chapter nine - bloody knees

chapter nine — bloody knees

I WAS BLEEDING. I wasn't completely sure when I'd fallen, but I was bleeding regardless. My knees were purple, a thin trail of blood down my left shin soaking into my white socks, turning them pink. I leaned my head against the fencing, feeling the cool rust of the gate burn against my sweaty neck. The asphalt of the court was hot and rough under my palms, so I quickly picked myself off the ground, wincing as I pushed off the court. Kids from my school liked to use this outdoor court as a place to hangout, the result was netting with holes large enough to let whales swim through, graffiti-covered backboards, and tiny shards of beer bottles in the cracks of the concrete. They were a bunch of fucking idiots, vandalizing shit people actually used. When I was little, the court had been near-flawless. It was where I'd first handled a basketball, but now, it was slowly wasting away.

The city was making plans to demolish the court and the park around it soon. They wanted to replace it with a mini-mall, since 'kids don't play outside anymore'.

Bull-fucking-shit.

"Hey, Kieran!"

I turned slowly, palming the basketball in one hand. The sun was high up in the sky so I squinted, unable to see who exactly was walking into the court. My mouth set into a frown when a saw a decidedly female figure approach. She was walking slowly, eyes downcast to the ground as if she'd never seen asphalt before.

"Hi?" I slammed the basketball into my other hand, lips lifting into a smirk when the sudden sound made the stranger jump.

She giggled nervously, finally close enough that I could make out some of her features. There was nothing remarkable about her, nothing that triggered a memory in my head. Who the fuck are you?

"Hey, um," She leaned from what foot to another and I zeroed in on her laces. One of her shoes was tied, the other's laces haphazardly flopping onto the court with a reckless abandon only shoelaces could possess. I eyed the rims of her Converse suspiciously, looking for any hint of a rainbow.

Nothing.

I was surprised at how disappointed I was.

How boring.

"—so can you come?"

"What?"

Her face tinged pink, a hard feat since she was already pretty tan.

"Um..." she trailed off, face growing more tomato-esque by the minute. I watched her with a small smile, biting my lip to stop from full out laughing in her face.

"You know what? Nevermind," She spun on her heel, waving at me, flustered.

"Enjoy your day, Kieran!" She scurried always and I shrugged to myself, picking up the edge of my shirt to mop my face with it.

Fuck, it's hot outside.

"Kieran, you bitch"

I jumped back, pressing my shirt flat down. My eyes were wide, hands curled into fists and ready to jump on the motherfucker that had decided to sneak up on me. The light made a cute little halo around their blond hair, their smile eerily familiar.

"Elisabeth?"

"Yeah," Lukas' sister shifted her weight onto one hip, sandals making a clacking sound as she moved. Her hair was down for once, wild curls springing all over the place.

I'd once made the mistake of calling her a hay bale, a mistake I'd never make again. Her temper rivaled my father's and that was saying something.

"Is Lukas here too, then?" I tried looking around her for my idiot, but she moved with me. Her eyes angrily stared into mine and I gave up after a little bit, miffed that she was around the same height as me. Nearly everyone in the Schmitt family was tall.

"What did you do to Sara?"

"Who?" I frowned dumbly.

"The girl who was talking to you before," Elisabeth shot back, snappily.

"Oh, her," My eyes flitted around, trying to find Lukas, instead finding the girl from before shyly hiding under a tree. When she saw me looking at her she spazzed, quickly turning and hiding behind the tree.

"I didn't do shit to her" I looked at Elisabeth, confused.

"Well, she came back awkward and stuttering. You did something."

"She came up to me awkward and stuttering," I scowled, crossing my arms and cradling my basketball defensively.

"Maybe since your such an asshole" Elisabeth muttered with a heavy sigh.

"Hey," I stopped my search for Lukas, glaring at her.

"I'm not an asshole"

"You didn't know her name!"

We both glanced over at Sara. She waved meekly at us, ducking back behind the tree. Fucking weird.

"Am I supposed to know her name?"

Shit. Fear struck me as I panicked and took a step closer to Elisabeth.

"Is she Lukas' girlfriend?" I whispered.

Lukas had been acting weird for a while now, and I figured it was for a few reasons. One of them being he had a secret girlfriend. Hell, if I had a girlfriend like Sara, I'd want to keep it a secret too.

She must be good in bed, I guess.

