Chapter Seventeen

“Do you think Drew would like a shirt as a present?” I asked my three best friends as I gazed at the shop window. I turned to them and all of them were sporting knowing looks.

“What?” I asked self-consciously.

“What’s going on between you and Drew Everett?” Lillian questioned with a teasing smirk.

“N-nothing,” I stuttered as I slowly felt my cheeks heat up. Well damn, I knew I was a horrible liar.

They simultaneously rolled their eyes as we entered the shop. It was currently two days before Christmas Eve and we were doing some last minute shopping. I’ve been on the hunt all day for the perfect birthday gift for Drew, and so far my friends had been squeezing out any possible information about how I felt about him.

“The minute I said that you weren’t going to the dance, he sprinted out of the gym,” Jessica giggled as she took a blouse from the rack.

“So you’re the one who told him,” I blurted out, and she responded with a nod.

“It was quite sweet if you ask me,” Annabelle cooed with her southern belle accent. I stared at my friends with nothing but disbelief. Don’t get me wrong, I love them to the moon and back but they have their moment when they just make me want to bang my head repetitively on a wall.

“Spill the beans, Cel,” Jessica pressed on.

I rolled my eyes before letting out a sigh, “Nothing’s going between us. His birthday’s coming up and I just need a good gift for him,” I told them truthfully.

Of course nothing’s going on between us, Drew barely tolerates me. Even though he’s a great friend, it’s pretty obvious he’s annoyed by me.

Truthfully, I have absolutely no idea what to get Drew for his birthday. He never specified something he likes or hates.

“Yeah right,” Jessica scoffed.

“What about you?” I retorted, “What’s going on with you and Blake?”

As if on cue, a deep blush erupted from my best friend’s cheek. Even if she was blushing, there was an angry emotion that could be seen in her eyes. Annabelle and Lillian exchanged a look before looking at Jessica.

“Don’t talk about him,” Jessica muttered under her breath.

“Did I miss anything?” I asked as if they were speaking a hidden language.

“Well, at the dance, Blake kind of—“ Lillian started to explain but was quickly cut off by Jessica.

“I said don’t talk about him!” she yelled causing the whole store to look at our group.

An employee approached us, “Excuse me, but can you please keep down your voices?”

We nodded before we started to leave the store; we all had a silent agreement that we no longer needed to cause another scene.

“Why’s so bitter, Jess?” I asked cautiously. My best friend stared at me for a good moment as if she was still processing my question in her head.

“If you won’t tell her, we will,” Annabelle said making Jessica snap her head to her direction with a glare as if she was challenging her to do so.

“You know I’m going to find out eventually,” I told her.

“Fine,” she let out a defeat sigh before she looked like she saw something behind me. I was about to ask her what it was but she spoke up, “But not here.”

And with those words, she looped her arm with mine then pulled me to the nearest restroom. As always, the ladies’ room was full and had a long line but Jessica didn’t seem to care as she went for a cubicle that has just been emptied by a little girl and shoved all of us in and locked the door, ignoring the groans of protest.

“So Blake and I have a thing,” she started off making me grin with delight.

“I knew it!” I blurted out before she shushed me, “Sorry.”

“But he didn’t ask me to dance nor did he give me the time of day the whole night. He even had the nerve to dance with Claire Roberts,” she all but spat.

I gritted my teeth at the mere mention of Claire Roberts. At least my best friend and I have grown a mutual hatred for her.

“Well he’s a dick,” I deadpanned and she nodded in agreement.

Jessica shoved her way to the closed toilet seat and sat down on it, “I have no idea what to do.”

“First of all, can we please leave now,” Annabelle almost whined, “There are four of us squeezed into this little cubicle.”

That, and there’s also the fact that somebody’s already knocking on the door, “Are you going to take any longer in there?!”

Lillian flipped open the lock and swung the door open. We piled out of the tiny cubicle after meeting the cold hard glare of the old lady who knocked on the door.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Because I still think you’re in la la land with Drew,” she tried to joke but her teasing didn’t reach her eyes.

I shook my head as I shot her a comforting smile, “Sisters before misters, right?”

“Right,” she finally beamed.

“I propose we go to Starbucks; we know how much Jessica is addicted to coffee,” Lillian smiled.

So our little group headed to Starbuck which was quite a downfall to our recently uplifted mood. There was a table by the corner where the Smith Brothers were chuckling to themselves.

“Hide me!” Jessica screeched before ducking behind Annabelle and I.

“You do know that they probably heard you,” I pointed out which made her mutter a curse.

“And Blake is standing up,” Lillian continued as we watched Blake turn his head towards our direction before muttering something to Lucas and standing up.

“And now he’s walking towards you,” Annabelle said making Jessica panic.

“Run!” she let out before grabbing Annabelle’s hand and dragging her out of the Starbucks with her.

“Hey wait!” Blake called out, running after my two friends.

Lillian and I turned to each other, “Rock, paper, scissors, and loser has to be the one to calm them down.”

With me winning with rock and Lillian losing with scissors, she grumbled some incoherent words as she strode out of the coffee place.

