For once, Luci was happy to be at school. Everything was working out. She had a boyfriend (although it still stunned her how easy that had been), and her two closest friends were speaking again. She felt like she needed to contain herself, but she couldn’t. Nothing could possibly destroy her good mood.

Except maybe her mother.

“Why are you so bright today,” asked her mother.

“Huh? Oh, no reason, just woke up in a good mood.”

“Glad to hear it. You should be in a good mood more often.”

Lucita rolled her eyes. Of course, her mother would think that. “I usually am in a good mood.”

“Well, you should smile more. You’ll get fewer wrinkles.”

“I’m fourteen.”

“You’re never too young to start growing wrinkles.” Lucita rolled her eyes. Leave it to her mother to bring down her mood.

“I smile when I feel like it,” she said, bristling and biting her lip.

“Don’t give me an attitude.”

“Not giving you one.”

“Drop it,” said her mother as she pulled up to the school.

“Fine, it’s dropped. Later Mom.” Lucita got out of the car and closed the door, not too hard. She knew that if she slammed it like she wanted to, her mother would yell at her even more when she picked her up. Maybe Luci had given her an attitude, but why did her mother have to do that. Why did she have to ruin her good mood with things that didn’t even matter? Luci loved her mother, she really did, and she respected her. She just wished her mother would respect her.

But the moment she moved towards the school, her good mood returned. Next to her friends was Lucas, who greeted her first, wrapping his arms around her waist. Lucita blushed.

“Well, we know why Lucita is happy,” commented Silvia.

“Wait till Blake sees,” snickered Elizabeth. Lucas pulled away briefly and looked at Elizabeth.

“Blake Andrews? Why would he care?”

“He’s got the biggest crush on Lucita.”

“Blake’s a douchebag. Lucita’s too good for him.”

“Lucita could beat the shit out of him,” said Silvia. She winked at Lucita, who smiled back at her. Oh yea, Lucita could definitely hold her own against that boy.

“I’ll probably beat the shit out of him first.”

Lucita looked at him stunned and shared a look with Silvia and Rebecca. Where did all of this anger come from all of a sudden?

“Um, Lucas, do you have a problem with Blake?”

“He’s a creep.” He looked at her, worried. “Don’t tell me you actually like the guy?”

“What? Oh, no, he’s just a friend.”

“Good, ’cause that guy’s a jerk. Be careful around him.”

“Okay.” Lucita buried her head in his chest and looked at all three friends. There was more at work here than she thought. She shared a secret look with Silvia most of all.

“I’ll walk you to class, Lu.”

“Um, okay. See you guys later.” Lucita waved goodbye and walked away. Silvia watched Lucita slip her arm around Lucas’s waist and slip her hand into his back pocket. They looked like a real couple, and she thought Lucita looked happier than when they had first met months ago.

“What do you guys think his problem is with Blake? Besides the obvious, anyway.”

“None of which stopped you from dating him,” Rebecca said bitterly. Silvia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She would admit she deserved that, but they were supposed to put the whole thing behind them now.

“I thought we weren’t going to bring it up,” said Silvia.

“Sorry, just needed to point it out.”

“Don’t start, you two okay. You’re friends, aren’t you? How about we just not talk about Blake again? Can you both agree to that?” Elizabeth gave them each a stern look, and they both shut up. Silvia didn’t want it to be brought up again. Things were finally back to normal, so she was thankful for that.

“Sorry, Vee,” blurted Rebecca. Silvia waved it off. She didn’t want an apology. She just wanted her friendship.

“The bell’s about to ring. How about we just head to class already.” Elizabeth walked off without another word. Silvia couldn’t understand that ‘whatever’ attitude. You shouldn’t treat your so-called friends like crap.

“Ya know, I seriously hate how she does that.”

“Yeah, it does get annoying, doesn’t it. But that’s Liz for you.”

“She could try losing the attitude, though. The world isn’t just some stupid dark place.” Silvia adjusted the bag on her shoulder while Rebecca laughed.

Lucita sat in French, taking notes. She loved her French class and teacher, who let her glide through the work. She even allowed Luci to get away with wearing a tank top, just as long as she kept her sweater in the classroom. Lucita didn’t mind, though. She always wore her sweater indoors. She hardly had any body fat to keep her warm, something her grandmother was continually bugging her about.

But as much as she fought to concentrate on pronunciation and which way to point the accents over such and such letters. She found herself doodling Cyrus’s name in the margins of her notebook. She hadn’t told Lucas about Cyrus and hadn’t told Cyrus about Lucas. In fact, she hadn’t even talked or heard From Cyrus in days. She missed him more than usual and hated herself for it. Cyrus would never have the same feelings for her. It made her feel pathetic, constantly pining over him. It’s why she jumped at the chance to be with Lucas. He was her chance to move on. Right?

