Chapter 11: Luca

"So this is your first year in show choir?" Luca asked, eyes wide in surprise. We were sitting together at a small table at the Lima Bean. I'd called him not even a week after we met and he'd agreed to meet me the following Friday for coffee.

I nodded and smiled, taking a sip of the frozen mocha before me, "Yeah. Glee is the lowest club on the totem pole at William McKinley."

"Really? At my school, the Glee club is the top of everything," he said, swirling his straw around.

I smirked and bit my lip before asking, "So, uh, what school would that be?" I looked up at him through my lashes, curious about what school he went to and why he was so secretive about it.

"Do you have any guess?"

"Not William McKinley, not Dalton, not Haverbrook?" I said again, making sure I remembered exactly what schools he didn't go to. "North Central High School?" I guessed, shrugging a shoulder. I didn't care about any of the schools around Ohio. What schools are there?

Luca shook his head and took a long drink of his coffee, "That's not even in Ohio, Valerie." He said, chuckling at me. After a pause in conversation, he said, "You sang insanely well at Sectionals."

I blushed and lowered my head trying to hide it, "Thanks."

"Don't hide your face," Luca said and his cold finger touched my chin, lifting my head up. "You're beautiful when you blush."

I groaned mentally at myself. When had I ever became the blushing girl that guys could so easily play with? I was Valerie West, queen bee of William McKinley High and the prettiest girl in all of Lima, maybe even all of Ohio. "Do you have any siblings?"

Luca smiled at me and his pearly teeth shined at me, "I have a brother. His name is Garrett."

"I don't have any siblings. I would love to have someone," I said wistfully. My parents were never home, so not having any siblings led to a lonely life. Most days I'd gone over to Jamie's or Erik's but since I broke up with Erik, I'd almost become a burden at my cousin's house, spending every other day there after school. Maybe if I'd had a sibling, I could bear to stay at home; I think it would be nice to share the echoing emptiness with something else.

"It has it's good moments. When we were younger, we would argue about everything. We never got along and we thought we hated each other. When I turned thirteen, we just stopped talking," Luca's gaze seemed to look into the distance. "We've never gotten closer. I barely know him now." I listened quietly to him. There was sadness in his voice and as his eyes refocused, that sadness still hung around him. "I'm over-sharing, aren't I?"

"No, of course not," I answered, and placed my hand over his on the table. It was the only thing I could think of to do to help him.

Luca took a deep breath and stared at me appreciatively. Then he stood up and threw his coffee casually into the nearby trash can. I threw my cup into the can and followed him to his car. He turned and looked at me, "Let's go to the park."

I smiled at his impulsive decision and slipped into his car with him. As we sped off to the park, we listened to songs and talked nonsense. A simple ten minute drive and as we parked, the radio started playing a song.

Luca smiled at me, "Sing with me?" I nodded and he took a deep breath, "Lately I been, I been losing sleep/ Dreaming about the things that we could be/ But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard/ Said no more counting dollars/ We'll be counting stars/ Yeah, we'll be counting stars."

I smiled and got out of the car as he did and left the doors open, the music booming so we could hear it from outside of the car. He smiled, "Just dance, let loose."

I looked at him for a second and smiled as we both started to dance together, jumping around and acting silly. "I see this life/ Like a swinging vine/ Swing my heart across the line/ In my face is flashing signs/ Seek it out and ye shall find," Luca sang, dance with me and just swinging me around. We twirled once and I stood in front of him.

His hands were on my hips and I leaned forward as I sang, "Old, but I'm not that old/ Young, but I'm not that bold/ And I don't think the world is sold/ I'm just doing what we're told."

He smiled at me and raised me up so I was over his head. I arched my back and smiled as I sang, his arms tight and warm around me, "I-I-I feel something so right/ By doing the wrong thing/ And I-I-I feel something so wrong/ By doing the right thing!"

We sang together as he put me down, ours faces inches from each other, "I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie. Everything that kills me makes me feel alive."

"Lately I been, I been losing sleep/ Dreaming about the things that we could be/ But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard/ Said no more counting dollars/ We'll be counting stars/ Lately I been, I been losing sleep/ Dreaming about the things that we could be/ But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard/ Said no more counting dollars/ We'll be counting stars/ We'll be, we'll be counting stars," we sang, dancing like children, just hopping around, our hands in each other. It may look absurd to anyone who looked, two teenagers, almost adults, jumping around and singing to a song, but it was insanely carefree and fun.

I ran away from him and did a twisting, vaguely ballet jump before skipping backwards as I sang to him, "I feel the love/ And I feel it burn/ Down this river every turn/ Hope is our four letter word/ Make that money/ Watch it burn!"

He ran towards me picking me up in circles, twirling me around. I could feel both of us growing closer and I couldn't help but revel in the idea that Luca and I might date. Even though I knew we shouldn't, that it would be considered a rebound, I wanted to be with Luca. We may not know each other well, but we could. I wanted to kiss him and I wanted him to want me. Erik wasn't even in the picture anymore, but it was so soon after we broke up (only a month since I saw him cheating on me).

