Luke Reynolds
I stare at Adrien's car in confusion as he pulls up right in front of me.
Trevor's in the car too?
And Ethan?
What is going on?
Does Adrien give Ethan a lift to school now?
But what's Trevor doing with them? Is he okay with Adrien? Has he forgiven him for everything?
Did Trevor stay over at Adrien's?
Did he refuse to come over yesterday because he had plans with Adrien?
Is that why he was hinting at me fixing shit with Adrien?
Why am I always left out of the loop?
The car door closing brings me out of my thoughts.
"Luke, you okay?" Trevor asks walking over to me.
I look up at him, hiding my frown, "Yeah sorry just a bit surprised."
Trevor watches me for a few seconds before continuing, "Sorry I should have messaged you. Adrien's driving today, I'm just gonna grab my bag."
I nod as I watch him turn away towards his house.
"Come on, get in," Adrien says, I look at him smiling and he actually looks happy.
What's got him in such a good mood?
I nod and quickly climb into the back, next to Ethan.
"Hey," he says quietly, looking down at his hands.
Seeing him so nervous causes a switch in me, "Hey! Morning!"
Ethan looks up at me, giving me a small wavering smile.
I hate it when people seem uncomfortable.
Trevor returns with his backpack and we set off toward school.
No one really says anything, it's a little awkward.
The silence doesn't do my thoughts any good.
Why did the three of them turn up together?
Why didn't Trevor message me?
He hasn't even replied to any of my messages from yesterday.
Are they replacing me with Ethan?
Have they finally had enough of me?
Am I too loud?
Ethan's pretty quiet.
Adrien seems quite happy with him around.
But Trevor wouldn't replace me so quickly, would he?
I jump out of my skin when the music comes on.
"What the-" I start
"Shit sorry didn't realise it would be so loud," Adrien says messing with the volume, he shoots me a quick look through the mirror as the light turns green.
Trevor messes with the radio channels before settling on one playing High Hopes.
I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes. I barely slept last night, no amount of background noise helped ease my overthinking.
I can't wait for the day to end so I can finally crawl back into bed.
"Luke," I hear someone beside me whisper.
I crack open an eye and look at Ethan, "We're here."
I look out the window behind him and watch as Adrien drives into the car park. It's busier than usual but that's probably because we're here later than normal.
It feels like all eyes are on us as we walk to the entrance. What is everyone's issue?
Heads usually turn whenever Adrien is around, but this just seems a little excessive.
Is it because of the recent fight?
"Fuck sake," Adrien grumbles, I can tell from the way he's clenching and unclenching his fists that he's holding himself back from reacting.
"Don't," Trevor says quietly, shooting Adrien a quick look before looking over at Ethan and then me.
Ethan...
I forgot he was walking with us.
But it all makes sense now.
Fuck indeed.
Word's going to get back to that asshole Sheriff.
I glance at Ethan beside me and notice him walking with his hoodie pulled over his head and looking down at his shoes.
Man, I feel bad for the kid.
I don't know how he's managed to cope with it all. If I was in his place I would have crumbled long ago.
Once we're inside, Adrien walks into the nearest classroom, thankfully it's empty.
"You okay?" Adrien asks Ethan as soon as the door closes behind him.
Ethan nods, still not looking up.
Adrien walks over to him, he stands in front of Ethan for a few seconds before leaning down and whispering something into his ear. Ethan nods just before Adrien pulls him into a hug.
I can't help but mentally aww. The only person I've ever seen Adrien treat so gently is Charlie, he really is a massive softie on the inside. But thought sends a painful stab through my chest.
I could do with a hug right about now too.
I look over at Trevor to see that he's already watching me. He nods towards the door and I quietly move towards it, we silently exit the room.
"Shall we head to first period?" Trevor asks.
I nod and start walking towards the stairs.
The room is empty when we arrive, but I'm not surprised considering we're 15 minutes early.
"You okay?" Trevor asks as we take our seats towards the back.
"Yeah, fine."
Trevor's quiet as he stares at me, but I try to ignore him. Instead, I fold my arms on the desk and lay my head on top of them before closing my eyes.
"Did you sleep okay last night?"
"Not really." I mumble, turning to look at him, "What about you?"
"Same."
"Did you stay at Adrien's?"
"Yeah."
"And Ethan?"
"Yeah."
