Chapter Forty-Three

Sporting the blue and red helmets from last time, a late afternoon bike ride seemed to help bring life back to Asher. As Lila pedalled behind him, the wind whooshing through her ears, Asher didn’t sit down – instead preferring to pedal whilst standing. It took hardly any time at all to match each other’s rhythm as Asher steered them through the suburb. Given it was Saturday afternoon, some neighbours were wandering around, however they didn’t even take a second glance at Lila and Asher as they zoomed past despite how ridiculous they looked. Perhaps his parents really did take the tandem bike out often.

It almost seemed as though he’d forgotten Lila was even there by the time they entered the same park as before. Today, a few children and their parents were taking the liberty of the pleasant weather here in the dying afternoon sun rays.

Lila climbed down off the bike, unclipping her helmet. Asher hopped off as well and wheeled the bike to the only empty gazebo in the park. They sat down, looking around at the surroundings as the wind lapped at their sweaty faces.

“Jack! Don’t eat that!” yelled a mother in the distance, stumbling to reach her toddler who was gleefully fisting a handful of sand into his mouth. Lila chuckled, and to her surprise heard Asher chuckle as well.

“Do you feel better?” Lila asked as they watched Jack start crying, which was hampered by the sand in his mouth.

“Better than Jack, I’d say,” Asher replied, a half-smile on his face. “Thanks for suggesting a bike ride.”

“I just find that movement can help get you going when you’re sad,” Lila shrugged. “Not that it works every time. Kinda why I thought you’d be at soccer this morning. I didn’t think you’d lie to Marlene to get out of it.”

“Did she tell you I lied?” Asher asked, looking alarmed.

“No,” Lila replied with a slight shake of her head, “she thought it was cancelled ‘cause you said so. But I’d obviously know that’s not true.”

“Guess so,” Asher said softly. They continued to people-watch for a time, the sun setting into streaks of gold, scarlet and violet before their eyes. Eventually, the streetlamps flickered on – the universal sign for most children and families to start going home.

“Shall we head back?” Lila asked Asher quietly. He seemed to have zoned out, so Lila reached across the table and gently nudged him.

“S-Sorry,” he said, rubbing where she had nudged him. “Y-Yeah, let’s head back.”

They clipped their helmets back on and Asher dipped and wove through the streets towards his house, taking an alternative path than the one she was familiar with. It felt to Lila as though he may have been procrastinating but was too busy pedalling for her life to comment.

Upon arriving back at the house, the sun had truly set, and the stars were beginning to wink into existence as Asher parked the tandem bike in the garage.

They tentatively entered the house. Lila put her slippers on, and Asher led the way towards the kitchen, as usual. Marlene looked to be making a start on washing up. She glanced up at them from the sink, seeming far more cold than usual.

“Hello, Mr Wagner,” she said, nodding stiffly. “Hello, Lila.”

“Hello, Marlene,” Lila said brightly. “I see you’re busily working away here.”

“Yes,” Marlene confirmed. She said nothing further. Asher and Lila exchanged a glance.

“Where’s Gabriel?” Lila asked.

“In here!” Gabriel called from the depths of the butler’s pantry. “Just finishing up on dinner.”

Asher gave an audible sniff, before his face broke into a grin. This grin seemed warmer than any of the others he’d given Lila today.

“Is that… butter chicken?” he asked loudly.

“Perhaps,” Gabriel laughed, still not emerging from the pantry. “Be glad your father is in Sydney on another business trip now. I’ll never hear the end of it, how it’s not authentic enough. But this is your comfort food, not his.”

Asher’s cheeks flushed slightly at Gabriel’s words.

“I’ve got about ten more minutes,” Gabriel said, evidently more to Marlene than to Asher and Lila. “If you wouldn’t mind dishing it up, Marlene.”

“Should we just sit in the dining room, in that case?” Lila suggested to Asher. He nodded and they slowly walked to their normal spots. They chatted away until Marlene arrived about upcoming schoolwork, with Lila artfully neglecting to bring up English. The fragrant smell of the butter chicken wrapped around Lila and Asher, enticing them to eat when Marlene approached. Marlene also presented a mound of fluffy rice inside a silver rice serving dish and toasted garlic naan bread. Gabriel came bustling out not a moment after Marlene placed the food on the table.

“Alright, Marlene,” he said, adjusting his watch on his wrist. He was still dressed in the long-sleeved shirt and slacks, though his shirt sleeves were rolled up now. “I’ve got to hurry over to the cottage then out for the night. I’ve tried to leave it as long as I can, but they need me now.”

