1941 (l.h.)

chapter 3

As Luke and I got off the Ferris Wheel, we noticed the time. We'd been up the the Ferris Wheel for almost an hour; we were late to meet the rest of the group! Luke tried to take advantage of the situation, but I wouldn't let him.

"We're already late; why not be a little more late? C'mon, we could go get an ice cream or a popcorn or something. Are you thirsty? How about I take you out for a pop?"

"Luke, no! We have to go find our friends. They're probably worried sick about us. And I still have to go with Ashton for a bit. I promised Cal and Catherine I would! Why are you so insistent about making us even more late?"

"It's embarrassing; I can't tell you."

"C'mon. Seriously? Just spill the beans." I nudged him, hoping to coax an answer out of him.

"Fine, well... Okay, I really like you, Vera. It seems like you like me, too. And see, Ashton... He's just so much more than me. So much stronger, so much funnier, so much everything. And I'm afraid that he's going to steal the one girl I actually have a shot with." He looked down at his feet, kicking the dust.

"Oh, Luke... Listen, like I said. You and I can go on some dates, but we aren't official. It'd be moving way too fast. And in the same token, I wouldn't go steady with Ashton after meeting him the first time! So don't worry, okay? You're great just the way you are, and there'll be a girl someday who appreciates that and loves you for it. I promise." He looked back up at me with a smile.

"Okay, I believe you. Let's go find our friends; maybe they'll want to go out for a milkshake!"

"That sounds lovely!" I smiled back at him, beginning to gambol away.

***

"Vera! Luke! Where were you?!? We've been looking for the past half hour! We were ready to go get the policeman and file a missing persons report!" Catherine was not happy to see us back so late. Oops. Granted though, the Ferris Wheel breaking down wasn't our fault by any means! But yelling makes her feel important sometimes, so I just put up with it.

"Luke, man, what happened? Did you and Vera get to be good friends?" Cal asked, laughing. Luke turned bright red and chuckled.

"Ha, ha, very funny. No."

Ashton walked up, giving Luke a glare. Oh, if looks could kill, he would be dead. Ashton. Was. Furious.

"What the hell, Hemmings? You trying to steal my girl? Back off!" Ashton took a step towards Luke, reaching his arms out to push him. Luke started to step back, and I jumped in between them.

"Um, excuse me, but when was it established that I was your girl? Oh, that's right; never! So why're you questioning Luke? What the hell, Ashton? I'm not your girl, so you back off!" I said, getting angry. I may not be the most confident girl when it comes to flirting, but if there's a guy not treating me right, you could bet that I would be there to fight him.

"Hey, hey, guys! Guys! Hello people! There are more important things to worry about. Like WHY THE HELL LUKE AND VERA WERE SO LATE!" Catherine started yelling again, ducking in between Ashton and I.

"The Ferris Wheel broke down! We got stuck at the very top. And Cat and Cal, you know Mr. Crist! He takes forever to get whatever job it is done, and it takes him forever to actually get all of the right tools to do the job. Plus, he didn't know how to fix a Ferris Wheel. So, yeah, we're late, but for a damn good reason." I crossed my arms, still sending dirty looks at Ashton. I didn't actually know if Mr. Crist fixed it himself, but it seemed like something good to use as an excuse.

"Oh really, how did it break down? From the weight of your fat lying ass?" Ashton rolled his eyes. "You know-"

I got pushed aside as Luke came barreling up from behind me, punching Ashton right in the face. Ashton stumbled back, holding his nose, which was starting to bleed profusely. Cal looked at Catherine, shrugged, and tackled Ashton, holding him down for Luke, who continued to pound him in the face as he yelled.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Who do you think you are?! Vera is a lovely person, and if you would have listened to her instead of jumping to conclusions, she would be with you right now instead of me! What the hell do you think makes it acceptable for you to call Vera such things?! What the hell?! You don't deserve her! Fuck you!" Luke just kept hitting Ashton, who was laying on the ground, helpless.

"Luke! Luke! Stop!" I tried desperately to try and pull Luke off of Ashton, but he wouldn't budge. It was nice to hear the compliments, but I didn't want Ashton to have to get this hurt from them. Verbal fights are fine, but physical ones make me upset. Luke had probably broken the poor guy's nose, and Ashton could very well have gotten a concussion from Luke's attack. Cal was still holding Ashton down, but he was starting to loosen up his grip some. I turned around to say something to Catherine, but she had already run off to get a policeman to help break up the fight. I heard a shout and turned back around.

Ashton had managed to get off the ground, and was starting to go after Luke. Cal had gotten kicked in between the legs when Ashton was getting up, so he was down for the count. Guess Catherine wasn't going to have her night go according to plan, either. Ashton was pummeling Luke mercilessly, and Luke was writhing on the ground beneath the muscular guy. Just then, Catherine came running up with a policeman. He began to pull the boys apart, and I could see just how badly Luke was injured. His left eye was beginning to swell shut, and his nose was bleeding. There was a cut underneath his right eye, and there was a gash on his forehead. Ashton's nose was bleeding, and his left eye was bruising, too.

"What seems to be the problem here, boys?" The policeman was holding the boys by their collars, looking at both of them.

"Oh, officer, it's no big deal! Just a little bit of rough housing, right Luke?" Ashton smiled, peering over at Luke. What the hell was he doing?

"Yup! Just a little horseplay is all, officer. Thanks for watching out for us, though! Have a nice evening!" Luke tried to smile, nodding his head vigorously. Why weren't they telling the truth?

"Actually, officer-" I opened my mouth to tell the story, but Cal came over and interrupted.

"Oh, sweetie, don't get all upset. It's just boys being boys, after all! Cut them some slack! Now come on, we have dinner to get to still!" Cal grabbed my hand and began to pull me away from the group.

"But-" I started to protest. Cal sighed, then kissed me to stop me from continuing to talk.