Help Me, I'm Drowning

When I First Saw You

[ freshman year ]

"Good luck, buddy," Ted whispered, patting Luke on the back.

Luke shuddered nervously, rubbing his hands together. He turned around uncertainly. "Guys, are you sure-"

"Yes!" Chloe and Ted chorused in unison.

Chloe rolled her eyes impatiently. "Listen, Luke. Drea already told Peter who told me that Camila likes you, and you know she's going to say yes!"

Luke wined. "I don't know. How do you know she's going to say yes?"

"She's a cheerleader," Ted deadpanned. "You're in the football team - Luke, it's a match made in heaven!" He gave Luke a friendly shove on the back, sending him stumbling towards where Drea and Camila were exchanging words by the lockers.

"-Hey," Luke stammered as he staggered up to the two girls. "H-How are you?" he tried.

"I forgot something in Math!" Drea piped up, her voice an octave higher than usual as she hurried away, sending Luke a wink.

Luke couldn't help the blush that filled into his cheeks. "Uh, right."

Camila laughed as her gaze followed her friend. "Yeah, she's discreet, isn't she?" Her arms were weighed with textbooks for the rest of the day.

"I need to talk to you," Luke blurted out. He didn't understand where his ability to speak had disappeared to. Camila was one of his friends, so why was this so nerve-wracking?

"Who died?" she teased, elbowing him in the side.

Luke let out a trembling laugh. "I was wondering if you-only if you feel like it, I mean-but do you want to-"

Camila stretched out a hand, a grin spreading across her face. "Yes."

Luke paused. "I didn't finish my sentence."

"Ted told me you wanted to ask me out," she reminded him. "The downside of having mutual friends." She smiled. "But yes, I'd love to go out with you, Luke."

Luke let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness." He grabbed the textbooks out of her hands against her protests. "Come on, I'll walk you to English."

[ sophomore year ]

"Can I ask you something?" Peter yelled over the blasting music. They were at a party at Ted's house, and the stench of alcohol was so overpowering, the only thing that was keeping anyone there was the numbing drunkenness that helped them ignore it.

Camila tried to raise her voice over the commotion. "Yeah?"

"Doesn't it bother you?" Peter shouted. "When he pulls things like that!"

Camila followed his gaze to see her boyfriend Luke dancing in close quarters with another girl from their year - Gwen something. Of course, she couldn't help the swell of jealousy in her chest, but Camila couldn't find it in herself to argue.

"He can make friends with whoever he wants," she said vaguely. It was an unspoken deal between Luke and herself.

They'd known each other for two years and been together for over a year now, and it worked out well for everyone. Camila couldn't quite say that she was in love with Luke, but, frankly, she could do a lot worse.

He was nice, treated her well, and while he'd changed a lot from the gangly, wide-eyed boy on their first day of high school, Luke never did anything to hurt Camila.

And their relationship worked for her too. Her family loved him, her dog loved him, and their friendship made it easy for them to be around each other.

Luke had always been good at the other stuff too.

So they weren't interested enough to be head over heels for each other, but neither of them had found anyone else that made it worthwhile to break up, hence the continuation of the school's favourite couple.

"You aren't happy with him," Peter realised.

Camila set down her fruit punch. "I'm not sad either." She groaned in frustration. "It's complicated, Pete."

[ junior year ]

Luke sat down under the oak tree, kissing Camila on the cheek as he offered her the apple on his lunch tray.

"Thanks, babe," she murmured as she grabbed it, eyes never straying from her biology textbook.

Camila had been Luke's half-girlfriend for two years now. He called it "half-girlfriend" because they were kind of dating, but also kind of not.

They hadn't been on a proper date just the two of them for as far back as Luke could remember. Mostly, they just hung out with their friends altogether. And yet, they were technically still in a relationship.

Sure, Camila was one of his friends, and she was funny and pretty, but Luke just didn't have any innate connection with her. He didn't find himself wanting to spend all his time with her, or constantly shower her with kisses and presents.

Luke glanced around their gathering under the tree. Camila, Chloe, Drea, Ted and Peter. It was their usual group, all huddled or lying on the grass, staring at the clouds. They'd all become friends in sophomore year and had remained so ever since.

That, at least, hadn't changed. Everything else had.

Camila wasn't the sweet, innocent girl from Minnesota that Luke had first met in. He still remembered; it was her two braids and cute laugh that first got him crushing on her.

But they'd barely been 15, not old enough for a proper relationship, and yet they'd matured and grown up, side by side.

"You coming over later?" Camila mumbled, glancing up at him.

Luke winked at her, earning a begrudging smile. "You bet." He supposed dating Camila wasn't the worst thing in the world.