AN: I legit got so hungry because of that gif and because I was writing this chapter that I made a pizza. Goodbye diet.

~

The pizza glistened. Every groove and bump in the pepperoni called to Lucas like a siren. The cheesy, doughy scent filled the room like a blanket, comforting and warm, saying in not so many words, "Everything is going to be okay, because now there is pizza."

Lucas reached for a slice.

Alex slapped his hand away.

"Ow!"

"I told you what to say," Alex said.

Lucas looked at his friend's smug smile, wishing that he had the will power to just say no and walk away.

Instead, he grit his teeth and recited Alex's cruel order.

"Alex Avery is the sexiest man in the universe."

Grace giggled.

"I believe you were supposed to say smexiest," Alex said sternly.

Lucas glared.

"I am not saying the word smexiest," he said.

Alex grinned.

Lucas flushed.

"Damnit."

"What else, Lucas?"

"You're the worst friend."

"The worst friend who..." he prompted.

"...who's man juice I want to taste."

Lucas had to choke the words out and as soon as he did, Alex let out an incredulous shout as Grace's giggles turned into snorting laughter.

"Ew!" Alex shouted. "That's disgusting, I can't believe you actually said it!"

"You made me!" Lucas shouted back.

"I didn't think you actually would!"

Alex pushed the box toward Lucas, allowing him to take the first slice, an incredulous look on his face. "Of course I would have still let you have pizza if you didn't say it. How cruel do you actually think I am?"

Lucas flushed and chose to distract himself by taking a slice.

The first bite was heavenly, soft and slightly too hot for the roof of Lucas' mouth but he hadn't eaten today and he didn't give a damn.

"It goes beyond cruel with you, Alex," he managed to say, swallowing a mouthful of cheese. "You're an all out sadist."

"That's probably true," Grace said thoughtfully, twirling a strand of auburn hair between her fingers.

Alex looked between them, actually looking slightly offended.

"Screw both of you," he settled on and went for a slice himself.

They were sitting in the middle of Lucas' apartment, the three of them on the floor, leaning against the couches as they ate.

"I still can't believe this place," Grace said before taking a careful bite.

Lucas couldn't help but notice that she ate in a much more dignified manner than he or Alex ever managed.

He grunted in response to her comment and continued to eat, hoping the subject would be dropped. Luckily Grace didn't seem too pushed for an answer and Alex of course, already knew Lucas' sob story and didn't look to keen for a retelling.

"Let'sh pu so'ething on," Alex suggested.

Lucas swallowed as Alex reached for the TV remote sitting innocently on the coffee table.

"No cable," he said quickly.

Alex turned the TV on anyway, looking stunned when the static screen came up.

"I told you," Lucas said.

"Hook your laptop up then," Alex said. "We'll watch Netflix."

"No laptop," Lucas said. "No Netflix. No wifi."

He chose to concentrate on the food, stuffing his face as he pointedly ignored the way Alex was looking at him and the way Grace was looking around his seemingly lavish apartment.

It didn't make sense to her, clearly but it wouldn't make sense to a lot of people and Lucas was too tired of the whole situation to bother trying to explain.

"I forgot you still live in the last century," Alex grumbled.

"No, they still had TV last century," Grace corrected.

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Well if you can find an antenna somewhere we can probably get a channel or two."

"Forget it," Grace said. "Lets just talk."

Alex grimaced.

"I'm going to go look for a wire somewhere."

"Knock yourself out."

Alex got up at once, busying himself going through various drawers first in the living room and then moving on to rummage through the various closets and hiding spaces around the apartment.

"Seriously though," Grace said when Alex was gone. "What are you going to do?"

Lucas made the mistake of meeting her warm eyes saturated with pity and concern and he looked away.

"I'll be fine," he said. "I'll find another job."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"Do you like kids?" she asked.

"Uh..."

Lucas considered.

"Well, I've only ever spoken to any when I was also a kid so, from what I remember... they suck balls. Why?"

Grace grimaced.

"Maybe its not a great idea but my sister needs a new baby sitter."

Lucas perked up at once.

"They're young though," Grace continued. "Three and six."

"Three and six!" Lucas exclaimed. "Those are the best ages, I love three and six year-olds."

Grace rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she said smiling. "I still need to ask my sister if she wants you."

Lucas made his eyes as big and round as possible and Grace sighed.

"Fine, I'll beg her if I have to. I doubt you'll get very much though."

"It's fine!" Lucas said.

Mood taking a turn for the better all ready, Lucas ate with renewed frenzy while Grace watched on in horror.

After a while, Alex returned with a fork.

