With The Labels

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

"Hey." I say, sliding into the passenger seat of Blake's truck Monday morning before school. After Blake left last night, mom, James, and I watched a few movies and then went to bed. It was a relaxing evening and it was nice to have my brother in town again, at least for a little while.

"Hey." He softly says back, shifting into reverse and backing out of the driveway. The drive to school is quiet, but comforting. Blake hums along to the radio, tapping his fingers on the center console.

I absentmindedly trace my pointer finger over Blake's knuckles. He glances down at me, smiling, and flips his hand over, lacing his fingers through mine. What we have is confusing, because I don't even know what we are. Friends, for sure, but friends who kiss? We definitely aren't a thing, at least not yet. This all is just moving super fast and I need to take a step back to just take in everything.

~

The school day creeps by, and it is now lunch. The morning classes pass by uneventfully. All of the teachers lecture us and then at the end of the class assign way too much homework. I usually can plow through my homework quickly, depending on how I use my open periods.

As I walk down the hall to the cafeteria, I feel a hand grab mine, and intertwine our fingers. Surprised, I look up at Blake, who walks down the crowded hall next to me. People stare at us, and I get uncomfortable. He pulls me off to the side. Leaning against the wall, Blake stands across from me.

"Let's go out to lunch." He abruptly says, staring at our hands together. At our school they let the upperclassmen go off campus for their lunch period. A lot of people go out for lunch, but I don't have a car.

I take my hand away from his. "Is this your way of asking me out on a date?" I smirk at him.

He gives me a sideways grin, "Babe, it can be whatever you want. Just come with me."

I plan on playing hard to get. If Blake really wants me, he is going to have to work for it. I'm not going to be another one of his easy catches. "What about your friends?" That reminds me to ask Bella and find out how her and Zeke's date went on Saturday. She was really nervous when I talked to her so I hope it went well.

"They'll survive." He studies me intensely, waiting for a response.

"I suppose..." I joke around and Blake's eyes light up.

"Then let's go!" He leads me out to his truck, and we drive into town. Downtown Honeycomb is only about a 5 minute drive down the road. Since this area is mostly cornfields and farmland, all of the major buildings are located near each other. We both decide on a sub shop. It is a popular place for students to go during lunch and supposedly has good sandwiches.

Once we are inside the crowded restaurant, Blake and I stand side by side at the register. I order a toasted BLT and a sweet tea. When I reach into my purse for my wallet, Blake stops me.

"It's our lunch date, remember? I pay." Before I have a chance to argue with him, he orders his food and pays the woman at the cashier.

"Thank you." Is all I say, taking my food and drink and walking over to an open table. Even though this was nothing fancy, it was still really nice of him to pay for me.

"Don't mention it, babe. It's no big deal. Next time we will have to do something a little fancier." He winks at me.

"And what makes you think there will be a next time?" I retort, taking a long sip of tea.

"There will be, don't worry. You can't resist me." He has a lopsided grin on his face as if he knows something I don't.

"What?" I interrogate him.

"Nothing." Blake shrugs his shoulders. "It's fun, just you and me. I could get used to having you all to myself." Even though Blake's comment is cute, he has to learn how to share. I don't feel like being around someone who is over possessive of me.

"Me too." I say back, munching on my BLT.

Lunch ends quickly and before we know it we are on our way back to school. It was a nice time going out with Blake. We shared casual conversation as we ate our food, just enjoying each others company. But now it was back to school and back to the second half of my class schedule.

~

Sitting next to Bella in English, we quietly chat as we type on the school laptops. Today was a chill day in English. Our teacher, Mrs Miller, rented us school laptops to type our essays on. We just finished a chunk of The Great Gatsby and had to write a short paper on the character and plot development. Since she gave us time in class I was nearly done and only had some touchups to do. She also lets us talk, but only is we talk quietly and don't distract the other students.

"B, I never asked, how was Saturday?" I casually ask Bella as I type on the computer.

"Saturday?" She seems confused, but doesn't take her eyes of the screen.

"You know. Your date with Zeke." I look up. Both Blake and Zeke are in our English class, but sit on the other side of the classroom with some of the other football players.

Her eyes shoot up and meet mine, smiling. "Great, actually. A lot of fun. I really like him."

"That's good. I'm happy for you!" And genuinely, I am. Both Bella and Zeke are such nice people, it is like they are meant to be. "Are you planning on asking him to homecoming?" Homecoming was fast approaching. It was next Saturday after the football game. I'm not a big fan of school dances, but I go to them to hang out with my friends. I love dressing up for different themes for spirit week before homecoming, and especially now since I am a senior.

"Thanks, Care. I don't know, I am hoping to go with him. He hasn't asked me yet." She grins at me. "And how are things with you and Blake? I noticed that neither you or him were at lunch today."

As she speaks, I observe Blake from across the classroom. He is staring intensely at his computer screen. I smile to myself. "Good, I guess. We both went out to lunch for sandwiches at lunch, that is why we weren't there."

"So are you guys officially a thing yet or what?" Now it is her turn to question me.

"No. Just friends." She raises one eyebrow, unconvinced.

"Caroline, you look at each other a little too long to be 'just friends.'" I shrug at her. Yeah, we are just friends. Friends who kiss and hold hands and go on dates. Just friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kind of a boring chapter, but that's okay. It's time to plug and chug through this novel because I plan to upload the first chapter by Christmas 2015/New Years 2016. By the time you guys are reading this it will be far past that but this is where I am at right now. Just under a month to finish, let's do this.