Always

21: just a jacket

Luca gets to the stage and the crowd starts cheering, their excitement palpable. He takes a deep breath, feeling the energy of the audience coursing through him. The lights dim slightly, casting a spotlight on him as he approaches the microphone.

"Good evening, everyone!" Luca's voice booms through the speakers, and the crowd responds with an even louder cheer. "Are you ready for an unforgettable night?"

The crowd roars in agreement. Luca smiles, his confidence growing with each passing second. He signals to the band, and the opening chords of the first song fill the air. The music is electrifying, and the crowd starts to sway and dance to the rhythm.

As the night goes on, Luca captivates the audience with his powerful voice and magnetic stage presence. He performs song after song, each one met with enthusiastic applause and cheers.

"Before we go onto the last song for the night, I specially wrote this for today. It's unreleased, so this next song is for someone out there. Thank you for always being there, for your unwavering support, and for making every day brighter. You inspire me in ways you'll never know," he says, looking at me? No, that can't be right; there are all his friends in the VIP section. It might be for Felix or Celeste or anyone else; it's just not for you. Get over yourself, Ivy.

I look to the right to realize that Celeste and Felix are staring at me. I look to the left, and Grace and Phoenix are also staring at me. "What? Why are you all staring at me?" No one replies to that, but for some reason, they all are smiling. Weirdos.

The song continues. It's the one he sang to me last night at the treehouse, and my thoughts go back to that night we fell asleep in the treehouse. I smile at the memory when a shiver runs through me. My spine shivers due to the cold wind. "You have a jacket, Ivy. Wear it; you're shivering from the cold," Grace says. I eye the jacket in my lap.

Lucas just doesn't share his clothes; he hates giving anything that's his to others.

I ignore the thoughts in my mind and wear the jacket because I'm going to die from hypothermia otherwise. As soon as I wear the jacket, the smell of his cologne surrounds me, comforting me in an odd way. The jacket, being big on me, reaches mid-thigh. "Why is your jacket so big on you, Ivy?" Grace asks, confused

. "Because it's not hers, it's Luca's," Celeste replies, wiggling her eyebrows at Grace before I can reply. "That fucker shared his clothes?" Phoenix asks, surprised. Grace nods. "Why are you so shocked?" Grace asks.

Not this again. "Because I once fell in the pool at his house, and he refused to give me his clothes. I had to drive to my house shivering, and I got a fever because of that dick," he says, looking at us, and Felix smirks, "That was fun." And everyone starts staring at me and the jacket again. "Oh my god, he just gave me his jacket, not his fucking property. Stop staring at me," I yell. "Getting his property is easier than getting his clothes," Phoenix says, and everyone starts laughing at what he said. One glare at him, and he immediately shuts up.