Chapter 12

“Just because I’m here bed doesn’t mean I’m yours,” Elena whispered as she traced a line down Luca’s stomach and towards his navel.

Luca nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off of Elena as she wrapped her slender leg around him.

“Have you done this before?” She questioned as she played with a strand of Luca’s curly hair.

Luca nodded again as Elena placed his hand on her lower thigh and guided it upwards.



“Are you sure you want me to do that?” Luca asked.

“Don’t ask, just do,” Elena whispered as a smile began to play across her lips.

“Luca….Luca?”

Luca woke up abruptly and turned towards the speaker. His mother stood at the door in a black camisole.



“You’re going to be late,” she stated as she entered his room. She opened the blinds quickly, allowing the early morning sun to flood Luca’s room.

Luca scrambled for the sheets to cover his morning wood.

“I’m sure a few extra minutes wouldn’t have been the end of the world,” he replied with a hint of annoyance.

He eyed his mother as she paraded around his room, complaining about his horrible sleeping habits. Luca sighed and lay back on the bed.

“You’re right,”

“Huh, what?” Luca asked, surprised.

“You probably do need a few minutes to let that settle down,” his mother suggested, pointing at the tent that his sheets had made.



Luca groaned as he pulled the sheets over his head in embarrassment. He heard his mother laughing softly as the sound of her footsteps began to fade.

~

“Dude, you’re in the friendzone,” Ty stated as he leaned against the clear barrier. The barriers wound around the cafeteria in a miniature maze so that students had to wait painfully before piling their tray with cafeteria goodies.



Luca stared at the neatly lined chips on the counter and thought of Ty’s statement.

“What else am I supposed to do?” Luca asked desperately as the group of boys inched forward in the line.

“Well if I were you, I’d just take her back to my place and seal the deal,” Ty replied, winking at Luca.

Luca looked to Colton for input but he could only offer Luca a shrug.

“Okay, take Colton for example. He’s been madly in love with Elena ever since he’s hit puberty and what progress has he made? Nothing, nada, zip. It’s sad really,” Ty
sighed as he turned around and began to pile his tray with an array of junk food.



Colton rolled his eyes slightly but didn’t protest. After loading their cafeteria trays and overdosing on napkins, the boys found an empty table outside.

Luca bit his nail nervously. The friendzone was a very dangerous place to be.

“Shit!” Ty yelled as his plastic chair tilted backwards at a frightening angle. He quickly grabbed the table to steady himself as he brought his feet back to the floor. By then, the whole cafeteria had looked towards their spot in line. Ty rubbed the back of his neck while the two other boys lowered their heads in embarrassment.

Noticing the commotion, Elena and Serena made their way over.

“It’s a shame that you didn’t crack your head,” Elena said as she leaned down to Ty’s height.



As she lowered herself, Luca had a full view down the front of Elena’s loose shirt. Luca tried to look at her face but found that his eyes kept falling south. C’s or B’s, definitely can’t be A’s. He thought to himself as he continued to marvel. To Luca’s dismay, Elena had finished her conversation with Ty and was straightening up.

“Remember what I said about the zone,” Ty said aloud.

“The what?” Elena asked with one eyebrow raised.

“Wasn’t talking to you, sweetheart,” Ty replied almost automatically.

Elena glared at Ty before taking the empty seat beside Luca.

“Come here,” Ty said to Serena as he pulled her onto his lap.



Luca gazed at Ty and Serena and concluded that they had great sex.

“So…Colton,” Ty began as he turned his attention away from Serena, “what pretty little thing have you been pursuing lately?”

“Uh w-well no one really,” Colton stuttered as his eyes drifted towards Beau. Both Colton and Beau had decided that it would be better if they weren’t seen together at school. Ty followed his gaze and looked back at Colton with his head cocked slightly.

“Enough about Colton,” Serena cut in as she gave Colton a knowing smile.

She turned towards Elena and Luca, “Are you guys dating yet?”

Elena’s eyes widened as she choked on her iced coffee, “Of course not, we’re just friends.”

Ty stifled a laugh as Luca got up from his chair.

