chapter 6

"I need you to do me a favor."

A familiar voice comes from behind my locker door. As I shut it, I meet his eyes that look even more green than the day before.

"And what would that favor be?" I ask, eyeing him warily before starting to walk to my next class.

"I need you to eat lunch with me." He says while falling into step beside me.

I snort, earning a vicious glance from Blake.

"You're asking me to eat lunch with you? Don't you have any other friends?"

"Yes, and yes. That's why I need you to come. I want you to bring your friend."

"Which one?" I ask, looking at him from the corner of my eye.

He looks confused, a frown on his face.

"I have more than one friend, you know?" I huff out.

"The blonde one you always hang around. My friend Marcus needs a girl and he won't listen to me. I was thinking maybe we could set them up at lunch or something." He sheepishly smiles. I stop in my tracks and stare at him. My mouth agape.

"You want me to invite my friend to eat lunch with y'all so you can set her up with yours?" I squint my eyes at him.

That has got to be the most stupid-

Actually, it's not that bad.

Kyla needs someone. She always says that she's fine but I know that she isn't. She needs someone to be hers. Someone to show her love, other than her mom and dad. And I'm going to get that for my best friend.

"Let's do it."

He looks shocked. His eyes wide as he stares at me. His mouth agape now.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll do it. It's good for the both of them, I guess." I shrug.

"Alright, great. Yes!" He cheers, pumping his arm in the air.

I laugh, shaking my head.

"Great."

"We'll meet you in the front after 5th period."

"Okay. But don't tell him about the set up and I won't tell her. They need to get closer by themselves. Let him do it alone."

We both start to walk again. His eyes linger on me as the sides of his lips upturn into a smile.

"What?" I laugh, taking a double look at him.

"Nothing." He shakes his head.

Before I could even ask him again, he's gone.

Again.

I swear he always does that!

Now, I have to break the news to Kyla.

This should be fun.

••••••••••••••••••••••••

"What?!"

"It's just lunch, Ky." I try to persuade her, her face red with...I actually don't know.

"Yeah, lunch with Blake Daniels and Marcus Wells!" She throws her hands up, exaggerating her stress.

"What's the problem?"

"The problem is that they're popular and we're not." She complains, her eyes closing as she lets out a shaky sigh.

"I'm not popular, you might as well be." I look to the ground, only half kidding.

I knew this wouldn't be easy, but I never knew it would be this difficult.

"You know that I don't want to be." She looks down too, her face a little distant.

"Look, they invited us to lunch with them. It's not like we have to become their best friends."

She considers the offer for a while, her brows furrowed together in thought. Her freckled face a bright red from thinking too hard.

When the bell finally rings, signaling the beginning of lunch, she snaps her head to me. Her eyes are serious as she holds a nervous expression.

"I'll go." She whispers, her cheeks burning a darker shade of red.

"They want us to meet them in the front. Then, I don't know where we're going from there."

We both grab our things and head to the main entrance of the school. The halls crowded with hungry teens rushing to beat the insane lines at all of the fast food restaurants.

Instead of this being a regular high school where all students eat in the cafeteria, it's a school where we have to fend for ourselves for lunch. Many restaurants sit around here, so it's very convenient.

The big double doors are held open from the crowd of students pushing their way through.

Once we get outside, a gust of cold air hits my face. The frosty winds stinging my cheeks and nose.

"Gosh it's cold." I say, rubbing my arms with my hands, trying to get some form of warmth.

Kyla snorts, shaking her head at me.

"I told you. But, do you ever listen to me? No!"

Being me, I didn't think to bring a jacket since I wore a long sleeved shirt. And that wasn't a good decision.

But, when do I ever make good decisions?

Kyla walks beside me, dragging her feet the more we walk.

Blake comes into view, our eyes meeting once I spot him. A smile tugs at his lips as we get closer. Kyla grunts quietly beside me.

"Hey." Blake's smile brightens.

"Hey."

"Ready to go?" He asks.

"Yup." I bounce on my feet.

Blake still looks at me until his face shows that he just remembered something. He turns to Kyla.

