October.

The past two and a half weeks have been wonderful. My life hasn't been filled with this much delight since forever, I guess. I noticed Luke opening up bit-by-bit, and not only to me, but with Michael, Ashton and Calum. And maybe he was already comfortable around the two boys before, but I noticed now that he's changing, making progress, and I'm proud of him.

My feelings for Luke have heightened tremendously over that time, even if I've only known him for less than a month. And no, it certainly was not love, but it's definitely higher than just a like. God, I sound like an 8th grader.

Michael and I were walking down the street on our way to Luke's apartment. He had invited me to come over because apparently Ashton found a load of tucked away SpongeBob Squarepants CD's when he was snooping through Luke's closet in search of his black bandanna. Now we were all going to have a SpongeBob marathon and it was and I quote, 'Absolutely mandatory that you come over and watch with us. Oh, and bring your little try hard Tumblr girl friend with you. He's cool.' I didn't understand why he'd labeled Michael as a "try hard Tumblr girl". Maybe it was the hair, I don't know. But I laughed at his remark anyway.

I told him what Luke had said during our phone call, and now he couldn't stop blabbering on and on about it, gloating how the boys haven't even met Michael and they already thought he was cool. I kept my words to myself instead of raining on his parade, I just hope Ashton and Calum know what they're in for and what a let down it will be.

"Hear that, October? Luke's friends think I'm a cool guy, and I haven't even met them yet. I think that's my biggest accomplishment." Michael proudly stated, and I laughed.

"If that's your 'biggest accomplishment', then you must live a sad, sad life." he punched my shoulder playfully and pouted, trying to make our way through the crowd of people walking to get to wherever they needed to be.

~~~

We were standing, waiting outside Luke's apartment door, deciding on whether to knock or just walk in, like what Luke had casually texted me to do, saying it was all right. I decided against it, thinking it would be impolite when I've only ever seen his friends a few times. I knocked and waited along with Michael, hearing a rather loud conversation going on inside.

'Luke, someone's at the door!'

'I'm taking a wee, you get it!'

'Ash!'

'Fucking hell Calum, just get the damn door!'

Michael and I exchanged looks and the door swung open, revealing a grumpy-looking Calum on the other side, mumbling something incoherent and stopped when he saw it was us, his face lighting up, beaming. "October! Michael, I think! Lovely for you to be joining us." He opened the door wider motioning us inside and bowed, giggling to himself afterwards.

I took in the little apartment I visited not too long ago, admiring the casual decor, wondering who chose the furniture. The view through the little window is what I loved the most, overlooking the busy streets of New York City. They must've cleaned up before Michael and I arrived; clearly it was cleaner than when I last visited.

"If you're wondering, I was the one who cleaned up this place, I kind of lost a bet." Calum huffed, scratching the back of his neck.

"You clean up well for a guy, good for you, Calum." I commented patting his shoulder and he stuck his chest out, feeling proud of his being after my comment, which made me let out a breathy chuckle.

"Is that one of Luke's friends?" Michael whispered into my ear. "He looks Asian."

"I'm not Asian." Calum playfully snapped back, hearing our conversation. "At least my hair colour doesn't make me look like I just sprouted from a Tumblr garden."

"He's mean." Michael whined, earning a few fits of laughter from Calum and I, and I wonder if Michael's way to befriend someone was to start an argument, like what happened with Luke and Monopoly yesterday.

Note to self, don't ever play Monopoly with those two again.

Luke and Ashton came in from the small hallway, both wearing dark sweatpants and Luke a white v-neck, Ashton a black crew-neck. I mentally high-fived myself with sticking to black leggings and Luke's sweatshirt he lent me a while back, instead of dressing up when all we were going to do was watch marathons on the couch for who knows how long.

Luke greeted Michael with those handshake hug things that guys always did, and Calum introduced him to Ashton. Luke turned to me and eyed me from my eyes to my blue cookie monster socks and he grinned widely, before taking hold of my arm and embracing me in one of his warm, cozy hugs.

"You're wearing my sweatshirt. I was wondering where that went." he mumbled into my ear and I tightened my arms that were around his neck. I only giggled in response and kissed his cheek, closing my eyes to savor this moment even though I knew there were plenty more in the future.

I pull away to hear faint gagging noises in the background turning towards the boys to find Ashton holding up his clutched hands to his heart, along with a high-pitched giggle escaped his lips along with an 'aw', while Michael was fake gagging and Calum stood next to him patting his back, as if he were actually puking.

"Yuck," Michael scrunched up his nose, "I came here to watch SpongeBob. If I wanted to watch PDA I would've just walked to work and watched those couples that came in all the time."

"Speaking of that, aren't you guys supposed to be there around this hour?" Luke asked, facing me.

"Nah," I shrugged, "Bruce hired a new worker. Apparently he didn't want us to scare her off with our immature behavior." Michael scoffed.

"Whelp, what're we waiting for?" Ashton held up a stack of DVD cases in his hand. "Let's get to it, shall we?"

