"I know you can handle yourself, but if you wanted to walk together anyway, that's fine too." Lucas insisted gently, watching her pace with a curious expression. He was still drained, so he remained seated for now. He needed to build up some energy so he could play baseball later. "I typically walk home regardless. It's good exercise, and it helps me relax after practice. And it takes a little longer than the bus…" He said the last part quietly so that it was barely audible. "Um… is there anything you feel like doing, if you're wanting to hang out after school?"
(So I realized, I'm gonna be out of town all weekend- without access to my phone. T'was really a bad time for me to decide to come back- wasn't it?)
"I know, you're just trying to be nice… but still, it feels like I can't do anything. Not just because of her- but her restrictions of my freedom bothers me the most." Melissa continued to mumble to herself, before turning on her heel to look at him. "I'm rabbit trailing. Sorry. Honestly I don't care what we do, I'll just be happy as long as I'm not stuck at home."
(Np lol schjk)
Lucas listened to Melissa's rant with his head resting on the knuckles of one hand. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind you venting." He smiled softly. "It's healthy. But regardless… we could always hang out at your place, or go to that old spot in the woods. We haven't been there in a while, so it could be fun. There's not a ton to do there, but… y'know."
(I'm alive- barely, but I am able to exist now aha)
Melissa let herself grow quiet as she contemplated her options. That spot in the woods wasn't always her favorite place to go- whenever she went that way, she felt chills up her spine. But like he had said, it had been a while. Maybe things would feel different if she went. Or maybe she was just trying to convince herself that, so she didn't feel like she had to go home. "Maybe we should go to the woods… it's warm enough, and like you said, it's been a while."
(Woo)
Lucas nodded with a soft smile. "I still go there pretty often by myself… I'll bring a book or a sketchbook and just try to relax. I think it's good after my dad and I have been fighting." He laughed weakly. "It makes me feel better, anyway… it's a nice getaway from him." He looked up as the bus rolled up and got to his feet. "Ready for a fun day of school?"
Melissa returned his smile with a tender one, offering a hand to him as he got up. "Sounds like a plan, then." She hummed, adjusting her backpack before looking back at him once again. "Ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Fingers crossed it doesn't absolutely suck." She responded with thick sarcasm, but a smile still on her face.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. It's nice to be away from home, anyway." Lucas accepted Melissa's help, but let go of her hand once he was standing. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable by holding on. He got onto the bus and sat beside her with a soft sigh, tugging at the high neck of his sweater. Doing so briefly exposed the top of a bruise near his collarbone.
Melissa nodded, glancing down at their hands when he let go. She admittedly was trying to hide her slight disappointment, and brushed his action off as she boarded the bus. When the seat beside her moved, she glanced over at Lucas, catching sight of… something. But she didn't want to stare. So despite her better judgement, she turned her gaze to the window as they started to move. "What's your first class?"
Lucas looked over to Melissa when she addressed him and pulled his hand away from his neck. "Ah… physics, I think. What about you?" He asked, pulling his schedule out of his backpack so he could check it over. He ran his fingers through his hair again, clearly a bit irritated by it since he hadn't had time to put it up that morning. He wasn't used to his hair falling into his eyes much at all.
Melissa's face scrunched a bit, brows pulled in as she hummed a bit. "I think I've got English first," She replied, only momentarily glancing through her bag, before remembering she had left her paper schedule sitting on the kitchen table, and the let out an annoyed huff. Pulling out her phone, she began to scroll through her email in an attempt to find it. "You know, I seriously could use a personal assistant, the way I manage to lose everything."
Lucas laughed softly, putting his own schedule away once he was familiar with it. "Well, I would help, but I tend to lose things too." He yawned and rubbed at his eyes with a soft sigh. He hadn't gotten a ton of sleep, but that was pretty common for him at this point. "I'm sure you'll find it. Or you can just go to random classes and hope for the best, I guess. They also probably have a copy of your schedule in the office or something."
"Mm, looks like we're both chaotically forgetful." She laughed a bit, glancing up at him. "I know I have an email with it somewhere, so hopefully it didn't just disappear." Continuing to scroll, she let out an "aha!" when she found the right email, scanning over her schedule when she found it. "Alright, there we go. Now I won't be incredibly lost when I try to go to class today."
