AN: Nothing in this story is perfectly accurate, okay. You've entered Max's world where everything is weird and nothing makes sense.

Updating, because things have been down for a lot of us. Prepare yourself for this chapter, I suppose.

Dedication: memoriesnthoughts [Thanks for making a cover c: It's great]

As I was slowly getting out of my unconscious state, my eyes glanced over towards the window, seeing that it was still dark out, but the light was slowly becoming visible. I decided to go back to sleep, moving myself backwards so I could be snuggled against Luke.

But the warmth that I sought from my bodyguard wasn't next to me anymore.

I gasped and immediately shot up, looking around and seeing that he was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't even back at his couch. The bathroom door was wide open, so I assumed he wasn't in there either.

I tossed the blanket off of me and rushed out of the room, and there I saw Luke dressed in a large grey coat and jeans, his hand twisting the knob and opening the door.

"Luke?" I spoke up and he turned his eyes towards me.

"Princess?" he said. "I-I thought you were still asleep."

"Well, I was, but then I noticed you weren't beside me and... Wh-Where are you going?"

"Oh. Um..." Luke looked out into the hallway before he stepped fully back into the suite, closing the door. "I'm just going somewhere. I'll be back, I promise."

"I wanna go with you."

"No, I won't allow it. Go back to sleep, please."

I frowned at his answer, crossing my arms. "The least you can do is tell me where you're going."

"It's none of your concern. Now will you go back to the room, please?"

"Not until you let me go with you."

Luke sighed, rubbing the sides of his forehead. "You're just gonna stand there until I say yes?"

I nodded.

He shrugged, opening the door and preparing to step out. "Have fun then."

"Luke!" I gasped, going after him and grabbing his wrist to pull him back. "If I can't go along with you, then tell me why you're leaving!"

Luke stayed silent, his eyes not meeting mine. Then I felt my heart fall to the pit of my stomach when a thought occurred to me--the reason why Luke was leaving at the crack of dawn.

"A-Are you..." I began, gulping as my heart started to pound. "... still planning to go to London?"

Finally, he turned to me with wide eyes and lips slightly parted. My hold on him tightened and he placed his other hand upon mine.

"Princess," he said, "I'm not going to lie: In a way, where I'm heading off to right now is related to London."

A large lump started to form in my throat. "Y-You're still leaving?"

Luke bit his bottom lip and glanced down, not uttering a word, and I knew that I was right.

I frantically began shaking my head from side to side. "B-But I thought..." I blinked away the tears that brimmed my eyes, my head facing down. "No! I won't let you go!"

He sighed. "Please, princess--"

"Stop it! No, you can't call me that anymore!" I glared up at Luke. "You'll just leave me anyway! I don't want to fall for you any more than I already did!"

"Listen--"

"Don't you like me, Luke? Don't you like me enough to stay with me?!"

My bodyguard narrowed his eyes at me. "Tell me this: Would you rather go for what you've wanted for a short amount of time or a long period of time?"

I widened my eyes. "Wh-What?"

"Typically, it'd be the one that you've wanted longer, right? In this case, I've wanted you for a few days, but I've wanted to go to London for years."

"B-But this one's different! You can't have feelings towards a place like you have for me."

Luke shook his head. "Either way, I've been wanting to go to London longer than I've been wanting you."

Right there, I wanted to cry, but I willed myself not to. I'd been doing that a lot lately, and it almost seemed like every time I did it's related to Luke.

Then he said, "But you're right. You and London are completely different. It's just... Even though I've wanted to get out of here for so long, I'm starting to have second thoughts now that you've become someone so important to me. But then when I think of why I want to go to London..."

He stopped himself there, shaking his head before looking at me. He wiped the tears from my face before sending a soft smile my way. "Go clean yourself up, princess."

My eyes widened. "How come?" I asked.

"Because I'm going to show you something. Dress warm. It's cold outside."

A smile formed on my lips and I nodded, turning myself around. But before I could head back to the room, I looked back at Luke and walked over to him. I took his hand into mine and pulled him with me.

