It was Cierra's birthday weekend, and Luke was going to spoil her.

He had never had a girlfriend to spoil before. It felt like a momentous occasion. Luke knew Cierra would throw a fit since she wouldn't stop gushing about how much he had already spoiled her during their first date, but he didn't care. Cierra deserved everything for her 18th birthday, and he planned to give it to her.

The first date he had planned went exactly according to plan. It felt like magic... Cierra was magic.

They ended up staying up pretty much that whole night. After round one, they both felt like they needed a shower considering the amount of time they had spent in the ocean, and that ended in... exactly what you might expect.

And then they remembered the champagne they had left so hastily and decided to drink it. The rest of the bottle. And that also ended in the same way; it was hard enough for sober Luke to keep his hands off Cierra, and tipsy Luke was a different beast.

After having so much sex Luke thought he would have been exhausted, but the alcohol was still running through their bloodstreams, so they stayed up talking into the late hours of the night. Cierra laid on her stomach, propped up on her arms, topless and in Luke's boxers. Hickeys starting to turn deep purple littered her neck and chest (he really couldn't help himself.) It was a mental image Luke was going to keep forever.

Now Luke just had to figure out how and when (and mostly, if he even should) to tell Cierra he loved her. They had been dating for almost a week now. That was enough time, right?

Well, not for a normal couple. But Luke knew he and Cierra weren't normal.

He just felt like he was bursting at the seams. The words were begging to spill out of his lips, and he knew it wouldn't be much longer until they slipped out.

Maybe he would during her birthday. If it felt right.

He decided to plan a surprise party for her at his house. A backyard bonfire type of thing. Nothing too formal, because he knew that wasn't Cierra's vibe. He'd invite her friends, his friends, but still keep it lowkey.

He knew Cierra usually hated surprises, so he made sure to check with Vicky first to see if she thought it would be a good idea. She said Cierra hated surprises because she never felt prepared and probably didn't know what to wear. She said Cierra definitely would like a surprise party... as long as she didn't feel underdressed.

That was his Cierra. Always worried about what to wear.

Luke called her the day before her party, which would be on Friday. Her birthday was the next day, so Luke thought it would be fun to celebrate her birthday at midnight.

He told Cierra he wanted to do something just the two of them on Friday, and she happily obliged.

"I bought you a dress to wear," Luke said. "It's on the shelf at the top of your closet."

He figured the only way she wouldn't feel underdressed was if he took matters into his own hands.

So Luke went to the mall. And he recruited Emma and Vicky to help him. Because he had no idea what he was doing.

Luke walked over to where they were standing, resting against the back of their car. They both had their arms crossed and were glaring at Luke with smirky smiles. It was both hilarious and very intimidating.

"Finally," Emma said, "I see you in real life and not just on luke_is_a_penguin." Luke pulled her in for a hug like they had been friends their whole lives (it kind of felt like they were.)

As soon as Luke walked into the store he felt overwhelmed. He was glad the girls were with him. He was going to need them even more than he thought.

Luke pulled a dress off the rack. It was hot pink and covered in sequins. Emma scrunched up her nose. "You can't be serious."

"What?" Luke said, looking back at the dress. He thought it was cute. He would kill to see Cierra in some glitter.

"Vick," Emma said, calling her over from another rack of clothes. "Would C ever wear this?" She pointed at the dress Luke was holding.

Vicky scrunched up her whole face in disgust. "Jesus Christ, Luke, put that back."

"What's wrong with it?" Luke said, staring at the two girls, appalled.

"Do you even know your girlfriend at all?" Vicky laughed, taking the dress from Luke's hands and putting it back for him. "Cierra wouldn't wear that in a million years."

"I expected better from you, Luke is a penguin," Emma commented, turning her attention back to the clothes rack. "Especially since you have a better sense of style than Cierra."

"Don't say that about C," Luke playfully bickered with Emma. "I'll tell her you said that."

"Cierra has told me that herself," Emma rolled her eyes. "Less arguing. More searching."

The two girls drug Luke all over the mall, convincing him the dress had to be perfect and they wouldn't settle for anything less. And when Luke finally found the one, it made sense why it had taken so long to find. All the other dresses were dulled in comparison to this one. This was Cierra, through and through.

