For Forever

5. Rivalry

Jess's tour of the school concluded, she and Lukas traveled the route back to the cafeteria, the place they had decided to meet up. The blonde silently looked down to the granite floor as he walked, tracing distant memories in his head. This hallway, this exact corridor.. It was the place he and Jesse had met for the first time. A self-deprecating grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, Lukas made for the exit of the corridor, and he thought back to that day.

Two years ago.

The moment it all started.

—

I often prided myself for being independent and self-reliant, so it shouldn't have been hard for me to navigate through the school... if I hadn't gotten lost.

I walked at fast pace through the mostly empty hallways, mentally preparing myself for whatever punishment my teacher would have in mind for me. Combining my clumsiness and inattentiveness with the fact that I was a freshman, could they really blame me for being late to class? There was no way in hell they'd think I'd know my way around the school in one day. That, or they simply didn't care.

Just as I started to wonder how much farther I could possibly go, I began to grow weary. Eventually, I gave up on running and slowed down my pace. I completely zoned out and didn't hear the footsteps around the corner. The next thing I knew was that I collided at full force into something, or in this case, someone.

There was no time to duck or brace myself for the impact. With a loud thud I fell back as the other person fell forward. We sprawled onto the granite floor, the back of my head smacking hard. I lifted my hands up to shove the person off me, desperately trying to relieve myself of the weight on my chest. Eventually, the person pushed themselves up, and the weight finally lifted off. Back to my senses, I bolted upright. Before me was a boy of my age, extending his hand for me to take. He had brown hair and verdant eyes that shone like emeralds, and wore a uniform identical to mine. Without hesitation, I took his hand and he pulled me up.

"Oh Notch, I'm so sorry about that," the boy apologized. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied briskly. I scratched the back of my head, uncomfortable with the situation. It still hurt from when it hit the ground.

"Are you hurt?" the boy asked, visibly starting to panic. He took a small step backward, and continued without waiting for a response. "Nice going, Jesse. First you get lost on your way to math, and now this. Jess was right, I'm going to—"

"Excuse me," I interrupted him. "Did you say you were lost on your way to math?"

The boy, who's name was apparently Jesse, raised an eyebrow, confused by my unexpected question. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"I am lost as well," I answered. It was then that I came up with an idea. "Would you mind if we looked for our class together?"

The boy nodded, his verdant eyes looking straight into mine. "Yes, thank you! Um, my name is Jesse."

I grinned at him, as if to show it didn't bother me in the least. "I'm Lukas. Guess we're working together for a bit," I spoke, extending a hand. Jesse hesitated, then grabbed my hand and shook it.

—

At long last, the door of the cafeteria came into sight, and Lukas cast aside the stuffy memories. He and Jess stopped in front of the door and looked at each other.