12 Chapter Twelve

Luke's P.O.V

Kason and I walked to chemistry and I couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It was the day we would study for the chemistry exam, and I wondered how it would turn out. All I had to do was glance at Kason to be able to tell how ecstatic he was about the whole thing.

"Hey Luke," Hailee waved her fingers at me like she was playing a piano. She propped her elbow on the table and rested her pointed chin on her knuckle. Her thin lips curled into a smile.

"Hey Hailee," I said as I sat a seat away from her, keeping Chloe in mind. "How was your day?"

Hailee pushed up her glasses up her thin nose and rolled her eyes. "Rather boring." She smiled, "But I am excited about the study group tonight."

"So am I," Kason grinned.

I looked over at the auditorium entrance to see Chloe walk in, and I immediately perked up. I loved the way her hair was naturally wavy, resembling a waterfall cascading down her shoulders. She carefully walked up the steps, tucking a strand of her honey colored hair behind her ear and looked up to meet my eyes.

Fuck.

"Oh, hey Chloe," Kason smiled sheepishly.

"Hey Kason," she smiled slightly, her eyes quickly darting from mine and looking straight at Kason, refusing to look in my direction.

She slowly sat down, and got out all her notebooks, pencils, pens, and erasers. It seemed a little unnecessary to have all that stuff, but what did I know? She was clearly one of the smartest–most likely smartest–girls that I knew.

Kason got out his notebook and sighed with frustration. "Dammit."

A look of concern spread across Chloe's face as her eyes widened. "What is it?" she asked.

"I must've lost my damn pencil," he grumbled.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. I might be oblivious, but I wasn't stupid. He had a pencil for our calculus class so what changed in between then and now? He must be up to something.

"You can borrow one of mine," she offered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Thanks," he quickly responded as he grabbed the pencil from her hands, a little too anxiously I might also add.

I pursed my lips and nodded slightly, starting to understand the situation. What are you getting so worked up over Luke? She doesn't like you. Calm. The hell. Down.

I could feel myself getting more irritated as the class went on. Kason refused to shut up throughout the lecture while I trying to take notes. He kept talking to Chloe, telling her cheesy puns and making fun of the professor, causing her to giggle. I kept telling myself that I should stop getting so worked up over nothing. Besides, I could still walk with her to our next class.

Except that we didn't.

"Do you want to walk together?" I asked with hopeful eyes, slinging my backpack over my shoulder.

I saw the way it made her uncomfortable, as she started playing with her hands nervously and tapping her foot against the ground. "I kinda can't right now," she murmured. "I have to go somewhere else beforehand, but I'll see you in class?" she winced.

"Yeah, sure," I smiled, feeling slightly recovered from the hurt it felt from her simply rejecting my offer to walk with her. At least she said she would see me in class.

I walked inside of theatre appreciation with Jess chewing her gum happily. "Sup Luke," she grinned. "I was at the game Saturday night, and I wanted to congratulate you on your first touchdown of the season."

"Thank you, Jess," I smiled as I sat down in the seat beside her.

"How did it feel?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she continued to chew her gum.

"To score the first touchdown?"

She nodded intently.

I remembered back to the moment I caught the football in my arms. At first, I felt like a deer in headlights, but hearing the roar of the crowd made me focus on what was happening and all I knew was to take off running. I repeated the word focus in my head a million times in that moment. I dodged everyone that came after me with ease with a little sidestepping. My breathing steadied as my feet crashed into the ground, clods of dirt flying from underneath as I made my way to the endzone, and before I knew it, I was there. The moment was surreal as the team carried me off the field, and it earned me several slaps on the butt. I remembered looking over to Coach Saban to see if he was proud only to see him with his arms folded, his face impassible.

"It was one of the best moments of my life, and I didn't realize it until afterward," I said.

"Sounds about right," Jess folded her arms, and placed one leg on the other. She blew a bubble and looked up.

I turned to see Chloe sit down next to me, once again not even looking in my direction. Was there something wrong? Like Coach Saban's face, hers resembled a stone statue: cold and hard.

