LUCAS
     it became increasingly clear to lucas that she was taking his words the wrong way (but also that she had seen right through his excuse and knew in a heartbeat that he wasnât telling the whole truth). the thought of her possibly blaming herself for any part of the reason of his idiotic avoidance of her gutted him. because she shouldnât be. it had nothing to do with her and everything to do with his own damned feelings â feelings he knew he needed to shove down in his chest, deep down before they came spilling over the surface. he wouldnât do that to her or come between her relationship with carter regardless of his less than kind feelings towards her boyfriend. carter checked all the boxes of the traits her parents looked for in a boyfriend worthy of auroraâs attention, but it didnât settle the discomfort in his stomach whenever lucas saw them together. they always looked as though they were in an argument and the way carter spoke to her, treated her, with little to no respect, rubbed him the wrong way. in front of her parents, on the other hand, told a totally different story, as if they were putting up a front to make her mom and dad think the two were made for each other. part of lucas could understand why â her life revolved around appeasing the two people who raised her, funded her elite private school tuition and were along for every step of her outlined, perfectly planned and, of course, unquestionably successful future. sometimes he felt as though anything aurora wanted for her own life, her dreams and needs, were completely ignored in favor of what her parents wanted instead. their demands drowning out her voice ever since she was a child. it irked him, but it wasnât as though he could step in when this was her life. her choices. he was lucky enough to be her friend â to be anything more wouldâve been overstepping his boundaries. âyou werenât barging in. itâs good to see you. i missed you too, you know. it hasnât been the same without you around.â he didnât want her to leave thinking that he suddenly wasnât interested in being friends with her anymore. hell, if she hadnât entered his life, he might have already dropped out of school by now. it was the impact she made on his life and how she opened his eyes to the world of opportunities awaiting him that made him rethink the way he was procrastinating, dragging his feet and not honing the artistic talent he possessed in a more useful way. âdo you want to go grab a coffee?â he asked, subtly brushing his hand on her arm before grasping it lightly before she walked away. âcome on, weâll get the almond croissants you love so much at the one authentic french bakery in town. my treat.â
     aurora wasnât sure why, but there was something about the conversation that left her unnerved. perhaps it was simply her own imagination getting the best of her, skittish nerves running amok when sheâd spent the past few weeks wondering why he wasnât calling her back. because surely he would have if heâd missed her, there wasnât a reason she could think of on why he wouldnât. although with the way he was gazing at her, so sincere that her heart ached at the doubts rippling through her mind, rory wasnât sure what to think. it was a different sort of vulnerability than she was used to around lucas, one that wasnât comfortable or warm and left her unsure of what to say. â... did you really? because... itâs alright if you didnât, i wouldnât blame you.â perhaps this was punishment for the lies sheâd told him. ones that had slipped so easily from her tongue when sheâd always claimed that their friendship was one that was built on honesty. but they were words she barely breathed to herself, much less another person -- and heâd always seemed to know, perhaps not the whole truth, but more than most. heâd been one of the few people in her life to rely on, always building her up no matter her state and she wondered if sheâd taken it for granted one too many times. or maybe heâd finally seen that beneath the portrait of perfection lay a girl so hopelessly marred that even a soul as kind and gentle as him wouldnât want her as a friend. heâd done so much for himself, had climbed far higher than anyone had expected of him, so far that heâd surpassed needing her belief in him. after all, it was foolish to trust someone with your whole self, all her life her mother had tried to persuade her of it, but it was now that the lesson was truly sinking in. it shouldnât hurt as much as it did, aurora persuaded herself, even carterâs words had never stung as much -- but as she turned her back to him -- sure that it was the last lucas wanted to see of her, she could feel each heart-breaking sting of it. every nerve in her body tensed at the unexpected touch, breath catching in her throat as she waited for the fingers to hurt, to curl around her wrist hard enough to leave patches of blue and purple and green. but just as quickly as the worry had rushed through her system, it faded with the reminder that this wasnât carter. itâd been a while since sheâd been careless with her affection towards lucas, carterâs jealousy already bad enough given that they were friends that she didnât want to stoke it further, but she let her arm stay in his grasp, resisting the unexpected urge to let her fingers find his and lock on tight. there was something reassuring about it -- soft, and just firm enough to attest to the fact that lucas really did want her there. âitâs really not fair to tempt me with those -- you know, theyâre almost worth the trip for their sake alone,â the smallest semblance of a smile flickered across her lips, enough for him to know that sheâd caved. âbut theyâre not letting you off the hook for not calling no matter how good they taste.â
