Lucky's Real Life Romance Novel

Chapter 22

Unfortunately, Melanie was right. People were approaching me now. People tried to talk to me and get to know me. It was jarring. The conversations were undoubtedly awkward, but people would only laugh it off like I said something funny which made me even more uncomfortable. They were trying to hard to be my friend, and it was unnerving. It was like that for the whole rest of the week. I was exhausted every day I came home. My social battery was all used up.

Melanie ended up changing her walking route to walk with me in between classes to act as a sort of barrier between the curious people and myself when River or Trevor or Aiden wasn't by my side. It was actually insane. I was being treated like some sort of celebrity. By the time Friday rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a football game, but River was forcing me to go with him and Mia. I was already tired before we even left but Mia was excited. She had never been to a football game before and she was bubbling over with happiness at the thought. River didn't seem to hate or love the idea but he got ready for it anyway.

When we got to the stadium, it was packed. I didn't like it right off the bat. I held Mia on my hip as I followed River inside. Apparently, the student body president didn't have to pay for tickets to the football games. I was kind of excited to see what Trevor looked like in action, but that was the only thing I was excited for. Mia was wide-eyed and bushy-tailed as she looked at the crowd in awe. We went to the stands away from the student section and found seats. The field stretched from one side to the other and we were sitting relatively in the middle.

"Lulu, is this where they play football?" Mia asked as she sat in between River and me. I nodded before putting my eyes back on the field. The teams came out to the bands playing the school fight songs. After a quick National Anthem and coin toss, the game started. Trevor was our quarterback, whatever that meant. All I really understood was that he was number 24. That was the only way I could find him under the helmets. The game dragged on and even Mia's excitement fizzled as she grew sleepy. By the fourth quarter, she was sitting in my lap with her head on my shoulder, fast asleep. By the time the game ended, we won. Our team celebrated while I covered Mia's ear against my shoulder to keep her from waking up. It was almost eleven pm, way past her bedtime. I was sleepy myself. When the noise finally died down to standard conversation volume, River stood before picking Mia from my lap. He moved her to hold her in a standing position similar to the way I was just holding her.

"Let's go put Mia to bed," he said to me softly. I nodded and stood as I stretched my limbs. I rubbed Mia's back gently with a light smile on my face.

"Lucky!" Someone called to me. I looked over to see Melanie walking up with Trevor still in his football uniform and pads.

"Good job out there Trevor. Admittedly, I know nothing about football, but you won, so I guess that's got to count for something," I congratulated him. He smiled before thanking me.

"Also there's something I need to tell you, Lu," Melanie said sheepishly. She blushed before taking Trevor's hand in hers.

"I took the cosplayer," she admitted.

"Cosplayer?" River raised an eyebrow as he rocked Mia gently.

"Congratulations you two. We have to get this one to bed. She's been out for a while," River said. We said goodbye to them before heading home. Because we sat away from the student section, we weren't bothered as much as I thought we would be, but I was still exhausted. River put Mia in the guest room as soon as we made it to the house before following me into my room. I yawned before curling up in my bed. River only chuckled before sitting on the edge of my bed.

"How does it feel to be popular?" He asked.

"I hate it," I muttered from underneath my blanket. I pushed my blanket away before staring at him.

"I don't see how you do it every day," I said as an afterthought. He laid down next to me before wrapping his arms around me.

"It's not easy, that's for sure. It's a lot of work. A lot of hiding who I really am, and a lot of frustration," he admitted. "But I'm a senior now and the year is already halfway over so the results should show soon," he replied.

"Was it worth it?" I asked. He hummed thoughtfully before sighing.

"I'm not sure yet. I already signed up for all the grants and scholarships I could. Closer to graduation, the results should come back. I'll know then whether or not it was worth it," he answered.

"Have you thought about where you want to go for college?" I asked.

"Wherever is willing to give me a full ride," he chuckled.

"What about Mia?" I asked.

"Up until recently, I was struggling with what to do about Mia during college, but your dad and I talked recently. He said he would be more than happy to keep Mia here if I needed help. He said that education was important, and something as simple as finding care for her shouldn't get in the way of pursuing a better education. He also said he wanted a second chance at a girly, childish daughter because you sucked at being a kid. He also offered to write a recommendation letter for me," River explained. I rolled my eyes. I could definitely see my dad saying that.

"Where specifically have you applied to so far?" I asked as I laid my head on his chest.

"Everywhere with a good pre-med program. What about you? What major are you going for?" He asked.

"I was thinking an English degree, creative writing program, or something in child development, but I haven't applied anywhere yet. I was thinking Vanderbilt. It's close," I answered. River moved my hair behind my shoulder as he sighed.

"Vanderbilt is actually my number one choice. If I could go there, I wouldn't need to be too far from Mia or you," he said.

"I can't believe college is right around the corner," I said, laying my head down.

"Hopefully, everything goes the way we want it to," River said mostly to himself.