Later Evans.

It's Tuesday morning. Lane and I are in the music room, preparing for our upcoming performance next period.

"I think i'm gonna throw up." I take a deep breath and shake my hands.

"It's only our music class Carter, not the fucking queen." Lane laughs to himself at my obvious distress.

"I'm the new girl that hangs out with Lane Evans; the girls already hate me so if i mess up i'm definitely getting laughed at." I run my hands through my hair.

"Hey." Lane walks over, grabbing me by the shoulders.

He looks down at me as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "You'll do great." He smiles. He strokes my cheek and i close my eyes as i lay on his hand.

Then he gently slaps me.

My eyes snap open and my jaw drops as he runs away laughing. "You're such a prick!" I call after him.

He motions a heart with his hands before walking out the door. And i'm left alone in this massive room.

I give myself a mini catwalk in the huge mirror that covers the whole wall before fixing my hair and going after him.

He's just stepping into the elevator and i jog to catch up, making sure the doors dont shut on me. Lane looks at me as i press the button for the second floor.

"Just a couple of besties in an elevator." He says, staring forward.

"Yep." I reply.

"They might kiss." He adds.

"No they won't Evans." I sigh.

"They might." He repeats.

"Shut up." I scoff as the doors open and i step out. We walk down the hall to our music classroom, where our instruments already are, and stop outside the door.

I close my eyes and let out a deep breath. That breath hitches as i feel the warmth of Lane's hand on my chin. He turns my face towards his and smiles softly.

"We got this." He reassures me for a final time.

"You're right." I smile up at him before he pushes the class door open. The tables and seats have been rearranged to fit performers at the front. Since Lane and I are the last to perform, we didn't get to see any of the others because of practice.

I feel the eyes of thirty other children glued to us as we walk over and take our positions. Mr Jones gives us a thumbs up. I pick up the guitar and plug it in to the amp, throwing the strap over my head.

As i bring my eyes up, I meet Lane's, who seem to have been on me for longer. He's sat at the drum set now, sticks in hand, his usual messy but hot look on him.

He gives me a brief nod, which i return before letting out a breath.

"Whenever your ready." Mr Jones finally says, pen and paper in hand to assess us.

I take one more quick glance over at Lane, who smiles and begins the beat.

♡♡♡

"We were fucking awesome!" I laugh as Lane and I head towards the cafeteria.

"Your solo was definetely the best part, fuck me you know how to work those fingers." Lane mimics me playing the guitar and i shove him as we laugh harder.

We stumble into the cafeteria, causing pretty much everyone to turn their heads to look at us. Oh shit.

I clear my throat and straighten out my skirt, smiling awkwardly as we weave our way through the tables towards our friends.

"I'm guessing your performance went well." Emmy smiles as we take our seats at the table.

"Fucking amazing." Lane whisper shouts to avoid drawing even more attention.

I look at him and smile, his eyes all sparkly and his cheeks slightly red. He's so cute and happy when he's with his friends; so far off the mean bad boy that i first met last week.

I think he just puts on a tough look, but in all honesty, i do too. It's better than your kindness being taken for granted.

"Lane?" I hear a girls voice from behind me.

He looks up past me and his smile falters slightly. I turn around myself, curious as to who it is.

A tall, dark haired girl stands behind me, her tie loose and skirt rolled up as high as possible, a thigh tattoo partially visible from the bottom. She has a lot of piercings, pretty much all the face and lobe ones. Her hair is pulled up into a sleek ponytail and she's wearing natural makeup.

This woman radiates confidence.

"I'll be right back." Lane says, his brows furrowed. And back to his tough guy exterior.

He excuses himself before taking the girls wrist and pulling her toward the cafeteria exit.

"Who the fuck is that?" I turn back to my friends once they're out of sight.

"That my friend, is Connie, well Constance Evans." Ozzy explains.

"Evans?" I ask.

Ozzy nods.

"Lane has a sister?" My eyes widen.

"Two, actually." Em adds.

What the fuck? I mean its not a massive revelation but it was very much unexpected.

"Why have i never seen them talk?" I question, trying to put the pieces together in my mind.

"They prefer to pretend they don't know eachother." Ozzy shrugs, picking at his lasagne.

"Where's the other one? Does she go to this school?" I know i'm prying but i really didn't expect this.

Ozz simply shakes his head, and i take that as a sign to not ask any further questions.

The doors push open and Lane walks back in, alone this time. His eyes have lost the sparkle they had earlier, his expression blank.

"Is everything alright?" Ozzy asks as he slumps back down in to his seat.

"I'm on home leave for the rest of the week." Lane replies quietly, staring down at the table.

I frown. Home leave? That's only for social events like weddings... or emergencies.

I place a hand on his shoulder, but he doesn't even look up. Not even a flinch. I remove it awkwardly and put it back in my lap.

How the fuck are you supposed to comfort people?

The bell goes for the end of lunch and Lane stands up briskly, making a beeline for the door.

Ozzy gives us a pained look before standing and jogging to catch up with his friend.

"What the fuck just happened?" I turn my attention to Em.

"I have no idea, but we have Chem, so we should probably go before Mrs Wilson gives us detention for being point five seconds late." Emmy says, trying to lighten the mood as we stand.

She's right.

♡♡♡

It's the end of the school day; Em and Ozzy are in the common room, while im sat in the boys' dorm room waiting for Lane to get back from the principles office.

I didn't break in by the way, Ozz let me in before he left.

I'm laying on Ozzy's bed, staring up at the ceiling. Why does Lane have to leave? It's gonna feel like a piece of our group is missing. Well that's what it literally will be.

I look to my left to see his side of the room. It's actually quite well kept if im honest. Bed spread, floor tidy, clothes folded.

The door pushes open and i avert my eyes toward it as Lane walks in. He smiles slightly as he sees me, and then frowns.

"Ozz let me in, they're in common." I explain, sitting up.

He nods in understanding and kneels down, pulling a suitcase out from beneath his bed.

"How long are you gonna be gone?" I ask, playing with the frayed edge of my skirt. I burnt it in Chemistry. Don't ask.

"I'll probably be out the whole of next week." He shrugs, throwing a pair of joggers into his case.

I can't help but be dissapointed. I'm gonna miss my bestfriend. A lot more than i'd like to admit.

Lane zips his now full suitcase up before getting to his feet. He walks over to where i'm sat on the edge of Ozzy's bed. He places a hand on the back of my head, pulling me into him. And he hugs me.

I don't know what to do for a moment. I honestly don't remember the last time i was hugged. Was it before or after mum and dad fell out of love?

I wrap my arms around his waist, my head leaning against his chest. And we stay like that for a while. I close my eyes as i listen to rhythmic pattern of his heart beat. It's comforting.

"I'm gonna miss you jubilee." He sighs, ruffling my hair.

"I fucking hate you." I smile, swatting his hand away and brushing my fingers with my hair. "But i'll miss you too alleyway."

Lane smiles at me and picks up his suitcase, extending the handle.

"See you Carter." He gives me a two finger salute.

"Later Evans."

I flop back onto the bed as he leaves, pulling the door shut behind him.

♡♡♡

nooo bestie is leaving us- i mean jules :(

why do you think he had to go home?

!