Lonely Hearts Club // Book One

Chapter Seventeen

March 8th, 2014

I regretted asking Calum to meet me at Nelly's on Thursday, only because I would have to face them both again today. This made me wish that I had more girl friends in my life, these two boys were suffocating me and wouldn't let me breathe. I couldn't even think about taking one out of the equation, though, I loved them both too much.

It was the first weekend of the school year, the transition from relaxation into stress. No more cute floral dresses or sweatpants days. No more couch potato TV shows or bowls of cereal at 3am (or pm). It was sad. But it was my last year, so that was a bonus. The other bonus was not seeing certain people I couldn't even stand to look at for even a minor second. Cough, cough, Hunter, cough.

In her story, she was the princess, and she (and Luke) thought that he was going to be the prince. But I didn't know if this was s Shrek movie instead of the classic tale- because she wasn't in distress- I was. And I wanted a nice prince, but if somebody saved me, out of everyone, I would be okay with a big green ogre. Hunter wouldn't. She'd always prefer the obvious.

The main focus on stories was that they all had tragedies. It could be a minor thing where someone has a breakdown. Or like The Fault in Our Stars- but I won't ruin that for you. It wasn't something you'd expect, so you would be crushed. That's why I was scared to face realism, because something or someone would face me and hit me with a problem I couldn't take. I wasn't Hazel Grace, or Augustus Waters, I wasn't strong enough. But I'd give her my remission if I could have her strength.

I held my breath when Luke stepped into the pizza shop alone. A cool breeze followed and I knew I made a wrong decision of sitting near the door. Why did Australian weather have to be so bipolar sometimes? Today, he seemed stiff, more than he usually was. His hair was disheveled and everywhere, and he tried to keep it tamed with a beanie but if just didn't work. And I could tell by his posture that something was bothering him.

Kind of odd; huh?

But his shoulders were slumped- he just looked tired.

"Hey," he said, sighing. He slid in next to me on the booth. "Calum's gonna be late."

"Usually is," I said. Luke nodded. I didn't think this was going to be awkward, I knew it would be. He had his hands folded on his lap and they were bright red- which usually meant that the person was hot. My hands did that too sometimes. I looked down at mine but they were neutral, so either his body temperature was high or he was nervous. Anxiousness was common for his disorder- I looked it up.

"So-" he started and turned towards me. "I was thinking about, um, what Calum said..."

"Yeah?"

Luke rubbed his lips together before saying, "I'm gonna listen to him."

Why- I usually would have asked. But I leaned in towards him so he got the picture that I was pressing him for more.

"I was paranoid that there would come a time when I could be forced to choose between you two and her. Jesus- I would choose you in- you guys in a heartbeat, but I don't understand why I feel so strongly about her when I know someone else is better for me."

I was caught up in all that he said: the paranoia and the choices he would have made. How could someone as fragile as him have to be put through this?

"Go with your gut," I spoke softly and confidently. There was a certain look in his eye when I said that. It seemed like was contemplating something- but I would never know the battles he's had with himself.

"Can I take you on a date?" he blurted then froze. "Um, wait, um-"

"Yes," I said.

"Yes?"