After Hours

Masie Meyers was experiencing much difficulty on a Monday morning in October. She had woken up thirty minutes before school started and had absolutely no idea what to wear. Her entire closet had thrown up all over her floor and she was tossing clothes from left to right. Nothing was acceptable.

“Masie!” Her father called. “Luke’s here!”

Still her pajamas, Masie stripped down into her underwear and frantically picked the first thing that was mostly clean. She ended up in a short black dress with a red sweater on top. She hurried into the bathroom and grabbed her make up bag, deciding she’d do her make up in the car. She rushed downstairs, giving Luke an apologetic glance when she saw him.

Luke smiled when seeing her, unkempt hair and all. He never really freaked out during situations like this, especially because Masie tended to be late a lot. That’s something Luke had grown accustomed to.

“You look beautiful,” he said. She growled and picked up her bag, tossing on her shoes and grabbing an apple. Luke opened up the door and she strutted through, heading towards his beat up truck.

He hopped in and Masie followed shortly after, buckling her seatbelt and beginning on her makeup. She rubbed on her foundation frantically as Luke calmly drove away.

“I’m sorry for being so late,” she said, staring into the little mirror Luke’s truck supplied.

“It’s okay. I’m used to it,” he shrugged. Masie slapped him playfully on the shoulder.

“You’re so mean to me!” She laughed, sucking her cheeks in as she applied her blush. Luke’s hand slid onto her and he squeezed her softly.

“You know you love it,” he said confidently.

Luke was sweet. He was more than sweet. He was the best boyfriend Masie could ever want. He did anything she ever asked, and wasn’t mad when she made a stupid mistake. He was head over heels in love with her, and he probably planned on spending the rest of his life with her.

But Masie felt differently. She liked Luke. She liked him a lot. Just not as much as he liked her. She knew it was selfish, but she wanted more. She wanted to feel more. And she just didn’t feel that spark with Luke.

Masie had finished doing her makeup by the time Luke pulled into the parking lot and into his normal spot. He turned off the ignition and grabbed his bag, opening the door and jumping out. Masie met up with him a few seconds later.

“How do I look?” She asked, spinning around in circles, modeling for him.

“As beautiful as always,” he said, interlacing his fingers with hers.

“Lies,” she said, starting to walk towards their usual spot by the old oak tree.

“Why would I lie?” he asked, playfully sounding offended.

“To gain brownie points,” she said in a matter-of-factly tone.

“Oh really?” He asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“And it can’t just be because I love you?” He asked, kissing her cheek.

“Stop! You’re going to wipe off the foundation I just applied!” She laughed, half joking. Luke took this as his initiative to continue, kissing her nose and forehead and cheeks and part of her left ear before Masie could finally push him off.

“I’m just going to pretend that didn’t happen,” Sawyer said, walking with Sydney. They stopped at the oak tree and waited for Luke and Masie to compose themselves.

“See what?” Luke laughed. Masie rolled her eyes and blushed, embarrassed that Sawyer, of all people, had seen them acting like an overwhelmingly cute couple in public.

“I’ll meet you after school,” Sydney said. Sawyer grumbled a few incomprehensible words as she strutted away.

“Everything okay between you two?” Luke asked.

“Just normal sibling rivalry,” he said. Luke nodded in understanding. Masie wasn’t really listening to what Sawyer was saying, or what anyone was saying, for that matter. She had zoned out, staring resiliently into Sawyer’s dusty blue eyes. He looked back at her and she blushed again, averting her eyes from his.

“Hey I have to go talk to Mr. Garrison before school starts. I’ll see you guys later,” Luke said, running off before anyone had the chance to say goodbye. Sawyer gave Masie a strange look.

“What?” She asked, starting to walk towards the school.

“Nothing,” he said, following after her. They walked up the old, cement stairs and wished the golden sun an unwanted goodbye.

“Can you believe it’s already October?” Masie asked, saying anything to keep him around. She didn’t care what they talked about. Just the fact that he was with her and that they were basically alone together was all she needed. They stopped in the commons and faced each other. His eyes were even brighter than a few minutes ago.

“No, it’s insane,” He said.

“I know,” she agreed.

“Not like I’m complaining. I just want to get the hell out of here,” he said. She nodded blankly and continued to stare at him, not noticing the others that passed by.

“Yeah,” she said, not fully concentrating on the words he articulated.

“Are you okay, Maze?” He asked, concern in his voice. Masie shook her head and clenched her fists together. She was acting so blatantly stupid. She had Luke. Why was she so obsessed with Sawyer?

“Um. Yeah. I’ll see you later,” she said, hurriedly rushing away before Sawyer could see the obvious embarrassment exposed across her skin.

It was only October and Masie Meyers was already ruining everything.