"Old, But I'm not that old/ Young, but I'm not that bold/ And I don't think the world is sold/ I'm just doing what we're told/ And I-I-I feel something so wrong/ In doing the right thing/ I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie/ Everything that drowns me makes me want to fly," Luca sang, letting me down at the end of his song.

We joined together for the chorus and this time we danced a more choreographed dance. It was almost good enough to be equal to the choreographed dance we did for Sectionals, "Lately I been, I been losing sleep/ Dreaming about the things that we could be/ But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard/ Said no more counting dollars/ We'll be counting stars!"

We stood face to face again, faces close and breaths mingling. As he sang, quieter than before, I clapped along. The moment seemed almost intimate as his eyes stared into mine, "Take that money/ Watch it burn/ Sink in the river/ The lessons I learned." He repeated it three times and as the song swelled, he wrapped his arms around me and whispered, "Everything that kills me. . ." I knew what he was going to do. He was going to kiss me. I wanted him to, and I knew that I wanted to kiss him back. I didn't want to make this relationship seem fake because I might not be over Erik. I wanted to heal and continue on with my life. Should I kiss him?

". . .Makes me feel alive!" I sang, twirling out of his arms easily, guilt seeping into me when he didn't join me in the chorus. I hadn't wanted to hurt him. I hadn't wanted to make him feel like I was leading him on. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't using him as my rebound. That what I wanted was real. We didn't even know each other that well.

When the song ended, Luca walked up to me. I'd fallen in a heap on the ground, sighing with regret. I hated not kissing those pouty, kissable lips. He sat by me and leaned back on his arms, watching me.

"Why did you pull away?" He asked after a pause.

I licked my lips and looked at him, watching his blue eyes. I wanted to like him for him and get to know him. "I just broke up with my ex a month ago. I don't want to waste what we could have just because I'm not over him. I want to wait a little bit before I start something new."

He nodded and flicked his hair from his eyes, "Is that it?"

"I do want something to maybe happen eventually. But for now, I just want to be friends. Maybe in a month, something may be different," I watched him, anxious to know what his answer would be. Would he be okay with 'just friends'? Or would this be the end?

"It's fine. Don't fret. I understand."

I let out a breath I was holding and smiled at him, relaxed again.

Blaine and I were hanging out at my house, relaxing in my backyard pool. I was on a floatie and he was half on half off the end of mine, talking with me. "So. . . what happened?" he asked, eyes focused on me.

I looked at him, confused, "What do you mean?" Was he asking about Luca? I hadn't told him because I hadn't known how. Being as Luca was in a different Glee club, he was instantly the enemy. Blaine was serious about Glee and I didn't want to upset him. Which was probably absurd since he had once been the 'enemy' when he first started dating Kurt.

"You aren't all broken up about Erik anymore. You didn't avoid him in class today," Blaine said. "You also asked Brittany how Lord Tubbington was and you haven't talked to her since it happened. So what changed?"

I bit my lip and gave in, unable to hold a secret from my best friend, "I met this guy at Sectionals. He's insanely cute and sweet. We went on a sort of date yesterday."

"Rebound?"

"We're not dating, Blaine," I said, glaring at him. "I need to get over Erik first. We're just friends, for now." Blaine's incredulous look soon soothed.

"What's he look like?" Blaine gushed, smiling at me, reading for all the 'juicy' details.

I smiled, "Shaggy black hair. Beautiful blue eyes. He's around 6'2". He's insanely sweet and he can sing really well." I paused and Blaine stared at me expectantly. After a couple moments, I asked, "What?"

"Well, what's his name?!" Blaine said, exasperated that he should have to ask me. Right now he was acting more gay than usual. It was almost unnerving.

I grinned and looked down, "Luca."

"Luca. . . Ashworth?" he asked, pulling back, the smile slipping off his face.

"How'd you know?"

Blaine pinched the bridge of his nose, his head down in consternation. "Luca Ashworth is the star of Vocal Adrenaline, Valerie!"

"That's Carmel, right?" I asked, my memory fuzzy.

Blaine groaned, "And our biggest rivals! Don't do this to yourself. It doesn't end good."

Instantly, I bristled. He can't tell me what to do! "How do you know?!"

"Rachel Berry dated Jesse St. James from Vocal Adrenaline. Almost the same scenario. He betrayed her and it broke her heart," Blaine said softly. "I just don't want you hurt."

"Blaine, I'm not Rachel, and Luca's not Jesse. Trust me and let me make my own decisions," I said, looking at him.

"There is nothing I can do to convince you not to think of dating him?"

"Nothing."

"Then I will trust you, Val. That's all I can do."

Songs in this Chapter:

"Counting Stars" by OneRepublic