~~~

The marathon first started out in the living room, but we migrated to Luke's room instead, because Michael was attempting to do the moonwalk and wanted everybody to watch, resulting in him tripping over the DVD player that was set on the ground, falling right on top of it and crushing it with his bum.

We were in the middle of watching SpongeBob Squarepants the Movie when we got bored, and now we were all drinking chocolate milk in little white Styrofoam cups, while telling each other stories that happened when we were reckless, young teenagers.

"One time," I manage to choke out between fits of laughter. "I gave this boy a hickey, and I was around what - seventeen, eighteen at the time? He went home and the day after his mom called me. Said she hired a relationship therapist because her son was apparently in an 'abusive relationship' because she saw it on his neck." That caused the group to laugh even harder at the vulnerable, oblivious woman in my story.

"When I was around fourteen my friends in my aunt's neighbourhood and I wanted to have a water-balloon fight in my backyard. Couldn't find any balloons, so I looked through my aunt's closet and found my uncle's condoms. Condoms! We filled them up with water and used them anyway." Luke commented nonchalantly, and the room fell silent, only to erupt in even louder roars of laughter. "And to be honest, I didn't know they were condoms until a few months ahead."

"Alright, alright. 'M gonna go get myself more chocolate milk." I clutched my stomach, still laughing and standing from my sitting position - on the bed, seated between Luke's legs, my back to his chest. He pouted and I blew him a kiss before walking out of Luke's room and to the kitchen area.

I opened the fridge and poured myself a glass of water instead, leaning my back against the counter edge with one hand under my elbow so it wouldn't get tired. I was lost in my thoughts when a voice startled me from behind and I turn to see Ashton leaning on his forearms on the opposite side of the counter.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He chuckled, sitting on the stool and spun himself around slowly while I watched him.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I did, when I first met you a while back." He muttered whole-heartedly. I thought back to the time when I first got introduced to Ash and Cal, Ashton being quite friendly.

"Don't worry about it, it was nothing." I waved off, setting my glass of water down on the granite counter.

"Luke really likes you, you know that, right?" he asked suddenly. I watched him, confused as I nodded slowly, confused to where he was taking this conversation.

"I just-" Ashton chuckled to himself, shaking his head, "He really does, October. I can't believe I was stupid enough to not think you were her."

"Her?" I questioned, perplexed. He nodded.

"Yeah, her. Her as in you. To him, you're different than any other girl he's met."

"Really?" I mumble quietly, feeling the colour rise up to my cheeks as I flash him a small smile. "That's nice to hear."

"So, did he drop the g-word yet?" he asked, curious. I dropped my head and played with my fingers, shaking my head. He pouted and furrowed his eyebrows. "But I thought you-"

"I know, I know. It seems like it. But I just- I don't want to scare him away, you know? He's just- so captivating, a-and I don't know. I want to talk to him about it, I just don't know how to bring it up without feeling nervous and overwhelmed or like I want to throw up, or both."

