Nothing // l.h

Chapter 8

Sadly Friday came at a very quick pace. I tried to ignore Luke as much as possible leading up to today, making when I see him bearable. I still wasn't sure what Luke and I were going to do. I can say that I was genuinely afraid of what it might be. I was sitting on a bench just outside of school, I looked down at my phone. It was three exactly. I locked my phone, quickly scanned the area for Luke. Once I saw that he was nowhere in my line of sight, I returned to my book. 

"Still reading The Great Gatsby huh?" I looked up to find Luke looking down at me. From this angle his hair seemed taller. I didn't bother answering such a ridiculous question. It was very obvious that the book in my hand was The Great Gatsby. "Are you ready to be proved wrong?" He spoke again, but yet I still didn't answer him. "Come on you have to talk to me." 

"No I don't." I spoke. I didn't have to look up from my book to know that Luke had decided to sit next to me. "We can hang out like this. I'm sure you can find something to do."

"Ellie you can't just sit here and read." Luke huffed. I saw his hand coming near the edge of my book and all at once I jerked my arm away from him. "I have things planned. You agreed to this, remember?" Unfortunately I did remember, Michael never ran me over with his car like I had wanted. Getting annoyed with Luke, I slammed my book shut. I figured that as soon as I cooperated the sooner this could be over. "Great. Now we can go." He stood up from the green bench. 

"Where are we going?" I questioned as I put my book back safely in my bag. I never imagined I would be hanging out with Luke Hemmings, forced or not. After what happened, this was the last thing that would ever have crossed my mind. I was a little afraid of where he could take me, or what his idea of hanging out was. I didn't know Luke and that scared me. 

"For right now we're going to my car. It's parked two blocks that way." He pointed South toward where two major roads connected. Why didn't he just park at school like every other person who could drive themselves? "Come on it's not like I'm going to take you to a street fight." How was I supposed to know that he wasn't? At this point nothing Luke could do would surprise me. He cocked his head and crossed his arms, waiting for me to stand up. 

I rose from my spot on the bench, grabbing my backpack and phone. "If I see even one thing going on that I don't like, I am leaving. I will walk home if I need to. Understand?" Luke stuck out his bottom lip and nodded, making his lip ring more visible. I started walking, eventually having him catch up with me.

We walked down the sidewalk in complete silence. I still wasn't sure what to say to Luke or even how to talk to him. We had absolutely nothing in common. "Okay if I don't ask now I will never ask and it will bother me forever." I spoke up, not being able to take the silence anymore. "Why is your car parked two blocks from the school parking lot? The school which we go to and you drive to since you can drive."

"See the thing is," Luke dragged on, "I can't really drive to school. I can drive to school but I just can't park there. I'm failing one of my classes and the school says I can't park there if I'm failing. I guess it makes them look bad." 

"I know this is probably none of my business," I stopped, letting Luke dig for his keys in his jacket pocket before continuing, "what class are you failing?" 

"I guess you were right, that is none of your business." He smirked, walking around to the drivers side of the black SUV he drove. He got in and saw me standing in front of my door, afraid of getting in. "It's a car, Ellie. Not a machine designed to crush you once you get in." I shook my head and pulled the handle forward, opening the door. I had to climb into the car seeing how it was quite a ways off of the ground and I was small. "Great now you're in." Great now I was in.

"Can you tell me now where we're going?" I questioned once more, pulling my book out of my backpack. I figured this ride would be painful and boring so I had to do something to pass the time. I for sure wasn't going to chat with Luke. 

"What is wrong with you?" He really loved that question. "Don't you know how to not read for thirty minutes?" He slung his arm over the steering wheel and stared at me until I put the book back. "Besides, what fun can it be to read keep reading a book you've read so many times before."

"It's a classic. Not like you would understand though." I said, mumbling the last part.

"I read, you know. I have some class and intellectual ability." The car still hadn't moved from the parking space we were in. Hell, Luke hadn't even put the key in the ignition yet. I tried to keep the chuckle forming from getting past my lips. "I am really starting to regret this. I now wish that I didn't care that you hate me." Something we finally agreed on. Luke huffed and turned around to face forward, putting the key in the ignition and starting the car. "We're going to the fucking bookstore." I looked over to see him shaking his head. I felt like there was something in the back of my mind telling me to feel sorry for him. But I just couldn't find anything to be sorry for. 

Nine minutes later we arrived at the biggest bookstore the town had to offer. I didn't come here often but I had been a couple times in the past. Even though I never spent much time inside, it was still one of my favorite places. "I figured you could at least get a new book." Luke told me as we entered. I gazed around, looking at the aisles and saw the different colors of the books that ligned the shelves. 

"But I thought we were hanging out." It seemed strange that he said I couldn't read earlier but then he takes me to a place so I can read. Luke shrugged and ventured off to the left, not seeming to care enough for a real response. I ignored how weird he was being and walked straight into the mystery section. 

"Find anything of interest yet?" Luke appeared next to me. I had just finished the mystery section and moved on to romance. Luke leaned up against the bookcase and ran his finger over a couple books. 

"Some." I said, picking a book out and quickly scanning the back. "What about you? Are you having fun?" I bothered to ask. He didn't even give me a real answer, he just shrugged, which was a favorite of his. "We can leave."

"No it's fine." He stood up straight. "You should finish and I'll be outside. I need a cigarette anyways." I nodded and watched him walk down the aisle and towards the front doors. I knew I was going to regret what I was about to do. I wasn't even sure why I was going to do it, but I did it anyways. Rolling my eyes I put the books in my hand on a random shelf and walked out. I caught Luke just as he put his lighter back in his pocket. "What?" He frowned, looking me over. "Where are your books?"

"I'm fine with what I have now." I said, pulling my jacket closer to me. "Besides I don't need you to take me to buy books. I can come here anytime." I guess 'hanging out' with Luke wasn't that bad. 

"Fine. I'll take you home." He said in a monotone, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and putting it out. We walked across the parking lot to where he was parked. He sure did like to park far away from his destination. Maybe that's why he was so skinny. I climbed in and slid on to the leather seats of his SUV. "I just hope you find a new book somehow. I can't stand The Great Gatsby."

Fourteen minutes later we arrived at my house. Luke had actually stopped in front, not at his house and making me walk home like I had thought. "Thanks Luke." I said quietly. He nodded and looked forward again. "I'll see you Monday." With that I climbed out of his car and walked into my house.

"There you are!" Michael's voice chimed through the house. "I was waiting for you. How did it go?" 

I set my stuff down on the kitchen table and walked past him. "It wasn't that bad."

**

Author's note

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