Bad Connection✔️

Lucas The Doofus

Finding Lucas wasn't hard. It's usually hard to really know where to find him. Mainly because he's always off partying or doing whatever it is he pleases. But in this case, he was home as most of us are today. This Monday was a teacher meeting day, or just basically a skip day where we all knew teachers didn't even come to the school today. Everyone was just tired because it's the middle of the year.

I knocked on the dark, wooden door. Within a minute a very pissed off Lucas stood in front of me, his hair went from what I assume was a shower because he came without a shirt. He looked almost as bad as Mason.

"Hi," I mumbled, giving him a smile to try and lighten his mood.

He frowned at me before lifting an eyebrow. "What do you want?" he asked bitterly.

I shrugged and looked down, giving a tiny pebble on his porch a good little kick. When I looked up to ask him about what happened the door slammed shut in my face.

Forget parties, he should be known for his manners.

I knock again.

"Oh, dear god! What do you want?" he growled, jerking the door open.

Feeling suddenly stupid for being there, I take a step back from hitting range. "Mason was beat up, I kinda figured you two got into it again so I came here to ask you. It was wrong of me to just assume that, but you two don't seem to get along very well."

He stared at me for a long moment before finally closing his eyes and letting out a sigh and turning his body.

"Come in."

I walk inside a little slowly. He closes the door behind me and starts walking up the stairs. I follow him up them, knowing we're headed to his room. I remember his house well from when I was little. We used to run up and down the stairs and through this door, trying to outrun our parents who chased us around as a game.

When we reached his room, I sat on his bed, taking note it was definitely a lot different from how it used to be, but the same purple wallpaper was up. If you really looked in the corner behind his desk, you would see permanent marker with both of our names scribbled messily.

"Yes, we got into a fight," Lucas finally says, pulling his dresser open and grabbing a pair of boxers and shorts. Was he in only a towel this whole time and I never noticed?

I looked away when he started unwrapping the towel on his waist and instead looked at the door frame. Both of our heights were marked up it. I used to be taller than him. Oh, how the turn tables.

"Why?" I ask, hearing him shuffle around.

"He found out we were half brothers."

My eyes shot back to him, he only had boxers on but I didn't even care. I shot up from my spot.

"You're what?!"

"Yeah, same dad. His mom cheated on her husband, my dad cheated on my mom. That's why Mom left, she found out Mason was his."

My jaw dropped. My Mom and Lucas's Mom were best friends, that's why I was over all the time. I guess that's why we suddenly stopped seeing them.

"I-... I don't even know what to say. Are you okay?" I ask, taking a step towards him.

He pulls up his shorts before looking at me for a really long moment. Tears swell up suddenly and he shakes his head 'no'. Immediately, I hold my arms out to him and he comes around, leans over and hugs me. The impact forces me to sit back down, but he didn't care.

Instead of breaking the hug, he got on his knees between my legs and hugged me tighter, his sobs shaking both of us. I wrap my arms around him tightly and rest my head on his.

Just because our moms didn't talk anymore, doesn't mean we have to stop being friends, too.

We sat there for a while, I rubbed his back while he completely soaked my shirt. Suddenly, I remembered what my Dad used to do to me as a kid when I was sad.

Without saying anything, I put my hands on Lucas's shoulders and pushed him off of me for a second before I took his hand and pulled us both up to the head of the bed, bringing him in to lay on my chest while I brought my middle finger up and down the bridge of his nose.

It didn't take long for his sobs to stop and his breathing to even out to signal he was asleep.

I wasn't going to bring it up to him, but I heard about the rumor between him and a girl. I'm sure it had him stressed out of his mind. But considering the things said about me, who can say it's anything more than a rumor?

Realizing he was still only in his boxers, I used my foot to bring the throw blanket up closer to my hands, and using it to cover us both.

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I woke up to something shaking me gently.

"Emmi?" A voice said through my cloudy brain.

I open my eyes to see a pair of blue ones staring right back at me. I blink a couple of times until a sleepy looking Lucas becomes less fuzzy.

"Hm?" I grumble, pulling the throw blanket up a little more to stay warm.

"Hey, your mom just called me. Did you run away from home?" he asks, sitting ups little bit.

I shuffle a little and realize his arm is still over top of my stomach. I push myself against him a little more to steal his warmth.

"I guess, something like that," I mumble.

"Oh my gosh, Emmi. Why would you do something that stupid?"

"Why would you beat up your half brother?" I snap back, but immediately regret it.

He was quiet for a second but he didn't move away.

"You can't avoid it, you're going to have to tell me what happened, Em."

Em. A very old nickname I used to have. When I got to middle school I refused to let anyone call me it anymore. I don't remember why, though. Something stupid.

"Fine." I huff and roll over to wrap my arms around him and take more of his warmth. "My dad, like, abandoned me and my mom about a month or so ago. He just came home today. I was pissed and yelled at him but they told me they're getting a divorce. I just can't be there right now."

He was unresponsive for a minute, but soon wrapped his arms around me in return and let me lay there longer.

"Okay, that's fine. Get some rest. I'll let your mom know that I'll bring you back home later."

I nodded before finally getting completely cozy again and falling back asleep, Lucas rubbing circles on my back with one hand, and playing on his phone with the other.

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I honestly love Lucas. I know he isn't the best of people, but he and Emmi used to be really great friends as kids. I think if nothing had happened between his mom and dad, they would've stayed that way.

Also, I want to clarify the intimacy between Emmi and Lucas here is strictly platonic. If it wasn't, I would've tried to make that clear. I know he's practically naked for this chapter, but it is what it is.

Anyways, how are y'all feeling with this little twist?😅