"I don't trust you out of my sight right now," I said, huffing a bit. "You'll probably just bring my hopes up and then ditch me."

He laughed. "I see why you'd think that. Fair enough."

------

It was kind of cold once Luke and I stepped outside of the hotel. It was already six thirty in the morning and I was wearing a jacket with a hood over my head and the sunglasses Luke bought me the other day on my face.

Speaking of him, his arm was wrapped around my shoulder and he guided me through the city. We've been walking for a good twenty minutes before we finally arrived to where he wanted to take me.

And I wasn't expecting it to be this kind of place.

Luke had left me standing in one spot, saying that he was just going to go buy something. I merely stared at what was before me, which was what Luke had wanted me to see.

To be honest, I don't know why he wanted me to see this, because it was making me a bit sad. But it was quite obvious that this in front of me was important to my bodyguard.

I heard footsteps behind me and I turned around, seeing Luke holding what he had bought in his hands.

"Carnations?" I questioned.

"Yes," Luke answered. "I also got chrysanthemums, but I prefer to call them mums."

"Why?"

"They were her favorite kind of flower."

Luke knelt down and placed the chrysanthemums on the ground, the carnations still in his hold.

Then he smiled. "Princess," he said, "this is Mom. Mom, this is Ashton."

I looked back down and read the inscription on the tombstone.

"Liz Hemmings," I read. "The most selfless person one had ever known." I read the dates on it, my mouth slightly agape. "It's..."

"She's been gone for eight years today," Luke said. "I was going to come here before you stopped me earlier this morning."

"Wh-What happened to her?" I noticed Luke was already starting to form tears in his blue eyes. "I-If it's not too personal to share with me."

"First, we need to go to another tombstone." He raised the pink carnations up at me. "Follow me."

"Who are we going to see this time? Your dad?"

Luke chuckled. "No, not my dad. But he was a fatherly figure to me."

We walked for a bit before arriving to another tombstone not too far away from Luke's mom's. I read the inscription on it, a puzzled look coming onto my face.

"Who's this?" I asked. "Doesn't seem like someone related to you."

"He let me call him Shi," my bodyguard said. "He was the one who taught me how to fight and defend myself. Every single move that I know, I learned from him."

He set the carnations down and then stood upright, bowing before the grave. Then he said something in a foreign language and I raised an eyebrow, confused as to what to do.

I looked at the day this guy died and saw that he had died five years and two days after Luke's mom. Everything else was in some Asian language.

After Luke finished whatever he was doing, he grabbed my hand and led me over to a bench, sitting down. I sat next to him and we were silent for a while.

I knew Luke had people close to him in the past, but I never knew about them until now. He must care about them a lot. I never exactly lost anyone I truly cared about, so I couldn't imagine how it felt.

"Princess," Luke spoke up and I glanced over at him. "I... I think I can tell you now. About my past."

"Are you sure?" I asked as I shifted myself around so I could face him entirely. "Last time you tried to do it--"

"I'm sure this time." He took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and spoke.

"I was born in Sydney, and I'm full Australian, even though I don't sound like it. It's because, my family and I stayed in Australia a few months after I was born before moving to London, England.

"Then during the summer when I was four years old, My family went to the States--California, specifically--for a vacation. Just for a month before I had to start school.

"Then on the day we were to head back to London, we were at the airport and I had my plane ticket stolen. For some reason I didn't understand back then, we couldn't buy another one for me. So what happened was, my mom gave me hers.

"I refused to leave the States without her, since I was the closest to my mom than with anyone else. I was adamant about my decision, and if neither my mom nor I came to an agreement, we'd all be stuck in the States until we can get more tickets for the family.

"So my mom finally agreed to let me stay with her and my dad and brothers went back to London without us. My mom had to go through all kinds of stuff to get us to survive in this country for the first two months before she finally got a decent job.

"We got this shabby place to live in, but it was better than living in the streets. My mom had me home schooled, but it was mostly Math and English that she taught me. Everything else, I'm completely clueless about.

