The player and the shy girl (ΒΟΟΚ2)

Caught in a Moment

We walk outside, and he looks at me.
"What was that you said to her?" Lucas asks, looking at me.

"Sorry if it bothered you," I say, and he just keeps looking at me.

"It's fine. I get it—you wanted to put her in her place," he replies.

"I'm glad," I say as I turn to leave.

"What are you doing today?" he asks, and I turn to look at him again.

"Practice," I answer.

"Oh right, I forgot," he says. "Do you want to go together?"

"Whatever you want," I say, and he smiles.

"Great, I'll pick you up from your place," he offers.

"Just text me before you leave," I reply, and he nods.

The bell rings, and we both head outside to sit on the bench. As the other kids come out, they glance in my direction. I look down, and Lucas nudges me.

"I'll talk to them when they talk to me," I whisper to him, and he rolls his eyes.

"Emma!" Mia calls out, looking directly at me.

"Okay, fine, I forgive you," I say, and Mia literally jumps on me to give me a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Emma. I really am. I regret not telling you anything," she says.

"Forget about it. What are you going to do about Alex?" I ask, teasing her, as Peter tenses up.

"What do you mean 'what is she going to do'?" Peter asks angrily, glaring at me.

I give him a knowing look.
"Someone's jealous," I say with a mischievous smile.

"Me? No way!" Peter protests, looking away.

"Alright then, Mia. You can just apologize and tell him it was all a mistake with Peter," I tease her, winking at the others.

Peter immediately jumps up from the bench, looking outraged.
"She better not! Mia's mine!" he says, seriously glaring at everyone.

I sit back down, laughing, as Lucas watches.

"But she still has to explain it to him," I say, and Peter gives us a resigned look.

"Fineee," Peter sighs, giving in.

"Ah, love... what it does to people," I muse, and just then, I feel someone's eyes on me. I look up and meet Lucas's gaze, his honey-brown eyes staring deeply into mine.

I quickly look away, feeling uncomfortable, and my face turns bright red. I hate it when people stare at me, I can turn red at any moment, like a chameleon changing colors.

Austin notices and smirks.
"What's up with you?" he asks, and suddenly everyone's eyes are on me.

"Emma's blushing—again. Gee, I wonder why," Austin teases, and I shoot him a murderous look.

Lucas, now watching me more closely, lets out a small laugh.

Stop it, seriously! Ugh... Why did he have to look at me like that? Now I'm redder than a tomato.

I nudge him to make him stop smiling, but he just gives me a playful look and laughs even more.

"You started it! Stop it!" I whisper, and he stops laughing, looking at me again.

"Hey, I didn't do anything. I just looked at you. You're the one who turns red instantly—it happens all the time now," he whispers back.

I give him a look and glance down.
Whatever, Lucas...

The bell rings again, and we head back to class. Mia leaves me to sit with Peter, and now I'm stuck sitting next to Lucas...

Oh boy, this is going to be interesting.
I sit down, and Lucas starts playing on his phone while I doodle in my notebook. The teacher is helping another student with an exercise.

"Lucas! What are you doing over there?!" the teacher suddenly shouts, getting up from her desk to come check on him.

Lucas quickly locks his phone and hands it to me just in time for me to stuff it in the pocket next to my notebook.

I focus on his hands, trying to look innocent, and the teacher glares at us.

"What did you have in your hands, Lucas?" she asks suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"Do you see anything in my hands?" Lucas replies calmly.

"I saw you holding something," she insists.

"Well, I'm not holding anything now, am I?" Lucas says, and the teacher turns her attention to me.

Oh no... here we go. I'm going to get in trouble because of him.

"Emma, what was Lucas holding?" she asks, clearly expecting me to tell the truth.

"How should I know? I don't pay attention to Lucas," I answer, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Are you sure, Emma?" she presses.

"Absolutely," I say, and after a moment, she walks away.

I exhale and glance at Lucas.
I swear, Lucas... I'm going to get into trouble because of you, idiot.

I'm not giving him his phone back. He can survive fifteen minutes without it.

After a few more minutes, the bell rings for the end of the school day. Finally.

Mia leaves with Peter, and I'm about to leave alone when Lucas catches up with me.

"My phone, please," Lucas says, giving me a smirk.

"Oh, right," I say, pulling it out of my pocket and handing it to him.

"Thanks for covering for me, Emma," he says, flashing me a smile before walking off and winking.