"Do you think this would work?" he asked and then his eyes landed on the pizza box. "Where's the pizza?!"

Lucas belched loudly.

***

Later, Lucas laid in bed, his body cocooned in duvets and pillows. The heat had been shut off but as soon as he got his last-and only-Greenie Mart pay check in the mail that would be the first thing he sorted.

His phone binged and he wiggled around hopefully until he could reach it. Heart skipping with the knowledge that Grace was probably finally messaging him about baby-sitting.

From: Virgin Mobile

Heads up, your Virgin Mobile account is $168.09 past due. Log into vm.com/myaccount or call *777 free from your celly to make a super-fast payment or payment arrangement. We need to receive full payment before your next bill is due or else your service will be suspended and additional charges for reactivation will be added.

Lucas groaned loudly and flailed in the covers, wishing he hadn't looked at his phone.

How the hell was he going to manage this?

He flung the covers off of himself, needing air and feeling like the walls were closing in around him.

He needed to get his shit together. Eating and paying bills were human basics, dammit. Why was it so hard for him to do?

His phone binged again and Lucas resisted looking at it for a minute, convinced that it would be more bad news.

Finally, when he could take it no longer, he reached for his phone again.

From: Grace Jones

My sis wants to meet you tomorrow. No promises though.

Despite her warning, his hands trembled eagerly as he typed a reply.

To: Grace Jones

Where?

He waited with baited breath for the response to come. By the time it did, his heart was actually pounding.

From: Grace Jones

She works in the arboretum by campus. There's an office there. I told her you'd come at noon. (guessing you don't really have anything else to do tomorrow...)

Lucas wanted to make a smart retort. Tomorrow was a Monday after all. He could have classes-he did but only in the morning. He could have another job-yeah right. He could have a date-even less likely.

With a sigh, he typed out a quick message and pressed send.

To: Grace Jones

See her there/then :)

***

Lucas sat through his class, aware that he was only physically there. It seemed to drone on and on but Lucas hadn't had any breakfast and was too afraid to spend some of his last five bucks on coffee. So he sat in class hungry and half asleep waiting for the minutes to pass.

The serious problem of how to convince a mother that he would be trustworthy with small children seemed far more perplexing than Business Communications 1.

He was still mulling it over when everyone began to file out, no more of an answer reached. Lucas just hoped that his own sparkling personality was enough.

The walk to the arboretum was quick. Loads of kids usually ate or studied there but Lucas hadn't spent much time exploring the place. Today was hot, the first properly hot day this year and the place was packed. Groups of people were sitting in the shade of budding trees, laughing. By the creek, all of the benches that Lucas passed were taken. People strolled the paths, taking in the gardens.

Lucas was only mildly interested in all that.

He knew it was bad but he wasn't used to the sun any more and the feeling of it beating down on his neck was uncomfortable. He didn't really want to enjoy the weather, he just wanted to get this damn interview over with.

Finally, he spotted a building in the distance, Lucas could just make out the bricks through the trees.

He followed the path all the way there and then stared in confusion.

This seemed to be some sort of hall. There were big windows showing numerous chairs and an open dance floor. Through the windows he could see that the hall sat atop a hill with a view of the gardens.

Lucas rolled his eyes. People probably got married here. He hated people with the money for weddings.

Either way, he didn't see an office. And the building was deserted.

Lucas spun around, looking for someone coming  up the path but of course, now that he was looking for people, no one was around.

His stomach grumbled loudly as he continued on the path. This place was way bigger than he'd thought it was... Another five minutes passed before Lucas found someone coming the opposite way down the path with his dog.

"Hey, do you know where the office is for this place?" Lucas asked.

The man's shih tzu growled at him and Lucas backed slowly away.

"I passed a building a while back," the guy said, giving Lucas an odd look. "On this path."

"Thanks!"

Reinvigorated, Lucas continued.

Another twenty minutes passed before he grudgingly looked at his phone.

12:00 flashed at him and he cursed.

He was late, starving and he was getting a serious headache. Thank god the trees were offering a bit of shelter from the sun.

A building came into sight through the trees and Lucas nearly dropped to his knees with a hallelujah. He rushed forward, each footstep crunching twigs beneath his feet in his rush and then, when the building was finally exposed, Lucas stopped dead.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!"

The event hall gleamed down at him cheekily. He'd gone in a circle!

Lucas stood dumbly for a moment, staring up at the big building, then down at his phone.

12:15

Lucas could admit defeat and call Grace. Maybe if he begged, she would reschedule-no! He could do this! He'd just explain why he was late whenever he found the office.

He just had to be smart about this.

Come on brain!

The single path that lead here obviously wasn't going to take him anywhere but round and round all day. He'd just have to find his own way.

