Ray ||l.h.||

0.5

A month goes by and Ray feels like she's on top of the world, until she doesn't. Her and Luke had been getting closer, and, believe you me, that's not the problem.

The problem is when Luke invites her to his house on their way out of school. She wants to go, and it wouldn't be a problem to call Ashton and tell him that he doesn't have to come pick her up, but the fact that she's blind complicates things.

Going to his house would mean she would have to get used to a new environment, new people, and she doesn't know if she's up for that. Ray hasn't had to adjust to new places in a while, since no one at school bothered to get to know her past the point of saying hello during class, and the only places besides school that she's used to are both of her houses--yes, she still considers her parent's house her house.

Luke convinces her by the time he walks her to his car and they call Ashton on the way there. Ray could tell that Ashton doesn't think it's a good idea but once she tells him that they're already nearly there, the boy gives in with a sigh and he lets her know to call if anything, which she already knows.

When Luke eases the car to a stop and he announces that they've made it, Ray starts to get nervous all over again. She wipes her damp palms on her jeans when she hears Luke get out of the car and close his door.

He helps her out, gently like always, and Ray ducks her head as Luke takes her hand. "Sorry, my hands are mad sweaty."

The boy feels how clammy they are, but he shrugs and swings their hands between them. He knows that she's a little scared, and that's alright, a bit of hand sweat isn't going to chase him away.

Using his free hand, Luke fishes out his keys and unlocks the front door. Ray's fingers give his a squeeze and he squeezes back as he pushes open the door and walks in. She takes deep breaths while he leads her inside and reminds herself that she trusts Luke and that he's here and this whole thing is nothing to be afraid of.

"Luke, hon, can you come here for a second?" A sweet voice calls from somewhere else in the house. Ray tries not to frown, because obviously Luke didn't tell anyone that she was coming over so now she's a surprise.

"Ma, I--" Luke starts as he toes off his shoes.

"Luke, get in here and help your mother with the roast." His mom demands in a louder voice. Luke sucks his teeth and leads Ray towards his couch. She takes cautious steps at first, then remembers that Luke knows how to get her from place to place without having her stub her toe.

He sits her down and lets go of her hand, exposing Ray's moist hand to the cold air of the house. "I'll be right back." He assures her, patting her knee on his way to his kitchen.

Ray thinks this is fine, and that she can do this, since it's just sitting on the comfortable couch while she waits for Luke to finish helping his mom with whatever she's doing. Ray crosses her legs and imagines what Luke's living room looks like until she hears footsteps coming downstairs.

She uncrosses her legs and sits up a bit, as if she's been caught doing something wrong. The girl fumbles with her thumbs in her lap, lost as to how she should act. She's a random stranger, to them, sitting by herself on their sofa, so really, how do you present yourself?

"Who's this?" A voice, rudely, asks. Ray tries not to roll her eyes, just in case they're watching her and are standing where they can see her eyes behind her sunglasses.

Luke's reply is immediate and Ray smiles to herself with how quickly he speaks. "Leave her alone." His tone is more firm than she's ever heard it, and she starts to smile wider until she realizes that now everyone knows that some girl is just chilling in their house and hasn't spoken to anyone.