saturday 2nd december 2017
6.27pm

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Samantha raised her head to look at the slowly setting sun. It was giving off glorious colours of gold, orange and pink. She had never seen anything more beautiful as the light leaked across the sky as if it were a watercolour painting. It was a rare occasion to watch such a sunset in the midst of winter.

The wind was soft against her skin as it pushed her hair softly off of her face. Her fingers tingled as they held onto a hand that's touch would somehow never be a familiar nor a normal feeling. Samantha turned her lead left to see Lucas admiring the sky just as she had just done.

"Beautiful, right?" Samantha mumbled as they walked slowly across the street towards a restaurant that Emma and Samantha had often enjoyed meals at.

"Mhm." He agreed, his lips not parting as he smiled at his girlfriend. "Not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen though." He said easily as he pulled Samantha closer into him. The girl let a deep crimson take over her cheeks as they arrived at the restaurant.

"Will Emma be late or early?" The girl teased as they pushed through the front doors. Lucas took time to think of an answer to this question.

"It's Emily coming to meet me. She'll probably be late. I bet she's still sat in her room wondering if there's any point coming." He joked making Samantha laugh as they reached the front desk.

"Table of three for Cook." Samantha said as the waitress in front of them politely greeted them.

"Oh, the other girl got here about five minutes ago." The woman said with a complimentary smile. Lucas turned to Samantha with eyebrows raised in amusement. The waitress told them to follow her and Lucas placed a rough hand on the small of Samantha's back as they were guided through the maze of chairs.

Emily came into sight and Samantha smiled, but it didn't compare to the beam that had so effortlessly came onto Lucas' lips. As he caught sight of Emma, or Emily as he liked to call her, he couldn't help but feel extremely happy. Emma raised her head from her phone and when she saw the pair, her own grin settled on her lips.

"Hey, Em." Samantha said as Emma stood up quickly from her seat.

"Hey, Sammy," Emma replied quickly, letting her arms fold around her best friend and hug her tightly. When she pulled away she looked towards Lucas. "Pretty boy," Emma's sarcasm was just as real as it was on the phone and Lucas chuckled lowly.

"You're not gonna give me a hug?" Lucas pouted but there was no amusement running through his eyes. Emma's smirk broke into a smile again and she stepped forward, wrapping her small arms around his body. Lucas hugged her back, his grin not faltering.

"You guys are gonna make me cry." Samantha said suddenly and the pair separated with a laugh. Lucas looked back to his girlfriend but she wasn't looking at them, she was looking at her phone with an adorable smile on her lips.

"Did you-" Before Lucas could ask his question she turned her phone around and flashed the picture she had taken on her phone.

"Send that to me!" Emma demanded as she studied the picture. Samantha chuckled and the trio took their seats on the small corner table. Lucas shuffled onto the wall seats with Samantha and Emma took a seat opposite her best friend.

"So, am I just as pretty in real life as over the phone?" It was only as Lucas said it that he seemed to take in Emma's appearance for the first time. She had long red hair that fell over her shoulders and green eyes that matched her emerald green dress.

"Hm, no." Emma deadpanned and Lucas let his figure sag. Samantha laughed and sarcastically patted Lucas' shoulder. She, too, had completely forgotten that her two best friends had no idea what each other looked like.

"Well, you're certainly the prettiest boy I have ever seen." Samantha said as she looked to Lucas who turned his eyes in her direction. Samantha was surprised to see that the boy blushed, his cheeks tinted red and he looked down to hide it. His girlfriend giggled lightly and the noise sung through Lucas' ears as she placed a loving hand on his thigh.

"You must be blind." Emma remarked which caused Lucas to look up and glare daggers at the girl. "So," She continued, glancing down quickly at the menu to scan over the variety of options the restaurant had. Not that she had to look, anyway, as Samantha and Emma had been here nearly one hundred times before. "You said you acted, would I have seen you in anything?"

"Probably not. I'm here filming season 2 of Anne With an E at the moment, though." As the words left Lucas' lips, Emma looked at Samantha with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, so this is why you're obsessed with that show." Emma remarked with a smug smirk settled on her lips. Samantha shrugged, not being embarrassed in the slightest by her exposure.

"Not my fault I'm being a supportive girlfriend." She said back casually which caused Lucas to turn to her with a loving smirk. Under the table, he placed his hand over hers that was still settled on his leg and locked their fingers together.

"I feel like I'm third-wheeling." Emma grumbled. "Do you have any co-stars I could date?"

"I do, but not ones that would wanna date you, Emily." Samantha used her free hand to slap Lucas lightly on the arm. "Hey," Lucas grumbled, sounding dangerously like Emma. "She knows I'm joking."

"You are? Thank God, I was gonna cry." Emma's sarcasm was something Lucas expected from his friend as she pouted across the table, threatening him with fake tears.

"You're such a dram queen, Emma." Samantha concluded as she closed her menu asfter finally choosing.

"You love it." The other girl argued back. Samantha grinned at her best friend, leaning forward to shove her shoulder lightly.

"She might, but I don't."

***

The rest of the night had gone as quick as the day had. The trio had exchanged more banter than Lucas thought was possible on his own tongue. Now, they were settled in Lucas' hotel room. Emma sat cross legged on top of the wide couch as Lucas sat on the floor with his back pressed against it. He was unfortunately just below Emma and she kept threatening to 'spill' her ice-cream on the boy. Samantha was comfortably nestled into Lucas' chest and the friends quietly watched Star Wars, Episode VI.

Samantha was pretty sure she would have to go home soon, but she didn't to tear herself away from Lucas or say goodbye to Emma. The girl moved her head slightly to look at Lucas and her eyes could only really see his sharp jawline. Lucas could almost feel her eyes settled on him so he glanced down at her. He smiled slightly as he caught her eyes that were admiring every single feature of him.

"What?" He whispered, careful not to disturb Emma as she had only just shut up. Samantha only smiled, looking back at the film with thoughts crowding her mind. She was more than happy that her best friend and boyfriend got on well. Having them both with her in this private moment made her heart swell with joy.

Samantha felt her chin tingle as Lucas placed his fingers softly under it and moved her head upwards. Lucas leaned down slightly and placed his lips against hers. Samantha didn't think she would ever get used to the warm and caring tough.

"Still here!" It was no surprise that Emma interrupted the pair, but ultimately, they didn't care. Lucas groaned sarcastically and reached his hand up to slap Emma's leg which earned a loud protest to spring from her lips.

"I wish we could all stay here forever." Samantha said softly. Emma reached over and placed a loving hand on her shoulder as a reply slipped from the boy.

"Me too,"