Marlene nodded obediently, dishing out plates for Asher and Lila.

“You’re going?” Asher asked hurriedly, sounding slightly hurt as Gabriel began walking towards the front door. Gabriel froze for a moment before turning on his heel, his face overwhelmingly guilty.

“I’m sorry, Asher,” Gabriel said forlornly. “These plans are non-negotiable. Though I did negotiate to come later.”

“Okay,” Asher mumbled, spooning some butter chicken into his mouth. “I guess it is Saturday.”

“Indeed it is, Asher,” Gabriel laughed. “I’ll see you on Monday, alright?”

“I’ll be here,” Asher sighed. Gabriel appeared very torn between staying and going, but he spun around again and walked down the hall.

“Dinner’s delicious as usual, Gabriel!” Lila called behind him, waving. Gabriel briefly looked behind him and returned the wave. He then input the security code by the front door and vanished into the night air.

After dinner, Asher and Lila trudged upstairs. Lila suddenly felt rather exhausted, what with hockey practice in the morning, an emotional afternoon, a bike ride, and dinner. She texted her parents, asking one of them to pick her up. Her mum replied with a thumbs up.

“I’ll be going in about half an hour,” Lila said, popping her phone back into her bag.

“That’s all good,” Asher said, taking a dessert from the platter on the coffee table as he sat down.

“Will you be okay tomorrow?” Lila asked, taking a dessert as well.

“… I think so,” Asher said quietly, lowering his dessert towards his lap. “I think after today, I should take some time alone to process.”

“Good idea,” Lila replied, nodding emphatically. “If you need me, though, you can let me know and I’ll be here.”

“I know. Thanks, Lila,” Asher said softly, attempting a small smile. Lila smiled back at Asher.

“I mean it,” she said seriously, leaning into the arm of the couch that was next to her. “I may not be able to drive, but I can always find a way.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as Asher selected a shorter video to watch. Lila’s Mum arrived mere moments after the video wrapped up. Asher walked Lila to the front door, opening it as usual.

“I guess I’ll see you on Monday,” he said as they still stood in the doorway.

“Sure will,” Lila replied, smiling brightly. It was refreshing to see Asher in a somewhat normal state. Lila was fairly confident that as soon as the doors shut though, he’d retreat back into himself. But if he wanted to be alone, then he was allowed to be alone.

“Can… we talk to Isaac about it on Monday?” Asher asked, his hands fidgety.

“Lunchtime should be good,” Lila confirmed. “I normally get tuckshop, so you guys can wait for me there and we’ll wander off together. I’ll let Elise and Grace know that I won’t be having lunch with them. By the way… how much can I tell Elise and Grace?”

Asher looked down at his shoes. “J-Just that I broke up with Holly. I’m not ready for more people than you and Isaac to know about… the other stuff.”

“I respect that,” Lila replied, nodding. A car horn sounded outside, and Lila scooted past Asher after having put her shoes back on.

“… Try not to beat yourself up about it, Asher,” Lila said gently, before walking off into the distance. She thought she saw him waving at her, but she didn’t want to check. He was clearly still troubled and if she saw him looking so, she wouldn’t want to leave.

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Asher didn’t text Lila on Sunday, which worked out fine for Lila. She spent Sunday bugging her family with her incessant talking, mainly on the topic of lockpicking. It got to the point that even Clare pulled her aside and asked what was up with the sudden change.

“No change,” Lila said, shrugging as she sipped on her warm cup of tea in the kitchen.

“Did something happen with Asher yesterday?” Clare asked suspiciously, sipping on her own cup.

“Nah,” Lila replied, shaking her head. “Just getting out all this extra energy.”

Clare frowned at Lila. “I know we talked about this in the car, but I still advise against making a move on him now.”

“Sis,” Lila sighed, placing her cup on the kitchen counter and folding her arms across her chest. “Why are you so weird about that?”

Clare glanced at the entryway into the kitchen before placing her cup down.

“I… had a crush on a guy for a long time,” she said slowly after a sigh. “He was a really good friend of mine. But he had a girlfriend. And when they broke up, I was there to comfort him. And one thing led to another, and we had a kind of ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement for a while. But, eventually, he told me that he regretted everything and that I was just a rebound. Our friendship never recovered, and it broke my heart. So, I threw myself into doing other things, living the single life and all that.”