"What?" Elisabeth wrinkled her nose with a snort, "No, you idiot"

She shook her head at me, clear disappointment in her eyes, "You're supposed to know her name since she's in literally all of your classes"

Oh. I frowned, looking over at Sara. She looked like she was having an intense staredown with a squirrel and I raised an eyebrow, looking back at Elisabeth.

She rolled her eyes, "She's your lab partner"

"Oh yeah"

Elisabeth slapped her forehead with her palm and I winced at the sound, struggling not to laugh at the now-red skin. Lukas and I used to tease her all the time about her sensitive skin, only stopping when she's started to publicly retaliate. Elisabeth was in my grade and only relevant since she was Lukas' sister. She was obsessed with weird shit like Sara was too no doubt, so I tried to steer clear of her and her friends. Michael, though he was a senior, was actually a part of their friend group. It was weird really, that a dude could willingly spend time around those girls.

But Michael's not actually a guy. He's gay.

"We wanted to know if you were going to Paisley's party this Friday?"

"Who?"

"You're fucking hopeless," Elisabeth groaned, turning away and walking to Sara.

"I'm leaving the invitation up to my brother," She grabbed Sara angrily, steering her away from the court and towards the park where a larger group of girls were waiting.

"Wait, so your brother is here?"

"I'm done with your bitchass" I heard her shout, arm raised high and mighty as she flipped me off from a few yards away. I rolled my eyes, quickly packing my bag and looking at the sidewalk where the cars were parked.

Lukas waved at me frantically from inside his Mum's car, smiling so wide I could see it from the court. I couldn't help the smile that crept across my own face, lips twisting to stop it as I waved back. I started to walk over, legs somehow not tired anymore as I opened the gate. Lukas was still smiling that stupidass grin of his, and he rolled the window down, sticking his head out to shout at me as I crossed the street to get to him.

"Hi!"

"Hey"

I hopped up onto the sidewalk unnecessarily (it was only three inches tall), sticking my head right back through the driver's side window. Lukas shifted back with a laugh, hand reaching up to shove me back.

"Give me a ride?"

"And ditch my sister and her friend?" Lukas raised an eyebrow.

"I'm more important"

I walked around to the passenger side, sliding in and tossing my bag in the bag. Lukas looked at me with a small smile before starting the engine, his arms flexing as he grabbed the steering wheel. I set my legs up on the dash, staring for a bit too long at the linear shadows his tricep cut on his arm.

How the fuck does he build that way?

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Lukas kept his eyes on the road like a good samaritan, glancing at me quickly as we took a turn. I put my arms behind my head like a cushion, watching summer go by outside my window. Most people liked summer since it meant no school and warm weather, but I hated summer since that meant conditioning for basketball but no actual games. The only upside was that I got to spend more time with my friends and with Mum since she got off for the summer too.

"Nevermind"

I nestled into the seat cover, lazily lifting my shirt to mop my face again. The windows were open and I felt the wind on my stomach, tickling me gently. That feels weird.

The car swerved.

"Shit"

I sat up straight real fast, heart nearly falling out of my chest. I froze, too scared to speak as Lukas acted as if nothing had happened, continuing on the local road all casual-like. His knuckles tinged white, Lukas looked at me with a nervous smile, eyes darting back just as fast.

"Shit, sorry"

I hastily put my seatbelt on, hand grabbing the little handle thing on top of the door. Guilt flooded Lukas' features and in any other situation I would've let go immediately, but my heart was still racing. I'll make it up to him later.

Δ     Δ     Δ     Δ     Δ     Δ     Δ

"What happened to your leg?" Lukas locked his car as I stumbled out, eyeing the green metal deathtrap venomously.

"I fell" I finally found my voice again, looking up in appreciation when Lukas grabbed my bag from me. He looked at me, disappointed, and I shriveled under his gaze. Lukas had the kindest eyes I'd ever seen on a person and I'd never had the displeasure of seeing them when he was angry. Disappointed, however, was a look I was far too familiar with, and Lukas' expression of it was close to hurting the most.

"How long were you outside?" He crossed his arms and I studied how the tiny little hairs lining his forearms glinted in the sun. It was like he had a little force field around him.

"Only an hour or two, Mom"

His gaze softened, but he didn't move from my path. My legs were starting to hurt again, humid wind biting at the grazed skin of my knees.

