Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
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I HAVEN'T SEEN PEPPER IN FOUR DAYS. When she said she needed time to think, I thought it'd be a few hours at most. When she sent me a text telling me she wouldn't need rides to school for a while, I knew it meant something had changed.
She doesn't come to my locker. I rarely see her at hers. Our seats at lunch have been vacant. The group switches up occasionally. I sit with the girls one day, she does the other. Sometimes I sit with Amber, and Elliot is always there despite my discomfort. Part of me wonders if Martsia and Lena know anything, because there are times I catch Lena staring at me more intensity than normal. Pepper doesn't walk with me to class like she used to, and she doesn't sit next to me in any of our lessons.
I miss her. I miss her a lot.
Her silence is strong enough to kill, but I need to give her time and space to figure out what she wants. While part of me wonders if this was a mistake, an even stronger side tells me to ignore the lingering doubt. She'll eventually say yes and give me a chance. When she does, I have so many plans for us.
I hold my charm with one hand and drum my fingers along the tabletop with the other. I wonder what Mom would tell me if I asked her for advice. My father has never been good at romance and neither has my brother. Perhaps it runs in our genes or it's the fact that no one is ever around, but I want to be good at this. I want Pepper to fall for me just like I'm falling for her.
The life of electricity clings to the air. The scent of old library books, new laptops, and desktops lined against the walls surround me.
My eyes flick to the entrance waiting for Mason to come in. I hate that I have to be his partner for this stupid project. From the day he stepped into Pepper's life, I've disliked him. Something about him just makes my skin crawl. Them breaking up has been a blessing upon my life.
I can't keep myself from disliking him, but a part of me also feels bad. If he likes Pepper as much as I do, it must suck to know she's developing feelings for me.
My knee begins to bounce under the table. I rest my chin in the palm of my hand and huff. Where the hell is he?
Just as the thought occurs, Mason slips into the library dressed in his soccer clothes. Recognition shifts across his face when he sees me. Sweat builds on the surface of my hands. Nerves zip through my drumming fingers and I wince as my charm pierces my palm. A thin layer of sweat sticks to his forehead and he wipes it away. When he reaches my table, he drops his backpack on the surface.
I clear my throat. "Hey."
His jaw tightens. He unzips his backpack and sifts through it without acknowledging me.
"I just want to apologize again about...um..." Sleeping with the girl you love? "What happened with me and Pepper."
