Dreamer

Chapter 5: I Think Her Name is Lucy

Jamie walked through a school corridor that led to the outside part of the school for lunch. As he walked through the doors, he saw Tom up ahead talking to a few other students. When Tom noticed Jamie walking towards him, he said his goodbyes to his friends and walked over to his best friend. "You alright?" Tom asked as Jamie approached him. "Yeah, I've got Maths next. Really looking forward to that" Jamie replied sarcastically. "At least it's not Science" Tom smirked. Jamie groaned in response.

With their hands buried in their pockets, the pair slowly walked off. Tom started talking about a programme on TV which had Jamie's attention.

But as they walked and Tom was talking, he noticed Jamie seemed to zone out. At first Tom assumed it was because of the passing of Jamie's grandad. It had been nearly a month since it happened and it took some time before Jamie started being a bit more like himself. He wasn't back to his old self entirely but Jamie was a lot better compared to before.

Despite not taking in what was being said, Tom continued talking. The pair slowed to a stop as Tom began to realise Jamie hadn't zoned out because of the reason he initially thought. Jamie was distracted by someone across the way. Tom followed his gaze onto the person.

A girl.

She was in their year, Tom knew of that as he smirked at his best friend. She was busy talking and laughing with another girl. "You know, I can almost see your heart beating against your chest" Tom chuckled, grabbing Jamie's attention.

"Huh? What? Uh sorry what's up?" Jamie stammered, making Tom laugh. "See something you like? Or should I say, someone?" Tom teased, making Jamie blush and turn his head to look in the other direction nervously.

Tom laughed harder, shaking his head. "Dude shut up" Jamie said in an embarrassed tone. "I'm just messing around dude, she's Good looking to be fair" Tom pointed out. "W-Who?" Jamie replied.

Tom rolled his eyes at the reply. "That girl, her, over there. The one that almost made you fall on your ass cause you was so focused on staring at her" Tom told him, motioning his head in the direction of the girl.

Jamie blushed and looked down, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Do you know her?" Jamie asked shyly. "A bit, I've seen her around. I think she's in my English class" Tom shrugged, looking over at her. Jamie nodded slowly, thinking for a few moments. "Do you know her name?" Jamie said quietly.

"I think her name is Lucy" Tom answered as a teacher blew a whistle to signal the end of break. "I swear it gets shorter every time" Tom mumbled while Jamie just stared at the girl. Tom noticed this and rolled his eyes. "Come on Romeo, you can cort her later with some Shakespeare" Tom grinned, pushing his friend lightly towards the way back into the school.

Jamie stood waiting for Tom on the path outside of school. It was now home time, everyone was with their friend groups, walking off to their destinations. As Jamie was waiting, he spotted Lucy by herself. She was on her phone messaging, probably waiting for her friends like he was.

A hand landed on Jamie's shoulder, making him jump. "Damn it Tom!" Jamie exclaimed, catching his breath as Tom laughed. "I'm glad you find giving someone a heart attack funny you asshole" Jamie mumbled, his breathing returning to normal.

Jamie glanced over and saw Lucy still by herself which caught Tom's attention. He rested his arm on Jamie's shoulder and followed his gaze. "Nows the best time to talk to her" Tom pointed out. Jamie didn't respond for a few moments as he got lost in his thoughts. But he then shook his head and nudged his shoulder to get Tom's arm off it and began walking.

The pair walked in silence for a few moments. "So... Are you going to talk to her at some point?" Tom asked. "I don't know..." Jamie said softly. "Why not?" Tom replied but Jamie shrugged which made Tom sigh.

"Look... I don't know what happened to you and Charlie... That's cool, it's between you two and if you wanna tell me about it you can whenever but you should totally talk to Lucy. She seems cool and all that. You clearly like her" Tom pointed out. Now Jamie was the one to sigh. "I want to, but I just... I can't. I'm nervous and after what happened with Charlie..." Jamie pointed out, making Tom look at him waiting for an explanation.

