Beautiful poster by @_theunsaid.words_. Good luck with your writing, you got this! 

Chapter 42: Trending

"What do you want Luke to give you for Christmas?" Cearra asked me. We were sitting in a little alcove by her living room. "How about himself wrapped up in a red bow and nothing else?"

I had to think about that for a second. 

"I want a puppy for Christmas!" one of Cearra's little sisters screamed, running up to us.

Her house was chaotic with four siblings under the age of twelve. Toys were littered across the living room, like miniature safety hazards. Her parents were in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

Cearra grabbed hold of her sister before she ran into us and told me, "A puppy... or Luke with his puppy dog eyes?"

There's a theme here.

I laughed at her. Her sister squealed and wriggled out from the trapped position, before running off to play with her brothers.

"Think about it," Cearra insisted, "Maybe you could ask him to do that sexy move on court where he scores and then flicks his hair? I swear so many girls go to his games just for that move."

I looked down at the colorfully embroidered cushion on my lap. We were nestled in a cosy alcove, inhaling the phenomenal smells coming out of the kitchen. Her parents were cooking dinner together.

"I don't know what to get him for Christmas," I confessed, finding it hard to think of what to get someone who has everything already.

"Lingerie?"

"For him?"

I couldn't concentrate on Christmas presents when I didn't know how I could afford them.

"Any non s*xual gift ideas?" I said for a start, glancing at her siblings playing in the living room. 

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not the one dating Luke Dawson," she said, "But if I was, I don't know what there is to complain about it. He is 10 out of 10 fine."

"What if I mess up?" I asked, more to myself than to her.

I've never really said this out loud, but I haven't been honest to myself either. I'm scared. Dating Luke has felt like diving headfirst into a One Direction album.

He's got so much energy. He plays basketball with equal skill and speed. He runs and boxes in his spare time. He keeps everyone moving. But I love catching him in his calm moments, when he's sitting still and leaning his hand against his messy hair. When his blue eyes gaze down, and he absentmindedly plays with my hair. Those are my favorite moments.

"Have you said the L word?" she asked me.

"No."

"Do you think you will?"

"If I do, I think he should be the first to know," I answered with an exaggerated wink.

It was a good question though. Do I love him?

Do I know myself enough to love someone? Do I know what that word even means?

"No! How many times have I told you not to eat play-doh?" Cearra told off her younger brother, holding play-doh out of his reach.

"It's Coco Nutty!" he cried out, jumping up high to try to take it from her, "I can eat it!"

"Don't eat it!"

He went off in a huff, whining that his older sister was being mean. She placed the play-doh on a high shelf and returned to our alcove.

"Have you ever thought of being a summer camp counselor?" I asked her, "You'd be really good at it."

"No way. I don't need to surround myself with more kids to torture me," she sighed, wrapping the blanket around her before she sat back down, "Hey Millie, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure."

I didn't expect the usually confident Cearra to become a bit nervous. She said, "I've had a crush on someone since freshman year. I didn't know him, because he was one of those older guys that everyone had a crush on. I never thought I'd have a chance."

She looked over at the kitchen, hoping her parents wouldn't hear. The clattering of pots and pans strongly indicated that they wouldn't.

"He's a senior so he's halfway out the door and this may be my last chance. Especially since you're..." she inhaled, finding it difficult to name her secret crush.

I realized that Cearra was happy to talk about her fantasies of Jimin or even Luke. But this one, she was pretty tight lipped about.

"Do you think you could help me?" she asked, "You're dating his best friend. Do you know if he's seeing anyone?  Do you know if he could be interested in me?"

"Who?" I asked, "Who do you mean?"

It was a toss-up. 50% chance Austin, 50% chance Chad. I didn't want to presume.

"Austin," she revealed, "I have a crush on Austin Taylor."

...

I couldn't help myself. My first reaction was shock and then I wanted to squeal in excitement. I had to resist that urge because I didn't want to scare my new friend away with weird squealing sounds.

"No way!" I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice down but the excitement up, "You like Austin! I have no idea who he's dating or if he's dating anyone, but I'll check."

"Please be subtle," she begged me.