"Anyway, I hardly had any fun growing up. I probably had one toy--a stuffed penguin, but I don't know what happened to that. We were tight with money and only ever had enough to pay for food, clothes, rent, anything related to surviving. But never was my mom able to get enough for plane tickets. I wanted to work, but apparently they don't let little children work here, because it's considered illegal.

"By the time I was ten years old, my mom was working three jobs a day. I learned to cook, and would make her dinner, but sometimes she hardly ever came home, because she's working her hardest for herself and me. Despite juggling three jobs at a time, she still only had enough for essentials. We were nowhere near close to getting enough for tickets to London.

"But one day the building that I lived in got a call, saying that my mom seemed very sickly and was rushed to the hospital after coughing uncontrollably. She had been coughing a lot and she told me not to worry about it the night before, but it turned out that she had tuberculosis."

When Luke said that last bit, he began choking up, biting his bottom lip and wiping at his eyes that were becoming tear filled. "Th-The doctors did everything they could, b-but it wasn't enough. M-My mom passed away days later. We were still many, many dollars behind on getting plane tickets, b-but now that my mom's... no longer alive, I only needed one. But on the downside... I was a-alone."

"At ten?" I quietly asked and he nodded. He propped his elbows on top of his knees and buried his face in his hands.

"No matter how much I wanted to cry and follow my mom, I knew that she wouldn't like me doing that," Luke went on. "Sh-She would want me to stay alive, but trying to get by in this world is difficult when you're ten and have no one.

"Since I couldn't find any work, I turned to begging on the streets every day, and that was helpful for a bit. But on one of the days while I was doing my daily begging, this guy held out a wad of hundred dollar bills. Of course, being the naive kid I was, only thought about how generous the guy was, but I didn't realize it was a trick to lure me in."

Luke paused for a moment, lifting his head and glanced over to me with tears in his eyes. "S-Sorry, but, um... c-could you sit on my lap, princess?"

I was taken aback by his request, but nodded anyway. I moved onto his lap, turning myself around the best I could to face him. Luke wrapped his arms around me and leaned towards me, resting his head against me. I placed one arm around his shoulders, my hand playing with his blond hair a bit.

"A-Anyway," Luke said, "the guy grabbed my arm and started to pull me towards his car. He muffled my screams and cries and I was so scared. I was for sure that I was done for. But then he came by.

"His name was Masamune Shirahane, and he came to my rescue. He happened to be walking by and saw the guy trying to kidnap me. Despite being an old man in his seventies, he fought the guy off, and I thought he was 'the coolest grandpa in the world.'"

My bodyguard weakly chuckled. "So after saving me, he asked me why I was alone and what happened to my parents. I told him that my dad was in London and my mom was in Heaven and that I was pretty much on my own, so then he took me into his care. He told me about himself and had me call him Shi, since he thought it was easier for me to call him. He also promised that when I turn eighteen, he'll fly with me to London and help me find my dad and brothers in London.

"While I was living with him, Shi taught me how to defend myself and fight. He would take me to this dojo he owned and had me practice with other students. Shi also gave me private lessons at home, and I eventually got my third degree black belt at the age of thirteen.

"Shi was like a father to me. He was very kind to me and gave me whatever I wanted, but I didn't ask much from him, because him taking care of me was enough. We both cared about each other and he was always there for me when I needed him. Sometimes I would get dreams of my mom leaving me and I'd wake up crying. Every time, Shi was there to comfort me and tell me that everything was okay.

"But as I got older..." Luke stopped for a bit, and he seemed like he was just about to cry again. "... Sh-Shi got weaker. When I was fifteen and helping him out at the dojo, h-he suddenly collapsed and I rushed over to him, immediately calling the paramedics to come by."

Luke buried his face into my neck and his body was shaking. I rubbed his back soothingly and I felt his tears against my skin. I didn't realize that I was starting to tear up as well until I subconsciously wiped away the tears that were in my own eyes.

"H-He died from a stroke and, again, I was alone. All by myself once more. Shi would never be able to fulfill the promise he made to me when I was ten, but what was worse than that was that I lost yet another person that I cared so much about."