"Okay don't do that," Ashton informed, pushing his palms towards me trying to calm me down. I huffed and dropped my head in my hands. "Just- stay over tonight. And that Michael of yours, too. Please? Talk to him about it. Just be like, 'hey, I think you're cute. Want to be my boyfriend?' Then you'll end up together and get married and have little blonde kids that you'll name Ashton and Calum. No actually, name the darker haired kids Calum. Then the purple haired kids Michael. If it's a girl, Ashley." He beamed childishly and I laughed.

"Okay there won't be any need of that." I giggle, glancing at the clock on the wall and bit the inside of my cheek. Maybe I could sleep on the couch with Michael. But overall, staying overnight wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Alright." I agreed, causing Ashton to squeal and jump out of his stool, giving me a quick hug over the counter.

"But one more thing," he whispered. "Be careful with him, alright? Accept him for who he is. That's all he needs. Someone to believe in him."

My heart warmed at the sight of Luke's best friend and the way he cared about him tremendously. I gave him a reassuring grin. "I already have."

He grinned, and skipped down the hallway towards Luke's room, singing a song with varieties of lyrics like, 'Whipped, whipped, whipped!' and, 'It's a chocolate milk party, it's a chocolate milk party', while pumping his fists in the air. I chuckled and put my glass in the sink, dusting my hands on the side of my leggings and trailing behind a jumpy Ashton.

~~~

"Hmmm, explain your favourite...colour." Luke conveyed. We were on his bed, lying on in horizontally staring up at the ceiling. The other boys were in the living room playing FIFA on their sturdy after Luke and I kept exchanging kisses secretly, up until Calum noticed, grimaced, and suggested that they go out to the living room to play FIFA.

It wasn't easy, because Ashton kept disagreeing, wanting to watch more SpongeBob, their conversation going as, " I don't want to play FIFA, I want to watch SpongeBob!" And Michael chimed in with Calum, punching Ash on the shoulder, and through gritted teeth, hissed "Yes, yes you do, Ashton." He clearly didn't get it - and never did, resulting in a little wrestle fight, Calum ending up pulling Ashton out of the room by his collar and mouthing 'sorry' to me.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, I don't know. What the colour is and why you like it, I guess? And try to make it as poetic and super awesome as possible. Best explanation wins."

"Alright," I acquiesced. "You go first."

He took a breath before speaking.

"Blue. It is a colour intermediate between green and violet, as of the sky or sea on a sunny day. And although there are so many different shades and tones, my favourite wouldn't be the electric, gleaming blue, filled with optimism and faith, because we all know that sometimes life doesn't work out and the outcome isn't pretty. And after it has found out that it doesn't get everything it'd hoped for in the end, and reality punches it in the face, it has already given all of itself away to those made-up lies, and is left with nothing."

We both still had our eyes on the ceiling, but I was listening intently. His words were so fluent; so seamless. He was different than any other guy I've met in my life. He was delicate, so intricate, instead of those other boys that were arrogant and obnoxious. I also noticed he didn't have a big temper. His aunt must've raised him very well. I shook away my thoughts, not wanting to look like I wasn't listening, but instead daydreaming about the boy next to me.

"It wouldn't be the particularly dark blue either, because like a pessimist, the colour tells me that it gave up on any hope whatsoever, convincing itself that the end result won't be what you wanted. But just like the lighter blue, you never really know what the day brings, you know? Just because there are bad days doesn't mean you've run out of the good ones. Plucking out all the flowers won't stop Spring from coming.

"So that's why my favourite shade of blue is what lies in between the other two; that basic, average, middle blue. It is not an optimist nor a pessimist, but a realist, believing that life will hand you anything - dreams, disappointment, false hope, and you don't want to be an idiot and fall for everything like the bright aquamarine, or a downer like the dark navy, but a middle blue, who will pass ups ands downs, and will be prepared to deal with any obstacles."

I was breathless when he finished. I haven't even started my side of the 'competition' and I'm already sure he won. That's what he did - he took my breath away. He was beautiful- so winsome and artistic, that not even big words with big definitions could describe him.

"Your turn." he nudged me slightly with his elbow and I cleared my throat.

