𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐧𝐚 | 𝐯.𝐡

s i x

i feel my heart sink as i whirl my heard around to face him, too drowned out in my own thoughts to answer.

"briar?" his soft voice interrupts my thoughts and i nod my head, before removing my bag from the seat next to me. of all the other seats in this room he has to choose the one right next to me? why?

don't get me wrong, vinnie's a nice guy, but his presence was just a little unexpected. that's all. he eventually sits down next to me, and i look at lucas, who's gaze is fixed on me, his eyes widened and eyebrows raised. "you know him?", he whispers and i blank to try and process my answer. do i want my friends to know about coffee guy? or will it just cause more confusion?

not wanting to keep lucas waiting any longer, i give him an answer, regretting it soon after. "y-yes" i whisper. "lets focus now" i tell him in order to avoid unwanted questions.

"you not gonna say hi?" vinnie questions and i feel my palms get sweaty. "shush", i mutter. vinnie raises his eyebrows, confused at what had just occurred. i focus my eyes back on the chalkboard as the teacher speaks.

-

"class dissmissed" she says as the bell rings, and i immediately stand up to get out of there as quickly as possible. i send lucas a quick smile as he leaves before i feel a hand on my shoulder as i try to leave. "briar, wait"

"i have to get to next class, sorry", he frowns slightly and i walk out, disconnecting our eye contact.

my brain is hurting from all the thinking and i wanted was to be in my bed. alone. submerged into the darkness. if only teleportation was a thing.

i make my way over to the lockers, where i meet emily who's admiring herself in the little mirror she has stuck in her locker. "i wanna go home" i whine, leaning against a random locker which is situated next to emily's. "why?"

"i just hate monday's" i respond, to which she answers "fair enough"

she turns her body to face mine and i admire her outfit. "i love your fit, i wish i had worn something better as everyone seems to be going all out today. "thank you love, and also no one cares what you wear" she answers in a posh manner, her accent raw and thick as she speaks.

emily is from england. she moved here a while ago when her parents got divorced. she always complains about the weather there when she visits her dad on FaceTime to us.

"yeah, i guess", i answer as i notice jackson walking over to us. "jackie boy" emily teases him as he opens his locker up, shoving all sorts of sheets and books in as he groans. "you okay jackson?" i ask, and he shrugs his shoulders. "yeah" he mutters through gritted teeth, and i can tell he's having a bad day already. emily places a hand on his shoulder to comfort him and a small smile forms at his lips.

i've always known jackson has had a little crush on emily ever since she moved here, he's just too afraid to admit his feelings for her. i like to play 'cupid' whenever it comes to their relationship, but i don't think emily sees him that way. which sucks but can't be helped.

the bell sounds again alerting everyone to go to their next class and we all groan. "where's lucas?" emily asks before shutting her locker.
"probably with alicia or something" jackson answers, before we all start walking to our next class. "history ?"
"history" i reply to him as we take our undesignated seats. emily sits next to me and jackson sits next to her. i giggle internally at his choice.

-
almost two hours pass and everyone is pretty much out of it. it's almost time for lunch and everyone stares at the clock, eager to get out of class.
i jot down the last few bits i need before packing my things up.
the lunch bell rings this time, different from the usual bell. everyone rushes out to get to the cafeteria and i grab emily's hand as things start to get hectic.

"emily?" i call her name as we make our way to lunch, jackson walks a little behind as he scrolls on his phone.
she hums in response as she looks down at her nails. "do you know this guy vinnie hacker? he goes to our school but i've never heard of him"
"yeah i do. he's only one of the hottest guys at our school, but i would never get with him. he sleeps with too many girls" "oh really?" i question as we sit down. jackson and lucas join us.

"yeah, why do you ask?" she mutters. "i'll tell you later" i whisper, as i don't feel like explaining everything to anyone right now.

we eat lunch like normal, chatting about random things as we eat. that's when i notice vinnie walk into the cafeteria with a bunch of guys and they sit down, not far from us. i remember them as the skater boys from sunday.
some of the boys go over to talk to amber and her minions as i watch as the group of girls smile subtly in their direction.
i roll my eyes as vinnie smirks at me, and i immediately look away. i don't know what he's playing at by smirking all the time, but it isn't cute. i think about what emily said before about him 'sleeping with too many girls'
he's the last person i thought would be that type of guy. the player.
i guess that's the reason as to why he's so cocky all the time.

"i'm gonna get water guys, anyone want some?" i ask my friends as they all shake their heads in response
"okay, but don't look at me when you get dehydrated" i warn and they all continue with their conversations.
i get up and head over to the queue, as water has to be purchased in this school for some odd reason that i'll never understand. why should i have to pay to stay hydrated?
anyways, i push my extraneous thoughts to the back of my mind as i wait in line.

i suddenly feel a presence appear at my back and a pair of hands place themselves on my eyes and i jump a little bit.
"guess who?" a voice mutters and i hiccup. please don't be who i think it is...
"uhhh... zac efron?" i question jokingly and he laughs. an unwanted smile forms at my lips at his laugh. it's so cute and wholesome. i turn my body to face him.
"no, vinnie obviously" he responds in shock.

"can i help you vinnie?", i question, wanting nothing more than to be by myself as i
move along the line and he moves along with me.

"i just wanted to tell you why i was in your history. my teacher and i... well, we don't work" he reveals and i widen my eyes.
"you don't get along?" he nods his head at my words as i feel stares towards us.
vinnie and i talking is probably the last thing anyone would've expected. i glance over at my friends who are giving us looks and i can't help but go red.
"yeah so i had to move to another one. yours"
he admits as he reaches up to lightly brush a curl off his forehead.

i narrow my stare, raising an eyebrow at his words because i don't believe him one bit. why is it when we end up meeting he moves into my class? something isn't right here. also the other history teacher mr johnson is one of the nicest men i know, why wouldn't they get along?

"you sure?" i ask holding his gaze.
"yeah, honestly. i wouldn't lie to you" he replies, a neutral look laying on his face.
"i gotta get back to my friends. would you maybe wanna do something later?" he asks,
and i can tell he's nervous.
i finally make it to the till and pay, before grabbing a water.
"sure" i agree wholeheartedly, as i notice a look growing on his face as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
"great, i'll text you" he brings his eyes to meet mine before turning around and walking away.
i smile slightly before walking back to my table.

"when we're you gonna tell us you're talking to vinnie hacker?" emily yells a little too loud, resulting in a few stares from other tables.
"shhh! we're not talking, we're friends...kinda" i explain.
"kinda? well how does that work?" lucas asks and i shrug my shoulders at his words
"i don't know, i guess we're friends" i answer,
"well when did this start?" jackson questions and i furrow eyebrows

"umm, well firstly i didn't even know he went to this school. he spilled coffee all over me then after my work shift he walked me home for no reason then i got his number and we talked a little then he got moved into my history and that brings us up to now. he also asked me if i wanna do something later" i let a deep breath out to catch my breath after that ramble i just gave and all of my friends eyes widen in shock.
"that explains history" i nod my head at lucas' words

"well are you gonna go?" emily asks and i look down at my legs, actually thinking about an answer to give her.
"well, um-"

"the only right answer is yes!" i think emily is a little bit more excited to than i am. i don't even know if i am excited. it's not a date. at least i don't think it is. we're just hanging out as friends, right?