Hard Times

11

"I don't know why that move is rated R, it wasn't even that scary." Nathan said as he, Lucas, Benji, Hayley, and Taylor stepped out of the movie theatre.

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe because of that sex scene?"

"There was nothing in that sex scene, all you saw was a bit of the girl's boobs." Nathan said, waving his hand in the air.

Lucas shrugged as they made their way to Nathan's truck.

"What did you three think?" Nathan asked, looking over at Benji, Hayley, and Taylor.

"It was okay, I was expecting more gore." Benji said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I thought it was kind of boring." Taylor admitted, his arm slung around Hayley's shoulders.

Hayley remained silent, her head resting on Taylor's shoulder. She played with the bracelet around her wrist.

"What do you guys think Stacie and Beca got up to while we were here?" Lucas asked as they finally got into Nathan's truck.

"They either slept or had sex." Benji said as a joke which earned him a glare from Taylor.

Lucas frowned in confusion and turned in his seat to look back at Benji. "Are they together?"

"I don't know." Benji said, shrugging.

Lucas shook his head and turned back around, still confused.

"You like her?" Benji said after a moment. "You're jealous of Beca."

"I didn't say that." Lucas mumbled, looking out the window.

"It's so obvious." Benji said with a teasing smile.

Lucas sighed softly and looked back towards Benji. "Is it?"

"Yeah." Benji said, staring at him.

Running a hand through his hair, Lucas looked down. "I know she doesn't see me like that, so I'm trying to respect her boundaries."

"No harm in being honest, it worked for Taylor and my sister." Benji said, shrugging casually.

Lucas instantly shook his head. "She's still hung up on Bree."

"So, you'd make a good distraction." Benji said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.

Lucas sighed and turned to look out the window, surprised Taylor hadn't said anything.

"Lucas, I think you should try with my sister." Taylor said after a long moment of silence. "She's having your baby and the more we've hung out, the more I've realised you're not actually a bad guy." He admitted, receiving a gentle kiss on the cheek from Hayley.

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked, glancing towards Taylor in the backseat.

"Yes, don't make me change my mind and if you hurt her, I'll kick your ass so hard, you'll not be able to sit down for a year." Taylor said, despite the fact that he knew Lucas could pummel him before he even got a hit in.

Nodding his head, Lucas cleared his throat. "Okay." He said softly.

Taylor smiled, feeling like he'd done his 'big brother job' well.

****

Stacie looked up from the song she was writing, she'd finally gone to the rivercourt with everyone. But had decided to work on a song instead of interacting with anyone.

"Hey." Lucas said as he sat down beside her, a sweaty mess, his hair sticking to his forehead.

"Hi." Stacie said softly, closing her song book.