“Luci,” hissed a voice. Lucita looked to her side and noticed that Elizabeth was looking at her, her black eyebrows arched high in her hair. Elizabeth knew about Cyrus. Lucita briefly looked at the teacher to ensure she wasn’t looking, then back at Elizabeth.

“What?” she whispered. Liz quickly opened then shut her mouth. Lucita pursed her lips as she watched Liz scribble a note. Why hadn’t she just done that, to begin with? Liz tossed the note on her desk, and Lucita carefully opened it, making sure not to draw attention to the crinkling paper.

Why the hell are you doodling Cyrus’s name? You’re with Lucas, dumb one.
Think of Lucas and only Lucas.

Luci wrote back quickly. She liked Lucas a lot. His most appealing feature was his gorgeous eyes she could not stop thinking about. He was handsome, tall, and smart, even though he wasn’t smarter than her. Then again, she thought, smiling, hardly anybody was.

Luci tossed the note back onto Liz’s desk and turned her attention back to class. Her phone vibrated suddenly in her pocket, and Luci glanced at the caller ID. A part of her wanted to burst out laughing. But, of course, he was texting her right now. She wondered if she should tell him about Lucas. Her foot started tapping on the ground quickly. She didn’t want to text him, didn’t want to involve him in her life. It was none of his business.

The note flew back to her desk, knocking her from her daze. She put her phone away and re-opened the note.

You’re dumb? Does Lucas at least know? He really should. You can’t hide Cyrus forever.
Besides, you may like Lucas, but it’s just stupid to be in a relationship when you want someone else more.

Liz had a point, and, more importantly, she was right. Lucas did deserve to know about her feelings for Cyrus. He deserved a chance to walk away from the relationship, period. Lucita folded the note back up and tossed it in her bag. Elizabeth gave her a confused look. Lucita smiled away her fears. “Don’t worry,” she mouthed, “you’re right.” She gave her a thumbs up and turned back towards the clock. She really wanted the class to be over.

Silvia’s fake green nail scraped across her skin as she made her way to her next class. He passed a bunch of people she knew, one of which was Blake. He looked at her, glaring as though he won something only he was aware of. Silvia ignored him as best as she could but soon found out he was following her. Silvia wouldn’t play this stupid game with him. She wouldn’t be drawn in by his stupid attitude. She was over it and over him.

“Come on, Silvia, you can’t ignore me.”

“It’s not ignoring if I’m heading over to class. Besides, psycho, if I were truly ignoring you, I wouldn’t be talking now, would I?” Silvia continued down the hall.

“Wow, Lucita must be rubbing off on you. You actually sounded smart for a moment.”

“Whatever, Blake. Say whatever you want. I don’t care. I’m over it.”

“Really?” She thought the pain in his voice was real. Then thought against it. It was probably just another one of his tricks.

“Whatever, Blake, I’m so done with this wacked shit. You only give a damn about yourself.”

“Screw you, Silvia.” Silvia stopped walking and turned around. Blake was no longer there. Instead, she saw him shoving his way through the crowd in the opposite direction. Silvia felt sorry, but he would get over it. She was right, and she knew it. Blake only cared about himself. Silvia ignored the feelings that she felt. She still liked him, but she still hated him all the same.

She continued to class, barely making it before the bell. Rebecca looked at her, concerned.

“Silvia, you okay?”

“Yeah, fine, no worries.” Silvia did not tell Rebecca about Blake and her unresolved feelings for him. She didn’t want to lose her again. She wouldn’t risk their friendship ever again over some boy.

“Right.” Becca was unconvinced, but she wouldn’t pressure her into anything. Becca did, however, have the sick feeling that it might have to do with Blake. They made a promise, no more talk about Blake, but she knew that Blake still had feelings for her, and despite how Silvia acted, she knew that she still had feelings for Blake.

If Becca pushed, she would push Silvia away, and Becca knew if her gut was telling her she didn’t want to know, she needed to listen to it. Luci had told her that, and there had been some pain in her voice, but she had laughed it off. She looked sad, but it seemed to fade a little with Lucas. She’d talk to Luci about it later, she thought. No use worrying about it now.

Rebecca ditched Silvia right after class, lying about a meeting with some teacher. Silvia bought it and made her way to lunch. Rebecca had to talk to Lucita urgently. She nearly ran into Jason when he blocked her path.

“We’ve got a problem.”

“What do you mean? Blake? Look, Silv—”

“Not involving Silvia. Involving Lucas, Lucita’s boyfriend. Blake doesn’t know yet, and when he finds out, he’s going to flip.”

“Why? What the hell is between them anyway?”

Jason sighed. “Long story, all you really need to know is that it involved a girl. When Blake finds out, Lucita will no longer be his favorite person.”

“I thought you didn’t like her. So why do you care all of a sudden?”

“I was wrong. She’s co–” Someone called out a fight, and Rebecca and Jason spun. Rebecca could make out Lucita’s stunned face in the distance.

“Crap,” muttered Jason.