Lauren was glad that her mother was already gone to work by the time she woke up. They hadn't been getting along lately and she didn't have the strength to fight with her today. She was hot and sticky from sleeping in the summer heat and took a shower first thing. She didn't have any idea what she was going to do today. There was no school and normally she would have spent her time with Ace, but obviously that was out of the question. She decided she might just go for a walk get some fresh air.
As soon as she was dressed and ready she was out the door. It was still early, so the day was pleasantly warm, as opposed to the miserable heat the sun would be radiating later in the day. A cool breeze blew her hair back from her forehead and she allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts.
She had walked for about an hour when she saw a figure coming her way. It was a boy, but she couldn't tell who it was from this distance. In a town as small as Castle Rock it must be someone she knew, though. She raised her hand in a friendly wave, wondering if maybe she had found someone to spend the day with. He returned the wave and she realized that she did know the boy, it was Chris Chambers. Her heart sank a little as her hopes of having some company dissipated a little. She did know him, but they had never had a real conversation before. As they got closer, he started to walk by and then paused.
"How's your summer?" He asked. She admired him for being so polite to take the time to ask.
"Good." She smiled at him and began to feel brave. What would it hurt to ask him to have lunch with her? If he said no, she would be a little embarrassed, but she had been embarrassed much before and lived through it. "I was actually just thinking I was getting hungry. I know this may be a little strange, but I don't have anyone to go with and was wondering if maybe you'd like to join me at the diner?" She asked. Her face began to turn red as the words left her mouth. What was she thinking? They barely knew each other. Of course he wasn't going to have lunch with her. He probably already had other plans anyway.
He shrugged his shoulders, "Why not? I could eat." Relief filed Lauren's body and she sighed.
As they walked down to the diner, conversation flowed easily between them. Lauren knew that Chris was Eyeball's little brother, but Ace had rarely brought her around his friends so she felt no need to mention it to him. She didn't want to think about Ace anyway. They talked about school and the teachers they hated and expressed anticipation for all they would do this summer. By the time they entered the restaurant it felt as if they had been friends for years and Lauren was proud of herself for asking him to join her.
"So where were you walking to?" She asked, looking at him from across the table.
Chris shrugged and picked up a menu, "Nowhere, really. Just wanted to get away from the house."
Lauren smiled, "I thought I was the only one who did that."
They talked as they ate and Lauren was genuinely enjoying Chris's company. She couldn't be sure, but she thought perhaps Chris felt the same. The sense of being lost that she had felt this morning was gone and the idea of spending the summer with Chris Chambers began tugging at the back of her mind as they sat in the dining booth and ate their food. Ace was the farthest thing from her mind. They lingered for a while at the table before paying their checks and exiting the restaurant.
As soon as they turned the corner a hand reached out and pushed Chris against the wall. It happened too fast for Lauren to feel anything other than confusing until she saw who the hand belonged to.
"You've got some pretty big balls thinking you can take my girl out for lunch, Chambers." Ace looked him in the eyes threateningly.
Chris looked at Lauren and then back at Ace. "I didn't know. I didn't take her out, we just ate together. Lay of me, alright?" He didn't want a fight, he just wanted the situation to dissolve.
"I'm not your girl anymore, Ace. Let him go. He didn't do anything." Lauren's voice remained steady. She should have known Ace would give her some kind of hassle, regardless of the fact that he was the one who ended things.
Ace turned his attention back to Chris and let go of the hold he had on the collar of his shirt. He smoothed the shirt out in a mock gesture of friendliness and then drove his knee into Chris's unsuspecting crotch. Chris let out a surprised grunt and then slid down the wall of the building and onto the ground. Ace smiled at both of them and then sauntered off as Lauren knelt down to help her new friend, although she now feared as to whether or not this would be the last time Chris, or any boy in Castle Rock for that matter, ever dared to share her company.