Spectra

Chapter 2

By the way, that's how I picture Lucas. In case you were wondering...

Emily

After the unmentionable events that took place in Lucas' basement I told him that I would come over the next morning to work on the project. The science fair was in two classes and we still had a ton to do. My mom had to work that morning so I took the bus over to his neighborhood. I walked up his road and found the familiar house. I hiked up his front steps and knocked on the towering door. I heard footsteps coming closer and closer to the door and it swung open. His mom stood in the doorway with a green robe on with pajama pants and slippers.

"Hi, I'm here to see Lucas." I said with a bright smile. "We are doing a project together in chemistry. We're lab partners." His mom nodded and smiled at me before turning around to call her son.

"Luke, sweetie! A girl is here to see you!" My face turned red. Lucas came running down the stairs in his pajamas. I tried not to laugh but it was pretty hard not to. I had only seen him in a dress shirt and bow tie, the sight of a casually dressed Lucas was strange.

"Thanks Mom." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and she smiled at me before leaving. "I didn't think you would come this early." He laughed. He had a pair of flannel pants with a plain white t-shirt. But the weirdest thing was that he didn't even have his glasses on, without them he looked like a totally different guy.

"I had nothing better to do."

"Well, come in and I'll go change." He was being so nice that it felt kind of weird. He ran upstairs and I heard him close his door. I stood at the bottom of the stair awkwardly. I began to hear footsteps from upstairs again.

"Lucas?" I called up. But it wasn't Lucas, it was his dad. He too was in his pajamas and gave me a strange look.

"I didn't know we were expecting company." He said in the same voice I heard last night.

"I'm Lucas' lab partner. We are doing a project together." He chuckled.

"You're the first partner Lucas has brought home. He usually works alone." I laughed awkwardly as I heard Lucas running down the hallway.

"Dad!" He exclaimed as he almost tripped running down the stairs. "We have to go work on our project. So if you'll excuse us-"

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?" Lucas and I looked at each other and laughed.

"This is Emily. We are just lab partners, we are not friends. Hardly acquaintances." I kept laughing. Lucas may have been being nicer to me than he was the day before but we were definitely not friends.

"Alright, you two better get to work now. Call me if you need anything."

We walked through the living room and down the stairs to his basement. I was still in awe of all of the equipment but it soon faded away. I leaned against a counter top and turned towards Lucas. He had changed into a shirt that said 2015 CCHS Spelling Bee Champion with a pair of jeans.

"I've never seen you dress so casual." I smiled as he laughed. "No bow tie? Or glasses?!" I faked a gasp.

"Well you've known me for two days, both of which have been school days." I smiled. "I don't always dress like that, just at school. And I do have contacts."

"Why don't you dress like this at school?" He bit his lip as I asked. He almost acted like I had asked him what his darkest secret was.

"I guess I don't want to be like everyone else. I'd rather stick out than be like all the other guys at school, you know?" He ran his hand through his hair.