“When did that happen?” Lila asked, watching Clare’s face intently. Something about Clare’s expression spoke to Lila – that she still hadn’t truly gotten over it.

“It was years ago,” Clare said, waving a hand dismissively. She didn’t meet Lila’s gaze. “I thought he was such a great guy at the time, and I’d thought that it could turn into something. But he was just using me in the end…”

Clare trailed off, before picking up her cup again. Lila wasn’t sure what to say, but Clare suddenly no longer seemed like the elder sister. She seemed much smaller and subdued as she stared out the kitchen window. Lila edged her way towards Clare before giving her a hug.

“I know you’re scared for me,” Lila said quietly. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

Clare delayed in returning Lila’s hug, but when she did, she seemed resolute.

“We look so alike that looking at you feels like I’m looking into a mirror of the past,” Clare laughed, shaking her head. “It makes me uneasy when I see you falling into traps that I fell into. I think instead of passing my fears onto you, I should at least try and meet Asher. That way I can make my own assessment of him, rather than pulling one together through second-hand ones. If he’s as you say, then perhaps… you’ll be fine.”

Lila looked at Clare in shock. “You want to meet him?”

“Yeah,” Clare said. “I can’t turn off my overprotectiveness, y’know.”

“I see,” Lila said, picking up her teacup. “I can try and organise something, but I think it’ll take some time before he’s okay enough to meet new people. The breakup… was really messy.”

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“That’s okay,” Clare said with a smile. “I’m in no rush.”

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Monday morning started with English. Lila carried Asher’s bookbag with her along with her own. It still had his copy of Romeo and Juliet and his Chem textbook in it. Her shoulder ached by the time she entered the classroom. He was seated in his usual spot, staring at the whiteboard.

“Hey,” she said quietly, passing him his bookbag. He took it blankly for a moment, before looking at her.

“Oh,” he said, pulling out Romeo and Juliet. “I was wondering where this was.”

“I forgot to tell you that I had it,” she said sheepishly, pulling out her own copy of Romeo and Juliet.

“I guess I’ll forgive you,” he said quietly. She was sure he was teasing her, but his voice was flat.

“How was yesterday?” she asked in a low voice. He gave her a sideways look before sighing, using his arms as a pillow on his desk.

“Fine,” he said morosely. “Just fine.”

Lila didn’t press him on it. Ms Shard strolled in shortly after, calling the class to attention. It was another reading class. Asher still didn’t enlighten Lila any on the play, but he seemed to be reading along with the speaker. Lila wasn’t quite sure whether that could be called an improvement, but at least he wasn’t storming out of class.

Once class was over, Asher and Lila walked towards the STEM area of the campus in silence. As they approached the natural fork in their paths, they came across Isaac. He seemed to be pondering something, looking off towards the Chem Lab with a hand on his chin.

“Hey Isaac,” Lila said as she walked towards him. He turned towards them. As soon as his eyes took in Asher’s appearance, Isaac paled before them.

“Hi,” he said, his tone somewhat cautious.

“Can we talk to you at lunch?” Asher asked in a low voice, glancing at Lila, his expression highlighting the need for Lila to be in attendance as well. She gave him a firm nod and looked back at Isaac. Isaac seemed puzzled but agreed to the request.

“I’ve gotta get to Maths,” Lila said, waving at Isaac and Asher. They waved back and headed off in the direction of the Chem Lab.

During morning tea, Lila, Grace and Elise wandered the campus, eating various pieces of fruit. Grace and Elise discussed what they got up to over the weekend, and their conversation gradually dried up. They both seemed hesitant to talk to Lila, who sighed as she binned her apple core.

“You guys don’t need to be so wary,” she said softly after returning to Grace and Elise.

“You’ve been pretty MIA,” Elise said, exchanging a look with Grace.

“Sorry,” Lila said, guilt beginning to gnaw at her stomach. “It’s been… a whole lot.”

“What happened?” Grace asked gently. “Is it still to do with Asher going home early last week?”

“Yeah,” Lila sighed. “He broke up with Holly.”

“Sorry, WHAT?!” Elise exclaimed loudly, catching the attention of nearby students. Grace clamped a hand over Elise’s mouth but seemed just as stunned.

“It… wasn’t a good breakup,” Lila continued timidly. “But I can’t say the details. He asked me not to.”

“I mean, I don’t care about the details,” Elise said after wrestling her mouth free from Grace’s grasp. “I mean, now’s your chance!”

Lila shot Elise a withering look. “I’m going to pretend that I don’t know what you mean,” she said coldly. “Besides, he’s… utterly broken.”

