Later in the day, about an hour after the end of school, Luke was sitting in Olde Towne at a table outside of Java. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a pen in the other; his hand was moving furiously across a page of the notebook lying open in front of him.
Suddenly, Luke felt arms enclose around his shoulders and a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Hi!" Maddie said perkily, releasing Luke and taking the seat across the table.
"Hi, Maddie," Luke said, giving his only friend a sincere smile.
"I'm sorry I didn't get to say hi to you at school," Maddie said.
"It's alright, Mad. We were together practically all summer. You were a big help when I was sick and then coming out," Luke said. "You really stood by me."
"I know. But it's different at school. Especially for you. I could see that you were lonely," Maddie said.
Luke nodded.
"The basketball team didn't talk to you?"
"Nope. I spoke to Kevin, though," Luke said.
"What did he say?"
"He told me to get out of his way and that he didn't have anything to say to me," Luke said, sighing.
"I'm sorry," Maddie said sympathetically.
"Don't. I knew it would be like this. It's why I didn't want to tell him I was in love with him."
"Well, even if Kevin chooses to be a douchebag, I'm sure the rest of the team will come around."
"I hope so. I really want to play. I missed it a lot when I went through the whole kidney thing," Luke said.
"Well, if they don't, we could always get Casey to beat them up until they agree," Maddie joked.
Luke chuckled.
"I should have paid more attention to you today," Maddie said, giving Luke an apologetic look.
"Nah. I'm tough. You have other friends," Luke said.
"Like the boy you were eating lunch with?" Maddie asked suggestively.
"Haha! Reid? No. Definitely not," Luke said, making a face. "He's new and I got stuck with him as my lab partner in AP Bio. I made him have lunch with me in an attempt to get to know him better."
"So you like him?" Maddie smiled at him.
Luke shook his head furiously. "He's the rudest, most stubborn jerk I've ever met. Well, except maybe Kevin," Luke added as an afterthought.
Maddie raised an eyebrow at him.
"What?" Luke asked, his voice an octave higher than normal.
"You think he's interesting. You're baffled by his rudeness, so you're intrigued by him. Plus, you just said he reminds you of Kevin," Maddie said wisely.
"That does not mean that I have a crush on him!" Luke said, a little too loudly.
Maddie smiled in disbelief and said, "If you say so."
Luke scowled at his friend. "Come on, Maddie. After what happened with Kevin, I resolved that I wasn't ever going to fall for a straight guy again."
"How do you know he's not gay? Did you ask him?" Maddie countered.
"Well, no. He's not exactly the 'wear your heart on your sleeve' type of person. He didn't really seem like he wanted to bond with me and become BFFs," Luke said.
"That's absurd," Maddie said, laughing.
"I know right?" Luke said, smiling back, digging his phone out of his pocket because it had just buzzed against his leg.
"It's my dad. He needs me to pick up Natalie from her dance lesson," Luke said, closing his notebook and standing up.
"Okay. I should get home anyway. Henry's probably ready to send out a search party for me," Maddie said.
Luke chuckled.
"Don't worry about the team, Luke. I'm sure they'll come around," Maddie said, giving him a hug.
"Thanks," Luke said, returning the embrace. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."
Maddie nodded and walked away.
Luke watched her go for a few seconds and then stalked off to pick up his sister.