Scattering Lilac Ashes

Chapter Sixty-Five

"Earth to Lila," Elise's voice called at morning tea the next day. Elise, Grace, and Lila were sitting in their usual spot on the grass, bundled up considerably. Lila snapped out of her reverie and looked at Elise, somewhat confused.

"What's up?" Lila asked, bringing her apple to her mouth.

"You've been staring at that apple for a few minutes, smiling like it's your full-time job. Honestly, forget about Drapple, Lilapple is where it's at."

Lila rolled her eyes at Elise, sinking her teeth into her apple pointedly. Jokes about shipping Draco Malfoy and green apples aside, had she really zoned out for that long?

"Did something good happen yesterday?" Grace questioned, biting delicately into a piece of cucumber, hiding her mouth with her other hand.

"Not... really," Lila replied as she swallowed her bit of apple.

"Then what's up with all the smiling? Sounds very mysterious," Grace grinned, her tone taking on a teasing, conspiratorial edge.

"Didn't Asher go over to tutor Daniel yesterday?" Elise placed a finger on her chin, emphasising the question.

"Sure did," Lila responded shortly, taking another bite of her apple. "He's coming over again tonight and maybe the weekend."

"Just how screwed is your brother?" Elise asked, raising an eyebrow and surveying Lila closely.

"Pretty screwed," Lila laughed. It wasn't a lie.

"Sounds like it," Grace nodded. She shared a look with Elise and smirked. "Also sounds like you're pretty excited for Asher to go to your place after school," Grace added.

Lila sighed, putting her finished apple core into her empty sandwich bag. She was blushing slightly while her stomach swooped at the thought of Asher's imminent arrival at her house, but she hoped to play it off.

"I figured something out after Asher helped Daniel, actually," Lila said gradually, a giddy smile brightening her face. Her realisation regarding her feelings for Asher was something she wanted to tell Grace and Elise. She'd been swept up in her feelings all day and wanted to share it with someone she could trust, even if it was just to giggle about it. Grace and Elise leaned in, their eyes twinkling identically in anticipation.

"Figured what out?" Isaac's curious voice made the girls almost leap out of their skins.

"Isaac," Elise hissed exasperatedly. "You just killed the mood. Read the room, dude. Or the outside, I guess."

"What mood?" Asher asked, casually flopping onto the ground beside Lila.

"Oh, come ON! I thought we'd settled on lunch, not morning tea too," huffed Elise. "Morning tea's almost over, anyway. Why are you guys here?"

"We wanted to stop by," pouted Isaac, dramatically wiping away non-existent tears. "You're being so mean."

"To check that we were still having lunch today," Asher clarified, glancing uncertainly at Lila. A wave of tingles crashed over her, and her blush deepened. She looked down at the remnants of her morning tea with great interest, suddenly unable to find her voice.

"Yes, yes, lunch is still on. Now go away and don't come back," Elise snapped. "Lila was about to tell us something important."

"Ooh," Isaac cooed, wedging himself between Grace and Elise forcefully. Neither seemed happy about this. "I like important stuff."

Asher propped himself up on his elbows, looking at Lila expectantly. She refused to meet his gaze.

"I-It's not really important," Lila finally said quietly. She was hyper-aware of her breathing and heartbeat as she shifted her position so she was angled away from Asher.