Vote and comment to have a chance to have the next update dedicated towards you!

Enjoy!

-

A few blows to the face and a twenty minute car ride sobered Luke up. For the most part, at least. A loud stereo and the windows down drained the alcohol from his blood. Yet the blood was still draining out of the split above his brow and down his nose.

"I can get out by myself," he grumbled, pushing my helping hand away from him as he climbed from the car.

We stood shivering in his driveway. Still, the weather wasn't as cold as his words.

I reached in my purse as we trudged towards his home, grabbing the flask Ashton had prepared and given to me "just in case". I took a swig, wincing at the cheap vodka that burned through me. Hopefully, I would only be needing one of these tonight. But something made it seem like he should've packed me two.

I was surprised that he let me into his home. Luke was the type to change his mind. He didn't sit on the fence, didn't gamble his choices. He knew what he wanted in times like this. And usually he always got it.

I set my purse down and kicked my shoes off by the front door. Luke tossed the bloodied, now dry rag, onto his kitchen counter. It hadn't done much for his injuries. In a way, I had felt just like that tossed aside cloth.

"Do you want me to get you some ice?" I kindly asked, watching as he sat down heavily on a barstool. He simply glared at me. His eyes spoke a thousand more words than his lips did.

I searched around his kitchen for a new rag and wrung it out under cold water. I shivered at the icy temperature of the droplets and soon goosebumps prickled up my forearms. Luke's stare was heavy on me. I knew it was there without having to turn around. The thickened air sat mercilessly on my shoulders and the tension became nearly unbearable.

I wandered around the granite island to get to him. We met eyes a moment before I reached him and I was stopped by his firm hand on my sternum. I glanced down in confusion, then met his irritated stare.

"What?" I asked, a gentle shove being felt on me. His hand fell from my chest and he stood up slowly. His shadow towered behind him and himself over me. He resembled more of a silhouette with these lights off. Intimidation was what he was good at. And I was good at falling for it.

"You can leave now." He mumbled. His words were hard to process, half being because I couldn't understand him and the other half being the confusion, as he had asked me to come home with him.

"I'm not leaving you by yourself, Luke." I shot back. He leaned in closer to my face. The fire in his eyes burned brighter after each slow second.

"You have once before, who says you won't do it again?" He pushed past me, making his way towards the staircase.

"I've never left. I've always been right here." I raised my voice as he became further away from me. He spun on his heels and stepped backwards slowly up the stairs.

"That's why you never bothered to talk to me in the past few weeks, right?"

"I thought you wouldn't want to hear from me," I said, staying put. I peered around the empty home. "And communication works two ways." I crossed my arms over my chest as he rolled his eyes.

"Well, now you can go home and fuck your new boyfriend."

"I don't have a-"

"Oh, have you guys not made it official? Okay, then go be with your," he brought up his cut hands to create air quotes, "best friend, who you hooked up with while we were together."

"We're not like that." I groaned. "It was mistake I made in the middle of an emotional thunderstorm."

"Just go home, Andy," he sighed in defeat.

"Luke-"

He interrupted me once again, "Go home."

I watched as he made his way back up the steps. My heart was racing, my hands shaking. My mind was darting from every dark alleyway in my skull. I charged after him as soon as he disappeared into the darkness of the upstairs hallway. I flinched as I heard his bedroom door slam, but still for some reason I followed this ghost of his footsteps.

I took my time approaching his bedroom door. The moment felt eerie, heavy, almost like I was in a dream. Or in this case, a nightmare. The wooden frame stood tall over me. Just like how Luke was a few minutes ago. The height didn't intimidate me this time.

I took in a deep breath, imagining the scene that was about to unfold. I could knock, then engage in a roaring fire with spitting sparks or I could knock and sit in silence.

I raised my hand and with a gentle few vibrations on my knuckles, I gulped. The knocks echoed through the hallway. I turned over my shoulder as if to check for monsters. The weight was becoming heavier as the seconds passed.

Surprisingly, the door swung open. A gust of wind blew strands of hair into my face, which I hurriedly tucked back.

"I told you to go-"

"I'm sorry." I harshly cut him off. From frustration. From sadness. Harsh words that stemmed from my bluest emotions.

"I don't want to hear your apology or-"

"Listen to me!" I shouted, not wanting to be interrupted anymore. "I just want you to listen to me." I begged. His eyes stayed angry, his body stiffened.