The first sleepover in months and they invite Ethan.
"Adrien came to speak to me at the waterfall, he apologised and opened up. I decided to stay the night at Adrien's, Ethan was already there. It wasn't planned. I didn't even know Ethan was there until I walked into the living room."
I nod at his explanation but I still don't feel any better. I know I wasn't excluded on purpose, but I still feel hurt.
Or maybe I'm just tired.
Sighing I close my eyes again.
"Do you wanna dip?"
My eyes shoot open at that.
Trevor wants to leave.
Trevor.
"Adrien drove, so we won't be getting far," I say.
"I'll ask him for his keys, he won't say no as long as we're back in time for basketball."
"Where would we go anyway? We could go to mine but Ma's probably still sleeping and I don't want to disturb her."
"We could go to Adrien's?" Trevor replies and I instantly raise an eyebrow.
"You want to skip and go to Adrien's? Without Adrien?"
"Thought you might want a nap," The mention of a nap instantly has my attention.
Maybe I can convince him to take a nap with me. Cuddle up under a blanket.
It's been forever.
"Won't Maya be there? It's Friday."
Trevor's quiet for a minute, "I forgot about that but Adrien could just ask her to come next week instead. He's spending the weekend at yours anyway, and he's got enough microwave meals to last him the start of next week. Plus knowing Ma she'll pack him like a week's worth of food anyways."
"Are we seriously doing this?"
Trevor nods, "Yeah, pass me your phone so I can text him."
"Where's yours?" I ask, handing him my phone.
"Dead, I couldn't be bothered to charge it."
We walk out of the room just as people start pilling in.
"How long until the bell?" I ask as Trevor types away on my phone.
"About 5 minutes."
"We need to get out of here quick if we're really ditching."
"Adrien said he'd meet us at the bottom of the stairs."
Adrien hands Trevor his keys, "make sure you both get some sleep and get back before basketball."
"We will," Trevor replies.
We as in together... right?
"And charge your phone."
"Okay."
It's surprisingly easy to leave school without any issues. No wonder Adrien ditches as often as he does.
Trevor passes me my phone back once we're in Adrien's car.
I shoot Ma a quick text to let her know I'm ditching with Trevor and we're heading to Adrien's. If school does bother to call her she won't panic. I know Ma won't be too fussed about me skipping as long as it doesn't become a regular occurrence and the fact that it's the start of the school year so we won't be missing anything important. I'm thankful Ma has a laid-back, relaxed approach to parenting. But that might be because she had me at 19, just about an adult herself. Trevor's parents are a lot more old-school and traditional, they are a good 10 years older than Ma.
There's quite a bit of traffic on our way to Adrien's, guess it's peak school and work rush hour.
"I can't believe we actually ditched."
Trevor smiles a little, "Yeah you can finally cross that off your list."
My list.
I forgot about that stupid list I made.
Things were so much different this time last year. I can't believe how much has changed in less than a year. Who would have thought this is where we would be.
Trevor reaches over and places his hand on my knee, I hadn't even noticed it bouncing.
"So what do you want to do today?"
I shrug, "I dunno... Sleep?"
"Sleep sounds good."
As soon as we reach Adrien's, Trevor grabs my hand and drags me over to the sofa, pulling me down with him so I'm laid on top.
It only takes me a second to get comfortable against his chest.
I've missed this.
I honestly cannot remember the last time we cuddled up like this.
Was it the start of summer?
No, it must have been towards the end of last year.
Fuck it's been absolutely ages.
"You okay?" Trevor asks quietly, holding me close.
"Yeah... I've missed you... I've missed this.... us, everything."
Trevor tightens his grip, "Me too. I'm sorry for not really being here."
"You have nothing to apologise for."
"I shouldn't have shut you out the way I did. You needed me."
"Everyone grieves differently Trevor, you needed to, no, need to put yourself first. I can't always be a priority, so stop beating yourself up."
"I'll try to be here more."
I look up at him, my hand cupping his jaw and, "Trevor all I want is for you to look after yourself and put yourself first. You've been through so much in the past few months and it's going to take you a while to process it all which is perfectly okay. I understand your want to be alone. But just don't forget that I am here too, you don't have to go through it all alone."
Trevor kisses my forehead, "I love you."
"I love you too."
--
I do love a soft chapter! Is this the start of Trevor and Luke mending their relationship?