“It’d be a bad idea,” Grace cautioned Elise. “Rebound relationships are never good ones.”

Elise pouted before nodding in understanding.

“I get that you can’t tell us the reason, but surely the ‘dumper’ is never as torn up about it as the ‘dumpee’,” Grace said matter-of-factly, turning towards Lila. Lila shrugged in response.

They swiftly moved on to another subject, though Lila was gradually feeling more cheerful. Telling Elise and Grace that Asher and Holly had broken up had eased some amount of pressure on Lila to remain tight-lipped about everything else.

“By the way, I have to talk to Isaac at lunch,” Lila said as the trio made their way to their PC class.

“Why?” Elise asked curiously.

“Asher wants to tell him about the breakup, but he needs some backup,” Lila said simply, sliding into her usual seat.

“I feel like my theories are getting more and more wild the more you talk,” Elise laughed.

“I doubt you’d land on the reason, even in your wildest theories,” Lila said darkly. Elise and Grace gave each other another glance, but they smoothly moved on to other topics.

Lunch arrived with Lila feeling oddly anxious. She couldn’t anticipate what Isaac’s reaction would be, but she knew he would definitely not be happy. She didn’t think that Isaac was an aggressive person, but with the bond he shared with Asher and his admitted protectiveness over him, anything could be possible.

She walked to tuckshop with Grace and Elise in tow, but she couldn’t focus on anything they were saying. Lila also couldn’t figure out what to do with her hands, dropping them to her sides and bringing them up while tapping her fingers together constantly. The uncertainty of Isaac’s reaction weighed every step that she took. When she saw Asher and Isaac standing at the exit of the tuckshop, she felt a strong urge to disappear. But, Isaac waved at her, and she automatically waved back.

“Lila, you look constipated,” Elise whispered in her ear as they continued to wait in line. “Is it really that bad?”

“I… hope I can tell you guys one day,” Lila replied, averting her eyes from Elise and Grace.

“My curiosity is going to kill me,” Elise said, stretching her arms above her head. Lila finally managed to get through to the tuckshop and picked up a juice and a chicken salad. She paid for her items and found herself face-to-face with Asher and Isaac within seconds.

“We’ll see you later,” Grace said to Lila, who hadn’t even noticed Grace and Elise standing off to the side.

“Y-Yeah,” Lila said, waving at them. They began to walk towards their usual lunch spot. Lila looked up at Asher, who seemed very distant. Isaac seemed just as cheerless, and Lila suggested they head off.

Asher led the way in total silence. Isaac was eating a banana without any of the relish he usually had, and once it was done, he didn’t pull anything else out to eat. Asher slowed down once they were outside the Language Block and peered through the windows of some of the classrooms. He opened the door to one, and it was entirely empty. Isaac and Lila entered the classroom and stood towards the middle, neither one apparently wanting to sit down. Asher inhaled deeply before following suit, placing his lunchbox on the teacher’s desk and leaning on the right side of it so that he was facing Isaac and Lila.

“Isaac,” Asher said in a grim voice. “I want to talk to you.”

“It sounds like you want to end our friendship,” Isaac said, just as grimly. Asher looked shocked and Lila stepped in between Asher and Isaac.

“Definitely not,” Lila said defensively. “It’s about… the breakup.”

“Oh,” Isaac replied, looking perplexed. “Is that all? Are you sure I need to hear it?”

Asher’s jaw tightened and he looked down at his shoes. Lila walked towards the teacher’s desk, leaning on the left side now.

“I need you to know,” Asher said after a pause. “I can’t keep it in, and I know you want to support me. So… here goes.”

Despite saying ‘here goes’, Asher didn’t speak. His eyes began to water again and he looked at Lila, shaking his head. Lila was pretty sure that meant he couldn’t say anything.

“What Asher wants to say is that… well, he and Holly broke up because she’s pregnant.”

Isaac dropped his lunchbox on his shoe, though it didn’t seem like he’d noticed. He continued to stare at Lila with wide eyes, his mouth agape.

“A-And it’s not his,” Lila continued, glancing at Asher, who held his head in his hands now, not looking at either of them.

“H-How do you know that?” Isaac asked, his eyes darting between Lila and Asher.

“Uh,” Lila uttered, looking uncertainly at Asher. She wasn’t sure if she could tell Isaac that Asher and Holly hadn’t had sex, but Asher solved this for her. He looked up from his hands at Isaac.

