Socially Awkward

Chapter 28:

When school ends, I head outside to catch my bus, but I end up walking in on a scene between Chase and Brynn.

They're literally shouting at each other attracting attention to themselves.

Just walk away, Luna. This isn't your business.

"Luna!" Brynn spots me.

She waves for me to walk over to her so I do so.

"Hey." I awkwardly say.

I so desperately want to get out of this situation.

"Can you please tell Chase that since he's the father, he should pay some of the baby's expenses?"

Chase rolls his eyes, "Can you please tell Brynn that I've already given her a goddamn place for her to live since her mom kicked her out so she should at least be grateful for that!"

I widen my eyes her, "Your mom kicked you out of the house?! Brynn, when were you going to tell me?"

She guiltily looks away from me, "It's complicated okay. The point is, Chase should sacrifice just as much as I do."

They continue to bicker and the yelling drives me crazy.

"Enough!" I yell louder than the both of them combined, thus, instantly shutting them both up. "Chase, you're the dad so take some damn responsibility for your child! Brynn, Chase is only in high school and he can only do so much for you so deal with what you have!"

I watch as my bus drives away.

"And thank you so much for taking up so much of my time that I just missed my damn bus."

I angrily walk away from the annoying couple, sit on the school steps, and begin to dial my mom's number.

Suddenly, my phone is taken out of my hands and I look up to find the culprit.

"Give me back my phone, James." I say impatiently.

Instead of retuning it, he sits beside me. "I will, but only if you take a walk with me."

I raise my eyebrows at his request, "Take a walk with you? James this isn't a damn movie where everything always works out in the end and we run off into the sunset. Now give me my phone back before I get angrier."

He stands to his feet, "Walk with me. What have you got to lose?"

I roll my eyes and give in.

As I walk beside him, I still try to steal my phone back, but he manages to keep it away from me.

"Let's talk Luna."

I cross my arms at my chest, "Talk about what?"

He shrugs his shoulders, "Once upon time we were friends. What happened to that?"

"Nadia Carter." I remind him.

He shakes his head at me, "I don't think she has anything to do with it."

I grow annoyed, "She has everything to do with it."

"Luna." He says.

This time he hits me with those beautiful brown eyes that I'd forgotten I loved so much.

Naturally, I look away.

"I just-I don't know." I sigh.

"You do know." He pushes. "Say it Luna."

"I'm not going to-"

"Say it!"

"I still like you... A lot, but I can't compete with girls like Nadia."

He has a victorious smile spread across his face.

"I'm pathetic I know. Is this what you wanted? To embarrass me?" I question him.

"Luna, for two seconds. Don't think about what could happen. Just do whatever you feel like doing." He tells me.

"Two seconds." I repeat.

"Yes. For two seconds, give up being a slave to your mind." He encourages.

I stop walking and I look up at him. Shutting out my mind, I do the craziest thing ever. I stand on the tip of my toes and kiss him. When I do, I get this-this indescribable feeling coursing through me that leaves me euphoric. I know I've kissed him before, but this is different. It's like he tapped into my mind and discovered my weakness. I just couldn't help, but crave more, but sadly our special moment comes to an end when he pulls away.

"How do you feel?" He asks me.

Nearly breathless, I reply, "Amazing."

He chuckles. "I once knew someone just like you."

"Did you now?"

"Yup. He was extremely smart with a mature mentality." He continues. "The obvious perk of being less naïve than most people is knowing when and how to avoid doing stupid things."

"True", I quietly agree.

"The thing is, people always forget the downside. Being so ahead of everyone else mentally isn't easy to handle because you're still inexperienced and all. Looking back, I think that's what killed him. He was always thinking, questioning, wondering and I think that's what led to him hating himself and eventually..."

I know exactly who he's talking about.

"Oscar." I say. "You're talking about Oscar."

He nods his head.

I frown and James takes notice, "Don't worry Luna. You're different. You're a lot stronger than he was. Plus, you have a load of people who care about you."

I smile up at James and he pulls me into a hug.

After pulling away he hands me my phone. I slide it into my back pocket without giving it a second thought. He smiles at that and says, "C'mon, I'll take you home."

After driving me home, James walks me to my door.

"I want to be more than friends, Luna." He blurts out and it catches me off guard. He notices and adds, "But until you're ready, I guess I'll just be your friend."

He places a light kiss on my forehead before leaving to his car and driving away.

My life can't be this great. This can't be possible.

When I enter my home, my mother and father are sitting at the kitchen table with their hands folded.

They simultaneously look at me when they hear me come inside.

"Luna, honey, take a seat." My mothers tells me.

I'm officially scared out of my mind.

"Did I do something?" I can't help but ask.

They're making me extremely nervous.

"We got a call today from the police." My father tells me.

"I hope I'm wrong about where you're going with this. I don't want to be right. Tell me I'm not right." I panic.

My mother glances at my father to break the news.

My father takes a deep breath and says, "They've caught Ryan Melville."

I was right, my life can't be this great...

A/N: Almost at the end of this book!! Just a couple more chapters, I think...Ha ha! I'm so thankful for everyone who's been committed to this book and enjoys my writing. So thank you so much! <3