Held On Tight

6- Not in the Mood

Lukas POV

I slowly exited her house, my face feeling very hot. Once the door shut I ran to my bike and got on. I have never peddled so quicker in my life. I biked around the corner to Petra's neighborhood. I didn't want to make a fool of myself again, so once I reached Petra's house all I did was set the bag on her doorstep. My stomach hurt the entire bike ride home.

I got to my house and threw myself on the living room couch. My mom was in the kitchen cleaning up.

"Hey honey, everything okay? You don't look too good."

I sat up. No, it wasn't okay. Yes, maybe I was being a little over-dramatic, but still. I always made everything awkward. I had everything prepped out and of course I screwed it all up. I decided not to talk to Jesse or Petra for the rest of the day, unless they talked first. I didn't even know if Petra knew it was on her doorstep, but I just decided to wait and see if she would find out, rather than just text her.

Why did I always do these things? Why did I always plan these things out when I know I'll just screw it up anyways? Maybe someday it'll work, which is probably why I keep trying. But I don't know...there's just something about me. I groaned and walked over to my mom, who was drying her hands from washing the dishes. She threw her arms around me, her grip tight.

I felt all of my problems wash away. Man, moms have literal super powers. Every time she hugged me I just felt so comfortable. She pulled away from me and knelt down.

"Tell me what's up. I know something's wrong, so just tell me." she told me in a gentle tone.

I told her everything that had just happened and she frowned. A sorry look on her face.

"Well...how about we go and get ice cream huh? To lighten the mood." She had a bright smile on her face.

"Uhh...okay." I was honestly kind of shocked. Usually she would just give me a hug or a kiss on the cheek and tell me everything would be alright. I'm not being ungrateful (nowhere near that) it's just that I was surprised she recommended that. She never does these kinds of things.

"Alright spill. What did you do."

Jesse POV

I had a confused expression on my face as he walked out the door. I looked at the bag in my hand. It was a bright shade of red with some pretty patterns. I ran to the window, looking out to the front yard. He was already gone. I was confused...that fast? I ran up to my room and plopped on my bed. I pulled the paper out of the bag and it revealed a Snickers bar. What was he doing this for? I saw a note sitting at the bottom of the bag. I took it out and read it.

I felt somewhat relieved. I really wasn't in the mood to reject someone. It made me feel bad. Mostly because I didn't want all that crush stuff and drama right now. I already had a lot on my shoulders at the moment. I mean, I just lost my best friend.

Long story. About two years ago, me and my parents went to a restaurant for my birthday. We had a table that was right next to a window that overlooked the street, and I watched pedestrians crossing and cars driving by as we were waiting for our food. There were some stores nearby, a gas station, and also a farm down the street.

It was a long wait. They never really took this long to make the food. How ironic that it took them longer on my birthday. But I didn't mind because I didn't have anything else planned for the rest of the day anyways. I never really did anything big for my birthday. My parents just aren't like that unfortunately.

But as I was watching the street something caught my eye. Something small and bright pink running down the sidewalk, towards the restaurant we were in. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a baby pig who had probably escaped the farm somehow. It kept going into the street, making me feel very anxious. My foot bobbing up and down.

It got to the intersection and that's when my instincts kicked in. I got up from my chair, kicking it back a little. My parents staring at me as I ran outside. They probably thought I was delusional or something. But of course, they did nothing. Which was kind of a good thing on my part. I needed to help this little piggy without anyone interfering. I bolted to the end of the sidewalk, smacking the button to cross several times. I anxiously watched, waiting for the little screen on the other side of the street to tell me I was allowed to cross.

For some reason it was taking way too long. I looked both ways and dashed across the street. I didn't have the patience for a stupid sign to tell me what to do. I got to where the pig was standing and I could tell he was scared. I scooped him up in my arms, holding him like a baby. I startled him at first, but he seemed to calm down as I held him. I walked back towards the restaurant.

Long story short, my parents and the restaurant had to call the farm down the street to tell them their pig was missing. I was shocked when I was told the farm let me keep him since I saved him. He could've gotten run over. Surprisingly enough, my parents agreed to it. It was the least they could do since they didn't even bother to get me any presents that birthday.

So yeah, I named the pig Reuben. I raised him, fed him, played with him, cuddled with him, and so many more things. One night I woke up to the sound of him whining. It sounded like he was crying. I was really worried but knew my parents wouldn't do anything about it if I woke them up. I had no idea what to do.

I cuddled him like a baby, like the first time I saw him. I was bawling my eyes out as the poor pig was dying in front of my eyes. I still don't know what happened, but it still breaks my heart. Shatters it, into a million pieces. That was only last month.

Anyways, that was the reason why I wasn't in the mood for all that. That "love" nonsense. School was already stressful enough and by what other people have told me, having a boyfriend is stressful too. I didn't need all that right now. Especially since my own family wasn't there for me.