"Kieran"

I hated the way he said my full name like he wasn't my friend but some kind of guardian figure. I didn't need his, or anyone's, protection. I worked my ass off in the gym five days a week and had the muscle strain to prove it. I could easily beat a grown man's ass if I had too, yet Lukas wouldn't get off my ass about being safe. It wasn't just him either. My Mum, DJ, and Roger all loved to hound me about my disappearing acts when I'd stop answering calls and just go off on my own.

Fucked up as it was, only Marco understood how I felt. At least, I think he understands. He might just not give a shit.

"I set a timer, fuck, get off my ass Schmitt" I shoved past him, angrily stalking up the steps to his house. My knees protested with every step and I blanked on how exactly I'd fallen.

Lukas came up behind me, stiflingly warm as he radiated body heat like a furnace. He still had my bag on his back and I bit my lip as I rang the doorbell. That's two things I owe him for.

"You really set up a timer?" Lukas hummed from behind me, voice low and thoughtful. I turned around, scowl planted on my face.

"You think I'd lie to you about that?"

"Never," he responded even before I finished my sentence, "I'm proud of you"

He smiled cautiously and my scowl melted right off, leaving shy smirk in its wake.

"Thanks" I mumbled, feeling my chest swell a bit.

The door opened and I leaped into the feeling of the air conditioner, using my hip to shut it in Lukas' face. He opened it a second later, disgruntled, but still smiling. One of his siblings ran away as he shut the door, too shy to stay and chat, which was fine by me since I wasn't one for civil conversation.

I made my way up the stairs, cursing when my leg bent too far and my knee started bleeding again. Rip those socks man, they were like, two bucks a pair. Fuck.

"Head into my room, I have a first aid kit," I heard Lukas from behind me, "You're staying for dinner by the way".

"I'll be fine, and yeah, I figured" I headed into his room anyway, rooting through his closet for whatever looked comfortable. I settled on the first pair of sweatpants I saw and a cotton shirt with a random singer's name on it.

"You like Elton John?"

I swiveled around to look at Lukas questioningly. He'd never mentioned being a fan of Elton John before. Lukas didn't bother responding to me, trudging into the room and falling flat onto his bed.

"Your bag weighs like a hundred pounds Keke"

I rolled my eyes at his dramatic sprawl over the sheets. He grunted when I slapped his leg, sidling past him to leave.

I grabbed the towel hanging on his door.

"This new?"

He didn't bother verbalizing a response, instead, throwing me a tired thumbs up. I grinned at his back, making my way to his bathroom.

"Wait!"

I paused midstep, ducking back into the room. Lukas sat up in his bed, hair tousled and eyes sleepy. He'd literally only been in his bed for a few minutes, but somehow managed to make it look like he'd taken a long ass nap.

"Roger is dragging me to Paisley Robert's party, please come" He frowned, pouted really, looking all kinds of strange. Lukas could probably pass as an MMA fighter if he tried really hard, yet here he was, pouting like a kid and rubbing his eyes even though it was only 3 in the afternoon.

"Fine," I grumbled, "Now get some sleep you nocturnal shit"

He grinned, flopping back onto his bed.

"Promise you won't ditch me at this one?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." I sighed, continuing towards the bathroom.

Lukas, poor bastard, had to share his bathroom with his two little brothers. They were still in elementary school, so naturally, they were fucking tyrants. The bathroom was a mess and I felt a migraine start to come on as I took in the mess.

Ignore it, Kieran.

There was no logic to the mess, unlike mine. It was just a whole lot of stuff thrown around. I cautiously rearranged the toothpaste to be next to the toothbrushes and breathed a sigh of relief. When I went to move the floss, I did a doubletake. The Schmitt family had a thing for stick figures apparently, since the floss was somehow artfully twisted into a little Floss Man, penis and all. Lukas was too shy to draw dicks, so I figured it had to be his kid brothers. The thought was mostly funny, but a little concerning. I brushed it off to the back of my head, studying the art behind the man who smelled like mint.

Trying not to smile, I bit my lip as I decided to leave him alone. Floss Man and Triangle Man would all be great friends. I was sure of it. Maybe even Dude with a Skirt could join their group, but I doubted it. He didn't really fit in.

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2586 words

Not my best work, nor is it edited. Sorry :( This chapter wasn't meant to move the plot along too much, but kinda delve a little deeper into Keke's mind. I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out.

What do you guys think?

Thank you for reading! I hope you all have a beautiful week :) <3