Chapter Thirty-Four (Lucas' POV)

Not proofread.

She lifted a hand to cover her mouth as she threw her head back and laughed at something he said. I should be the one making her laugh, I should be the one who she looked at with so much adoration. I’ve known her longer, I should have a better chance with her.

But no.

“Lucas, are you listening?” Rebecca’s voice made me switch my gaze from the couple to her. I nodded absentmindedly and she seems contented with this as she continued to drone on.

Does this girl ever shut up? It always seems like she has a new story to tell.

I looked at my brother and let out a sad sigh of envy when I saw him happily chatting with his girlfriend. That’s another talkative girl, I have no idea how Blake manage to endure that. Jessica said something that clearly made him happy because a huge smile broke into my brother’s face.

Even though I’m not really close with Jessica, I’m still happy that she can make my twin smile.

He looked at me and gave me a sympathetic smile before returning to his girlfriend. Everybody’s right, I’m not happy with Rebecca.

Returning my attention to Celeste, I watched as she smiled at Everett. It was like she was looking at the very thing her world revolved around.

As much as I hate to admit it, Everett won her. When I look at him as he makes Celeste laugh, it was obvious that she likes him as much as he does her.

When Jessica leaned away from Blake to say something to Lillian, my bother lifted his gaze to meet mine. He saw where I paying attention to and gave me a sympathetic nod. I shook my head and looked down, it was too painful of thinking about her with another man.

“I’m going to pee,” I announced though I’m positive nobody heard me. I stood from my seat and headed out of the cafeteria.

The minute I did, a girl wrapped her arms around and me and basically purred into my ear, “Hey.”

I looked down at her as she pressed her chest onto my torso. I should have gotten turned on by this, I should have snuck her away to the janitor’s closet and have my way on her.

But I didn’t.

Slowly, I made her unwrap her arms from me and walked around her, “Not interested,” I rejected, I didn’t even look back to see her reaction.

“Just because you had a girlfriend doesn’t mean you should change!” she yelled causing me to halt and turn around.

“What did you say?” I gritted out, glaring at her.

She smirked, I just given her the attention she wanted. She slowly walked to me, swaying her hips side to side as the sound of her heels clacking on the floor, “Dear Rebecca won’t know a thing.”

It wasn’t Rebecca that I was worried about. It was the brown eyed brunette that got me all me worked up. The same girl who was probably hanging onto every single word that comes out of Everett’s mouth.

Even if I knew I lost the battle, I still want her to be proud of me. I could already picture her face in my head when she knew that I succumb to this girl’s seduction.

Damn you, Celeste.

“Do both of us a favor and leave me alone,” I gritted out, turning on my heel and continue to my destination.

She was changing my ways. I want her so badly, that should be making her laugh back inside the cafeteria.

But I’m not. She’s not mine.

*

*

*

“This is exactly what we need,” Blake nodded at our house that was already prepared for the party guests to arrive.

“Thank God mom and dad left already,” I said, grabbing myself a cup of beer, “Having them here was too much pressure.”

Sipping my drink and allowing the alcohol to burn my throat, I leaned back against the wall and waited for somebody to arrive. Being us, we decided the best way to celebrate our parents’ departure back to Canada for a business opportunity is throwing a party.

Refilling my red solo cup, I started to drink it empty again.

“Go easy on those, the thing has yet to start,” Blake chuckled, getting one of his own.

“I’m not really in the mood.”

And just like that, the switch has been flipped and the feel became serious all of a sudden.

“I know you like her,” he told me, “But also think about her happiness.”

“That is what’s painful about it,” I sighed, “She’s happy and it’s not because of me.”

My brother knew me all too well to realize that I was mopping around. He patted my shoulder before speaking, “Want me to call this off?”

As I was about to answer, the doorbell rung and I pressed my lips into a tight line, “Too late for that.”

“If you don’t feel like it, you could go to your room and lock the door,” he said, standing up to get the door.

Looking down on my red solo cup, I let my mind wander off as my house slowly became filled up with a mess of teenagers looking for excitement.

Another relief is that Rebecca was out of town visiting her grandparents, meaning I don’t have to deal with her tonight.

“Hi Lucas,” I heard the familiar ring of that melodic voice I could listen to all day.

“Celeste,” I greeted, a smile slowly forming its way to my lips.

God, she was beautiful. I have it bad.

My eyes tore away from her blinding looks and focused on the girl standing next to her. She was a stranger but the way she was standing beside Celeste clearly meant they knew each other.

