Mint Condition

Anne|Chapter Five

Okay. So, I had never, ever been popular. That was sort of my sister's doing, and sort of my own. I was younger, more ignorant, and apparently didn't want a social life. My friend count dropped like stones, and my social life sank like a dead body attached to cement blocks into the ocean. Ignore the weird analogy, thanks. Why it happened is a story for another time. It just happened. My brother and his friends were the only ones I hung out with at the time, which didn't better my case.

I mean, my brother was fairly popular in the town we grew up in. So were his friends. They were the town pranksters, and they took their title seriously. I was just the sister of the infamous Lucas Reynolds, and anyone who objected to my tag-alongs got booted because go brother-sister bonds. Luke and I were best friends, and his friends became mine. But other than them, I was just another pretty face that, to the townsfolk, the guys decided to keep around because they didn't want to get on Luke's bad side. Which, if you've seen him angry, is probably a wise course of action. That wasn't the case. But what did that matter?

I melded into my role well. I got so used to them being around that, when they had to go to college, I was at a loss. Who was I without my brother? Ask anyone in my old town, I was a nobody. I accepted that, too. Maybe I shouldn't have. I was thankful when we had to move for my father's job. A new town, a new chance. Gwen, of course, threw a fit, much to my annoyance. And then she decided to make life in the new town difficult. Bye bye, friends. So I thought.

Now I had eight friends my age, and they weren't just doing it for convenience. I hoped.

Today was a good day. I didn't think it could be ruined.

"Hey, brat!"

I whipped my head towards the sound, grinning. Luke waved at me from his car, grinning back. I jogged towards him, and he got out of his car, hugging me.

"Missed you, kiddo." He pulled away, ruffling my hair. He narrowed his eyes. "Have you grown?"

"Missed you too." I swatted his hand away to fix my hair. "And, no, I haven't grown. You're just getting shorter, old man. See? You even have gray hairs." I plucked a strand out of his scalp to show him.

Luke scoffed, batting the hair away. "It's called stress, kid." He paused. "Bit of advice, never go to college."

I giggled slightly. "That's, like, the worst brotherly advice ever, dude."

"No, it's the best. You'll thank me later." He winked.

Arms wrapped around his waist from behind, and a familiar face rested on Luke's shoulder. Hailey pouted slightly. "But you wouldn't have met me if you skipped college, Lukey," she quipped, voice laced with fake hurt. "What are you saying?"

Luke seemed slightly startled, but he turned around to face her, hands rested around her waist. "I'm saying you were the worst mistake of my life," he deadpanned. "We should break up."

Hailey gasped dramatically, staggering away from him and clutching her heart. "It's because I'm too clingy, isn't it? I promise I'll be more understanding of your space!"

Luke turned to me and shook his head. "This is always the worst part of a breakup." He turned back to Hailey. "It's not you, it's me. The stress is just too high!"

I was giggling nonstop at this point. Luke and Hailey were too cute for their own good.

Hailey pretended to cry, before Luke finally gave in and pulled her into his arms. He smiled. "Just kidding. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." He kissed her.

"Aw, come on, guys!" I whined, covering my eyes. "Keep it PG! We're in public!"

The two pulled apart, laughing at my embarrassment. I glanced around. A few people were watching us oddly. My face reddened immensely as I noticed Elliot among them, looking incredibly amused. Oh, dear God.

"Ooh," Hailey sang, tapping my shoulder. "Who's he?"

I could have died right then in there. My blush deepened.

"See you later, Red!" he called out with a grin, before disappearing into a car.

I buried my face in my hands. I could have burst into flames with how hot my cheeks were.

This was going to be a long weekend.

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Final word count,

753

Did you catch my latest reference? 😉