Secrets In The Garden / l.h ✔️

50

~Ophelia's POV~

"Have you figured out who took those pictures yet?" Saniya asked me as I scooted in under the table at lunch, setting my tray in front of me. I huffed and shook my head, glancing over at her with a frown on my lips. "No, not even a little. I don't know who'd want to do that." I sighed, placing my hand under my chin as I leaned my elbow into the table.

Saniya frowned and sighed deeply, cracking open the bottle of tea she held in her hands. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was some girl who was bitter over Luke dumping her." She admitted, rolling her eyes. My lips twitched up and I nodded my head. "Me neither, honestly." I admitted, shrugging. That was what made the most sense to me, anyways, because I couldn't think of anyone else who'd want to do that.

I continued to eat my lunch and then dumped the trash into the trash can when I was done, before I placed the tray where they had that tray collecting station. When I went to turn around to head back over to the table, I flinched in surprise at the sight of Luke stood there, staring down at me. He had his hands shoved deep in the front of his pockets, rocking back and forth in his shoes. "Luke," I smiled, stepping closer to him. He smiled and somehow managed to completely ignore the attention we were beginning to attract, which happened every time he and I were anywhere near each other. Everyone would just stop and look at us, like they were expecting something great or dramatic. "Hey, gorgeous." He hummed.

"So Christmas break starts tomorrow..." He began, his gaze drifting away from mine to glance down at the floor. It looked like he was flustered. "It does." I agreed, watching him as he raked his fingers through his hair and then gently rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes flicked up to meet mine again. "I wanted to know if you're down to still hang out during the break." He wondered, making my lips twitch up as I tried to hide how excited his words had made me. "B-But you don't have to if you don't want or anything. I was just wondering 'cause my parents work a lot and so I'll be left at home by myself a lot." He explained.

As I opened my mouth to accept his offer, his pretty eyes widened and he blurted out, "Wait! I didn't mean like, just having sex because I'm gonna be alone. I mean I wouldn't mind sex, of course, but I meant just hanging out together." He stuttered our frantically, clearly worried that I might take his offer as simply him wanting sex.

Although I tried, I couldn't stop myself from smiling anymore and grinned widely at him. It was just way too freaking cute how flustered he was about this when it was something so simple. "Calm down, calm down." I giggled, stepping closer to him. He sealed his lips shut and sighed deeply, looking at me with a sheepish smile. "Sorry." He apologized. "I understood what you meant the first time you asked. I'd love to hang out." I beamed, making that anxious look fall away from his face completely. My heart fluttered. "But it's cute that you got so flustered about it." I teased, making him huff.

"Flustered?" He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't get flustered, gorgeous. I make people flustered." He retorted, full of denial.

The smile on my face didn't fade. "Is that so? Then what was with the stuttering?" I asked playfully, cocking my head to the side in mock curiosity. He blushed and I grinned at him. "Thought so." I laughed. "Shut up!" He groaned, ducking his head slightly, like he was trying to hide his face from me. I laughed more and stepped closer again, this time so close that my chest brushed his, and pushed up onto my toes as I looped my arms around his neck. "I don't know why you're embarrassed. It's cute." I said, feeling his one arm wrap around my waist gently. "Cute?" He mumbled, his lips gently brushing mine. "Do you really mean that or are you just saying that to spare my ego?"

I giggled and sent him a look. "You know I don't care your ego enough to do that. Besides, it'd probably be a good thing if your head was a little smaller." I teased, making him glare down at me. "You say that, but you love me." He boasted, making my cheeks warm.

"Luckily for you, you're right." I said softly, glancing down at his chest. It still bummed me out a lot that he didn't feel the same, but I often tried not to dwell on it because it wouldn't change anything. I couldn't force someone to love me just because I loved them. That wasn't how it worked. But to be honest, I was a little bit surprised that he was talking to me so openly about my feelings for him. I'd honestly sort of expected that after he'd addressed my feelings that one time and then rejected them, that he'd never speak of them again.

"You wanna know something, gorgeous?" He hummed, pulling me into him more. My cheeks burned, able to easily feel everyone else looking at us. If Saniya was seeing this, I knew she was probably losing her mind on the inside. Yet somehow, I'd managed to talk her into leaving the situation between him and I alone. I knew very well what I was getting myself into and I told her this. After a long talk, she'd reluctantly agreed to stop trying to bully Luke into staying away from me, which she'd been doing for a couple of days after the picture of him and I was spread around.

"What is it?" I asked quietly, peering up at him in wonder. He grinned and gave me this proud look. "I have some news that I think you're gonna be fucking thrilled to hear." He hummed, being all suspenseful. I sent him a look. "Well, come on, then. Out with it!" I pouted, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Luke's pretty pink lips twitched up and he kissed me gently. "You're so impatient sometimes." He snickered, making me gently smack him on the back of his head. He pouted in return. I couldn't help but to relax into him, pushing him back so we were behind the wall, out of sight from everyone. "Tell me." I pleaded, now genuinely wanting to know. My curiosity had been piqued. His eyes sparkled. "I'm pretty goddamn sure I know who took those pictures of us." He murmured.

My eyes widened and I pressed closer to him, heart beginning to race. "Really?!" I gasped. "Who? Who was it?!" I asked eagerly, desperate to know. I'd spent many nights trying to figure it out and it was driving me crazy not ever knowing who it was.

This time, he was frowning a little. "I think it might've been Zuri."