, i collided into somebody and swore colorfully.

"woah there, donahue," luke's eyes met mine. "you've need to do something about that lack of coordination of yours," he said tiredly, his voice quieter and less assertive than it usually was. he looked and sounded exhausted, as if sleeping in class wasn't enough for him.

my phone was buzzing, and i knew that it was calum questioning my whereabouts. i slipped it into my back pocket, momentarily ignoring him.

"what's up with you?," i questioned, with a feeling of worry weighing down my chest.

"what makes you think something's up with me?" he replied, his tone indignant. "i could be perfectly fine and you're just going around assuming shit."

"you look like you've been hit by a bus,"

"if that's your way of trying to make me feel better, it's almost working." he said under his breath, trying to walk away as i took a step in front of him.

"just a friend... looking out for a friend?"

"since when were we friends?" replied luke, looking blearily at me as he took long strides to his locker. i had to jog a little, since my legs were unfortunately about half the size of his. by the time i caught up to him, he had slammed his locker shut with more force than needed.