The bushes next to the building were thick but Lucas knew he was at the top of a hill. He bet that if he pushed through them he'd get a view of the whole arboretum.

Decision made, Lucas approached the dense bush. Getting through was easier said than done. He shoved hard, and put one foot in front of the other, branches scraping his skin.

Lucas shut his eyes and just kept walking. And then, finally, he was through-and then he was falling.

"Shit!"

He stumbled, feet scrambling for footing as he slipped and then, what little traction he managed, sent him flying.

For a moment, Lucas was soaring through the air, breath caught in his throat and then he hit the ground at an angle and tumbled, the world flying by blindly until finally he crashed into something and came to a stop.

Lucas stayed very still, assessing the situation as the world slowly stopped spinning.

A few spots stung on his arms and he was curled up like a pretzel, half upside down, but he felt surprisingly okay.

Suddenly, the thing that he had crashed into moved. Lucas nearly screamed.

Only as he was shoved roughly away did he realize that it was a person.

Lucas landed flat on his back, a boy bent over him, blotting out the sun, light catching his pale hair like a halo as he looked down at Lucas.

They stared at each other.

"Hi," Lucas finally said.

The other boy didn't say anything, just reached out a hand and helped Lucas to his feet.

Upright, he was even more striking. He had the chiseled face of a model but none of the confidence. The second he let go of Lucas' hands he crossed his arms self consciously across his chest and seemed to shrink down. His grey eyes were soft and inquisitive in the way he looked at Lucas.

"I fell down the hill," Lucas said stupidly.

A smile twitched on the blond's lips.

"I noticed," he said quietly.

When the conversation stopped there, Lucas finally looked down at himself, taking in his mud streaked jeans and torn shirt.

Lucas groaned and then looked up the hill he'd just tumbled down.

He whistled.

"Holy cow," he said. "Thank god I had a soft landing. I totally could have broke my neck."

He grinned at the blond.

The other boy shrugged awkwardly and looked away.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Lucas asked, finally taking in their surroundings.

They were standing at the edge of the creek in an area clearly far away from the paths, surrounded by bushes on each side. But that wasn't what caught his attention.

His stomach growled when his eyes landed on the generous lunch spread.

Two sandwiches sat in a container, a generous salad in another. Unopened chips and a can of pop accompanied the meal.

Lucas tried to speak through the drool.

"You really know how to treat yourself," he said.

Unable to resist, he sat down in front of the food, peering into the containers.

"What kind of sandwiches are these?" he asked.

He looked up at the blond and found him addressing him oddly.

"Chicken salad," he finally said, just as quietly as before.

Lucas looked at the boys lunch one last time. He was only torturing himself here. With a sigh, he pushed to his feet, tearing himself away.

When he straightened, eyes meeting the other boy's, amusement was written all over his face.

"You can have it," he said.

Lucas had to strain to hear him. He must have heard wrong.

"What?" he asked, leaning in.

The boy cleared his throat and looked away before repeating more loudly this time.

"You can have my lunch," he said. "I'm not hungry."

Lucas wanted to be civil, he really did, but somehow he was already sitting down in front of the food, saliva filling his mouth as he reached for a sandwich. And it wasn't just any sandwich. The bread was some sort of fluffy bun that tasted too good to be anything but home made, the crust just slightly crumbling as he took a bite. And then there was the filling; creamy rich dressing, plump chunks of meat, crunchy vegetable.

He moaned, eyes rolling back.

"Oh ma go', thith ith tho goo'!" he managed to swallow before looking up at the other boy. "Did you make this?!"

The boy shook his head, looking away again.

Lucas didn't think he had ever met someone so shy before. Either way, he was a saint.

He grinned up at him and then turned back to the task at hand.

The sandwiches went too quickly but there were chips after that. He downed the coke too before considering the salad. He wasn't really sure he was starving enough to willingly eat a pile of raw vegetables.

He peered at the container for a moment, noticing nuts and chickpeas and thought what the hell.

A moment later he was glad he did. He had never known salads could be so delicious.

With a belch, he finished the meal and then suddenly realized what he had done; he collided with this boy, ate his food and didn't even say sorry or ask him his name.

He looked up to do just that and realized with a bit of disappointment that he was alone.

Lucas looked at the containers and sighed, packing up the whole mess into the lunch bag that had been left behind. He couldn't be too hard on himself. How the hell was he supposed to resist food like that?

He just wasn't a strong enough man.

Lucas' phone dinged.

From Grace Jones:

Why the hell did you stand my sister up?!

Lucas stared at the message for a long time.

"Fuuuuuuck!"