the hating game ; lrh

twenty-six

IN LESS THAN A second, Luke has thrown my body off his and sent me tumbling toward the other side of the trunk. I land with an 'oomph', though Luke doesn't seem to care. His eyes are wide with panic as he climbs out of the trunk, ruffling his hair around for a moment presumably to disguise where my hands had been, and tugging at his pants.

Luke disappears without a word to follow where the source of the sound that had yanked us back to reality, walking around the front of his car to meet with the person. I lay low, so as to remain unseen, but position my body so that I can see slightly through the windscreen at who is standing there.

"Michael!" Luke exclaims with feigned excitement. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Fuck are you doing all the way down here?" Michael responds. He glances over at the car and I quickly duck down behind the back seats, hoping he hasn't seen me. "Who are you with?"

"What?" Luke glances back to the car now, shaking his head quickly. "Nobody. I just came to study."

Michael's brows raise instantly at this comment, and I know that we are screwed. "You haven't studied since the second grade," Michael challenges him — it's true. To my utmost disappointment, Luke was incredibly intelligent and hardly ever had to study in order to achieve his stellar grades.

"I—" Luke begins to protest, but Michael quickly pushes past him and comes around to the trunk.

"Rory," he exclaims once he sees me perched inside the trunk, though he doesn't seem at all surprised at my presence.

Luke stands next to him, glancing between us with so much panic that I fear he might explode. "Um... hi," is all I can think to say, and I curse myself inwardly at how very little I'm helping the situation.

"I knew it!" Michael exclaims, almost jumping up and down in excitement. "I knew it!"

"You can't tell anyone!" Luke begs. I seriously think he might cry soon. "Please. Nobody knows."

Michael beams across at me, looking back and forth between us almost as if he can't believe the sight before him. "I knew it!" He repeats once again, cackling. "I thought something was going on between you two, and when I saw you in the bathroom together after the party I knew it!"

I share a concerned glance with Luke, cursing us for being so careless that day. The moment the door had opened I knew that Michael had seen something — unlike Calum, Michael was observant. He had seen past the facade and let his suspicion lead him to an accurate conclusion. The thought brings a tidal wave of worry flooding my brain — if Michael had figured us out, who else had?

"Michael. Michael," Luke grips his friend's shoulders, keeping him still and focused. It works, because Michael calms down and maintains eye contact with Luke. "I need you to promise you won't say anything."

Michael glances between us, seeming uneasy at the thought of concealing such a secret. "I don't know..." he trails off, eyeing me. "I don't feel good about lying to Cal."

Luke lets out a groan, letting his head hang back for a moment in annoyance. "Michael. This isn't some chick I'm asking you to keep hidden," my heart warms at Luke's words. "It's Rory."

But Michael doesn't seem to agree, shaking his head instantly in denial. "That's exactly why I can't keep it a secret!" Michael sighs, pulling himself away from Luke's grip. "I'm sorry, man."

I see anger ignite behind Luke's eyes, his pleading expression morphing into a deep-set, angry frown. His lips part menacingly and I can already see exactly where this is going, but before he can say a word I leap up out of the car and turn to Michael myself.