Lauren quickly walked past them dropping her books in the process. She huffed and kneeled down and began to pick up her books and notebooks. She was startled when someone kneeled in front of her and helped her before offering a hand to help her stand. She looked up and saw Matthew smiling at her sheepishly. She held her hand up to take his but decided against it. He sighed and pulled his hand back as Lauren stood up and took the notebooks from Matthew's hand. She hugged them with one arm and patted her jeans with her free hand. She muttered a thank you and waited for him to move out of the way.
"I'm sorry about Lenin." He said. "She isn't like that. It's probably from the influence of Claire." He scratched the back of his head.
"It's okay. She didn't do anything."
Lauren tried to walk away again but Matthew blocked her way. "I know she did something. I could see it by the look in your face."
Lauren raised her eyebrow. "And how exactly did my face look like?"
"Like you were about to pass out." He teased.
Lauren lowered her gaze when she remembered the scene a while ago. "It's nothing, really. I'm fine. I have to go now." Before Matthew could block her again, she quickly ran down the halls. She was panting by the time she had reached the parking lot where Tyler and Claire were waiting for her.
"What the heck happened to you?" Claire asked. Tyler held her hand to help her stay up and Claire took some of her books.
"I was just blocked on the way." Lauren told them. Tyler unlocked the car doors and they all went in. She sat on the passenger seat while Claire sat on the back. Tyler turned on the radio and Fall Out Boy's Centuries blasted from the speakers. He began tapping his index finger as he followed the song's beat on the car wheel.
"I love this song!" Claire squealed and began swaying her head.
Tyler chuckled. "You love anything new."
Claire frowned. "Not true." She continued to sway her head, her dark hair becoming a tangled mess. She stopped when she realized that Lauren has kept quiet. Lauren is a very quiet person. She doesn't like to talk much. You'll usually find her in her room by the window reading a book or simply just sitting on her bed and looking out of the window as she observed the other people outside but Lauren did talk to Claire and Tyler. She teased them and played along with them so it made Claire concerned of how she just sat on her seat looking out of the window as if she wasn't even aware she was with them. Claire scooted forward and tapped Lauren on the shoulder. She blinked and looked around confused as if she just woke up from a trance.
"Hey, are you okay?" Claire asked. Tyler glanced at her with the same worried expression.
Lauren nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay." She flashed a quick smile before looking out the window.
"Is this about that guy? What was his name again? Maverick?"
"Matthew." Lauren corrected. "And no... it has nothing to do with him."
"I don't care if it has nothing to with him. I will punch him for making you uncomfortable." Tyler uttered and Claire burst out laughing. Lauren smiled the smallest of smiles.
"You don't have to Ty and trust me there is nothing wrong."
Claire decided not to push but continued laughing as Tyler scoffed and rolled his eyes as he gripped the wheel tighter. They reached the Sparks's residence in a few minutes. Lauren immediately went to the kitchen and poured lemonade on four glasses. Melanie skipped inside the kitchen and cheered when she saw the glasses of lemonade on the kitchen counter. She quickly climbed on one of the stools and grabbed one of the glasses and began to drink it.
