𝙴𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 ||𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚘𝚗

4

By the time it was lunch, I still didn't want to face Steve. I walked down the hallway and noticed he and Robin were standing at my locker waiting for me. They were surprisingly talking and it seemed civil. He spotted me and waved as I began walking toward him. I tried to get into my locker but he stood in front of it. 

"Steve, move, please." His eyes searched my face before he slid over. I opened my locker and put my things away, before grabbing my homework and bag of pretzels I brought for lunch. 

"That's not much of a lunch," Steve said looking over at me, his head leaning against the locker behind him. 

"I'm not hungry." I slammed my locker shut and began into the cafeteria. Steve followed behind me giving me the space I needed and I sat down at the table while he went to get his food. I began working on my math homework when Robin sat down. 

"Are you ok? You left earlier without me and then Steve was asking me questions about like Billy and your family. Is he being creepy?" I tilted my head to look at her as she began sorting through her food. 

"I"m ok, everything is good. I just needed to be to class early since I missed yesterday." 

"I got to class before you," She said in a worried tone. "You are sure everything is ok?" Steve made his way back to the table and I looked back down at my work. 

"I'm good." Steve and I didn't really talk all that much during lunch unless Nancy was looking or walked past. He leaned close to me as he spoke and pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. 

"Are you free after school?" He asked. I thought for a moment.

"I have to take Max home and help her with her homework, so I'm not sure." I looked away from him and he rested his arm on the back of my chair. 

"Why don't I come over? You can help me with mine also." I quickly looked up. 

"No, you can't come over," I said almost instantly and he furrowed his eyebrows at me. 

"And why's that?" He leaned in again. "Elizabeth, is there something going on?" 

"No Steve, I just can't have anyone over. Especially not boys. My dad gets weird about having people over." He nodded along like he understood and I went to get up. 

"Why don't you and Max come to my place after school? My parents really don't care and I would love the company," He said as he reached for my hand before I left. I stood staring at him for a minute, worrying about if I would get in trouble if I wasn't home after school. "Please." He smiled up at me, breaking me out of my thought.

"I will ask Max, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind." His smile got even bigger and he drummed on the table. "Find me after school and I'll let you know what she says." I walked out of the cafeteria and spent the rest of the period in the library. The rest of the school day passed and I waited for Max outside of the middle school. Max walked out with a boy laughing at something he had said. She spotted me and they both walked over to me. 

"Hey, Beth, this is Lucas." I waved as they came close. "Lucas this is my sister, Beth." 

"It's nice to meet you, Lucas." 

"You too, Beth." 

"So, Lucas and his friends invited me to the arcade, do you think you could take me?" I thought for a minute before smiling. 

"Of course, I just need to find Steve and then we can go." I turned and saw him walking over to us. "You can go wait in the car if you want to." She waved by before Lucas and her walked down the sidewalk, him to his bike and her over to my car.