Lock It In

Two

Daniel

I walked over to Diamond, where she sat on the ground, a small smile on her face. "What was that?" I asked, wriggling my eyebrows suggestively.

She looked at me innocently, batting her eyelashes. "What was what?" 

I chuckled, sitting next to her and pushing her slightly. She giggled, leaning her head on my shoulder. "That guy was cute," I pointed out. "I was fifty feet away and I could tell that."

"You think?" She glanced at the water with a dreamy look. "I don't know what happened. I just saw him walk in like that, and I just... I recognized myself in his face or something. The look."

"What look?"

She sighed gently, shrugging. "I don't know. He seemed upset, obviously. But there was also a little bit of annoyance in it, like he was fed up with people. I could see that. It's like he's upset about something, but he's getting tired of people overreacting over it."

I stared at her incredulously. "You can tell all that from a facial expression?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. I felt like that a lot in the past few years."

I nodded, rubbing her shoulder softly. "Maybe you got a crushy-wushy?"

Diamond's eyes widened. "Definitely not, Danny. God, you're awful. You know that I don't get crushes."

"Fine," I responded. "I call dibs on him."

She pushed me lightly. "You're a dork. It's not like I'll ever see Carson again."

I raised an eyebrow. "Carson? You're on first name basis now?"

"Sort of," she said. "He rushed off before I could say mine." Her eyes gleamed. "What do you care anyway?" she asked with a frown, absentmindedly braiding a strand of her hair.

I blushed. "I don't know," I said, staring at the ground for a moment. We sat in silence for a minute. It wasn't uncomfortable or anything. Diamond was the closest thing I had to family, ever since my mother left. 

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Sighing, I pulled it out and glanced at it. I inhaled sharply as I read the words. "Shit," I muttered. 

Diamond glanced at me. "What?"

"My dad's home, he wants to know where the hell I am." I felt myself panicking. "He thinks I'm at your place... God, I got to get home."

She stared at me, concern in her eyes. "Just stay at my house."

"Like he'd let me. He seems pissed." I showed her the text. 

She bit her lip. "You probably shouldn't risk it," she finally said. 

"Yeah." I stood, offering her a hand. She took it, pulling herself to her feet. I was about to start walking when I saw the glint of gold on the sidewalk. 

"Is this yours?" I asked, picking up the ring. It was a gold band with intricate designs carved into it, a blue gemstone centered in the piece.

Diamond shook her head, taking it from my hand. "It looks expensive," she murmured, studying it. "The inside is inscribed with TEL."

"You know the initials?" I asked. 

She shook her head, but seemed to remember something. "Carson's last name was Lowe. Maybe it was one of his family members or something."

I sighed. "How do you expect to give that back to him, then?"

She shrugged. "He said that his parent's owned a bookstore. Maybe I'll come across it sometime."