He started to sob quietly and I rested the side of my face against his hair. His hold on me tightened and I waited for his crying to subside.

"I was only fifteen," he said, "and I had to go through a bunch of stuff just to get a job that paid the minimum wage. It was stressful, but I finally got a job and that didn't help much, but it was so much better than nothing. But every time I got my paycheck, I was either a dollar or two closer to a plane ticket or many dollars shorter than what I had before. Most of the time it was the latter.

"Since it was difficult to get enough money for a plane ticket, I was for certain that I was stuck here forever. But then I happened to run into you that night. It was like me and Shi all over again when he saved me from being kidnapped. And when Michael said he'd give me anything just for me to be your bodyguard, of course I wasn't going to turn down that offer. I needed that plane ticket to London, and if protecting you meant I was going to get it, of course I was going to agree to the job."

"Lukey," I finally spoke up, my voice cracking. My own heart was breaking just from listening to his past. I didn't realize how much it hurt merely listening to it. I couldn't imagine how he was feeling just by telling it to me.

"Ever since I lost two very important p-people in my life, I distanced myself from everyone. I was afraid that if I got too close to someone, I'd become t-too attached and then they'll be forcefully pulled away from me by some m-misfortune. I didn't like the pang in my chest of losing someone I loved so much, and I still don't like it."

Luke sniffled and then he started crying again. "But even though I kept myself away from g-getting too close to people, I hated being alone. But I didn't want anyone else; I wanted f-family. And the only ones I had left are in London." He pulled his head away from me and I gazed at his face, noticing the trail of tears on his cheeks and how red his eyes became. His breathing was in uneven patterns and I could tell he was trying his best to calm down.

It broke my heart even more when Luke said in a quiet voice, "F-Fourteen years have I been stuck here, and I-I just... I just want to go home."

That really hit home. Now I know why Luke wants to go to London.

Like he said: He just wanted to go home.

I placed both of my arms around his neck, pulling him into a comforting embrace. I never thought that his past would be like that. I was glad that he was able to tell me, but it was hurting my heart knowing that that was all that Luke went through.

"I-I miss everyone so much," Luke mumbled. "I miss my dad, Ben, and Jack. But the ones I miss the most are Shi and my mom, but I-I can never bring them back.

"It's okay, Lukey," I whispered, running my fingers through his blond hair. I bit my bottom lip as another tear slipped from my eye. "I-I may not be much, but you have me."

He just continued sobbing into my jacket. I was trying to stop my own tears, but every time I was close to doing so, my mind would drift back to the story Luke had told me and it'd make me feel sad all over again.

We remained embracing each other for a while. I had ended my tears way before Luke did. The sun was now higher up in the sky and more people were showing up in the cemetery. Some would give me and Luke weird looks, but they didn't seem to recognize me since I was able to cover the bottom half of my face and I was wearing a hood and sunglasses.

I heard growling and I pulled away, raising an eyebrow at Luke. He had a small smile on his face before he glanced down at his stomach.

"Whoops," he said, a shaky laugh chuckle escaping him. I moved off of his lap and he reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. "Oh, it's already nine. Well, since you and I are already out and we've got time to spare, how about we start our little date three hours early? You haven't forgotten about it, have you?"

I shook my head. "No, I haven't. And frankly, I'm happy to start our date early. It means more time spent with you."

Luke's smile grew wider as he stood up, extending one hand out towards me. I took it and he helped me up onto my feet.

"But before we go, can we go see Shi and my mom one last time?" he asked and I nodded.

Without letting go of my hand, we went to visit Shi's grave before Luke's mom's. After he spoke to them for a bit, we left the cemetery, thus officially starting our date together.

------

AN: Feels? I don't know, really. If anything was confusing, I apologize.

So now you know Luke's story and his reason for wanting to go to London. What do you guys think of it? I tried to make it sad, but I feel as if this wasn't sad enough. I hope I didn't leave anything out, but I'm sure I've gotten at least ninety-seven percent of things.

Any other thoughts about this chapter? Any predictions for future chapters?

I hope this chapter was good enough for you all. I love you all, and stay strong x Until next time!