Battle Scars [BxB]

F O U R

I didn't go to school the next day. I couldn't muster the courage to get out of bed. My Mum was known to let me stay at home occasionally, even if she knew I wasn't really ill. Sometimes she was a little overbearing, constantly stressing over me and making sure I was okay. But I was grateful she'd never force me into going to school. I needed to take a few days off every now and then, just to sort myself out.

I scrolled through the text messages Luca had sent me last night, all short and desperate. I gulped as I started to type a reply.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. Things have been hard recently, but I'm okay, I promise. You don't have to worry about me. I love you.

He replied almost instantly.

Don't be sorry, as long as ur ok. Just tell me what's going on from now on. I love u too.

At midday, I gathered all my strength to take Daisy for a walk, clipping her leash on and leaving the house in a pair of sweatpants and one of Luca's jackets. Once I reached the park, I freed the dog and let her run wild, tucking the lead into my back pocket.

I headed over to a bench hidden in the corner of the park, my sleeves pulled past my hands. I barely got halfway to the bench before I ran into a familiar face. "Teddy." Tommy froze. I froze too. He was walking hand in hand with a pretty girl I didn't recognise. Frizzy pink hair, a glinting nose piercing and fierce silver eyes. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked lowly, clearly still dwelling on yesterday afternoon.

I tugged my attention away from the strange girl, focussing on my friend's umber eyes. "I-I'm fine." I smiled faintly. "Sorry I freaked out."

"Uh...this is Lila." He told me, "And this is Teddy."

"Oh, you're Teddy." She smiled brightly, extending her hand to me. I shook it hesitantly. "Tommy's told me so much about you."

"Y-Yeah, can't say the same for you." I laughed nervously, glaring at my friend.

Tommy chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, "I meant to introduce you guys sooner, I just thought..." He trailed off with a shrug. "Why aren't you at school?"

"Inset day." I lied casually. "S-So are you guys serious, or...?"

"Kinda." Lila grinned flirtatiously at Tommy. "But not exclusive. So, you know...if you're interested in-"

"He's got a boyfriend." Tommy coughed, his face glowing red.

"Oh, right! You're the one in the long distance relationship! What's he called again? Lukas...Luke...?"

"Luca." I smiled politely.

"Yeah, that's it!" She exclaimed happily. "Aw, well, that's sweet. I tried the whole long distance thing with my last girlfriend but we broke up after like two weeks. It didn't work out for us. Good luck though!"

I wasn't really sure what to say. But after one glance at Tommy, his expression basically told me to save all the questions for later. "Oh, that's...th-that's a shame." I responded, lacking a better reply. "So, you l-live round here...?"

"Yeah, I'm deferring for a year to help my sister with her baby." She answered peppily.

"Oh..." I looked down at my feet, wishing for a way out of this conversation. Why hadn't Tommy told me he was seeing someone? "S-So, is your sister like...?"

"She's fifteen." Lila nodded along. "She can't really look after the baby all on her own."

I wasn't sure what to say, so I glanced across at Tommy for help. He was examining his laces, completely avoiding eye contact with me.

"Hey, you should hang with us, we were just about to get lunch. D'you wanna come?" She offered kindly.

"Uh...n-no, thanks. I've got some errands to run." I made up, shooting her an apologetic look.

"Okay, well, next time?" She questioned hopefully.

"Uh, yeah, m-maybe."

"Lila, why don't you go ahead and get us a table - it's just round the corner." Tommy suggested lightly, nudging Lila. "I just gotta talk to Teddy about my work schedule next week."

"Sure thing." She pecked him on the cheek before giving me a friendly wave, "Nice to meet you."

"I can explain." Tommy sighed deeply the second we were alone.

"I-I don't care." I assured him heavily. "I'm just sorry if I made you feel like you couldn't tell me."

His brows twitched into a frown, "What? No, that's not it, Teddy, you know it isn't." He swore. "I was scared you wouldn't like her." He shrugged. "You know you're like my best friend, I just didn't know how to introduce you to her. She's a little full on."

Best friend. I'd never been anyone's best friend before. It was weird. But as the words sunk it, I started to understand them. Tommy was probably the closest friend I'd ever had. Luca and I had become good friends before our relationship progressed into something more, but there was always that romantic, sexual tension lurking in the background, making me constantly on edge. But with Tommy, it was comfortable and easy. We were just friends. Best friends. "You know I'd never disapprove of your relationships." I nudged him playfully.

He sighed in relief. Apparently he really did care about what I thought. "She can give a little too much information, I know."

"I-It's okay." I laughed gently. "She seems nice."

"Yeah, she is."

"So...you guys have like...threesomes or something?" I mocked teasingly.

He rolled his eyes, "Oh, shut up. I'm not exactly a massive fan of the open relationship, I'm trying to get her to agree to being exclusive."

"Good luck." I chuckled. "A-And um...thanks for calling Luca last night."

He rose his brows, "Really? I thought you'd be pissed off, I just didn't know what else to do-"

"N-No, well, I mean...I was pissed off." I smiled sheepishly. "B-But it was the right thing to do. I know you're just l-looking out for me. Th-Thanks."

He ruffled my hair affectionately, an action I'd begun to associate with my boyfriend. "Hey, I really am sorry about not telling you about Lila. I was going to. I was just scared she'd say something to upset you, she kinda speaks her mind." He admitted. I knew exactly what he was implying. She was the type of person to ask someone about their scars or why they had a black eye.

"D-Don't worry about it, Thomas." I tried to assure him.

"Is there really an inset day today?"

I shrugged, "Maybe. I'm not at school to confirm there isn't."

He laughed, rolling his eyes in amusement, "I better go. Are you sure you don't wanna come get something to eat with us? Lila would love it, she's heard a lot about you."

My eyes fell down to my muddy trainers thoughtfully, "O-Okay." I nodded, turning to scan the park, greenery spilling from every surface, "Daisy!"

Once I'd retrieved my energetic dog, I joined Tommy on his trek to hunt down his girlfriend. Lila was actually a very sweet girl once I started getting to know her. The three of us talked nonstop for hours as Daisy rested her head on my knee, occasionally licking my hand as I fed her food under the table. I had to leave once my Mum started texting me, asking where I was.

So, I said goodbye to the couple and headed home, Daisy bouncing along beside me. Once I returned, I crawled straight into bed - that was enough social interactions for one day.