Ah, what would I ever do without my crazy bunch of friends?

I walked over to Lucas’ table and sat on the chair that was previously occupied by Blake.

“Need a drink?” Lucas offered with a hint of amusement when he saw my aggravated face. I nodded with thanks as I reached to grab some money from my purse. As I was about to take it, he shook his head.

“My treat,” he said, then he stood up to walk to the counter without even asking me what drink I wanted.

Minutes later, Lucas came back with a Java Chip Frappuccino in his hands. How did he know that it was my favorite?

“Here you go, milady,” he teased as he handed me my beverage.

“So,” I started out, taking a sip of my drink, “Why are you and Blake here?”

“Christmas shopping,” he shrugged as he showed me a paper bag full of store bought gifts, “Let me guess, you and your girls are here for some bonding time.”

“Spot on,” I nodded, “And I’m also looking for a birthday present for…” I paused for a moment, how will Lucas react if I told him it was for Drew?

“For?” Lucas urged.

“A friend,” I finished, praying he doesn’t press any further.

“And who is this friend?” he inquired.

Well damn.

“Just a friend,” I tried to say nonchalantly. I’m actually giving myself a pat on the back for not stuttering.

“If you say so,” he eyed me suspiciously so I gave him my most innocent smile.

“So what are you getting this friend of yours?”

“Honestly,” I muttered, “I have no idea.”

“Want some help?” he asked and I stared at him for a moment. Seeing my position, Lucas will give me a boy’s perspective on the ordeal.

“Sure,” I agreed. His face lit up when the words left my lips and he quickly sprang up to his feet.

“Come on,” he tugged on my arm like a little boy would do to his mother.

I giggled as I stood up and followed him out of Starbucks.

“Wait, what about our four friends who suddenly decided that it would be fun to do a chase around the mall?”

“They’ll text or call us when they realized we’re no longer there,” he shrugged. He reached for my hand and took it in his. I flinched away from surprise and he quickly retreated his hand.

“Sorry,” he muttered under his breath.

I couldn’t resist the hurt in his eyes so I reached out and took his hand in mine, “It’s alright, and I was just surprised.”

He beamed at me as we both walked hand-in-hand to each shop. Every single one, I thought that nothing was good enough for Drew.

“I need a break, Celeste,” Lucas gasped out and I all but rolled my eyes at him. We were only on the third shop… of the fifth floor.

“Stop being a sissy,” I grinned when he gave me a dirty look. Point one for Celeste.

“Who is this person anyway that every single object I suggest to you, you turn down in a heartbeat?”

“Someone special,” the words rolled out of my mouth without my consent. A subtle blushed tinted my cheeks as I thought of Drew that way. In my defense, he really was someone special.

“You want my opinion?” he asked suddenly and I slowly nodded, not sure where this is going.

“Stop thinking about if he’ll like it or if he won’t, the thing is that what you give is from you and the effort you gave in getting that present. Give the guy whatever he deserves, if he’s somebody special then you go buy something that you think will be special for him,” he told me, “And whoever this person is, he’s one lucky bastard.”

“That was extremely cheesy,” I joked, but what he said did give me the perfect idea. He was right, whatever Drew deserved was something that I should get him. For once, Lucas Smith said something worth valuing.

He saved me from a dilemma that I have been thinking of since my last visit to Ariel and I can’t get any more grateful.

“I have my moments” he shrugged with a smirk.

“Whatever,” I scoffed before giving him a quick hug, “Thanks Lucas, you helped a lot.”

 He froze but I felt him wrap his arms around my waist. No matter how I think about it in my head, being in Lucas Smith’s arms feel so wrong yet so right at the same time.

I let go and he reluctantly did so, “I better get going.”

He nodded stiffly then he cleared his throat, “Yeah, you need a ride?”

“I brought my car,” I fidgeted awkwardly.

“Blake and I are throwing a party on Christmas Eve; you could go if you want.”

I don’t really have anything planned for Christmas Eve except for Drew’s birthday so that party is definitely going under consideration.

“I’ll try to be there.”

We parted after that and I was quite thankful too. I couldn’t stand the awkward air anymore.

Thinking about what Lucas said, I decided on what I should give Drew for his birthday. I whipped out my phone and nervously scanned my contacts for one single name that I thought I would never call.

I tapped on call and brought the phone to my ear as I waited in tension for the other line to be picked up. After a few rings, a deep voice that I no longer seem to be familiar with rang into my ears.

 “Hello?”

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. I haven’t talked to this guy for a long time since his business trip started. I was no longer at ease when I spoke to him, but like what Lucas said, somebody special deserves something special and Drew is definitely special.

Mustering up my courage, I finally spoke, “Dad, I need a favor.”

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Kind of a filler-ish chapter with a hint of a cliffhanger but this was kind of needed for the next chapter. I kind of squeezed some Lucas and Celeste moment (we seriously need a ship name for these two). Include the word 'vanilla' in your comment and I might put the next chapter in Drew's POV.

Question: What do you think is Celeste's gift to Drew?

Please comment, vote and follow.