To Keep You Off My Mind

Chapter 18

Lily's POV

I turned around to look at Locke. "What?" I said shyly.

"I love you too." He smiled and walked up the street to meet me. Our toes met and he grabbed my hand. "I wanted to tell you, but I thought you were over me." I leaned in and let him wrap his arms around me.

"No, I never got over you." We embraced and I relaxed in his safe arms. I forgot about everything that had happened to me and just focused on Locke. He pulled away and looked at me, nose to nose. My stomach filled with butterflies and I started to worry. Although I craved a kiss from him, I'd only ever kissed one person and I didn't want memories of Chris popping up in my head. He lifted his hand to my cheek and pulled my face closer to his. He pulled me so close that if I puckered my lips, they'd touch his. I felt him lean in and I pulled back. "Locke, I can't." He looked down at me with a surprised face. "I just can't do this yet, I'm sorry." He smiled and moved his hand back down to my back.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna pressure you into anything." I smiled up at him as he spoke.

"Thanks." I glanced down at my phone and saw the time. "Oh, we better get home, it's getting late." We backed out of our embrace.

"Yeah. I'll walk you home." I agreed and he began walking me down the street. As we walked, his hand bumped into mine a few times before softly sliding his fingers in between mine. His hands were warm and a little sweaty, but I didn't mind, because mine were too. We walked down the street talking and laughing, and I felt all my troubles melt away.

When we reached my house, we said our goodbyes and he gave me a hug. We let go, and I snuck down the driveway to the front door. I slipped in and quietly ran into my room. I closed the door, turned off the lights, and bolted to my bed. As I pulled the covers over my legs and got comfortable, my thoughts clouded with memories of Locke. I laid like this for a while before drifting off to sleep.

***

The next morning, I woke up and got ready for school. I ate breakfast and drove Lincoln and myself to school. The day went by as usual, until lunch, when I finally saw Locke.

I sat down at the table we always sat at, and waited for him while eating my sandwich and grapes. I saw him walking towards me out of the corner of my eye and pretended like I didn't see him. He sat down and pulled out his lunch.

"Hey Lils!" He said with a smile. I kept my head down and acted like I didn't hear him. "Lils?" I looked up and glanced around the room, pretending to look for him. "Wow. You're so funny." I cracked a smile and gave him a sarcastic glare.

"I know, aren't I just the funniest person you've ever met?" I snickered at him and popped a grape into my mouth.

"Totally." He opened up a brown, paper bag and pulled out a banana. He peeled it and took a bite. "So what are you doing after school? My parents are out of town, and Shep is sleeping over at your house, so the place is all mine." He smiled and tried winking at me seductively, but failed. I giggled and rolled my eyes.

"Wow, attractive. I think I'm free, so, uh, what do you have in mind?" I asked as I placed my fist under my chin to seem interested.

"I thought maybe we could hang out and watch a movie or something, order a pizza, or something." He took another bite of the banana.

"Yeah, or we could build a pillow fort! My parents don't let me do that, so this is our chance!" He smiled and nodded his head.

"Okay, whatever you say." We laughed and continued eating.

We finished our food and walked to class when the bell rang. The rest of the day went by terribly slow, so when the final bell ran, I practically ran to my car. Lincoln got in and I drove home, to drop him off. After he got out I drove down the street to Locke's house. I checked my hair and make up in the rearview mirror and got out. I walked up the walkway and knocked on the door. I heard footsteps and Locke opened the door.

"Well, hello! Come in." He motioned for me to come in and I did. I'd been to his house multiple times before, it was pretty much my second home, and I was quite comfortable there. We walked over to the couch and sat down next to each other, so close I was basically sitting in his lap. "So, what do you wanna do?" We looked around to find ideas.

"How about we watch a movie? You go make some popcorn, and I'll find something to watch." He agreed and we both got up. I picked out a movie I'd never seen, but assumed would be funny. Locke walked back in with a bowl of popcorn and I popped in the movie. We sat back down and he put his arm around me.

The movie started off really funny, and we were both crying from laughter, but then the main character died and I almost started crying, not from laughter. After the movie, we decided to play a board game. We played for a while until we got bored and decided to make some food. We found a frozen pizza in the freezer and decided to cook it. While it was cooking, I asked Locke to show me the one room in his house that I'd never seen, his bedroom. He agreed and we walked upstairs to his room.

He opened the door and we walked in. He sat down on his bed, while I walked over to look at some of the posters on his walls.

"So you really haven't ever been in here?" He asked puzzled.

"Yeah, you never let me in here because I had cooties, remember?" He smiled.

"Oh yeah. Well, this is it. Not that exciting, is it?" I glanced around and walked over to a desk in the corner, covered with papers.

"I think it's cool. What is this?" I picked up a handwritten note with hearts drawn all over it.

"Oh, just a love letter from Julie. Ugh!" He formed a gun with his fingers and shot himself, causing him to fall back on his bed. I laughed and set the note down.

"And this is why I love you." I smiled and stood in front of him. He sat back up and looked up at me. He grabbed my back and pulled us together until our knees bumped into each other and I couldn't move closer without bending them. He stood up and looked down at me.

"So, you still love me? I thought maybe that was just exhausted Lily speaking." I let out a small giggle.

"Nope, I was telling the truth." He smiled down at me and I smiled back. He looked down at his hands and moved them up my back, sending shivers throughout my body. His smile faded as he looked into my eyes, and lifted his hand up to my cheek. I stood frozen as he leaned in and closed his eyes, preparing for a kiss I wasn't ready to give. I felt my breaths quicken as he got closer. Our noses hit and he paused, I tried to step back, but my limbs went numb. He raised my chin up and moved his mouth closer to mine. Our lips collided and thoughts of Chris flooded I to my brain, causing me to instinctively push him away from me.

***
Hey!! So, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but these past few weeks just haven't given me anytime to write!!! I'll try and write as much as I can, but the next two weeks are gonna be CRAZY busy!!! Thanks for reading!!