Luke held it up, and Emma's face lit up. "Yes. I knew you'd figure it out."

"I think that dress was made for her," Vicky said, giving Luke a congratulatory high-five.

It was short and white, and green embroidery symbolizing vines with tiny embroidered white flowers covering the whole thing. It was formal enough for her birthday, but not too formal.

It took a lot of texts back and forth with Cierra's brother, but Luke finally was able to figure out a time to hide the dress in the back of Cierra's closet when she was at work.

Luke could hear her now over the line opening the box. "Oh my God, Luke!" Cierra said. "I love it. You didn't have to do this! Oh my God, I feel like I'm Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass just bought me a dress."

(Luke had no idea what that meant, but it sounded like a good thing.)

"Consider it an early birthday gift," Luke said.

"Did you pick this out yourself?" She sounded suspicious.

"I had some help," Luke smiled.

"No wonder I couldn't get a hold of Vicky or Em yesterday," Cierra laughed. "I can't believe you met Emma for the first time when I wasn't even there."

"She's exactly like you described her." ("You'll like her, but you'll be scared of her.")

"Well, you guys did good," Cierra said. "Please, no more birthday gifts. This is already enough."

"No promises," Luke said. No way he was stopping here.

"Luke-" Cierra started protesting.

"Bye baby, see you tomorrow!" Luke hung up the phone before she could get another word out.

It was time to plan a party.

x x x x

It was Cierra's birthday week, and she was so crammed with final assignments that she barely had time to talk to her friends. Her lunch periods were usually spent catching up on homework she'd fallen behind on, or studying for her final exams. She only had a few weeks left of high school to go, but she felt busier than ever.

Since she was so busy, Emma was getting restless. They were at lunch, and Cierra had her nose buried in a book she hadn't yet read but had an exam on later. She was so close to being finished, but Emma kept pestering her about her date with Luke. And especially what happened after her date with Luke. Cierra had kept the details to a minimum, but Emma wanted more.

Usually, Em was the one filling Cierra in on all her sexcapades, and for once, Cierra had information, too. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about sex. She didn't have much shame. She was willing to give up the info, but not at lunch, in such a public setting.

"Can you tell me something?" Emma asked. "Just give me some juicy information and I'll stop bothering you."

"Em," Cierra pleaded, covering her face in her hands. She was embarrassed that she was going to give up such personal information at school.

"One thing, babe," Emma said. "I know you wanna tell me something. You're bursting at the seams."

She was. It had been almost a week since she and Luke had slept together for the first time (and second... and third time) and she'd barely told Emma anything. And she always told Emma everything. And this was her first time having sex that she actually considered good. Better than good.

So, fine. Cierra would tell Emma about it, even if it was at the lunch table and she felt her face going hot before anything even left her mouth.

She kept her tone hushed. She felt extremely flustered, but she filled Emma in on the nitty-gritty details and just how many times they managed to have sex in one night.

Emma threw her hand over her mouth. She let out a squeal. "You bitch! I cannot believe you kept this from me."

Cierra couldn't help but smile. "Sorry. Are you happy now?"

"I think you're the one that's happy," Emma smirked. Cierra just rolled her eyes and waved her off.

"No wonder Luke bought you a dress," She continued. "He wants to take it off."

Cierra swatted her away and blushed. "I knew I shouldn't have told you anything."

"Oh, please. I know you were waiting to get that off your chest."

Cierra laughed and gave a small shrug in agreement. She circled back to the dress. "Did you guys have to pick out the dress for Luke?"

"No. That was all him. We were just there to steer him away from any bad options. But he found it by himself."

She smiled. She should have known better than to doubt Luke.

"I think he's in love with you," Emma said nonchalantly.

Cierra almost choked on her food. "You do?"

"It's obvious. He lights up anytime he talks about you. Or even hears your name. It's sickening. But also adorable."

Once again, someone was confirming Cierra's feelings about Luke being in love with her. She hadn't even told anyone. It was a secret she wanted to keep, for now. But Luke was being so obvious that it didn't even matter.

Cierra felt her face immediately go pink. She couldn't help it. Luke flustered her since day one, and the fact he was noticeably in love with her flustered her even more.

