Life in the Shadows

Chapter 4

"Alanaaaa"
I wake up to Luke whining next to me. Ugh it's like 9.. So early.

"Lukeyyy"

"Yay, you're up! I'm bored, wanna go to the park?"
This is just one of the many reasons why he is my best friend, we are high schoolers who spend a lot of time at the park..

"Sure, but we're picking up donuts so I don't have to make breakfast." He just laughs.. oh god his laugh,
"Would your laziness also like me to carry her downstairs."
"Actually yes, yes I would."

Before I could tell him I was JOKING, he actually jumps out of the bed and lifts me out of the bed, carrying me bridal style. For a freshman, he is pretty muscular.

"Luke, I was joking! You can put me down."
"Nah, I'm good" He winks down at me and proceeds to carry me down the stairs. Can't say I was complaining though, he smells really good, plus I don't have to walk.

Half way down the stairs, we hear my parents in the kitchen.. Ugh they're not supposed to be home, they always go to the office on Saturdays. At least they approve of Luke, pretty much the only thing they approve of in my life.

Luke hears them and scream-whispers, "ABORT, ABORT." My dork of a best friend.
Unfortunately, he practically drops me in his attempt to scurry back up the stairs...
I hear silence downstairs, but I stay frozen, while Luke is probably already hiding under my bed or something.

My parents eventually return back to their bickering, and I slowly crawl back up the stairs into my room. And I was right, Luke is hiding under my bed. I grab his leg and pull him out, and he sits on top of my bed.

"Luke, I'm going to kill you someday. You know my parents don't care if you're here."
"Yeah, but if they saw us, it would ruin our secret mission."
"What secret mission?"
"It's a secret, Alana."
"Right.." I just laugh it off. Might as well play along. "So what's the first step for this 'secret mission'?"
He jumps off my bed and goes to the window, "Guess we'll just climb down from your window." What.
"Luke, that's like a 30 foot drop, there is no way I'm climbing out my window when I could walk through a perfectly safe door!"
"But that's soo boring. Come on Alana, it will be fine." And then he gives me the look. THE look. The one that makes me melt and makes me want to jump off a cliff all at the same time. He could probably make me do anything he wanted.

"Fine, but if I die, I will haunt you for the rest of your life."

"That's a chance I'm willing to take. Let's go!" He steps out onto the small ledge outside my window and uses both my trellis and downspout to climb down to the ground.

"See Alana, I'm still alive! Now it's your turn." He yells down from the ground, which seems so far away right now. Did I mention, I'm scared of heights. There is no way I'm going do-

"Alana Layne Blake, get your adorable butt down here now." He's so charming.

Well here it goes.

I step out onto my ledge. So far so good. I grab the downspout and put my feet in the holes of the trellis to climb down.
"You're doing great Lana, almost there."
"Shut up, I hate you right now."
"Well, I love you too." He's laughing at me. I might fall and die, and he's laughing at me.

I moved to put my foot into the next hole, but lost my footing. Just my luck. As I'm falling to my death, I scream for Luke. Instead of feeling the ground, that would have inevitably killed me, I feel a warm body, and I hear a groan from underneath me. Oh whoops, guess I landed on Luke. Well at least I'm still alive..

After he finished groaning and all, we both looked at each and started laughing, ahh that beautiful laugh of his, "You okay Lana?"
"Yeah, super.. Thanks for breaking my fall Lukey"
"Ugh, you know I don't like being called Lukey."
"Yeah, I know, that's why I do it."
"Uh huh, so that's how you talk to someone who just saved your life? I was hoping for a little more gratitude."
"Fine, thank you for saving me, even though you're the reason I almost died."
"Good enough, I guess."
"But really, you okay, Luke?
"Oh yeah, pfft didn't feel a thing. Anyway it was worth it."
"Oh yeah, I could definitely tell after all that groaning. But I guess it was, since I'm alive.."
   "Nah, not just that Lana, we've never been closer to each other."

I just realized, I never got off him. I've literally been less than a foot away from his face this whole time. Wow, his eyes are so blue, I never really noticed.

We just sit in silence for a while, like we're memorizing every detail of each other's faces. When I feel myself start to lean, I quickly jump off him, "Oh yeah, I'm sorry, umm- we should- uh- probably get going if we want those donuts."

  I start walking, more like jogging, without even looking to see if he's behind me. What the... Did I just... No. Nahh, I wasn't about to kiss my best friend, I was just leaning close to- um- to get a closer look at his eyes. Those gorgeous eyes.
"Alana!" Oh right, he's still behind me, "wait up. What's wrong?" I think I'm falling for you.. My BEST FRIEND, that's what's wrong you idiot, "Nothing, I just really want those donuts."
  "Oh, right." He sounds.. Disappointed? No, stop reading into this, Alana.
.
.
We just walk to the donut shop in complete silence. I keep seeing him open his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then he would just close it again. I sure hope this doesn't affect our friendship.
.
.
"Alana, are you made at me, or..?" We got our donuts and are now sitting on the swings at the park. We haven't uttered a word to each other, well until now. But I still have no idea what to say.
  "Please don't be mad at me, you're my best friend.. And I- I like-."I looked up at him, so I could see his face when he said the words I've secretly been waiting to hear for so long.

And then she showed up.

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Until next update :). Sorry for taking so long with this one.