LUCAS

So, Charles Aughtly wasn’t all bad. Maybe Lucas had misjudged, or maybe Charles had a rough demeanor. And there was nothing wrong with that. After Lucas fixed up an iced coffee, the other boy went on his way, patched up from the burn. And Charles didn’t even threaten to have the store shut down! Not all rich kids are created equal.

Honestly, the more Lucas thought about it, Charles was pretty easy on the eyes. All tall and lean with muscle in all the right places. His perfect skin and piercing stare, with that tousled-in-just-the-right-way blond hair that looked effortless but was probably extremely difficult to pull off. In another universe, Lucas might have even found Charles attractive—but Lucas knew better. The boy was clearly out of his league.

Besides, he had Binks. Kind of. In a sense. It wasn’t like they were dating or anything. That would be ridiculous, but they were friends, and Lucas did get the occasional skipping heart from their emails.

To: charcharbinks@gmail.com

From: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

Subject: Small Victories

Binks,

Omg Binks, you’ll never guess who came into the store today!

Respectfully Yours,

Lucky

To: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

From: charcharbinks@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

Lucky,

Who? Was it a celebrity?

Respectfully Yours,

Binks

To: charcharbinks@gmail.com

From: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

Well, kind of. A celebrity from school, anyway. It was Charles Aughtly! You know, that popular kid who always walks around like he owns the place? Anyway, I may have accidentally spilled coffee on him, and I thought I was going to die or get yelled at, or he was going to threaten lawyers and closing and all that. I don’t know. But he was sweet! I think there’s more to him than I thought.

Respectfully Yours,

Lucky

To: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

From: charcharbinks@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

There’s more to people than meets the eye, I guess.

Respectfully Yours,

Binks

To: charcharbinks@gmail.com

From: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

Maybe I’ll get him to come to the GSA after all! If he comes, we’re sure to get more members. I may be new, but even I know Charles is King of Westwood Academy.

Respectfully Yours,

Lucky

To: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

From: charcharbinks@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

LOL King of Westwood Academy? I don’t know about that.

As for Charles Aughtly, you ought to stay away from that guy.

Respectfully Yours,

Binks

To: charcharbinks@gmail.com

From: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

Was that a pun? From you? I can’t believe I’m finally getting you to open up. And over Charles Aughtly no less. You’re cute when you’re being funny.

Respectfully Yours,

Lucky

To: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

From: charcharbinks@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

I’m being serious, Lucas. Stay away from him.

Respectfully Yours,

Binks

Lucas frowned at his phone. Stay away from the Aughtly kid? It was only a fun little encounter. Maybe Binks was jealous? Lucas sighed and leaned back in his break chair. Binks was so complicated; Lucas couldn’t figure it out. Binks didn’t even freak out over Lucas’ obvious flirting like he normally would.

Unfortunately, he had no time to ask any of his burning questions, because his break was over, which meant he was left wondering for the rest of the day.

The evening could not come fast enough. Lucas typically worked the afternoon shift on the weekends, earning a little pocket money from his parents, but there were days when it really did feel like a job. Today was one of those days. All Lucas wanted to do was get off work and email Binks to ask him what he meant by “stay away from Charles Aughtly.”

Finally, Sonny came to take over for Lucas. Lucas was practically running out the door, and the two nearly collided in the break room. Sonny was small in build, but he was taller than Lucas, with fluffy light brown hair and brown eyes. He looked down at Lucas quizzically. “You’re in a hurry today.”

Lucas shrugged, side-stepping around Sonny to get to his locker. “I have a lot of homework,” he lied.

Sonny nodded and pursed his lips. “Right. That definitely seems like the reason. Because you’re totally not the type that gets his homework done the day it’s assigned.”

Lucas shot Sonny a look that read don’t test me, but some of it was lost in translation. “It was–it was a long day.”

Sonny shrugged and held up his hands. “I’m not judging. Or prying. If you want to leave in a rush, leave in a rush. But don’t hurt yourself on the way out.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for your concern.” The sarcasm was dripping off his tongue. He pulled his phone out from his pocket, absolutely dying to talk to Binks again. He needed to know what was going on, why Binks was so adamant about him staying away from the Aughtly kid.

To: charcharbinks@gmail.com

From: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

What do you mean? Did something happen between you and Aughtly? *Gasp* Oh am I about to get some tragic backstory?

Respectfully Yours,

Lucky

To: luckyinlove666@gmail.com

From: charcharbinks@gmail.com

Re: Small Victories

What? No. And no, nothing like that. Sorry, forget I said anything. I was jealous, I guess.

Respectfully Yours,

Binks

Lucas frowned. He knew that Binks was holding back. He knew there was more to the story than Binks was letting on. But he didn’t want to pry. The last thing he needed was for Binks to get scared and run off—not when Lucas was so close to breaking down that tough exterior.

He’d get to the bottom of things yet.