"Hm," I thought about it, still skeptical as to why he was asking; probably just out of boredom. "Purple. It combines the stability and strength of blue and the vibrant energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty; it symbolizes potential, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with dignity, independence." He stayed silent, so I continued.

"I don't know why I chose lavender- well, purple as my favourite colour. It kind of reminds me why I left my parents. I wanted to search for what I wanted to do, not what they had planned for me. I felt independent, and now, I still do. And, purple is one of those colors that have been created by mixing two together. Like, my mom was the blue - strong, anchored, sophisticated, and my dad was the red - sturdy, resilient, and there was me in between. And- and I don't think I'm either of those things." I snickered, but not because I found something funny, I was laughing more at myself, really.

He perched himself up, leaning on his hand to look at me sideways. My eyes were still on the ceiling, until I felt him brush his hand over my forehead to push off the hair I had been too lazy to tie up.

"Don't say that," he reassured, voice inaudible as he leaned in, our faces inches from each other. "You're more than that, October Winters. You're being you, and that's all that matters. Okay? Because you are empowering," he placed a kiss on my temple.

"Intelligent," another on my forehead, and my eyes fluttered closed.

"You're so understanding," another on the tip of my nose.

"You matter a lot to me," he kissed the apples of my cheek, letting his lips linger there.

"And you're a hell of a good kisser." He leaned in and brushed his lips against my own, and I was so tempted to raise my head and finally close the gap between us, but I knew I'd forget what Ash told me during our little talk in the kitchen.

"What are we?" I whispered, staring into his bright blue eyes. He looked at me, puzzled, and sat up, pulling me with him.

"What do you mean?"

"W-well," I played with my fingers as I spoke, "I mean, I like you, I like you a lot. And, I'm not sure where our relationship stands, you know? A-and, I was just wondering if this is serious, or if we're just having fun? Because if we are, then I just want you to know that I don't want to do that. Because, like, ugh," I groaned, dropping my head in my hands. "I sound so stupid."

"October Winters," Luke chuckled, sounding amused and I could feel my cheeks heat up. "Are you- are you asking me to be... your boyfriend?" I let out an inhuman grumble.

"This is- this is so sudden. Wow." he teased more and I groaned again, making him laugh.

"Indirectly, but yes?" My voice was muffled since my head was still hidden in the sleeves of Luke's sweatshirt that went over my hands. It came out more like a question than an answer, and that bastard was laughing at my embarrassment.

He took my wrists and tilted my head up by holding my chin softly. "Only if you agree to be my girlfriend."

A grin broke out across my face as well as his and I just nodded. "Deal."

He let out a breath of relief and ran a hand through his hair. "That was easier than what I had thought it would end up." I giggled and tapped the tip of his nose with my finger.

"Well, since you're my girlfriend, I can finally do this." He took a hold of my wrists again and pulled me down on him when he plopped back down on the bed, making me let out a squeal. But it was muted when he connected his lips to mine, both of my elbows on either side of his head to hold me up, and my knee in the space between his legs.

I pulled away too quickly and he pouted, making me chuckle as I rested my forehead against his, when we were interrupted with the door opening.

"Hey guys, we ordered- oh. Hi there." Calum stuttered and I hid my face in the crook of Luke's neck and groaned, and he snickered.

"What's going on over there?" Ash's voice echoed through the hall.

"October's on top of Luke and they're kissing." Calum giggled. Ash cheered along with Michael and I swear my face was as red as a tomato right now.

"Is it a crime to be kissing my girlfriend?" Luke shouted back, making all three boys erupt into more hoots and cheers and I heard someone call, 'finally!'

"I was just going to tell you we ordered pizza. We'll call you out when it's here. Now, you may continue," Cal bid before closing the door quietly behind him. I lifted my head from Luke's neck to take a look at him, and laughed when I saw the familiar, childish half grin-half grimace on his face.

"I like the sound of that. Girlfriend." He breathed, before placing a quick yet bliss peck on my lips. "You're mine, now. I like that."

I nodded and bit my lip, smiling down at the boy beneath me. "Yours."

---

Thanks for all your support on this story I still can't believe I have people reading it wowowoowowowowow