Celeste must have followed my gaze and she snapped my attention back to her, “This is Yasmin, by the way, she’s Jazzy’s sister.”

Dare I say it, she looked good. Her eyes were brown and her hair had the same shade, much like Celeste. They have so many common features yet at the same time, they look completely different.

“Yasmin, this is…” Celeste started but I cut her off.

“Lucas,” I smirked, reaching out to shake her hand. She looked down on our linked hands before I saw her ears turning red.

Ah, we have a bashful one over here.

“I’ll go get you two ladies a drink,” I winked over at her direction.

She turned redder than she could have ever been. Maybe this could be a little more fun that I had initially thought.

“I’m guessing you’re back?” Blake laughed as I approached the keg of beer, “Looks like my brother’s back to his flirting ways.”

“She seems interesting,” I shrugged, filling up two cups.

Jessica found her way to her boyfriend’s side and I pretended to throw up – these two couldn’t be apart for more than five minutes.

“Yasmin’s also pretty nice,” she grinned, her eyes gleaming with encouragement.

I rolled my eyes, “Got to go.”

I walked away from them and saw a trio sitting on the couch that I was previously occupying.

Celeste and Drew were back to their own happy little bubble and even though they included Yasmin in their conversation, she obviously felt that she was third-wheeling.

Another thing was gleaming in her eyes, envy.

Sneaking up from behind, I tapped her shoulder making her slightly jump. All three of them turned to me and I grinned, “Mind if I borrow the little lady for a while?”

“Sure,” Celeste nodded though she was warning me with the look on her face.

Don’t do anything bad.

She gave Yasmin an encouraging nod and she stood up from her spot, slowly approaching me until we were face to face.

“Here,” I handed her one of the cups and took a sip on the other.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, cautiously drinking it.

She was petite, she was shorter than Celeste even on heels. And somehow that made her all the more attractive.

She wasn’t looking at me, she was actually gazing at everything in the room except on my direction.

“Want to dance?” I asked and she nodded, still making sure that she didn’t look at me.

This is going to be harder than I thought.

Taking the cup from her hand, I passed both of our drinks to a guy walking by. I offered her my hand she slowly took it, making me grin.

This is progress.

Leading her to the mass of dancing bodies, I started to twirl her around. With all the horny teens around, what we were doing was probably the most innocent thing in the place.

“Relax,” I whispered to her when I felt that she was too tense.

She took a deep breath through her nose and started to slowly sway from side to side.

When the song chanced, she grinned. She obviously liked this song as he shy dancing turned into a one of enthusiasm. She threw her hands in the air and started to laugh as she danced around in front of me. I chuckled at her antics and placed my hands on my hips causing her to stop.

“Sorry,” I muttered, snatching my hands back.

Now we’re back to zero.

Finally, she looked into my eyes, “it’s alright.”

Carefully, I placed back my hands on her waist and started to sway the two of us. She looked back down to her feet as I saw her cheeks redden. At least she wasn’t complaining.

I didn’t know why I wanted her to be comfortable with me. If I really like her, I could just smooth-talk my way into letting her fall for me, but something in my chest was telling not to do it.

Like I said before, she was like Celeste but at the same time, they were like opposites. She reminded me of the old her – the one I left four years ago.

Shy yet she knows when to have a great time. Insecure yet beautiful. Jolly and mature at the same time.

Maybe that’s the reason why she caught my attention. She was like Celeste when I started to like her. As much as I was comparing her to Celeste, I picture as somebody different.

She was special like her, but in her own little way.

Looking up I saw Celeste and Everett dancing together, both of them having the time of their life. Celeste caught my gaze and for the first time in a long time, she smiled with pride as she watched me dance with Yasmin.

Switching my look to the small girl in my arms before looking back at Celeste, I knew what she was talking about.

She whispered something into her boyfriend’s ear causing him to turn around and look at our direction. He mirrored his expression but his attention was on Yasmin, not on me.

Relief was in his face and I didn’t know why. What I do know is why Celeste was looking at me that way.

I still had a long way to go but I was finally moving on.

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You guys asked for it and we finally took a peek at Lucas' life. Don't you think he and Yasmin look adorable together. I'm going to leave you guys with the benifit of doubt on how Celeste and Yasmin's meeting went. 

I don't know why but I'm certainly losing my touch in writing. I don't know if it's stress, lack of sleep or anything... Help me!

Question: How do you guys want this story to end?

By the way guys, thank you for screaming the word chocolate on the last chapter.

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