R E J E C T S

CH.38: SECRETS

"I can't move my arms..." Zayn said.

"Apparently, our muscles froze in place." Louis stated.

"The school's closing you know..." Luke yawned.

"Actually, it already closed a couple of hours ago. We lost track of time." Louis shrugged.

"Are you guys planning on sleeping here for the night with your arms raised? Because I skipped practice today just so I could see who wins this game. Might as well camp out here because I don't feel like going home." Liam says.

"Your mother might look for you." I told him.

"You know his mother? Just how close are you two?" Luke asked.

"I meant like his mother might get worried because that's what mothers do, right? It doesn't necessarily mean that I know his mother..." I chuckled nervously as I eyed Liam who started sweating like a pig.

He's not good with handling pressure.

"I can't take it anymore!" Zayn finally gave up first.

"What about that lap dance that you were dreaming of?" Louis made fun of him.

"I can just dream about it tonight, unless..." Zayn looked at me funny.

"No." I said right away.

What does he think of me? A hooker?!

"But you used to do one for me---"

"Shut it!" I covered his mouth using my hand.

"And Cher's out too..." Liam announced.

What the f---?

"Public humiliation it is." Louis grinned evilly.

"Let's call it a day, shall we?" He added.

"What about my public humiliation? We can do it right now..." I suggested.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, love. Clearly there's no 'crowd' right now for you to humiliate yourself in front of." Louis explained.

Darn it.

"By the way, where's Niall?" I just realized now that he's gone.

"He left an hour ago while you were staring in space once again... he said that he didn't sign up for a hunger strike. I'm guessing that the poor lad forgot the purpose of what we're doing." Louis elaborated his friend's disappearance.

"Cher, let's go home already." Luke said impatiently while I rubbed my aching arms.

"You two live together?" Liam asked.

"Dude, the whole school knows about that." Louis rolled his eyes while Zayn just nods.

"You can go ahead. I have something that I'd like to discuss with Louis in private." I whispered to Luke.

"See you guys tomorrow." Zayn waved off.

"Wait up! Hey, can I sleep in your place for tonight?" I heard Liam say as the two of them drifted far away into the halls.

"I can wait." Luke smiled.

"You don't have to."

"Or maybe it's best if I went ahead so that I can cook us dinner, prepare you a nice, warm bath and learn video tutorials on how to massage your arms..." Luke thought out loud.

"You don't have to do those either..." I squinted my eyes.

"I know but I want to. See you later!" He then hurried off.