good girl • (lrh)

14

A•V•A

It's been a few days since my interaction with Luke, things seem to have changed a bit. Luke's been sleeping on the couch, rather than in the bed with me, and I wonder if it's because of something I've done.

Right now, We're in the car and almost to school, considering it's Thursday. It's eerily quiet, but I don't dare to speak up. I don't want to upset Luke anymore or push him any further away. Finally, we near the school parking lot. I quickly thank Luke for driving me and exit the vehicle, slinging my book bag over my shoulder. "Thank you." I mutter, unable to look him in the eye.

"I don't think I'll be able to pick you up today." Luke says, eyes scanning my face. That one hurt, I didn't realize he was that upset.  "Oh," I utter, biting my lip, "I'll walk then." I say the last part quietly. "Sounds good." He says coyly. "Bye then." I say quickly, rushing towards the school building.

This is what I meant by things have been different, Luke used to be very affectionate, but something has changed, and I feel like it's my fault for making him do those naughty things to me in his office. I should've never behaved that way. My mother would be so disappointed in me if she knew. Speaking of my mother, I've haven't heard from her much, but that's okay. I'm sure she's busy.

As I find my locker, I notice Elsa and Rose are standing near it. I give them a small wave as I approach, putting a smile on my face, though it feels unnatural in the moment. "Hey Ava! Haven't heard from you in a while." Elsa chimes in. "Sorry," I laugh, "I've been busy is all." I give her a big smile and she nods.

"We're going to the mall later, would you want to come?" Rose comments.  "Oh, that sounds lovely." I say, collecting my books from my locker. It did sound nice, I wouldn't mind hanging out with them.

"Rose was going to drive us, If you want to come. We've going when school lets out." Elsa lets me know and I nod. "I'd love to." I cheer. I think it would be nice to hang out with the girls and get away from Luke for a while, maybe he's just getting annoyed with me. "Great!" Elsa and Rose say in unison. "I'll see you girls later." I smile just as the bell rings and we go our separate ways to class.

Today seemed to drag out for quite a while, which is probably only because I'm excited to hang out with Ava and Rose. We had a test in English, and of course I forgot to study, so I ended up cheating off of the person sat next to me. This was very uncharacteristic for me, but I was desperate. It was only a one time thing, next time I'll be sure to study.

It was odd not getting any messages from Luke today, but I guess he's busy with work, or maybe even other things. I've always wondered if he had a wife before. He's very handsome after all.

Finally, the final bell rings and everyone files into the halls and out of the school. I take this time to find Rose and Elsa, which was pretty easy as I've always been able to spot Elsa in a crowd.

"Hey, there you are!" I cheer as I approach the pair. Elsa and Rose both offer me smiles and I return the gesture. "Hey! Ready to go?" Rose questions and I nod.

The three of us make our way to her car, Rose and Elsa sat in the front, myself taking the back. "Your car is really nice!" I smile, buckling my seat belt. I'm not surprised, her parents seemed to have a lot of money to spend.  "Thank you." Rose laughs, starting the engine.

Rose drives to the mall and we're there in no time. It isn't too busy today, as it is a Thursday and not many people go during the week. Once parked, we all exit the vehicle and head inside. "I want to go to Sephora!" Rose gushes and Elsa rolls her eyes, a smile still playing on her lips. "Let's go then!" Elsa says, taking Rose's hand.

I find this a bit odd, as Elsa's never done that with me before, and I've known her forever. We all walk to Sephora, myself trailing behind the pair as we walk. Soon enough, we enter the store and Rose begins looking around at things, Elsa staying back with me as she's never been into girly things. I look around a bit, not really interested either.

"So," Elsa comments, "Rose and I.." she pauses. "What about you two?" I give her a look, cocking my head to the side. She seems oddly nervous.  "I just like her is all." She says, her cheeks tinting pink. "I like her too!" I chime, "she's really sweet and cool."

"No Ava, I mean I like her." Elsa says quickly, putting emphasis on the word 'like'. "Oh!" I gasp.

I didn't know Elsa liked girls, I wonder if she ever had a crush on me. I doubt it, I'm sure i would have known by now. "Do you think she likes me too?" Elsa asks in a hushed tone, anxiously chewing at her lip.

"I'm sure she does, maybe you should ask her." I smile, giving my friend a pat on the back. She shakes her head, "not yet, maybe someday." She brushes the topic off quickly.

"Elsa come look, this is so cute!" Rose shouts towards us, holding up a tube of lipstick. Elsa and I approach her and she begins gushing about how cute the red lipstick held in her hand is. "Let me buy it for you," Elsa offers. "That's okay, really." Rose defends. "I insist, cmon." Elsa continues, snatching the item from her hand.

Rose ceases her protests and the pair walk to the counter, Elsa paying for the item like she said she would. We exit the store and move onto the next, Rose and Elsa staying close together as I linger behind. Our feet carry us around for quite some time, browsing all different stores and messing around in a few. I find myself becoming hungry at this point, as I haven't eaten since lunch and it's nearly 6pm.

"Let's go to the food court, I'm starving." I suggest. The pair of girls agree and we head to the food court. Even from a few feet away, I can smell all the different types of food and my mouth begins to water. Let's get our food and meet up at that table." Elsa suggest, point to a table in the center of the food court. "Sounds good!" I nod and we all go our separate ways, getting our own food.

I near the Chinese restaurant in the food court and decide I'll get my food there, though the line is long. After about 5 minutes, I finally find myself at the front of the line. "Hello, what can I get for you today?" The man behind the counter asks, his eyes scanning over my face. I find myself staring at him, finally snapping back to reality after a few seconds.

"Hi, I'd like the sweet and sour chicken, and a medium sprite please!" I chirp, not even having to look at the menu. "That'll be ten dollars and thirty-seven cents." The man says and I take a second to scan his name tag and I pull the money from my pocket. I hastily hand him the money, awaiting my change. I take this time to get a good look at him. he looks around my age, his hair is short and brown, and his eyes are a sea green color. I glance at his name tag again, reading it this time. It's engraved with the name 'Max' in big black letters.

"Here's your change, I'll have your food in a minute." The boy smiles at me, handing me my change. I drop the coins into the tip jar and offer him a smile. After this, I step to the side and wait a moment for my food. A few seconds later, Max appears, holding a styrofoam box. "Here you are," he extends his hand, holding the take away box out for me to grab, which I do. "Thank you!" I say cheerily. I turn to walk away, but just as I do I hear a shout. "Wait!" I turn around to be met with Max shouting out for me, "here's your receipt." He smiles, handing me the slip of paper.

"Thank you, sorry." I blush, taking the paper and rushing over to the table that Elsa and Rose are sat at. "Hey sorry!" I say as I sit down, placing my food on the table, "the line was so long." I laugh.

We chat for a while as we eat our food, talking about all kinds of things. Elsa carries most of the conversations, not that I mind. She always has something interesting to talk about. I smile as I watch Elsa and Rose interact. Elsa behaving in a timid manner now, which is out of character for her. I can tell Rose had caught on, but she doesn't seem to mind. She continues to encourage Elsa as she talks.

I notice Rose's hand linger on Elsa's for a moment and Elsa smiles sheepishly at this. As they continue their chat on their own, I find myself glancing around the food court. My heart suddenly drops as I spot someone I didn't expect to see here tonight.

Luke, but not just Luke. Luke with a blonde woman chatting into his ear as they walk past a few shops.