Luke was in Cierra's kitchen.

He had slept over last night, and it was late in the afternoon and he was still here, which he didn't think Cierra expected. Not that she minded. Luke thought she probably just needed some alone time, but Luke was a clinger and was not letting that happen.

Cierra was not in the kitchen with him. She went to get the door because someone had knocked. So he leaned against the counter (a very typical place for Luke to be) and waited for her to get back.

And then someone else joined him.

A girl. She seemed very caught off guard by Luke being there.

Luke kind of assumed it was Vicky, but he also didn't want to frighten her. She already seemed kind of thrown off by him. So he played a bit dumb.

"Hi," Luke said, smiling at her.

"Hey," The girl replied, awkwardly.

"How are you?" Luke asked.

"I'm good, thanks. You?"

"I'm great," Luke responded, still smiling. And then she started getting herself a glass of water.

"Do you want anything?" She asked, gesturing towards her glass.

"No, I'm good, thanks," Luke said. And then he realized he should introduce himself. "I'm Luke, by the way."

She was about to respond when Cierra walked and interrupted her. "Luke, I told you to go home," She said, nudging him slightly.

Luke grinned at her. He knew why she wanted him to leave. She wanted to talk to Vicky, which was fair. But he was too stubborn. "Both you and I know that's not gonna happen, C," He said.

Cierra bantered back and forth with him for a little bit, before she finally said "Okay, fine, stay. But I want to talk to Vicky so you're gonna have to leave at some point-"

"Vicky?" Okay, Luke knew it was Vicky the whole time. But just getting the confirmation made him excited. "Calum's Vicky?"

"And your Calum's Luke," Vicky pieced it together, finally smiling at him.

Luke went over to give her a hug. She was important to two of his favorite people, so she was important to him.

The three of them hung out for the rest of the afternoon. It was so nice to see both of them so happy. He felt like he was seeing a new part of Cierra unlocked. The Cierra he knew, from the moment he met her, was one without Vicky by her side. Luke thought she seemed so much more complete with her, and his heart was bursting for Cierra. He couldn't wait until Calum was (officially) back from the hospital so he could feel the same.

Luke left after a few hours because he knew he should let them catch up; they both had a lot to talk about. The sky was really blue when he walked out of her house. Not a cloud in the sky. When he got home, he texted Cierra that it reminded him of her eyes. He knew it would make her roll her eyes.

Later that night, Luke was so extremely bored. It was nearing 11, and he had already scrolled deep enough on his phone so he saw every post. So he tried to go to bed, but he felt so awake he couldn't shut his eyes. So he walked to his car (in his pajamas) and sat there for a few minutes. The car wasn't started, but his hands were on the wheel.

He called Cierra. Hoping she'd be awake.

She answered. "Hey," She said, softly. It didn't sound like she was bothered by his call. Or that it had woken her up.

"Hi, honey."

"Honey?" Cierra sounded extremely taken aback, enough for Luke to let out a laugh. "Who's honey?"

"You, silly. Just wanted to try it out. I feel like I need a new nickname for you."

"What, you don't like C?"

"No, no, I love calling you C. Just thought I'd give something different a chance. But I guess you don't like it."

"I never said that..." Cierra replied, and he could imagine her biting her bottom lip like she always did.

"Are you awake?" Luke asked, finally turning on his car.

"No, I sleep answered this call," Cierra teased, "Now I'm sleep talking to you."

"Right," Luke said, "Well I'm coming over so you better wake up. Unless you wanna sleep hang out with me, too."

"Luke!" Cierra said, obviously a bit surprised. "It's so late."

"Psh, no it's not. It's a Saturday."

"You aren't tired of me?" Cierra asked.

"Tired of you? Never. Don't be crazy."

"Just figured you might have hit your Cierra limit for the day."

"That doesn't exist."

So Luke drove back to Cierra's house. She was waiting in the foyer for him when he arrived. "Long time, no see," she joked, pulling him in for a hug anyway.

Then they were in Cierra's kitchen again. It always came back to her kitchen.

"Do you want coffee?" Cierra asked.

"Coffee?" Luke questioned. "It's midnight."

"So?" Cierra said, starting to make a pot. "You just got here. What's the fun in you coming over just for us to go to sleep?"

"I like how you think," Luke said, seeing her point.

So they drank their coffee at midnight and Cierra briefly filled Luke in on Vicky's hospital stories.

"It's her birthday tomorrow," Cierra said. "I still have no idea what I should do. I didn't realize she would be home in time, so I didn't plan anything."

"Hmm," Luke said, tapping his fingers along his coffee mug. "Let me think."

