Lucas ✔️

Twenty-Six

"Fate?" I breathed out slowly, blinking my thoughts back into comprehension as I stared at him.

He nodded slowly, a breathtaking smile gracing his face, even though his eyebrows were furrowed.

"Is... is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked in a whisper, lifting my own hand slightly before dropping it again. More than anything, I wanted to pull him close and hold him tight, but I didn't.

"It's a bad thing," he admitted, dropping his hand from my arm. "But it's inevitable. As many things are." His voice compelled me to step forward, closer, just a little.

"What's inevitable?" My words floated on the wind so quietly I thought he wouldn't hear them, but his eyes caught mine and softened slightly.

"I won't be able to avoid you forever," he replied, and I wasn't sure whether he was answering my question or changing the subject. "Therefore, I've decided not to avoid you."

"You were avoiding me?" I laughed lightly, cocking an eyebrow at him teasingly as I leant back.

"Oh, and you weren't avoiding me?" he countered, a cocky smirk covering his face.

"Touché," I mumbled. We moved together slowly again, walking towards my house in the distance. "So, what does 'not avoiding me' entail?"

"It means I will no longer actively avoid you."

"What if I don't want to see you?"

"Don't you?"

The look he sent made me hesitate as I thought over the answer. It was true, I did want to see him – but I had also been avoiding him myself. Why? Because I was scared. Of whatever this feeling was, that made me want him, trust him, look for him. I didn't like it, but at the same time, I loved it. My silent deliberation seemed to be the answer Lucas had been looking for, as he grabbed a ghoul from my hair and rolled it lightly in his palm.

"If you don't want to see me, then you won't," he commented casually as his eyes darted to meet mine. "But we both know you want to see me as much as I want to see you."

I nodded my head slowly and let out a sigh, "As cocky as that makes you sound... you're not wrong." I huffed and crossed my arms, rolling my eyes at him lightly.

"There's a ground rule, though," he said quickly.

"Oh? Ground rules in a friendship? That's unusual." My tone was humorous, but his eyes were hard as he glanced at me, letting go of the ghoul in his hand. It did what all the others did: floated up, brushed past his cheek like a cat, and floated away.

"Just one: no more walking around at night alone."

"What? You're trying to give me a curfew?" I scoffed, shaking my head. Only one person can do that, and they're no longer here.

I'm talking about you, Dad.

"No, sorry, that's a no on that rule." My voice was harsh, and Lucas looked at me with a weird expression mixed between displeasure and admiration.

"Why is that?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as though he already knew the answer.

"Um, 'cause I'm not going to let some random guy tell me what I can and can't do."

"It's simply for your safety," he commented offhandedly, looking away in the distance.

"I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself, as you've seen." I crossed my arms over my chest and kicked the ground lightly. His laugh echoed through the air lightly and goosebumps raised along my skin from the menacing tone in it.