Thursday

Daisy anxiously waited for Luke to pitch for their class. She had admittedly not seen him all morning and her nerves were annoyingly at breaking point. Apart from Shawn's slightly distant attitude bothering her, the expectancy of facing Luke after a very intense dream last night was utterly nerve-racking.

The vividness of Luke as a pirate has haunted her since the early hours of the morning when she had awoken with a hammering heart. She had not dared to try to sleep again.

Ten minutes later the class was in full swing, and Daisy stared at Luke's empty desk. She did not know if she was supposed to be relieved or annoyed. She begrudgingly accepted her assignment from the teacher. Her heart sank at the realization she could not complete it without Luke.

The class faded into a faint murmur as she tried to focus. She could try to complete whatever she could and hope the lack of Luke's guidance and participation would not be too fatal.

"Breathe, Bloom."

Daisy almost jumped out of her seat when Luke slipped into his next to her.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Luke asked, a small frown lodged between his brows.

"You are late," Daisy mumbled shifting awkwardly in her chair, blinking furiously.

"Sorry," he apologized and carefully tugged the crumpled assignment paper from her hands. "What is up with you?"

"Huh?"

"Your face is all red. It's not a good look, especially with that hair color," he chuckled.

"I'm f-f-fine," Daisy muttered, furiously fanning her hot face and turning her attention to the world outside the classroom window.

Luke's eyes narrowed. This day was getting weirder by the minute. First Shawn had cornered him on his way to class demanding they needed to talk, and now Daisy was acting oddly.

"Come on, let's get started," he said, smoothing the paper.

The next hour went by quickly, and Daisy had hardly registered any of it. The school bell rang, and Luke took their assignment, handed it in, and left. There was not even a backward glance or a goodbye, see you later, just nothing.

*

Daisy entered the cafeteria, ducking to the left to avoid Anne and her crowd. She shuffled along the wall until she could maneuver through the tables towards Shawn and Stacy. The pair were engaged in a deep, quiet conversation, unaware of Daisy until she tapped on the table to get their attention.

"Daisy!" Stacy grinned, "Hey, girl, so? Did you read the book?"

"I did mostly browse through it," Daisy responded, frowning at Shawn who had not greeted her. His attention was fully on the crowded hall. "Shawn, I- "

"I gotta go, see you girls later." Shawn suddenly jumped up, grabbed his bag, and headed for Luke who had just entered the cafeteria. Daisy's frown deepened, noticing Luke did not seem fazed at all.

"What is going on?" She asked when Shawn and Luke left together.

"Hopefully they are going to sort out their shit."

"Oh."

"Hey, don't worry about them. They are big boys and I'm sure they will get through it without too much violence."

Daisy's horrified expression fueled an eruption of giggles from Stacy's chest.
"Oh, girl, you're gonna make me pee," Stacy puffed. "They are going to be just fine. Shawn and Luke have never lifted a hand to each other or anyone. Just not who they are. Although not gonna lie, there was a moment last year when all the shit with Anne happened. I had never seen Shawn lose control like that, it was a scary thing. How's the hand?"

"What? Oh, it is better," Daisy answered, trying to process what Stacy had said. Her eyes darted to the cafeteria entrance. She couldn't imagine Shawn hitting Luke.

*

Luke followed Shawn into the boy's bathroom. Shawn checked the cubicles, making sure they were empty.

"Shawn- "

"Listen, this is not something I'm doing because I want to, but since we both will spend a lot of time with Daisy, I thought we could manage some kind of truce."

Luke sighed. "Truce?"

"Yeah, I'm sure we could tolerate each other's company enough for Daisy not to be uncomfortable."

"So, this is about Daisy?"

Shawn frowned and shrugged. "Yeah, the thing with Anne- "

"You know what happened between us was never about Anne."

"Luke- "

"Shawn, we have to talk about it, I- "Luke moved toward Shawn, who nervously backed away.

"It doesn't matter," Shawn muttered quickly, brushing past Luke to head for the door, but Luke grabbed his arm. "Don't touch me!"