It bothered me to no end that she refused to look at me throughout class. It was like chemistry once again. I felt compelled to say something to her, but I didn't want to break her concentration. Her face was buried in her notebook, using a pink pen to underline key words and definitions. This was high school all over again.

"Don't forget to write everything down, because you guys and gals will want these tips when you have to write your own plays that are due a week before Halloween," Dr. Cambridge raised her eyebrows as her penetrating gaze glazed over everyone.

Jess snorted. "That's, like, a month away. Why is she even bothering us right now about it?"

Chloe smirked as she closed her notebook and started putting her stuff away in her backpack, so I did the same.

Dr. Cambridge checked her watch. "Looks like we're out of time, folks! If you haven't picked up a copy of your review for the exam, please do it before you leave."

And with that, class ended. For a girl with short legs, Chloe was sure quick to get away, but luckily, I stopped her before she could even try.

"Hey Chloe," I said nervously, shoving my free hand in my pocket while having to clear my throat. Damn, why is it so hard to talk to her?

She stopped in her tracks, and looked up to meet my gaze, but quickly looked away and bit her lip.

"I thought that–" I began.

"Luke," Jess said as she placed her hand on my shoulder, interrupting me completely. "Do you have any plans? I thought we could drop by the caf if you weren't busy."

Chloe sighed, turned away and started walking.

"Actually, I have to meet up with my study group," I said without even looking at her. "I gotta go, but maybe we can do it some other time?"

"Sure," she grinned, her blue gum stuck between her teeth, and I caught up with Chloe, who was now walking out the door.

"Chloe," I said with an exasperated sigh, looking down at her.

She stopped once again and looked up expectantly.

My heart started to pound furiously. "I thought since we had the study group right after class that we could go to the library together."

She nodded, adjusting her backpack straps. "Okay. I just need to get a coffee before we get into the study room. Caffeine helps me get through studying," she smiled a little.

I smiled back and nodded. "Maybe I should get one too."

She cocked her head, the corners of her downturned lips ever so slightly curled. "If you're anything like me it will help."

"I trust anything that you say," I said and immediately felt stupid afterwards. "I mean, you are extremely smart so whatever you say is good enough to me," I explained, hoping she didn't catch my face faltering.

A small laugh escaped her lips and she nodded.

We walked together in silence, making me want to kick myself. I hoped it wouldn't turn out this way. I wanted to say something to her but didn't know what or how.

"You did reserve the study room, right?" she asked as we approached the library.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah, I did." I laughed a little. "What, did you think I would forget or something?"

"No," she said quietly, her cheeks flushing.

I followed her inside the library, stopping at the front desk to get the key to our study room before we got coffee.

"One medium iced raspberry mocha please," Chloe said as she got out her swipe card.

The barista swiped her card, handed it back to her and gave her the receipt. "And what for you, sir?" the barista asked.

"I'll have what she's having," I smiled and handed the barista my card.

Before the barista handed me my card and receipt, he squinted his eyes at me for a split second before saying, "Hey, aren't you that Armstrong guy?"

"I am?" I said with a look of confusion, gently taking my card and receipt from his hands.

"Congrats on that touchdown, man. You're one true freshman," he flicked his head upward in recognition.

"Thank you," I said and walked over to where Chloe was waiting before he could say anything else. It was a little weird to me at how many people recognized me and congratulated me on the first touchdown of the season–not that any of it was a bad thing. It was just weird that one football game could change everything.

She looked everywhere but at me, chewing the inside of her cheek, shifting from side to side, almost as if, she had to pee?

"I'll be right back," she said and walked over to the restrooms.

I chuckled to myself. Guess I'm right.

"Here are two medium iced raspberry mochas," the barista said and handed them to me. "I figured your girlfriend wouldn't mind that I gave hers to you."

"M-my girlfriend?" I stammered. He thought Chloe was my…girlfriend?

"Oh, are you two not together?" His eyes widened. "Shit. I always end up assuming and it always gets me in trouble. Sorry, man."

"No, you're fine. We're just…" I didn't even know how to finish that sentence. What were we? Were we even friends?