It only took Luke a few minutes to think of a great plan. He could give Calum's mom a call tomorrow morning and ask if they could come over. Calum usually called his parents from the hospital on Sundays. Vicky could pick up the phone instead so they could talk for a bit for her birthday present.

Cierra's eyes lit up when Luke told her the idea. "Could you actually make that happen? It'd be perfect. Thank you thank you thank you." Cierra gave him another hug, standing there for longer than usual. Luke put his face into her hair. It smelled so good, like coconuts and flowers and vanilla.

They also decided they could get a balloon or two in the morning, and then they had the brilliant idea to make cupcakes. In the middle of the night. But, they were caffeinated and Cierra found a box mix in her cabinet.

So the two of them made cupcakes, stealing spoonfuls of the batter to eat and getting cake mix all over each other's shirts.

By the time the cupcakes got into the oven, it was nearing 1 am. Neither of them was tired. In fact, they felt more awake than ever.

Luke, all of the sudden, wanted to dance with her in the kitchen. He felt cliche, but it was the middle of the night and he was with the only girl in the world that mattered to him. Like Cierra was the only girl his eyes allowed him to see. And he liked it that way.

"Wanna dance?" Luke said, grabbing her hand and pulling her closer to him.

"With no music?" Cierra asked, giggling.

"Sure," Luke shrugged. "Just think of something in your head. Something like... Frank Sinatra. I don't know. That type of thing."

Cierra briefly thought, then nodded. "Okay."

x x x x x

Cierra thought dancing in the kitchen was the corniest thing in the world, but with Luke that didn't matter.

He could be as corny as he wanted, she thought, and it wouldn't matter. Nothing could turn her off of Luke. She was a light switch, permanently stuck in the on position.

So they danced around her kitchen, in complete silence, the only noises being the two of them breathing (and laughing, occasionally) and the floor creaking.

That lasted for a good ten minutes before they decided to just move to her couch and talk. They sat very close, as they always did, and Luke ran a hand up and down her thigh. His other arm was around her.

Cierra kept thinking that this was the perfect time to have a conversation with Luke. A "what are we" type of conversation. A "do you like me like I like you" conversation. A "let's make out right now" conversation. An all of the above conversation.

But the words wouldn't leave her mouth. She didn't know what she was more afraid of: if Luke didn't have feelings for her, or if he did.

They talked for so long that they forgot their cupcakes were in the oven. When Cierra went to check them, the bottoms were completely burnt. Luke had to control himself so he didn't laugh loudly and wake up the whole house.

"We would burn cupcakes," Luke said. "That makes so much sense for us."

It was around 2:30 when they finally decided they were tired enough to go to bed. Before they turned off the light, Luke pulled Cierra into his chest. His chin was resting on the top of her head. She could hear his heartbeat. She couldn't figure out if they had ever been this close before.

Cierra moved away from him, slightly, so she could see his eyes. Their faces were very close now. Kiss me, Cierra thought. The thought came so quickly that it almost frightened her. Kiss me so I won't be scared anymore. Kiss me so we can figure this out.

He didn't kiss her. He said goodnight, and gently kissed the top of her head - so light Cierra could barely feel it. She sighed and turned off the lamp.

Cierra couldn't fall asleep, probably from the caffeine and all the thoughts swirling around her head. She kept tossing and turning, which made her feel bad for Luke next to her, but he always fell asleep within minutes, so he was paying no mind to her.

An hour later, Cierra was still feeling restless. She was facing Luke, trying to close her eyes, but it wasn't working. And suddenly, Luke woke up, too.

He had a strange look on his face. He turned to look at Cierra.

"What's wrong?" Cierra asked.

"Nothing," Luke said, but his face didn't change. He tucked a hair behind her ear. "I just want you to know... you're my best friend, C."

He didn't even let her respond before closing his eyes. Once again, within minutes, he was back asleep. Cierra had to really concentrate to figure out if the interaction really happened, or if it was a dream.

After that, she really couldn't fall asleep. She felt a pit in her stomach that wouldn't go away.

And then suddenly, it hit her. Why she felt so weird. Why Luke saying she was his best friend, which was something she already knew, was making her stomach fill with butterflies.

She knew what it was. He was in love with her.

And that felt really silly to say because they had known each other for a month. But that was the only answer that made sense to her. He wouldn't wake up with the weirdest look on his face and say that if he wasn't in love with her.

Cierra didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

x x x x x

THE YOU ARE IN LOVE CHAPTER™️ AHHHH!!

Next chapter has one of my favorite scenes