Running from You

23

"Wake up".
I slowly open my eyes, groaning when I see Lucas sitting by the edge of my bed.
"What time is it?" I ask.
"It's time to get up!" he whispers, and he tugs on my covers. I hold onto them tightly so he can't pull them away.
"Your alarm was going off, but you left your phone in the guest room last night so it woke me up instead of you" he explains, and he pulls the covers even harder.
"That was my first alarm" I sigh. "I'm not supposed to get up until 6:30".
"I realised it would take a while before I'd actually get you out of bed" he smiles. "Get up, get up, get up!"

I roll my eyes, and sit up. A smile spreads on his face, as he stands up and walks towards my curtains. I flinch as he opens them, the light hurting my eyes.
"How are you so... Awake?" I ask, forcing myself to step out of my bed. I stretch out, and grab some clothes out of my closet.
"Positive attitude" he says. "And I already took my meds. I had some left in my backpack".
"I've got some in my drawer, you can have those too" I yawn. "And you aren't supposed to take those on an empty stomach"
"I already ate" he says. "I also had some food in my backpack".

I huff, and walk towards the bathroom. Yesterday night, I helped Lucas make his bed in the guest room. He fell asleep the minute he laid down, so of course I was the one who had to tuck him in. After that, I went to my own room, and fell asleep pretty quickly. However, I clearly didn't rest enough. As I look in the mirror, I notice how tired I look. My otherwise tanned skin is rather pale, and there are big dark circles under my eyes. I sigh, and get ready for school. After a quick shower, I walk out of the bathroom in my warmest clothes. We're in the middle of the winter now, and it's constantly raining. There's even been predicted snow for the rest of the week.

I walk down the stairs, where Lucas is already standing in the kitchen.
"I made you coffee!" he says.
"You did?" I ask, suspicious. "Since when do you know how to make coffee?"
"My dad taught me" he shrugs, pouring it into my favourite mug.
"You don't even like coffee" I point out.
"He seemed so excited to teach me. And I thought, I always feel excited when I talk about things I like, maybe he'll be a little less stressed out if he can do something he likes".
I laugh, watching him put milk and sugar in my coffee. Exactly the right amount.
"And he always smiled at me whenever I made him coffee in the morning before he started working out..."
His voice trails off, and his smile dissapears as he puts the coffee down in front of me.
"Thanks" I say.
"No problem" he says. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"I'll just make some soup" I say. "You want some too?"
"What kind of soup?" he asks.
"Tomato" I say. "Cup-a-soup".
"Yeah, thanks" he says.

I empty the powder packets in two bowls, and boil the water.
"Why are you coming with me?" I ask.
"I can't do anything here" he shrugs. "My mom will probably call me some time tonight, but they're not landing until... 8 pm, I think. So that'll take a while".
"I'm not sure if you can stay in classes with me" I say, handing him his bowl of soup, and grabbing my coffee mug. "The teachers might think you're a distraction".
"Well, I probably am" he says. "But then I'll just hang out in the gym hall or something".
"You know I won't be able to protect you from Kathryn then" I warn him, while taking a sip. "So if she-, wow, this is really good!".
He smiles modestly, and shrugs.
"I'll survive".

I was right, he's not allowed in classes. Luckily, I don't have a very long day today, so he won't be alone for too long. During our first break, I walk towards the bleachers. I already see him sitting there, waving excitedly when he sees me.
"Hi!" he says.
"Hey" I say, sitting down next to him. "How was school?"
He chuckles, and looks at me with bright eyes.
"I didn't see Kathryn anywhere" he says. I feel a little relieved. I know he can handle himself just fine, but still. I worry about him. As best friends do.
"That's good" I nod. "Anyone else?"
"I saw Anna, from our team. We chatted for a while. She's nice" he says. "She said she might be quitting because Kathryn is such a mean person".
"Mean person?" I ask.
"She used other words" he says. "But anyway, I talked her out of it. She's really good, I like her".

"You like her?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Not like that" he shakes his head. "She's straight, and it seems that straight people aren't my type".
I chuckle. "Not everyone you've ever liked is a lesbian. You used to like Claire, she was straight" I point out.
"Yeah, okay. But she had a boyfriend. My type is unavailable people".
I nod slowly.
"Must be hard" I say.
"Yeah".
He looks at me, and suddenly looks uncomfortable.
"Sorry" he mutters.
I frown, and then shake my head when I realise what he means.
"Don't" I say. "It's fine".
He nods slowly, his eyes moving around rapidly. Something he often does when he's thinking about something.

I hear a gasp.
"Lucas?!"
Lucas looks up, and his smile returns when he sees Landon and Jay.
"Hey!" he waves.
"You're supposed to be in Paris" Landon points out. "Or was that next week?"
"No, it wasn't" Lucas chuckles. "But yeah, I'm here".
He explains the situation shortly, leaving out the panic attack.
"Wow" Jay says. "And what now? Are you going to stay here? Buy your own apartment? Move in with Dean?"
"I'll allow it if he keeps making coffee for me" I say.
Lucas laughs, and shakes his head.
"I'll figure it out" he says. "Mom's probably going to call me when she lands, we'll figure stuff out then".

"So you came back in the middle of the night?" Landon asks. Lucas nods.
"And Dean and his mom picked me up".
Jay looks at me, and narrows her eyes.
"You made him coffee this morning?" she asks.
"Yeah" Lucas smiles. "Apparently I'm good at it". He looks at me, and I nod at him. A proud smile spreads on his face, as he turns back to Jay. I stare at him, resting my head on my hand and allowing myself to gush over how adorable he is for a moment.

As he chatters to Landon about the train journey, I feel Jay's eyes burning on me the entire time. I finally give in, looking back at her. She gets up, and sits down next to me.
"You told him" she concludes proudly.
"What?" I ask, though I realise there's no use in denying it. "I swear, you're psychic".
She shrugs, and grins.
"I can see it from your face. You've stopped denying it. And he knows it now".
"He does" I say. "And he's handling it very well so far".
"Yeah duh" she says, rolling her eyes. "That's because he likes you back".
I quickly glance at Lucas, who doesn't seem to hear us, luckily.

"Why would you say that?" I scoff.
"It's pretty obvious" she says. "I see it in the way he looks at you".
"The way he looks at me?" I ask dryly.
"Yeah, you idiot. He used to look at me like that, I would know better than anyone".
I stare at her for a moment. A very long moment.
"I have a free period now, I'll take care of him" she says, with a smug grin.
"Wait" I say, snapping out of my thoughts. "Don't go giving him an existential crisis. I don't want him to be pressured into anything".
"I won't pressure him" she says, rolling her eyes. "I'll just politely inform him of my suspicions and comfort him when he realises I'm right. Like I did with you!"
I frown. I don't like that idea. I just want Lucas and I to stay best friends, I don't want things to change. Right? I look at him, he's talking to Landon about Mario Kart.

I shake my head, letting out a small sigh of adoration as he moves his arms around so much he almost hits Landon in his face.
"That sounded awfully dreamy" Jay whispers in my ear. I glare at her, but all she does in response is smile and wink at me.

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