He's a Fanboy?!

He Has Nothing To Say

dedicated to @LeGirlGamerHere for being my homie since the beginning lmao

{~}

"Are you going to cry?" Luke drapes his arm around my shoulder and pulls me in the direction of my safe haven: the library.

Suddenly I am very interested in the floor tiles. My eyes widen as much as possible, refusing to let tears drop. "No. I don't want to. I won't. I will not become a damsel in distress."

"You know, letting it out a little won't make you a damsel in distress. I won't judge," Luke shoves the library door open with one hand and a leg. "and there's nobody else here to judge you either. Crying releases a chemical that makes you feel better, you know."

I let out one little tear before wiping my face with the sleeve of my sweater and blinking over and over again. "It's okay. I mean, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"But is it really fair to feel hurt?" I ignore his question. "it's not like he cheated on me or anything. We were never dating."

Luke gently pushes me into a chair. "No, but it's more than that. He stopped talking to you completely, and that's the problem here."

There is a short silence and he takes a seat himself, but I get up. "I'm just... Gonna go to the washroom. I'll be back quick, you don't have to come, don't worry," I excuse myself quickly, making it clear that I don't want to be followed. I'm not going to actually do something. I just want to see if I look like I've been crying. And pee. Yeah, peeing sounds good right about now.

I stare into the mirror for a few minutes. My eyes are watered just a little bit, but other than that I don't look different. I look completely fine, if you were to excuse the frown etched into my face. It's a frown I've never seen myself wear before. It's a frown that shows feelings I've never really, truly felt before.

__________________________

When I get back, Luke isn't alone.

I step into the library as quietly as I did the day I first formally met Brayden. Which, I believe, is completely necessary because Brayden currently stands right in front of Luke. I watch from the shelf behind him, unsure of what else to do.

"--you made her do it, didn't you?" I can't see it, but I can imagine his face now just by hearing his tone: hard eyes, eyebrows creased, and mouth pressed into a perfectly straight line.

"Make her what? Catch you making out with Callie?" Luke hisses back.

"I don't know what your deal is, but I know you knew about Callie and I. You knew Elle was going to get hurt but you sent her in anyway?"

I step out from behind the shelf. "What?" Their heads snap in unison to face me. "Luke, you already knew?"

"Yes, Elle! Did you even know that he sits at our table? He knew. He knew," Brayden points at Luke desperately.

"Don't act innocent, you're still the main reason I 'got hurt,'" I mutter, air quoting with my fingers.

"Annabelle, you had to see it. You had to. There was no way around it, I had to show you," Luke tries to grab my hand, but I give him a look and he shies away.

"Oh!" Brayden suddenly laughs, but not in the humorous way. "It all makes sense now. Elle, don't you see it? Luke wants you. He likes you. That's why he's doing all this!"