Luke released him, and for a moment Shawn stood still, before quietly saying, "Let's just forget about it. I like Daisy, like really, really like her."

"Okay," Luke agreed, tucking his tightly fisted hands into the pockets of his school jacket. "Last year never happened."

Shawn swung around, "that's not what I meant- "

"Nah, you're right, let's forget about it. We can be whatever you want, Shawn. Best buddies, just buddies, or not buddies, but all with strings attached right?" Luke strode to the door, "See you around, Shawn."

Fuck.

Shawn removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose after Luke left, closing his eyes. Regretfully a headache was brewing. This was not exactly how he had envisioned his conversation with Luke.

*

After school, Daisy stood beside Shawn's truck patiently waiting for him to emerge from the school building. After lunch, she could not engage with either Shawn or Luke. The boys had looked unscathed, but both wore a thunderous look warning anyone to give them a wide berth.

She was so focused on the entrance doors she didn't notice Anne approaching her.

"Hey, it's Daisy right?"

Daisy swung around, startled to find Anne so close. She stepped back and bumped into Shawn's truck.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for accidentally making you fall the other day," Anne said and Daisy could have sworn the blond-haired vixen was gritting her teeth.

"It's okay, I wasn't looking where I was going. No one's fault." Daisy's eyes darted towards the school doors, hoping Shawn would miraculously appear.

"I want to invite you to a party."

"A party?"

"Yes, you are new and a party would be a perfect and fun way to hang out with everyone. Practically our whole home class is going."

"Oh, I-uh, well you see- " Daisy pulled on her lip. She was certain this invite had not been made as a goodwill gesture.

"I am sure Shawn will be going and-"

"Going where?" Shawn interrupted, brushing past Anne to stand next to Daisy, a protective arm slipping around her shoulders.

Anne's eyes narrowed and her mouth twisted.
"Dale's birthday party tomorrow night. You know it's always been the party to start the year."

"I have already told Dale I won't be going. We have made other plans," Shawn's hand tightened on her arm when Daisy looked up at him in confusion.

"Oh, well that is a pity. Could have been fun," Anne gave which could be construed as a forced smile and turned on her heel.

"Are you okay?" Shawn removed his arm and moved to block Anne from Daisy's view.

"I'm fine," she nodded, "what other plans?"

"Oh, I just said that to get her to leave."

Daisy's shoulders sagged and she ducked her head to hide her disappointment. She moved to the side to allow Shawn to unlock the truck. The change in Shawn's demeanor towards her hurt. She picked up her school bag and climbed into the truck, refusing his help.

"I didn't need you to save me from Anne," she said when Shawn shifted into his seat.

"I know, but Anne- "

"And you don't have to lie either, Shawn. I don't want anyone to think there is more between us than just being friends."

Shawn frowned, opening his mouth to apologize.

"Can we just go, please?" Daisy asked.

Was she angry?

He nodded, grimacing, and turned on the ignition.

*

The drive back lasted no more than ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity. The silence that enveloped them both was suffocating.

Shawn knew it was his fault. For the last few days, he has purposefully distanced himself from Daisy to sort out his issue with Luke. Not that his conversation with Luke had resolved anything at all. It has just made buried thoughts and feelings resurface.

He pulled into Miriam's driveway and took a deep breath.

"Daisy, I'm sorry," he said, switching off the ignition. "This thing with Luke- "

"You don't have to explain, Shawn. Please, I still have some work to do, and I promised Miriam I'd make dinner tonight."

Fuck. Shawn climbed out. Again, when he opened the door for her, she refused his help, sliding out awkwardly, holding her hand up to avoid hurting it.

"I will walk to school tomorrow. Goodbye, Shawn."

"Daisy, wait," he grabbed her arm as she went around him. "I'm sorry, please, let me explain."

Daisy shrugged his hand off. "Explain what Shawn? I had no right to ask what had happened between you and Luke, honestly, it's none of my business. Besides, we hardly really know each other anyway and- "

"I like you, Daisy and I want to be friends with you."

*