"Oh, I almost forgot. This is my friend Marcus. Marcus, this is Danielle and..." he points at Kyla, snapping his fingers and scrunching his face up.

"Kyla." She rolls her eyes, an annoyed look on her face.

"Right, Kyla." He smiles apologetically.

"Don't worry, it took him a month to remember my name." Marcus laughs as he stares at Kyla.

She actually laughs. Her cheeks turning a deep red.

"Welp! Let's go before the traffic gets worse." Blake ushers us to his car.

I walk behind Marcus and Kyla, Blake in step beside me. I smile at the two in front of me, the wind sending chills through me. I shiver and run my hands up and down my arms.

"Cold?" Blake's voice is soft.

"A little." I softly laugh.

"Here."

He takes off his letterman jacket, draping it over my shoulders. The thick material immediately giving me warmth. His smell surrounding me.

Thank you." I smile at him as he does the same.

We reach his sleek black car, all opening the doors and jumping in. Marcus gets in the back with Kyla and I claim shotgun.

"Where are we going?" Kyla asks, her hands and legs tightly pressed together in an uncomfortable way.

"Lou's." Blake simply states, his eyes focused on the road ahead of us.

"That vintage diner up town?" I look at him, a smile on my face.

"Yeah, I love their fries." He laughs, quickly glancing in my direction.

"They have pretty good steak fingers there too." Marcus adds, licking his lips.

"I heard about the place , but I've never been." Kyla admits.

"Seriously? It's like the best diner in town!" Marcus exclaims as Kyla stares at him weirdly.

I laugh to myself. I see her lips curl up into a small smile in the rear view mirror.

"I guess it's good that I cane then." She laughs a little.

"Yeah, it is." Marcus smiles at her, her cheeks turning red as the car slowly comes to a stop in a parking spot.

"Well, we're here." Blake announces.

That was fast.

The small diner stands, the walls sporting a fresh new coat of light pink paint. The neon sign hanging atop the building spelling out 'Lou's' in cursive lettering. The grey skies reflecting off the big windows.

We all get out of the car, heading inside the diner. A bell rings when we enter, a portly old lady rushing to us.

Her grey hair falling out of her loose bun.

"How man-" her eyes go wide, settling in on Blake. She squints, her hand grabbing at her glasses. Once she puts them on, a bright smile creeps on her face.

"Blake! I thought that was you!" She scurries to him, placing her hands on his arms. She inspects him.

"Hey, Mrs. Jeffries." Blake chuckles.

"Look at you, so grown up. You look so much like your grandfather." A sad smile forms on her face, Blake mimics the same.

"Thanks. Uh...a booth for four, please."

"Yes! Right!" She quickly grabs menus, until her eyes land on me with Blake's jacket.

She smiles a big cheesy smile. Blake's eyes follow to where hers are locked and he meets mine. He clears his throat.

"Mrs. Jeffries, this is Danielle."

She looks at me, her eyebrows lifted in happiness. I feel Blake's eyes on me. My cheeks burn.

"You're so pretty! I like this one. You keep her, alright?"

What?

"Oh...no.. she's not...we're not." He nervously laughs.

"I'm not his girlfriend." I laugh, politely smiling at the old lady.

I look at Blake from the corner of my eye, his body stiff as he stares back at me.

"Awe, that's too bad. It would've made me so happy." She turns around and walks us to a booth by the large windows.

I feel my cheeks taking on a deep blush from her words. Looking at back at Blake, his cheeks glow pink too.

Marcus and Kyla sit on opposite sides and the tension lessens a little.

It would've been awkward to sit next to Blake after that.

I slide into the booth and so does he, his knees brushing against mine. We all just sit in silence until Mrs. Jeffries comes back. She takes our drink orders and leaves once more.

"So...lovely weather we're having." Marcus laughs as we all join him.

I can feel Blake's eyes on me again. His burning gaze setting my skin on fire. I look up and immediately meet his eyes. The dim light of the diner turning them into a darker shade of green and blue. He studies me for a minute before a soft smile breaks out on his lips. I smile back.

