five

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height


"Hey," Lana says to me once second period ends as we both head for the hallway. "You should sit with me at lunch. I'll save you a seat."

Lana has been so incredibly nice to me today, there's no way I can turn down her offer. And whether she knows it or not, Lana practically just saved me from having to either sit alone or eat in my dad's office. Lunch is a new kid's worst nightmare. Thankfully, I've been saved by the angel on earth that is Lana Wright.

"Thank you." I smile at Lana gratefully, feeling very appreciative that I met her. "I'll be right there. I just need to stop by my locker, okay?"

Lana nods in agreement, heading into the cafeteria with one last smile shot in my direction. I turn on my heel once she's gone and head to my locker, going to get my lunch. (I've been to enough schools by now to know that the food doesn't get any better no matter where you go.)

I shut my locker and proceed to head toward the cafeteria. I'm halfway there when I hear a loud burst of laughter to my left, followed by even louder voices. Before I register what's going on, I'm blindsided. I slam right into something hard, staggering backwards as I lose my footing due to the impact. Before I fall I manage to catch my balance, looking up to see what I ran into.

A boy with golden brown hair and light green eyes stands before me, appearing just as shocked as I am right now. He's looking down at me with a confused/annoyed expression, which is the exact emotion I'm feeling.

"Watch where you're going," I hiss after a moment, shoving past the boy and his friends before they get the chance to say a word to me in return. I'm not in the mood to be questioned and/or made fun of, so I just walk away.

After all, it's what I always do. Running away when things get bad runs through the Scott family veins.

Just ask my mom.

• • •

As soon as I walk through the cafeteria doors, I run into Lana. She's watching me with wide eyes, appearing to be rather shocked.

"What?" I ask self-consciously, wondering if there's toilet paper on my shoe or something embarrassing like that. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised, considering the kind of luck I have.

"I was just going to find you," Lana informs me, rushing to add, "and I just saw that whole thing." She gestures to the section of the hallway I stood in moments before, almost getting run down by the boy with golden brown hair.

"Oh?" I question, following after Lana as she leads me to her lunch table.

"Do you know who that was?" Lana asks in a way that tells me I should know who the boy I ran into was. Either way, I have no idea who he is, so I'm not going to lie about it.

"No clue," I admit, shrugging. "He needs to start watching where he's going, though."

"That was Jack Crawford." Lana practically whispers the words. She's acting like he's some sort of famous person, not a high school boy.

"And?" I ask, taking a seat across from Lana at the table we stop at.

"And you totally just told him off!" Lana blurts, blue eyes wide. "No one tells him off!"

"Why not?" I quiz, wondering what the big deal here is as I open my lunch bag.

"He's like a star around here," Lana tells me, waving her hand for emphasis as she speaks. "Captain of the football team, comes from an important and wealthy family, you know, that kind of thing. All of the the girls around here want to be with him, and all the guys want to be him."

"Not all the guys," a voice mutters from my right. I look up to find Lucas, watching as he takes a seat next to me. "Ignore her, Morgan," Lucas murmurs, stealing one of Lana's fries from her tray. "She's just as obsessed with Jack Crawford as everyone else is in this town."

I raise an eyebrow as I study Lucas skeptically. "And you're not?"

Lucas snorts as if I have just told the world's funniest joke. "Of course not," he says with a smirk. "I'm his cousin, so I'm practically immune to his charms."

This is news to me. Raising my eyebrows, I ask, "You're his cousin?"

Lucas shrugs. "Our dads are brothers, so, yeah, last time I checked." Lucas's smirk widens as he looks at me, his expression a little taunting. "Look at you," Lucas teases, biting down on his lip ring. "Not even a full day in Aster Pines and you're already a Crawford groupie. That's cute."

I snap out of whatever trance I was just put under and roll my eyes. "I am not a Crawford groupie," I hiss. "Besides, he practically just ran me down in the hallway, so . . ." I trail off, raising my eyebrows as I shrug, as if this gesture is all I need to finish my thought.

"Sounds like Jack," Lucas mumbles, stealing another of Lana's fries. "Too absorbed in himself to acknowledge anyone else's presence."

"Sounds like you two don't get along," I note, unable to stop myself from smirking. This is nice, sitting with people who may potentially become my friends. It's different in a good way. I could get used to this.

"We used to," Lucas responds with a casual shrug, not offering anything else on the subject.

"What happened then?"

"Jack became Aster Pines's number one football player and I didn't."

My smirk widens at this, and I bump Lucas with my shoulder. "Someone sounds jealous," I tease.

Lucas rolls his blue eyes in annoyance, though the hint of a smile appears on his lips. "I'm not jealous. Although, it would be nice if my mom stopped pretending that Jack was her son. That hurts."

A laugh escapes my lips and Lucas smiles at me, eyes shining in a way that makes him all the more attractive. For some reason, butterflies appear in my stomach. I quickly grab my water bottle and take a sip, trying to drown the butterflies away.

"So if Jack's the football star"—I pop one of Lana's French fries into my mouth—"what do you do?"

"I'm on the swim team," Lucas admits. "Football isn't really my speed."

It's easy to tell that Lucas is a swimmer. He has more of a lean frame, but he's a little muscular too. Not that I noticed, or anything.

Lana rolls her eyes at this, as if Lucas has just told a bold-faced lie. "Lucas has been playing football since he was in diapers," she tells me. "Just like every other guy around here. The only reason he didn't join the team is because he can't stand Jack."

I raise an eyebrow at Lucas, silently asking if what Lana has said is true. In response, he merely rolls his eyes.

"I can't stand my cousin," Lucas agrees, adding, "but that's not the reason I don't play."

He doesn't elaborate any further, so I don't ask. Instead, I change the subject. I've since learned through my own personal experiences that when people don't want to talk about things, they simply don't want to talk about things. There's no use in trying to pry for information, so I just leave the subject be.

"So, how long have you two known each other?"

Lana laughs at my question, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "Aster Pines is a really small town. We've all known each other forever."

"Don't worry, Morgan." Lucas turns to face me, offering a wink. "I'm sure you'll fit right in." With that, he bumps his shoulder against mine, grabs my apple, and then walks off.

I watch Lucas go, unable to explain why my heart is suddenly beating so fast.


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net