Damn, You're Cute (Michael Clifford)

Chapter 3

I rushed to lunch with my backpack bouncing between my shoulder blades since I hadn’t had time to make it to my locker during the day. I was hoping lunch would give me a bit of a break so that I could organize my thoughts and prepare for the rest of my classes. So far, the high school life had been rough but not because the teachers were tough or rude. It was more of the social side and finding people to talk to.

I made my way into the cafeteria through the large double doors with hopes of finding another girl like me: somewhat lost and in need of a friend, but instead I was suddenly intimidated by everyone buzzing throughout the room. There had to be at least five hundred kids in the cafeteria at once, creating a low hum of voices while students waited in line for food or were already sitting at a table.

I glanced around for anyone I could possibly recognize, which was a limited list consisting of Luke and Michael, not that I had any intentions of sitting with either of them. I was just surprised to realize that seeing one of them would calm my nerves, no matter how stressed they made me earlier.

Searching the cafeteria, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was Luke waving to me at a table surrounded by his friends from this morning. At first I wasn’t sure whether I saw him wrong, and he was gesturing to someone behind me, but when his blue eyes landed on mine, they put me in a trance I reluctantly went over to where he sat. I wasn't sure what he wanted, but after this morning, I felt bad for bothering him.

"Hey, Leah!” Luke greeted me, patting a spot next to him on the bench. I paused uncertainly and looked at his friends who seemed fine with my presence. On the other hand, I was beyond confused since I thought he believed in the non-communication between sophomores and seniors. I convinced myself to let that go because I needed friends and somewhere to sit.

"Uh, hey. What's up?" I asked him, sitting down next to him but I made sure to leave enough space between us. He grinned over at me, taking a bite of his apple with his white, perfectly straight teeth. Once I was seated and watching him nibble on the fruit, I felt my stomach growl in the way that I hated. I think Luke noticed because he slid his plate with a slice of pizza on it over to me.

"Thanks," I murmured quietly and took a small bite, not really wanting to consume anything with too many calories. Little did he know, or really anyone since my parents were oblivious, I had a problem with eating. I was not anorexic but I didn’t eat much. I knew it was an issue I had to confront but I didn’t have a perfectly flat stomach or tiny thighs so I figured anything I consumed would only add to my body fat. I was well aware that this was unhealthy and others might find it pathetic or annoying to deal with so I kept it a secret from everyone, making it seem like I was perfectly okay on the outside. I guess I was a good actor.

Luke turned his head to look at me after setting his apple down with an apologetic glance. He rubbed the back of his neck before saying, "I wanted to apologize about earlier.”

I felt his friends watching me although a few were off having their own conversations. Brushing off their intense gazes, I shrugged and asked, “For what?”

“For being unhelpful. If you ever have any problems, you can come ask me, or any of us really." he told me and the corners of my lips turned up into a appreciative smile. Luke bit into his apple once more but his eyes swept the cafeteria. "So, how's your first day been?"

I groaned, ripping off a small bit of pizza with my teeth before leaving it finally on the plate to soon be dumped in the trash

"Awful, it kind of sucks,” I admitted, huffing as I rested my head on my hand which was propped up by my elbow on the cold surface of the cafeteria table. Luke laughed and few friends that were listening in did too.