Mrs. Jeffries comes back and takes our order.

"Can I have the chili cheese burger...and fries!" Kyla shuts her menu and hands it to her.

"I'll have the steak fingers with mashed potatoes and gravy." Marcus smiles.

"And you Miss. Danielle?" She lifts her pen from the notepad and looks at me over her glasses.

"Uhh..." I quickly look at my menu.

I forgot to look! I was too caught up in what was said earlier and Blake to even pay attention.

"She'll have the cheese burger and fries. And I'll have the same." Blake orders for the both of us, closing his menu and taking mine from me. A sly smirk on his face as he looks at me.

"Alrighty. Your food should be out shortly." She chirps, spinning on her heel and walking back to the kitchen.

"Um... are y'all going the game Friday?" Marcus fiddles with the napkin dispenser on the table.

"Yeah, we'll both be there." I nudge Ky with my elbow.

"Good." He nods his head, his eyes shooting towards Ky.

"You still cold?" Blake suddenly asks, eyeing his jacket that is still on me.

"Oh, sorry. Here." I begin to take it off before his hand shoots out to stop me.

"No, it's fine. It looks better on you anyways." He smirks.

And I blush again.

Ky gives me a confused look as she stares at my face.

"So, are you both playing Friday?" She looks between both of the guys.

"Yeah. We're both playing." Blake answers, giving Marcus a sideways glance when he fails to talk.

"Cool. What do you play Marcus?" She directly asks him.

His head snaps up as he looks at her. His cheeks turning pink.

"I'm a quarterback." He says, unsure.

"I thought Ryder was quarterback?" She asks.

"Yeah, he is. But Marcus is second stringer. So he subs in for Ryder." Blake states.

"Yup." Marcus says, annoyed. Mumbling incoherent words under his breath.

"That's still good. Ryder sucks anyways." She tells him. His face lights up as we all laugh.

"I heard you had a run in with him today." Marcus looks at me, an eyebrow raised and his hands folded on the table.

How does he know?

Blake looks at me, his eyes never leaving my face.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot." I look down at my hands.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing. Just after you left, someone knocked me over and he caught me. No big deal." I look into his eyes. They darken a shade as he comprehends my words.

"Did he say anything to you?" He asks, seriousness in his tone.

"Something about saving damsels in distress. It was stupid." I roll my eyes, remembering how he called me that.

Blake snorted, his eyes searching my face.

"What?" I ask.

"I bet that pissed you off." He chuckles.

"Yeah. It did."

"He's a prick. I'll beat him up for you." He smirks at me.

"Yes! And I'll get to play!" Marcus adds in, smiling brightly at Blake's idea.

"I second that." Ky laughs as they all stare at me.

"I guess...as long as you don't hurt him."

"Why not? That's the whole point."

"Because, I don't like hurting people. It's wrong." I look into his eyes.

"But, he basically offended you." Blake counters.

"It's fine, Blake. I don't care."

We have a severe stare off as the whole table goes eerily quiet.

"Food!" A voice breaks our gazes apart.

Mrs. Jeffries sets the plates of food on the table and scurries back toward the kitchen after we thank her.

"I'll at least tell him something." Blake says to me, his eyes holding mine.

"Fine." I huff out, he smiles.

We all eat our food silently, the time ticking by faster than we expected.

Suddenly, Marcus starts choking on his food as Blake harshly hits his back. He gasps out as he reaches for his cup, knocking it over and spilling all of its contents on Blake and I. The drink drenches my shirt and pants, the both of us jolting up at the same time. We all look to Marcus. His scared gaze drifting between all of us.

"Sorry?" He shrinks down in the booth.

I look at Blake, his face serious, eyebrows deeply scrunched together.

And then... he laughs. His smile brightening up the whole mood.

Soon, we all being to start laughing. All of us clutching our stomachs and some wiping tears away.

I chance a look at Blake to see that he is already staring at me. His green eyes sparkling with some kind of emotion. We both widen our smiles, enjoying the moment between all of us.

And that's when it hit me...

We're going to be late to school!