An Angel's Fiery Heart

“Better, I don’t sigh anymore when I see him,” Amy looked up in thought. “I went there after the dance, you know. He flipped on me, and no one has ever done that before. I just saw a bad side, and I don’t want to see that again. So, we ended it.” Amy didn’t want to get into too much detail, because she didn’t want to out Nico for doing what he did. She just wanted to let Luce know what was going on. “How are things with you are you know,” she paused, waiting for Luce to finish.

“Am I what, Ames?” Okay? No, not in the slightest. Luce shrugged, sighing slightly, and he reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. His expression was carefully neutral, a little unsure. Everything that was going on, the messages burning a hole in his phone. He felt as if he couldn’t say anything, couldn’t even think about it or anyone would be able to see it on his face. 

Charlie approached the boy from behind, smiling and almost skipping from excitement. She hadn’t been around for a good while, and hadn’t seen Luce in a longer while. A lot had been happening in her life, to say the least. She was sneaking up on him, ready to envelope him in the biggest hug. Hearing his voice drew a pout from her, “How’d you know I was here?” She laugh before stepping closer to him and hugging him without the choice, “It’s been too long. I ain’t seen you fer years.”

“You walk loudly.” That familiar thick Southern twang warmed his heart, and Luce turned, wrapping his arms tight around the girl and holding her to him. He drew in a ragged breath, and for a moment, he wanted to pour everything out to her. He wanted to press his face into her hair and whisper about everything that had been happening. “Fuck, I missed you Charles,” Luce murmured, arms tightening around her even more, his voice tighter than it normally was. Everything had turned upside down in the span of a few weeks. He’d nearly lost his father, and then Rodrigo- Another shaky breath drawn in. “How’ve you been?” The words were muffled in her hair.

“I know the feeling, I was slightly disappointed that I didn’t become the Gabriella of Bridgewood when I came here.” Jae joked, no truth in his words whatsoever. “That’s good, and yeah, I could see why they’d want you back here for the game. You’re good, I’m surprised you’re not here for basketball.” By now, he’d almost completely forgotten about how Luce had crashed in his dorm after a one night stand. Clearly a lot had happened in both boys’ lives since they last interacted, though Levi’s events were much more serious than those of Jae’s life.

“You’d make a good Gabriella. Really inspirational. I’m sure you could find a Troy Bolton here somewhere too.” His lips curled in a wide grin, and at the mention of him not being here for basketball, he laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, no, I’m nowhere near good enough to be here on a scholarship for it, not with Elijah around. No, I just really love the game.”

Amy pondered for a moment before speaking, “I’m sure. You never know how those things go..” she paused. Amy’s dad never had a heart attack, but she could imagine losing him. “I’m happy he’s doing better. I’m also happy your back here.” She put her hands on his shoulders and gave him a squeeze, “Now you’re back to drama that is Bridgewood, which by the way, not much happened. I mean, other than Nico and I not really talking anymore, but that was bound to happen, y’know.”

“I’m happy to be back too, as much as I hated leaving New York again.” Luce reached up to gently tuck some of her hair behind her ear, and he couldn’t help smiling a little wider at his friend. At her mention of Nico, however, Luce sighed. The Valentine’s Day dance had happened not long before he’d left, and he hadn’t gotten the chance to really check in on his friend after all had been said and done. He also hadn’t had the chance to beat Nico’s face in, but that was something that could wait just a bit longer. “How are you doing with all of that?” He asked, his voice gentle.

“It was actually somewhat similar to how the movies make it seem, but with less posterized shots, I guess.” He laughed. He had banked on American movies before transferring from his old school to Bridgewood, so many new experiences were compared to them in his mind. “I’ve been okay,” he said, giving no mention of the recent developments–for lack of a better word–in his life. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad.”

“I personally find real life basketball to be nothing like High School Musical which has always been a source of disappointment for me.” Luce grinned quickly, and then shook his head at Jae’s words. “I appreciate that. He’s doing a lot better now. I wanted to stay up in New York with my parents but they know how much basketball means to me so they sent me back.” Luce bit his lip, thinking back to the last time the pair of them had spoken. At least Jae wasn’t acting weird around him after he’d come stumbling in shirtless.