Jamie glanced at Tom and deeply inhaled. "Dude... You know how me and her were like" Jamie began, making Tom nod slightly. "Yeah you two was all I love you more, no I love you more" Tom replied in a mocking tone. Jamie nodded but was interrupted by Tom. "I can't lie, it made me cringe so hard" Tom added, making Jamie roll his eyes.

"Whatever... So regardless what you say, it really seemed like we meant every word and we was close... Really close. But the truth is, we weren't... I blame myself... And my dad" Jamie went on, making Tom raise his eyebrow. Jamie saw this and went on.

"We broke up because she didn't have feelings for me anymore. It really sucked, more than anything. I loved her and it felt like being stabbed honestly" Jamie admitted as they stopped at the end of a road and faced each other. "That sucks, sorry" Tom said softly. "It's okay, it hurts a lot... Well not as much as it did but I can't help but think about Lucy. Sure I like her... But that doesn't mean she will like me back, it makes me nervous" Jamie went on.

Tom nodded as he listened. "The thing is, if there's a chance Lucy likes me too then I'm scared it might end the same way" Jamie revealed. "Jamie, you don't know that. No one does, that's the part of love is the risk. But we have to take them because you never know. Take your time okay? But trust me, I think it's worth trying. You never know" Tom smiled, holding his fist up.

Jamie smiled and nodded slightly, fist bumping Tom. "See you tomorrow" Jamie said. "Yeah" Tom replied and they went their separate ways. Jamie was deep in his thoughts all the way home. What Tom said and Lucy. He was weighing up his options. He knew Tom was right but before he could even contemplate his fears, he had to first make a move. Jamie sighed, knowing talking to her for the first time would be absolutely terrifying. I wonder what Chris would think about this? Jamie thought to himself.

Everything looked how it had looked before. Jamie excitedly walked to where he would usually find Chris. Sure enough, there he was. Jamie picked up his pace when he saw Chris as he joined him. "Chris!" Jamie called with a big smile. "Hey!" Chris replied with a big smile in return as they jogged over to each other. "What's new?" Chris asked eagerly as they walked together.

"Same pretty much, school sucks and all that" Jamie shrugged as Chris nodded with a smile. "I wish I went to school" Chris pointed out. "I don't think anyone has ever said they want to go to school" Jamie laughed. "I just want to see what it's like for me I suppose" Chris replied, a little but on the quiet side which made Jamie take notice and stop walking. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean you won't like it. I just mean everyone I know doesn't like school but everyone should go. You deserve to see what it's like for yourself..." Jamie said softly.

"It's okay, I might get cooties" Chis grinned, making the pair laugh. "I told you that's little school, not at the schools like mine" Jamie laughed and they continued walking. They sat at a bench together as they stared out into the scenery before them.

Chris glanced at Jamie and smiled. Jamie didn't notice at first but caught him looking and smiling at him. "What?" Jamie smiled back. "Nothing, it's just... You look a lot happier than normal and well it's making me happy" Chris pointed out, making Jamie laugh a bit. "Is there a reason?" Chris asked softly.

Jamie felt his face heat up a little as he shifted on the bench a bit. "I don't know, I guess?" Jamie shyly replied getting Chris excited about some potential good news. "There's a girl I saw at my school and she's... Well I like her" Jamie shrugged with a smile.

"Oh nice! You wanna be her friend too!" Chris exclaimed excitedly. "Uhm, not exactly..." Jamie replied quietly. "Oh... What do you mean then?" Chris asked. "So I kinda... Have a crush on her a bit" Jamie replied. Chris stared at him blankly. "Crush?" Chris said in a confused tone.

"Yeah, when you like someone and sometimes it can become love" Jamie explained. The expression on Chris didn't change as Jamie's face saddened in realisation. "You don't know what love is, do you? Jamie asked softly to which Chris shook his head slowly...