1941 (l.h.)

chapter 4

"Cal, what the hell?!" He just kissed me out of nowhere! While his girlfriend was just a few feet away! What the hell?

"Mary, babe, c'mon sweetheart, it's time to go to dinner with everybody." Babe? Sweetheart? What was he doing? Cal tugged at my arm, sending me a pleading look with his eyes, but turning to smile at the police officer. "Thanks for your help, officer! Sorry to bother you with a little horsing around; I'm sure you have more important things to do. We'll be on our way now."

"Yep, let's go Luke!" Catherine smiled, linking her arm with Luke's. "Ashton, aren't you supposed to be home in 10 minutes? Your mom said she needed some help getting the house ready for the garden party tonight. You have to help move all the furniture, right?" What was going on? Why was everyone pretending to be dating somebody else? Was there something going on that I just wasn't picking up on?

"Haha, no, my mom said she would get the neighbor to move the furniture, remember Catherine, dear? So I can go grab some dinner with all of you. Let's go! We're heading to the diner, right? I'll meet you there?" Ashton looked angry, but was faking a smile. He started to walk back towards the parking lot. Cal still had hold of my arm and started leading me the same way.

"Uhhh... Okay. Well, stop rough-housing in public places, alright? Next time, you'll be facing consequences, boys." The police officer seemed very uncomfortable now and walked away looking confused. Cal and I kept walking together, and Catherine and Luke kept walking together. Once we reached the parking lot, I made sure to express my confusion in the situation.

"What the hell was all of that?! Cal, why did you kiss me? Cat, why were you and Luke pretending to date? Does Ashton really have to go move furniture? Why didn't you tell the policeman the truth, that Ashton was being an ass? What was that?!" I whipped around to have a view of everyone, my fists clenched at my sides.

"Vera, don't flip your wig. See, Ashton got in trouble with the police a few weeks ago, and they said if he got caught getting in trouble again, they were going to sign him up to be in the army. So even though he makes us furious sometimes, we don't want him to get sent overseas and then not come back. That'd be horrible. Just think of his poor ma, all alone in that house by herself... Ashton is the only thing she has left to live for. If he would've gotten in trouble for starting that fight, they would've signed him right up for the war. I had to kiss you to stop you from talking and getting him in trouble." Cal hung his head, kicking at the dirt beneath his feet. Everyone got really quiet, and then Ashton came up behind us all.

"Hey, guys, thanks for saving my ass back there. Luke, sorry about what I did to your face there. Cat, do you have stuff for first aid at your house? Let's get cleaned up and then head to the diner for real, because I'm famished." Ashton said, mustering a smile. Luke looked at him, and I could see that he was trying not to hit him again.

"Ashton, I think it's probably best if we just get you and Luke cleaned up and then you just go home. It's been a day, and your mom is probably starting to wonder where you are. It'll be dark soon; you know how she hates you driving home past dark." Catherine walked over to grab Cal's arm, looking at the ground. "We probably won't even go to dinner; V has to be home soon, too. It is Mother's Day, after all." Ashton looked taken aback, but then he hung his head.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Cat. Let's just go get cleaned up and we'll all head home. I'm disappointed that I won't get to spend any time with Vera here, but there'll be more opportunities, right?" Ashton tried to bring a smile to his face, pretending not to be hurt a little bit by the rejection of the group.

"Why would you want to spend time with Vera if you think she broke the Ferris Wheel with her 'fat lying ass', huh?" Luke asked, his anger starting to come to the surface again. "What the hell, Ashton? You apologize to everybody else but her? What makes you think you have that right?" Luke began clenching and unclenching his fists, attempting to keep his fury at bay.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Vera. I didn't mean that. I was just jealous that Loser Luke here got to spend so much time with you and I didn't get any." Ashton tilted his head, smirking at Luke. "And on second thought, Cat, I'll just find someone else to fix my nose up. I don't need to spend any more time with you people." With that, he turned around and walked away. Luke started to walk after him, but worried that he would start fighting again, I grabbed his arm and slipped in front of him.

"Hey, remember me? Yeah? Vera? The girl you just went on a date with? Let's go grab a milkshake, huh? Just you and me?" I smiled at him, trying to shift his attention away from Ashton.

"I'm going to slash that guy's tires one day." he muttered, shaking his head at the blue car now screeching out of the lot.

"Well, if you're going to do that, only slash three. If you slash all four, then his insurance could cover it. If you slash three, he has to pay for it all out of pocket. Definitely go for the second option if you want to make him miserable for a little bit." Cal walked up behind us, knocking his shoulder into Luke's in a teasing way. I was slightly disconcerted with how Cal knew that little tidbit, but I let it slide. I was starting to get really hungry and just wanted to go get some dinner.

"Cal? C'mon, let's go get Luke cleaned up, then we can all go get food and drop Vera off back home. Luke is staying over at your house, right?" Cat walked up, not seeming concerned at all about her boyfriend's comment. "Unless... Hey, V, is there any way you could sleep over tonight? Would your parents be okay with that? That way, everybody could spend some more time getting to know each other. We'll go to church tomorrow morning and everything! Please!" Cat turned to face me, an excited look on her face.

"I'd love to sleep over!" I pulled her aside for a second though. "Cat," I whispered, "what about you and Cal? I thought tonight was finally the night? What happened to that?"

"Well, after getting kicked, I don't think he'd be up to do a whole lot, so we can pretty much disregard that plan for right now." she said, laughing.

"I'll sleep over then! Boys, what do you say we go get some burgers? I'm starved!" I was looking forward to getting to spend more time with Luke, and this was the perfect opportunity! After he fought Ashton for me, almost twice, I was starting to seriously think about having him as my boyfriend. We'd still have to go on some dates though before going steady, and he would definitely have to meet my parents if he wanted to really date me.