Fighting against a wildfire was tough, especially when you were a just doe. He was strength, power, dominance, and loving him gave me the push to be taller. Broad. Out there. Seen. Heard. But being in the room as two individuals this time felt like he was a natural disaster and I was just a freshly sprouted tree about to be uplifted.

Luke snatched my wrist, pulling me into his bedroom and loudly shutting his door. I stumbled as he sat me down on his bed. He paced in front of me, grumbling as he made a mess of his hair.

"Are you going to speak?" He asked, stopping in front of me and looking down at me. I could tell he was still drunk, but not nearly as much as he was at Michael's. Small spots of dried blood still lingered on his face. A bruise was already forming under his eye. I struggled to piece together a thought. I had so many trying to force their way out of my mouth.

"I'm just sorry. I know my words won't fix your hurt, but I want my actions to." He didn't move as muscle as I spoke. "That night I was with Ashton was such a stupid thing. I can't tell you why I did it, or why I didn't stop sooner. But the second I saw your roses laying my table we were done. I felt sick." My eyes stung from the tears that were trying to push themselves out.

Luke paused, tugging on his lower lip. He let go and sighed. "I poured out my everything to you, Ands."

I nodded, "I know you did. I saw and appreciated that. I still do."

"I wanted to be better for you." His voice broke as our stares were sewn together. His fiery eyes began to cool.

"And now you're better for yourself," I whispered. Luke glanced away, looking at every corner in his dimly lit room.

"You know," he began. "I hate that I still want you." My heart fluttered at his words. "I hate seeing you at school and your car passing by mine. I hate seeing your t-shirt on my floor and that I can't bring myself to move it." He took a step closer to me, shaking his head at me. "And I hate that in the end you did what I did to you." He crouched down and met me at eye level. His hand rested carefully on my knee. "At least I changed."

"Fuck you," I spat. My blood boiled and goosebumps trailed up my heated skin. Luke only smirked at my words and I wish I could knock it right off his face.

"What? Do you hate me now too?" His head cocked to the side as I stood firmly on my feet. I looked him up and down once, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well I sure don't fucking like you," I boldly replied.

"I'm not a fan of you either," he angrily replied back, a smile still lingering on his face. He tilted his head to the side, examining my hair and face for a moment. He grabbed onto the side of my neck, slowly running his thumb across my skin. "Did you like kissing Ashton?" He lowly asked.

I tightened my folded arms. "No," I answered.

"Be honest," he sweetly said.

"Yes." I watched his cheery expression twitch at the answer, exactly what I had hoped for. "But I've had better," I quietly said.

"Who?" He knew what the answer was, and leaving him in the silence was entertaining to watch. He pulled roughly on me to pull me closer to him.

"You." I breathed in. His familiar scent was mixed with the stinging smell of vodka still. His hand moved from my neck and to my sternum.

He shoved me back onto his bed and it felt like slow motion. He crawled over me, hanging his head down to sloppily kiss up my neck.

"I might say I hate you, but I can't get enough of you." He mumbled into my skin, his stubble scratching and tickling me all at once. It was whiplash they way he handled me. One moment I felt he could lunge at me and the next we were sinking into his bed.

Slow breaths, slow hands. Rough grips and tugged hair. It has been weeks since we last touched and the moment was one to savior. Who knew how he'd act tomorrow morning? I surely didn't know. But putting myself through that pain in exchange for this moment was something I unfortunately didn't mind doing.

He picked his head up and moved to my lips. He lingered softly then pulled back from me. I tried my best to study the shadows in his face, but the stars in my eyes were blinding me.

"I've missed you," he whispered, admiring his view of me. Luke brushed the hair from my forehead and tucked it neatly behind my ear. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.

"I missed you too," I replied. I was unsure if he was even looking for a response, but honesty couldn't help but pour out of me.

Luke stayed silent, only a small smile painted neatly on his lips. The way he looked at me was like a student studiously reviewing his work. Like a tourist in an art museum. I felt like A Starry Night and he was a lone passerby.

"I love you," he whispered. My ears have heard this a few times before, but it wasn't until now my brain processed it fully.

A half smile made it's way to my face as my hand moved to his chest. My eyes ran from his necklace laced in my fingers then up to his baby blue eyes.

"I love you too."

The rest of our night was a scene of hills and valleys of his now messy sheets. A ding in his wall from the wooden headboard. A night of many firsts with each other. And as I laid breathless under the loving boy, I knew that these would not be the lasts.

-

A/N:

thank you guys for being so patient during this update!

i hope you all enjoy bc i drove to starbucks to update this bc my internet is trash right now :,)

love u