“Where are you going?” Elena asked Luca, she gazed at him intently as she waited for his reply.

Luca gripped the cafeteria chair tightly as he felt everyone’s eyes on him.

“Class,” he replied bluntly.

Elena’s nose crinkled slightly as her eyes narrowed, “Class isn’t for another 15 mi-”

“I know,” Luca replied coldly as he exited the cafeteria.

As Luca pushed through the cafeteria doors, his shoulder struck another student who was walking in.

“Sorry,” Luca muttered as he continued walking.

Luca felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to realize that it was Noel he had struck.

“Hey,” Noel began.

“Hi…” Luca replied hesitantly.

“How is everything?”

“Could be better,” Luca shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Noel could see the strain in Luca’s face as the blond haired boy tried to control his anger.

“How’s your mom?”

Luca suddenly looked up, “Just stop with the small talk, what the hell do you want from me?”



Noel took a step back, “I don’t want anything from you. I just wanted to see how an old friend was doing.”

Luca laughed coldly, “That’s classic, real classic even for you.”

“Why are you still holding that against me?”

“It’s not just that…it’s everything. You just take and take and take,”

Noel began to speak but Luca held up his hand angrily.

“You took Alaska…you took my mom…now you’re taking Elena from me and you don’t even know it!”

“Luca, I never tried to pursue your mother.”

“I find that extremely hard to believe.”

“You know, we used to be good friends once,” Noel began.

“That was a long time ago,” Luca spit as he pushed past Noel and through the school doors.

~

Mr.Deveroux leaned back in his black leather computer chair. He thumbed through the pictures on his phone, lingering at the picture that Audrey had sent him. A quick knock at the door sent Mr.Deveroux scrambling to hide his phone. He shoved it into the top drawer of his desk just as Audrey entered his classroom. Mr.Deveroux clutched at his heart as Audrey sauntered over to the wooden table.

“You scared me half to death,” he sighed as he rolled his chair out from under the desk.

“I have to keep you on your toes,”

“Don’t do that again,”

“Oh, so now you’re giving me orders?”

“I am your teacher, aren’t I?” he asked her slyly. He swiftly got in front of her and backed her against the desk.

“What are you going to do?”

“Nothing I haven’t done before…” He whispered as he turned her around quickly and began to run his hands over her body.



Audrey closed her eyes and allowed herself to enjoy his touch for a few moments before pulling away.

“Not here…”

“Class doesn’t start for another 10 minutes,” her teacher replied as he bent her over the table roughly.

“Jason, get off,” Audrey stated as she pushed herself off the table.

Mr.Deveroux bit his fist and inhaled deeply, “God, you’re right. Now, get out of here before I change my mind.”

He ushered Audrey towards the door. He stuck his head outside to check if the hallway was free of students before kissing Audrey goodbye. Feeling elated, Audrey walked down the deserted hallway. Just as she rounded the corner, someone grabbed her arm, causing her textbooks to scatter across the floor.

“What the hell?” Audrey shrieked.

“I could ask you the same thing! You’re with Mr.Deveroux now?” Zach, Elena’s younger brother asked Audrey. He looked taller, somehow more mature, than the last time she had seen him.

“Um…no. What makes you think that?” Audrey replied with an air of breeziness.

Zach bent down and helped her collect her belongings. He handed her the books but not before running his hand through his silvery blond hair.

“Don’t worry about me,” Audrey replied as she accepted the books from Zach’s hands.

“Audrey, I’m just…”

“Zach, I know what I’m doing,”

Zach reached for her hand, “It’s a bad idea and you know it.”



Audrey allowed Zach to hold her hand. They stood in the hallway for a few moments before the sound of an opening locker caused Audrey to pull her hand away.
“It’s really none of your business,” Audrey snapped as she spun on her heel and walked away.

~

Colton breathed a sigh of relief as the final bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. He slung his bag over his shoulder and took the stairs down two at a time. A smile appeared on his lips as he spotted Beau’s dirty blond hair at the foot of the stairs.

“I was wondering where you were,” Beau teased, lacing his fingers between Colton’s.



