Over You

8

A/n... Josie (Danielle Campbell) pictured above. Enjoy!

When Luke and I pulled into the parking lot of the school, I was really excited to play with some of the guys, but then I saw his car. Brody. I immediately started panicking and trying to figure out a way to get out of it. 

"Um, Luke, do you think we could go do something else? I'm really not up to play right now," I said worriedly. It was a complete lie, but I could not be around Brody right now.

"Aw are you sure? I was really looking forward to seeing you play..." he said with a pout that instantly changed to a look of concern when he saw my expression.

My eyes had started tearing up and my heart was beating really fast thinking about being around Brody and I was trying my best to keep it in.

"Hey no it's okay we can go somewhere else, okay?" He started to pull out of the parking lot and cross the street to the closest shopping center.

I was leaning my head against the window trying to get control of my breathing before it got too out of hand. I could not do this in front of him. I finally make a guy friend and here I am having a breakdown right in front of him.

Once we parked again, he unbuckled his seatbelt and turned towards me. I felt his hand pull mine from my face, and I let him without protest. He held it in his on the center console and looked at me with concern. "Blair, calm down. What's going on? Please tell me what's happening."

I had somewhat calmed down and was wiping away the tears with my other hand. I avoided eye contact and started to mumble, "You're gonna think it's stupid and that I'm overreacting, but I can't help it."

"I'm not going to think anything you say is stupid. Please just explain and I'll hear you out," he said with sincerity. I was in awe of his understanding and could not believe that this was the goofy Luke I had always seen but had never really known.

"Alright. Well, obviously you know that I've liked Brody for awhile, and like you said, he has no idea. In my mind I thought that maybe he knew, and possibly felt the same way, but I was so wrong. The past few days he's been acting really weird and overprotective, and I confronted him about it. So last night he tried to explain it all to me, and he said that I was like his little sister and he wants to protect me..." I trailed off a little bit while I tried to hold myself together. I was so ashamed of how big of a deal I was making this whole thing.

"No.. he said that? That you were like his little sister?" he asked with sympathy in his voice and a light squeeze of my hand.

I simply nodded and continued. "I realize it's not a huge deal and I shouldn't have freaked out about him being at the field, but I can't really help it"

He looked at me confused. "I think your reaction was perfectly fine, but what do you mean you can't help it?"

I took a deep breath and decided that I would tell him something only my best friends and family knew. "What I mean is... I get panic attacks. They don't happen that often and that wasn't my worst, but I get them."

I wouldn't make eye contact with him, but I felt his hand let go of mine and reach up to lift my chin. "I understand. I mean, I obviously don't know what you go through, but you shouldn't be ashamed of something you can't control, alright?"

I stared at him in shock. I was in complete awe of how he had responded to this thing I had always hated about myself. He wiped away the last of my tears that I'd let fall and then peppily said, "How about some ice cream?"

"Do you think we could just take some back to one of our houses? I really don't wanna be around people right now," I pleaded.

"Of course, I'll be right back." He jumped out of the car without even asking what I'd wanted.

                                                                                             ---

Luke and I walked up the stairs to his room, each of us carrying our own cup of ice cream. Walking down the hall, we were stopped by a little blonde girl yelling, "Lukey!" and jumping up into his arms. 

"Hey Claire Bear," he said excitedly as he gave the little girl a tight squeeze. I couldn't help but internally squeal at how adorable the whole situation was. 

Claire noticed me over Luke's shoulder and pointed while whispering in his ear. He turned and smiled, saying, "That's my friend Blair. Blair, this is my baby sister Claire".

She waved at me excitedly and said, "Your name rhymes with mine! Does Luke call you Blair Bear like he calls me Claire Bear?"

I instantly started blushing at the same time Luke let out a loud laugh. He glanced at me and then looked back at his little sister and said, "That's a great idea Claire Bear,  I might just do that".

Claire smiled and started squirming to get out of Luke's grasp. He put her down and she ran over, hugged my legs, and then beamed up at me in the most adorable way. "I like you Blair Bear," she said and then ran down the stairs.

I was so confused at first, mostly because children usually detest me. Luke must have noticed the confusion on my face and said, "She likes everyone at first, you won't know how she really feels about you until you see her again". He smirked at me and then started to walk farther down the hall.

I followed closely behind him and said sarcastically, "Wow that makes me feel special". He just laughed as we reached the end of the hall and he opened a door that led to what was surprisingly not a bedroom. Behind the door was a hidden spiral staircase leading up to the attic. I skeptically followed him up, but I couldn't lie about the fact that it was really awesome. 

We emerged from the floor and I silently observed his room around me. It reflected all of his different sides, ones that I knew about and one I might just have to ask him about. On one side of the room, he had all of his soccer gear laying in a pile. On the walls above there's a scatter of posters of professional soccer players, as well as a framed photo of his team after winning State Cup. On the other side of the room, there was a bookshelf completely filled with CDs and some vinyl records. On the top of the self there sat the most beautiful record player I had ever seen, but it was obvious that he actually used it and it wasn't just for show. Sitting next to the bookshelf was a beat-up, but beautiful, guitar. Then, one of the most fascinating things in the entire room was the stack of books on his side table, and then more of them on the floor, and on his desk. They were everywhere.

I was pulled out of my survey of the room when I heard Luke say, "See anything interesting?" with a somewhat nervous but also cocky expression on his face.

I instantly blushed, as usual, and looked down at my hands and then back up at him. "I guess I'm just amazed by all the different sides and personalities to you. The athlete, the musician..." I trail off a as I walk towards his side table and run my hands over the bindings of his books. I look back up at him and continue, "the goofball and the sensitive guy. Remember that night on the hammock? How you  said you get tired of pretending to be who everyone else wants you to be?"

He simply nodded as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Well if what you said is true, then who is the real you?"

He smiled mischievously, then all of a sudden grabbed my arms and pulled me onto the bed and started tickling me. I couldn't stop laughing, and I was gasping for air and asking him to stop so I could breathe again and get the answer to my question. He finally stopped and was hovering above me when he said, "You'll find out soon enough".