“Never had sex,” he said, his voice rattling with emotion. “Can’t be mine.”

“That’s pretty good logic,” Isaac replied faintly. “How long?”

Asher put a trembling hand over his mouth, looking at Lila again.

“Um, about four months,” Lila said quietly. “And… she doesn’t know who the father is.”

“Right,” Isaac said, his face hardening. “Okay.”

“… Isaac, are you-” Lila said before Isaac cut her off.

“Asher, you’ll get through this,” Isaac said, picking up his lunchbox and putting it on the desk before walking over to Asher. He pulled Asher into a bear hug, clapping his shoulders once they were done. He looked earnestly into Asher’s eyes.

“Absolutely vile,” Isaac said firmly. “But it’s done now. Take all the time you need to process. I’m here for you, mate.”

Asher nodded, his face expressionless, though his eyes were still glittering. Isaac turned to Lila and attempted to smile, but he couldn’t manage it. There was a fire brewing in his eyes that Lila could see. Isaac didn’t say anything else. They all stood there relatively awkwardly until Lila suggested that they head back towards the locker room.

They walked there in complete silence again, Isaac still not eating. Lila didn’t feel like her salad or juice, either, given the sloshiness she was feeling in her stomach. When they arrived, Mr Morrison intercepted Asher.

“Asher,” he said with a warm smile. He nodded at Lila and Isaac, who returned his nod with their own. “I need to borrow you for a moment, in my office please.”

Asher looked up at Mr Morrison without a hint of emotion or curiosity. “Okay,” he replied monotonously.

“It’s about Ms Baker and your belongings,” Mr Morrison said in a low voice.

“Alright,” Asher said, his voice still monotonous. Mr Morrison led Asher away from Lila and Isaac, who glanced at each other.

“What happened to her, anyway?” Isaac asked, his eyebrows furrowed. “I’ve heard a whole number of stories, but Asher hasn’t mentioned anything to me. I noticed she hasn’t been in Chem since last week, and our Chem teacher didn’t call her name in roll call.”

“Well… he hasn’t been thinking about Piper, to be honest,” Lila sighed. “He’ll get reminded every so often, but with the whole… Holly thing… he had other things to think about. So I’m not surprised that he hasn’t said anything to you about Piper.”

Isaac glared sharply at Lila.

“Fuck Holly,” he spat, an overwhelming amount of rage suddenly overcoming him. Lila stepped back, alarmed. It was a good thing that his lunchbox was the soft kind, owing to the fact that he crushed it between his hands.

“Isaac, are you okay?” Lila asked, pulling him out of the walkway and to the side. The locker room was empty, but they didn’t have long before students would start preparing for their afternoon classes.

“How can I be?” Isaac asked, his entire body trembling, his knuckles white. “If I were a more violent guy, I’d find her and hurt her.”

“I’m guessing you intentionally didn’t react to Asher,” Lila said, pressing her lips together.

“’Course I did. Did you see him? I’m not about to dig up emotions even more by giving him a big reaction,” Isaac said hotly. “But I’m about to fucking lose it, Lila.”

He started to exhale heavily, before closing his eyes tightly. Lila hadn’t heard Isaac swear very much in front of her. The fact that he had sworn twice within a minute made Lila wonder if she should leave Isaac alone to his thoughts. He opened his lunchbox and pulled out a mercilessly mangled Vegemite sandwich.

Sighing dejectedly, he looked up at Lila and said, “I just need some time to process.”

“That’s fine,” Lila said, trying not to laugh at the state of the sandwich which he tightened his grip on.

“That,” he suddenly yelled before pelting the sandwich onto the floor, “whore!”. It seemed to deflate in defeat on the floor. Lila watched on as Isaac began to pace in front of her, dropping his lunchbox on the ground and jamming his hands into his pockets.

“I fucking knew it! And I’m a fucking idiot,” he growled, his pacing quickening with each word. “And I didn’t tell him.”

Isaac began to vibrate in absolute rage, spit flying as he half-shouted. “How dare she do this to Asher. He’s way too good for her. She’s nothing but a stupid, cheap whore. He gave his heart and everything to her and she just ripped it out. She didn’t care what it would do to him! And I’m the idiot that didn’t even tell him. I saw the warning signs. I’m his best mate. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have let them stay together. Should’ve talked to him when I got the feeling she was bad news. This is so fucked.”

“Isaac,” Lila interjected.