"Should I take it back? I'm so sorry, man. I should've known you would be with someone prettier," he laughed nervously.

My face hardened. "No need to be sorry. I'll just wait for her to come back," I said stiffly. What an asshole. He thought I would be with someone prettier? Like what the fuck? Did he even have eyes? I wanted to punch him in the face, but I held back.

It took only a few minutes before Chloe came out with a worried expression spread across her face.

"Here's your coffee," I smiled, hoping it could somehow relieve her.

"Oh you didn't have to," she said, and instead of it sounding thankful it sounded the opposite.

I shrugged, letting the pain brush off my shoulders. "I don't mind."

"So where is this study room?" she asked while sipping her coffee, relief flooding back to her face.

"They told me it's upstairs in room 221," I said as we started walking up the staircase, Chloe trailing a few steps behind.

"Ah, well it's a good thing you're leading because I have no idea where I'm going," she said uneasily as we reached the top of the stairs.

I smiled to myself and held the door open for her, which she murmured a simple thank you.

"Pretty sure the study room is just down this hall and will be the last room on our right," I said as I led the way, a little unsure of myself.

Sure enough, room 221 was the last room to our right, making me feel relieved. It would've been embarrassing if we wandered around aimlessly the entire time.

I unlocked the door and held it open for Chloe as she went inside first.

"Wow," I heard her mutter to herself.

I looked around and the study room could easily fit ten people, with two whiteboards, dry erase markers and a flat screen TV in between the two boards. This place was pretty awesome, whether it's for studying or relaxing. I wouldn't mind reserving a study room again.

She sat down near the end of the table in front of the right whiteboard, so I decided to sit directly in front of her. We got our laptops, notebooks, and mechanical pencils laid out on the table, but her side was a little more scattered than mine with added multicolored pens and the textbook.

She quickly began jotting down who-knows-what in her notebook, once again leaving an awkward silence in the air. I stared at her as she began to bounce her leg up and down, her face so concentrated on her notebook I thought she might explode. I didn't know what was wrong with her, and I didn't know what her problem with me was.

Before I knew it, I was playing the "Why Does Chloe Hate Me" game in my head.

"I feel like you hate me," I blurted out before thinking. Dammit, Luke! Why did you say that?!

Chloe looked up from her notebook, shock written all over her face as she proceeded to shift uncomfortably. "I don't hate you," she replied softly.

At first, I was afraid to say anything more, but thinking about the other night brought me courage. I was tired of this uneasiness between us. I was tired of just glancing from afar watching everyone else interact with her without any complications. I swallowed down my nervousness and asked boldly, "Then what is it? I can tell something is wrong." I hoped my tone wasn't harsh.

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me," she said as she looked me in the eyes.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" I asked. Why would she think that I wouldn't want to talk to her?

She nodded, starting to fidget with her hands. "Every time I am around you there are your friends, so I always feel like you preferred talking to them," she said shakily. I could tell she was nervous, and I didn't want to make her nervous. I just wanted her to be happy.

I laughed, hoping to ease the tension. She couldn't have been more wrong. "Don't you ever wish we could go back and be friends like we used to be. What happened to us back then?" I asked, feeling myself heat up with every second she looked at me.

She laughed slightly. "I thought you didn't want to be friends with me anymore," she said, playing with her pink mechanical pencil.

"That's crazy. I thought you didn't want to be friends with me anymore," I admitted, feeling breathless. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Was I dreaming?

"That's funny," she let out a small giggle, looking down at her notebook.

I could feel a stupid grin grow on my face. I couldn't help it. When Chloe laughed, my reflex was to smile. "What's funny?"

"Just that we both thought the other didn't want to be friends anymore," she said, taking a sip of her raspberry mocha.

"Well…" I began to feel awkward, especially about the words I was about to tell her. "Do you want to be friends again?"

Her face turned scarlet, and I was afraid of the answer she would give. Was I making her too uncomfortable? Why was she turning red?

"S-sure…if that's what you want," she choked out.

I relaxed, and the tension ceased, my grin widening from ear to ear. "That's what I want, but is it what you want?"