"That's good." Lucas smiled softly when Melissa found her schedule, glad that she was relieved. "I'm sure you'd have figured something out even if you didn't have the email. I know they've got precautions for this kinda thing." He yawned again, now growing frustrated with his fatigue. "I'll have to buy coffee or something caffeinated in the cafeteria… I don't want to fall asleep in class."
Looking up from her phone, she gave him a teasing smile before gently elbowing him. "Maybe you should try to go to bed earlier when you get home." She hummed, before dropping her phone back into her bag. "Then you may not be so tired."
"Mm…" Lucas sighed softly, closing his eyes for a moment to rest. "I'd like to. A lot of the time I can't sleep, or my dad and I are fighting until it's pretty late." He brushed his hair out of his face again. "I'll be alright. I'll just start drinking coffee or something to counter the tiredness."
(I'm so sorry aha-)
"You do that- please. If you can't sleep, at least get something to give you energy through the day. Just don't become an addict like Laura." Melissa laughed, leaning against the window with a soft sigh. Honestly, she herself could go for some coffee now that he mentioned it, but she would just have to wait until later.
(It's fine lol adfhjk)
"I won't. I don't really care for coffee too much, so I doubt I'll get addicted to it." Lucas laughed softly. "The cafeteria has coffee usually, right? At least the refrigerated kind. That should work well enough for now." Soon, the bus rolled to a stop outside the school and Lucas got to his feet. "Ready to go?" He asked Melissa.
"I believe so, yes." She hummed, watching as the bus pulled in. A slight frown settled on her face, but she did her best to drop the displeasure, turning to Lucas with a half smile. "Not even a little, but I don't really have a choice, now do I?" She shrugged, pulling her backpack up, and starting to walk towards the front of the bus. "Here's to only two more years of high school."
"Cheers." Lucas laughed softly and bumped Melissa's shoulder playfully. He followed her out of the bus, yawning again. "We'll graduate eventually, yeah? With any luck, anyway. Hopefully I can put up with my dad for another two years." He sighed a bit, his expression faltering and changing to one of unease. After all, his dad only ever seemed to get worse, not better. He had to keep his options in mind in the case that he needed to get out.
"My offer still stands." She hummed, in response to his latter comment. As she approached the doors she reached for his hand, taking his fingers into her palm. It was out of instinct, honestly, as she didn't want to lose him in the halls. She wasn't really ready to face the day, so having him close by made her feel better at least.
"I know… I just hope it won't get to a point where I have to take it." Lucas chuckled dryly, his gaze going a bit distant until he was grounded again by Melissa grabbing his hand. He looked over at her, blinking a couple times with his face lightly flushed, but chose to just go with it. "We'll be fine, Mel. We'll get through it all."
She glanced up at him a little confused by his final comment, before connecting the dots. At least to what she thought was what he meant. "Oh- am I making you uncomfortable?" She asked quickly, now her own face warming up. "Sorry, I wasn't even thinking." She mumbled before letting go, sticking her hands in her pockets. Having not thought about his comfort, she felt embarrassed, realizing she wasn't the only one she needed to think about.
"Ah? No— you aren't making me uncomfortable!" Lucas insisted, flushing harder. "Don't be sorry! It's fine, really!" He hesitated before gently tugging on Melissa's wrist, unable to hold back onto her hand with them in her pockets. Anyone around them who could hear the conversation was surely rolling their eyes in exasperation. Lucas and Melissa were painfully oblivious and dense, and everyone but the two of them knew that they liked each other.
Melissa adjusted her gaze, looking at him a little startled. But slowly she pulled her hand from her pocket, as to let him hold onto her hand. It seemed a little odd, but then again, he was probably just doing it for her sake. That way she didn't have to feel bad. "If you say so." She shrugged, before giving him a gentle smile. Turning on her heel, with Lucas in tow, she began heading off in the direction of the lockers. "Just don't feel like you have to, alright?"
Lucas smiled softly and held a bit tighter to her hand, his heart racing. It felt as though he was breaking some sort of rule, but he didn't want to let go. "I know I don't have to. I want to." He was perfectly content to let Melissa pull him along, just admiring her as he walked behind her. "Did we have our first class together? I forgot."
