Lucas Carter is struggling to find his place after moving to Seacrest and enrolling in Seacrest High.
As he settles in with a new group of friends, Lucas becomes caught in a complicated love triangle with Tyler, a closeted jock, and Alec, a my...
I was on my way to the locker room to get changed for basketball practice, after school. The halls were empty; everyone had gone home, or so I thought but I was shocked to see a soft light coming from one of the classrooms. Curious, I stepped towards it, pushing the door open gently. Inside the classroom, my eyes met with someone painting on an easel and my jaw dropped as I realized it was Alec. Suddenly, the door made a sharp creaking sound, grabbing his attention, and he whipped around wide-eyed to see me.
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"Lucas!-What're you doing here?" he asked, his tone sounding shocked. "I could ask you the same thing, school's over" I replied. "Art club," he said blankly. "But you're the only one here," I observed. "Yeah, and I prefer it that way," he said. I paused to look at the easel, the outline of his painting. "What're you painting?" I asked curiously. He turned sharply, "What's it to you?" he asked, his words harsh. I went to speak again when I heard Tyler's voice break through the air, "Hey Lucas, you in here?", followed by the door swinging open as Tyler walked in.
Tyler paused, his eyes traveling from me to Alec and back again before he spoke, "Uh, coach wants us in there for a team meeting,"he informed. "Oh shoot," I quipped, before casting another glance at Alec, his expressive blue eyes laced with something unreadable before I turned and walked away with Tyler.
While walking down the hallway, he turned to me a teasing smile spread across his face, "So you're friends with the mystery kid now? What else about you don't I know?" he inquired, his tone was teasing but his eyes were fixed on me with a burning intensity, I could feel the heat rising in my skin. "He's just my lab partner," I replied. He nodded, and in an attempt to change the subject, I began, "So what's this team meeting about?"
"Oh, who knows? Coach calls one at least once every week. It's almost never that important," he explained. Soon, we were all packed on the benches in the gym room. I took a seat beside Tyler as the coach faced us all. "What's up, coach?" one of my teammates began. "I'm not gonna lie to you all; we're having some trouble finding the funding for our away game next month," he explained, the look on his face hinting at disappointment.
"Isn't the school supposed to handle stuff like that, coach?" Nick questioned. "Yeah, but we've already blown the monthly budget," Coach replied. "So what're we gonna do?", Tyler chimed in. "I've been looking into ways to raise the money ourselves but I needed some new perspectives," "That's what you're all here for; we need ideas," Coach said. "How about we do a bake sale?" a teammate chimed in. "No, no bake sales we don't need anymore students getting sick from eating undercooked cupcakes," Coach protested.
"I say we set up a kissing booth," Nick's playful voice broke through, causing a boyish rile to form between the other teammates. "Cool it," Coach bellowed, calming the jeering when another teammate spoke up, "Uh, I heard a rumor that there's been a breakout of herpes though, and I don't think I'm up for finding out if that's true or not," causing a riff among us. I watched as everyone began talking over each other, creating a chaotic symphony of voices. "I said cool it!" the coach bellowed, blowing his whistle until he had everyone's attention again. "A kissing booth is off the table," he said, triggering a conflict in responses among us. Suddenly, I had a thought. "How about a car wash?" I spoke. Everyone began to think it over. "That's perfect," Coach said. Tyler cast me a smile. "Yeah, I say we go with that," he said, backing me up.
"Thanks for having my back, Ty," Nick said sarcastically. "Sorry, but there was no way we were doing a kissing booth," Tyler grinned, and I noticed Nick casting a glare towards me.
"So we're all in favor of the car Wash?" Coach asked, taking a vote. "So it's settled then, everyone on the court."
Practice went on relentlessly until the clock struck 5 in the evening. The sun sank lower in the sky, casting a warm orange hue over the town. The sounds of sneakers squeaking against the polished surface and the rhythmic dribbling of basketballs filled the air. The team pushed themselves, the intensity rising with each play. The echoes of the game lingered as the coach called it a day, and we gathered back in the locker room, breathing heavily, ready to change after a rigorous and competitive session on the court.
As we settled in the locker room, Tyler offered me another ride home and who was I to say no.