“No,” Isaac hissed, looking at the floor. He’d stopped his pacing, but his trembling continued. “I could’ve prevented this. If I’d just talked to Asher, man-to-man, about my feelings about her. If only I’d done more. But it’s done now. And it’s fucked up my best mate. He looks soulless. It’s hard to even believe that it’s the same person. The goofy, smart, lucky idiot that’s my best friend. The guy who would give you the world just to see you smile. The guy who excitedly presents everything over his head like he’s godamn Link from Zelda.”

Isaac cut himself off, placing a hand on his forehead and inhaling harshly. “No, no, I’m okay. It’s just going to take me some time.”

Isaac then shot Lila a sudden look of realisation. “Hang on, you said four months?”

Lila nodded, unable to say anything. Isaac gave a sarcastic laugh before saying, “Ha, that bitch only told him ‘cause she was probably starting to show.”

“That was my theory too,” Lila said quietly. “It sounds like she was trying to pressure Asher to have sex with her. He mentioned as much. He also said she tried to convince him it was his.”

“You’re kidding,” Isaac said sharply, before giving a low whistle. “So, it was her plan from the start, then. She got pregnant, like, two months into their relationship. And tried to get him to have sex with her so she could leave him in the dark and make him believe it was his.”

Isaac took a deep breath, and gripped at his hair, giving Lila a sideways glance. “Can you believe that after everything we did to stave off the rumours, for that bitch’s sake, she was cheating on him the whole time?”

Isaac started to look angrier again as he kicked his lunchbox down the hall before he put his head in his hands.

“Shit, this isn’t good,” he muttered. “I really need some time. Especially before I talk to Asher again. Fuck Holly. What an absolutely disgusting example of a sub-par human. Wait, don’t fuck her, she’s got enough of that already.”

Isaac inhaled deeply again, his shoulders shuddering for a few moments. Lila couldn’t tell whether he was laughing, or crying, or both.

“To be clear, I’m not mad at you,” he eventually said, raising his head from his hands to look at Lila with sincerity.

“I know,” Lila said quietly. “I’m mad, too.”

“You seem pretty calm,” Isaac said, clenching and unclenching his free hand.

“I’ve had a bit more time than you to process,” Lila said simply, leaning backwards against the wall they were standing near. “He told me on Thursday. Before he ran away from school.”

“That’s why he wasn’t here,” Isaac murmured, mirroring her actions by leaning against the wall too.

“Yup,” Lila uttered, pressing her lips together.

“It’s insane,” Isaac said after a few moments of silence. “How is Asher even still standing?”

“It was pretty bad over the weekend,” Lila said gently. “I’m kinda surprised that he showed up to school today.”

“Fair enough,” Isaac sighed, bringing a closed fist to his forehead and tapping it in apparent frustration. He glanced at Lila before giving her a soft smile.

“I’m glad that you were there for him,” he said. “Did you bring the snacks over?”

“Sure did. He was especially pleased with the TimTams,” Lila said, smiling back at Isaac.

“Good, good…”

They stood in silence for a few minutes, before Isaac looked at Lila again. His fury was still blazing behind his eyes, but he seemed to be reigning it in now.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said. “What can I do for him?”

“I don’t know either, to be honest,” Lila said, rubbing her forehead. “It was a mission trying to figure out how to distract him over the weekend.”

Isaac shot her a suggestive look and she scowled at him.

“Don’t start thinking like an idiot,” she said firmly. “Besides, I don’t have a crush on him, so it’s not like I’d get up to anything like that.”

Isaac gave her a cheeky half-grin. “Didn’t say nothin’ of the sort,” he said loftily. “But I guess I also see nothin’.”

Lila gave him a playful push and his grin grew wider.

“You’re blushing!” he cried, pointing at her face. She hit him on the shoulder with her juice bottle and he pouted before bursting into laughter.

“I’ll figure out what to do,” Isaac said after sobering up. “Thanks for helping him to tell me.”

“I’m glad I was there. Otherwise, you two would’ve just stared at each other and you might’ve thought he was ending your friendship.”

“That was just a half worry,” Isaac said, his light-heartedness fading from his expression. “Though I guess it was still at the back of my mind.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Lila said comfortingly. Isaac sheepishly ran his right hand through his hair. Students started to wander through the locker room, so Lila and Isaac said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. As she closed her locker door, her bookbag over her shoulder, Lila caught sight of Isaac almost leaving the locker room before jogging back and collecting his crushed lunchbox and sandwich. She shook her head with a chuckle before sighing. At least Isaac knew now…