“Shut up. I got here as fast as I could,”

“Not fast enough,” Beau replied, as he began to make his way towards the parking lot. Colton trailed behind him like an excited puppy who was about to be taken for a walk.

“We should do something today,” Colton suggested as he played with the strap of his bag.

“My place or yours?”

“I want to go out…I’m tired of sneaking around,” Colton argued. He slipped into Beau’s car and fumed in the passenger seat.

Beau sighed. Somehow he knew this would happen.

“Why can’t you just be happy? We’re together, isn’t that enough?” Beau questioned.

Colton mumbled under his breath as Beau reversed out of the parking lot.

“What did you say?” Beau asked, glancing at Colton.

“WATCH OUT!”

As Beau slammed on the breaks a loud thud echoed through the parking lot. The two boys looked at each other for a brief moment before Colton scrambled out of the car. He almost fell as he hurried towards the rear end of the car. Kohler lay on the asphalt and was grabbing her arm in pain. Colton knelt down beside her and tried to assess the extent of Beau’s damage. Kohler’s arm hung limply at her elbow.



“I-I’m sorry…I didn’t eve-" Beau stuttered as he paced in circles.

“Call an ambulance,” Colton ordered as he brushed the hair away from Kohler’s face.

By now, a crowd had begun to form in the parking lot. Beau dialled 9-1-1 with trembling fingers as Colton tried to conceal Kohler from the crowd’s prying eyes. Colton noticed Kohler’s tear-stained shirt and hung his jacket over her.

“T-thank you,” Kohler said, wincing in pain as she tried to move her arm.

“Just don’t move,” Colton said as Kohler’s body went limp.

~

As Noel drove home from school he couldn’t get the distraught image of Luca out of his head. He made a quick U-turn and drove towards the Vandoren house. He decided to park his Lamborghini at the side of the street. He then jogged up the steps and gave the door two short knocks. Now, all he could do was wait. Noel remained slouched against the door frame as he heard the sound of footsteps approach the door. He knew that Luca’s mother had checked to see her visitor through the tiny eye hole before she opened the door. The door swung open to reveal Ms.Vandoren wearing a fitted black dress with her hair parted neatly.

“Noel Tobais, you’ve grown since the last time we saw each other,” she purred as her eyes trailed over Noel’s frame.



“And you’re clothed for once,” Noel observed.

Ms.Vandoren chuckled, “If I remember correctly, you loved it when I walked around in nothing but your boxers.”

Noel looked away.

“Well, come in,” she said as she gestured for Noel to enter the house. Noel wiped his shoes on the doormat before stepping into the Vandoren house.

"Would you like a drink?" Ms.Vandoren asked as her voice echoed off of the walls of the empty house.

Noel shook his head, "I'm just here to talk."

"Okay..." Luca's mom trailed off.

“You told me he wouldn’t find out…” Noel began.

Ms.Vandoren’s face hardened immediately, “Luca knows?”



Noel snorted. He shook his head as he waited for her to process the “new” information.

“Noel,” she whispered as she grasped his arm for balance, “everything’s going to fall apart.”

Noel turned towards Ms.Vandoren, “Everything?”

The colour had now drained from Ms.Vandoren’s face. She began to mutter under her breath, “That stupid little girl…always getting in the way…Alaska…who the hell names their child after a state?”

“W-wait what does Alaska have to do with this?” Noel asked.

“It’s over. The truth is going to come out,” Ms.Vandoren whispered, staring off into nothingness.

“What truth?” Noel asked desperately, he grabbed Ms.Vandoren’s shoulders and shook her roughly.

“What the hell are you doing?” Luca snarled as he pushed Noel off of his mother. Noel fell back and crashed into the wall.



“Luca,” Ms.Vandoren began as she tried to constrain her son.

Luca roughly pulled his arm away from his mother’s grasp and pushed Noel once more.

“Get the fuck out of here,” he seethed.

Tears started to pool in Ms.Vandoren’s eyes as she watched Noel hobble towards his car. Noel quickly revved the engine and sped out of the Vandoren driveway refusing to look back at the boy he once called a friend.