Chapter 5

Ellie's POV

"Are you kidding me?" I kept my voice low and steady despite the anger bubbling inside. "Everyone at school knows about you two. You've been practically attached at the hip for weeks. The entire basketball team is talking about how their star player is throwing away his season for a girl. Your own coach called your mom after you missed four practices in a row."

Lucas's expression shifted from accusation to something more complicated. He looked away, running a hand through his hair.

"I..." he started, then stopped.

I took a step closer, my eyes locked on his. "Your relationship is literally the most public thing at Mapleton high right now. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why your grades are slipping and why you're missing family obligations. So no, Lucas, I didn't need to tell your mom anything. You've been doing a great job advertising it yourself."

His shoulders slumped slightly. "I didn't think about how public everything's been," he admitted quietly. "I just assumed..." He trailed off, looking genuinely embarrassed now.

"You assumed I was jealous and petty enough to run to your mom with tales about your love life," I finished for him. "After fifteen years of friendship, that's what you think of me."

Lucas winced. "I'm sorry, Ellie. I shouldn't have accused you like that." But then his expression hardened again. "Speaking of which, what's going on with you and Aiden Harris? You were giving him drinks."

I stared at him in disbelief. Was he serious? One second apologizing, the next second accusing me of something else?

"Are you for real right now? I offered him a sports drink before his game. That's called basic human decency, Lucas." I shook my head, feeling something finally break inside me. Meanwhile, you publicly rejected my moon tea in front of everyone and accused me of class discrimination, but somehow I'm the one crossing lines?"

"That's different," he muttered defensively.

"You're right. It is different," I said, suddenly feeling very calm. "Because you're actually dating Samantha, while I was just being friendly to someone from another school."

I turned toward my car, a strange sense of clarity washing over me. This friendship wasn't worth saving anymore. Not when he could flip from apologetic to accusatory in the span of ten seconds.

As I walked to my car, my phone buzzed with a text from Aiden Harris asking again if I was okay and if I wanted to grab coffee sometime. I paused, staring at the message. For a moment, I was tempted—it would be so easy to say yes, to show Lucas I could move on too. But I knew better.

I typed a quick response: "Thanks for checking in. I'm fine, just dealing with some personal stuff. I appreciate the coffee offer, but I should focus on school right now."

I hit send and slipped my phone back into my pocket. Unlike Lucas, I wasn't going to recklessly pursue a relationship with a human just because I was hurt or wanted revenge. I had responsibilities to my family and our kind that I took seriously. Dating a human would only complicate things.

The next week, I made a point of not checking my phone for messages from Lucas. I didn't scan the cafeteria looking for him or peek into the gym during basketball practice.

When Saturday arrived—my seventeenth birthday—I woke up to the smell of blueberry pancakes wafting up from the kitchen. Mom always made my favorite breakfast on my birthday, a tradition that hadn't changed even after everything else in our lives had.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart!" Mom said, sliding a stack of pancakes onto my plate as I entered the kitchen. She'd decorated the table with streamers and a small wrapped gift sat beside my plate.

"Thanks, Mom," I said, managing a genuine smile. The gift turned out to be a beautiful leather-bound journal with my initials embossed on the cover.

As the day progressed, I received texts from Emma and my other friends, but nothing from Lucas. Every year since we were kids, he'd come over on my birthday. We'd eat cake, watch movies, and just hang out.

But this year, nothing.

By evening, I'd given up hope. Mom and I were sitting on the couch watching a movie when she finally addressed the elephant in the room.

"He didn't call, did he?" she asked softly.

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak.

"I'm sorry, honey. I know how much his friendship means to you."

"It's fine," I said automatically. "People grow apart. It happens."

Mom was quiet for a moment. "That pendant you gave him last year—the protection charm—I've been thinking about it."

I looked up, surprised by the change in subject.

"I shouldn't have encouraged you to give it to him," she continued. "It was a family heirloom, meant to stay with us. I was just so happy you two were getting closer, and I thought..."

"You thought we'd eventually be family anyway," I finished for her.

Mom nodded, looking guilty.

"It wasn't just your idea, Mom. I wanted to give it to him. I thought..." I trailed off, remembering how certain I'd been that Lucas and I would always be in each other's lives. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now."

"I think you should ask for it back," Mom said firmly.

I blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes. That pendant belongs in our family. If Lucas isn't going to be part of your life anymore, then he shouldn't keep something so important to us."

I considered this. The wooden pendant had been in our family for generations, supposedly carved from a special tree that grew near our ancestral home. Mom had given it to me when I turned thirteen, telling me it would protect me from harm. I'd foolishly given it to Lucas on his sixteenth birthday, believing our bond was unbreakable.

"You're right," I said finally. "I'll ask him for it back on Monday."

Mom pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry this birthday wasn't what you hoped for."

---

Monday morning, I arrived at school early, determined to catch Lucas before first period. I found him at his locker, alone for once.

"Lucas," I said, approaching him with purpose. "I need to talk to you."

He turned, surprise evident on his face. "Ellie. Hey."

"I want my pendant back," I said, getting straight to the point. "The wooden one I gave you last year."

"What? Why?"

"Because it's a family heirloom and I shouldn't have given it away."

Lucas frowned. "You gave it to me as a gift. You can't just take it back because you're mad at me."

"This isn't about being mad," I insisted, though we both knew that wasn't entirely true. "That pendant has been in my family for generations. It was my mom's, and her mom's before that."

"So we're not friends anymore?" he asked, his voice low. "Is that what this is about?"

I felt a pang in my chest but pushed through it. "You made it pretty clear where your priorities lie. And that pendant isn't something I should have given to a friend. It's meant to stay in the family."

"Ellie, come on. We're still friends. Nothing's changed just because of Samantha."

"Everything's changed," I corrected him. "And I want my pendant back."

Before he could respond, a familiar voice cut in. "What's going on here?"

Samantha appeared beside Lucas, her hand possessively sliding into the crook of his arm.

"Nothing," I said coldly, not even looking at her. "This is between Lucas and me."

"Well, anything that concerns Lucas concerns me," she replied with a sweet smile that didn't reach her eyes.

I ignored her, keeping my focus on Lucas. "Bring it to school tomorrow. I want it back."