"Subtle? I am the definition of subtle."

That's a lie.

I was too excited to disappoint her. She knew me well enough to be nervous about my self-proclaimed 'definition of subtle.' I'll get an A for effort. 

I had so many questions to ask her, but her mom's voice called out from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready! Come lay the table, C!"

**

Cearra had a big family. Her four siblings clambered onto chairs on one side of the table, while the adults sat on the other side. Cearra and I were in the middle. 

A massive dish of jambalaya was placed in front of us, steam rising from the top. I stared down at the red sauce, prawns, chicken, chorizo, rice and peppers. Green onions were chopped on top as garnish.

"Can you take spicy?" Cearra's mom asked me as she lifted a wooden spoon to serve.

"A little, thank you," I nodded, holding up my plate.

Cearra's dad was handing out cornbread to the younger ones. That got messy.

"Mom grew up in New Orleans," Cearra told me as she was served her plate.

"That's right," Cearra's mom said with a smile, "Cearra keeps asking if we can go for mardi gras, but I tell her, after she turns 21, she can do anything. Until then, no way."

I've never been, but it sounded incredible.

The food was equally incredible. The spices set my senses ablaze and the mixture of flavors blended into each other. It was so filling. The moment I finished my plate, Cearra's dad served me a full new helping.

"Cearra tells us you're good at math," he said, "You take part in math competitions, is that right?" 

"I just started," I told him, "I'm not that good, but I like it."

He laughed, "Be confident, Millie. I can tell you're a smart girl so pursue your passion and-"

"Dad, you're embarrassing me," Cearra stopped him, "Don't give her a lecture. She came here for dinner."

Her younger siblings banged their small hands on the table, "Dessert!"

It sunded like a mini revolt.

**

I left Cearra's house at 8PM, just as the kids were being tucked in bed. Cearra and I had helped to wash the dishes after dinner and tidy up the living room.

I can't remember the last time I've been invited to a friend's house for dinner. Jake invited me once and Luke invited me to the jake house, but aside from the Dawsons... it's been a really long time.

Cearra's parents were kind and warmhearted. They had a lot on their plate as working parents with 5 kids, but they were very attentive to Cearra in the time they spent together. 

They knew about the subjects she was taking, the grades she was making and the activities she'd signed up for.

I called her up.

"Didn't we just say goodbye five minutes ago?" she asked as she answered the phone.

I put the volume on speaker before starting to drive. "Yes! Sorry about that. I just realized that I forgot to ask you something. Do you know why people in school were staring at Luke and me today? It felt odd."

Austin and Bianca told me their theory at lunch today. But Luke, Austin, Chad and Bianca are the center of gossip - so how do they know what's trending? 

"Oh we totally forgot to speak about that," she agreed and I could hear her close her door for more privacy, "Yeah, you guys have been a hot topic over the last few days."

"Why?"

"Well," Cearra's voice picked up in pace, "How do I say this nicely? Bianca's gorgeous. Bianca and Luke have always had a little thing. You know better than me but apparently it's been pretty casual. I think Bianca called him her boyfriend at one point."

This was hard to hear. I pulled over, just in case whatever Cearra was about to say would have some surprises.

"Sooooo," she continued, "the weekend you were at the lake house, she went over to Chad's."

"Chad?" I asked, thinking I must've misheard.

How many Chads do we have at school?

"Yeah. It's real news because that means Luke and Bianca are really over," she said, "Which is contrary to what a lot of people thought. I think people thought that you and Luke were casual and Bianca and Luke were casual and-"

"How recently were they together?"

"That's a question you should ask your boyfriend."  

A/N: The suspense! The question! Have Luke and Bianca been a thing? For how long?

So that's Chapter 42 - a special bonus chapter since we hit 15m reads on Player Next Door. Thank you so much to those who voted and shared the story! Love it! One more surprise:

I'll be posting 'confessionals' on my Instagram! For those of you who have questions about life, love, loss and more, I post it on my feed anonymously so you can see what others suggest & think. It's @NatalieInACorner starting tomorrow!

<3 Natalie

P.S. I'm still thinking of that jambalaya.  Anyone else?