Laced • Luke Dunphy

IX

Jamie's pov

I'm in 9th grade, but I take sophomore maths. Well, the lowest level of sophomore maths. The highest level of 9th grade maths is too easy for me but the average level of sophomore maths is too fast, so they put me in the lowest class.

So, basically, I'm with all the big, dumb jocks and petty, popular girls. Great. I sit between Blaze and Andrew, two somewhat muscular football players who always wear their varsity jackets.

The jocks aren't mean to me, although I'm not sure why. Blaze and Andrew are my friends but Luke doesn't trust them.

"They're using you," he always says.

"For what?" I would ask, "there's nothing special about me." He would then proceed to list all my qualities.

The chair next to me scrapes on the tiles as someone takes a seat.

"Hey." Blaze yawns, folding his arms on the table and laying his head down.

"Bad night?" I ask.

"Bad date," Andrew replies, giving me a smile as he sits next to me.

"Shit, I thought she really liked you," I ruffle his hair playfully.

"Whatever, her loss." Blaze lifts his head, shrugs and gives us a a small smile. "What happened to you?" I explain my weekend and he nods.

"That Luke sounds like a dick," Andrew remarks as the teacher walks in, "want us to beat him up?"

"Nah, I can do that myself." The teacher gives me a glare over her glasses and I give her an apologetic smile.

•

Luke's pov

People walk past as I lean against the wall, waiting for Jamie to get out of class. The bell rang a few minutes ago but it looks like her teacher is keeping them in for a reason or other.

I tilt my head to look through the little window in the door. After a few seconds of stillness, all the students stand up and start talking loudly. I spot Jamie laughing with those two beefy dudes and I roll my eyes. They can't be that funny.

"Oh hey, Luke!" She grins as she catches sight of me, "Thanks for waiting." She gives me a short hug, and I see her two bodyguards glowering down at me.

"So this is Luke." One of them says, cracking his knuckles.

"What's up with your two bubbleheads?" I ask quietly in her shoulder. She just laughs and shakes her head.

"It's fine, guys." She links her arm in mine, pulling me around them so we can get to our next class.

"Really, JJ, I don't understand why you hang out with them." I look over my shoulder to see them flirting with some girls.

"They're nice to me. And we have maths together. I don't understand why you have such a problem with it." We arrive in front of her classroom.

"Listen, it kills me seeing someone else making you laugh." Her face falls.

"Yeah? Well it kills me seeing you flirt with random bitches." The bell rings after her last word and she stares at it before adding, "Gotta go." and entering her class.

•

Third person

Biking home alone wasn't family to Jamie, yet she was doing it today. It didn't feel that great, but what Luke had said really made her think, and she couldn't think with him around. Whenever she was with him, it was as if her brain would switch off, and she did whatever he told her to.

Mitchell was on the phone when she arrived at her new home. She trudged into Lily's room and sat down next to the little girl.

"Hey, Jamie. You can come in." She said and Jamie gave her a sarcastic smile. They had that kind of relationship.

"You'll never guess what your idiot cousin told me today." Jamie pulled a teddy bear to her chest and fell back onto the bed.

"Oh, jeez, what now." Lily sighed and fell back next to her 'sister'.

"He said it kills him to see someone else make me laugh. Like what? We're best friends, you nitwit, you're not supposed to say that."

"He likes you."

"Doesn't matter. It could ruin everything, so he has to bottle it up." The little girl got up and rummaged for something in her toy chest.

"Here." She handed Jamie a small box.

"What's this?" She scoffed, grabbing it.

"Open it, you idiot." Lily rolled her eyes and watched as Jamie opened the latch, lifted the lid and peered inside.

She stuffed her pinky finger inside, curled it and pulled it out again. A gold chain hung from her finger and she stared it. A tiny gold locket swayed as Jamie twirled the chain around her fingers. Slowly, she opened it and smiled down at what she saw.

"Luke gave me this when we were... I think we were 4 or 5. Look," She handed Lily the locket and she gazed at the picture inside, "that's me when I was younger." She pointed at a short-haired girl, smiling and holding onto a curly-haired boy.

"You look cute." Lily gave it back and hugged Jamie before yanking her teddy bear from her and placing it next to her pillow.

Jamie was so preoccupied by the locket that she didn't even notice as Lily snuck her way out of her room and into the living room. She picked up the phone and dialed the Dunphy's home number.

"Yello?" Phil's enthusiastic greeting came from the other line.

"Hi, it's Lily. Could you pass me Haley? Or Alex?"

"Of course," there was a pause before Alex's voice said, "yes?"

"I think it worked."