"Oh, shit," Emma said, "You're in love with him, too."

"I'm not!" Cierra lied.

Emma squinted her eyes in disbelief, trying to get Cierra to stop lying.

"Maybe a little," Cierra rolled her eyes.

For the rest of the lunch period Emma gushed over her and Luke and Cierra didn't read the rest of her book at all. Cierra tried to focus on the rest of her day without getting too distracted about her birthday, got written up for wearing Batman socks (again...) and quickly sped home after school to get ready for her plans with Luke.

The dress really was so perfect. It was somehow his most romantic gesture yet, but Cierra knew that somehow he'd top himself again.

When Cierra got to Luke's house he was sitting on his front porch. He was wearing his nice pair of boots Cierra hadn't seen in ages and a tight, black long-sleeve. He was so attractive it was ridiculous. It was like he was trying to put Cierra into a coma.

"My birthday girl," Luke said, standing up when he saw Cierra approach him. "Looking so gorgeous in your dress." He smiled, gave her hip a squeeze, and gently kissed her.

"Someone else has a birthday, too?" Cierra asked, pointing down the street. There were a bunch of cars parked.

"One of my neighbor's kids is turning two," Luke said. "Why do you even need to throw a big party for a two-year-old? It's not like they'll remember it."

"You 100% would throw a party for a two-year-old," Cierra called his bluff. "If Eva was turning two, you'd be throwing her the biggest party of the century."

"Okay, fine, you're right. But Eva deserves it. Other two-year-olds? Not so much."

Luke brought her into his kitchen. He leaned his back against the counter. "I know your birthday isn't until tomorrow but... I want to give you something now."

"I told you not to get me anything else," Cierra pouted.

"That was never going to happen," Luke said. "I'd buy you the whole world if I could."

"Stop it," Cierra said, face tinting.

"Turn around," Luke said softly.

Cierra gave him a questioning look but followed his directions. She got goosebumps when she felt his hands on the back of her neck. He was fastening a necklace.

She looked down to see what it was. A gold chain, with a dainty "L" charm.

(Cierra felt so much like Gabriella from High School Musical at this moment. She decided not to say anything, because she figured it would confuse Luke, just like she assumed her Blair Waldorf comment had.)

She also felt so emotional. It was like Luke was in a competition with himself to keep outdoing his own romantic gestures. And he was winning.

Cierra brushed the necklace through her hand, just to see what Luke's initial would feel like against her fingers. She turned back around, the necklace still between her thumb and forefinger. "Luke," Cierra said. It was all she managed to muster. She was at a loss for words.

"It's okay if you don't like it, or it's not your thing," Luke said. "But I was just thinking... I call you by your initial all the time. Maybe it'd be nice to have mine, too."

"I love it," Cierra said, putting her hands around his neck. "I love it so much. I..."

She swallowed before she kept going and let those little three words slip out. And then she'd feel like a fool, even though she knew he would say it back.

"I'm never taking it off," She continued, hoping Luke didn't notice her quick falter. "Everyone everywhere will always know that I'm your girlfriend."

"That's so hot," Luke groaned, "God, I'm glad I bought you this."

To her surprise, Luke did not let Cierra make out with him in his kitchen for half an hour like she wanted. Instead, he brought her to his backyard, insisting they should spend time back there for her birthday.

When they walked out onto his deck, Cierra was shocked to see all her friends mingling in his backyard, with food and drinks and decorations.

"Surprise," Luke said, wrapping his arm around her. "Happy birthday, C."

Her first instinct was to joke. "Two-year-old's birthday, huh?"

"It was a lie in good conscience," Luke said, pressing his lips to the side of her head. "Now go hang out with your friends."

x x x x x

Luke was very stressed before Cierra arrived for her party.

He had to make sure everyone was coming, that Matt wasn't coming, that they parked down the street, that there was enough food and alcohol, and that Cierra didn't suspect a thing.

And Emma was trying to help him set up. She really was. However, her idea of setting up included a lot of talking and not a lot of actual work. He loved Emma - he really did - but she was a lot like Cierra often told him.

Mason was going to be here tonight, and she was very interested in ways she could get back at him for ghosting her months before. "Does he have any friends coming I can get with?"

Luke let out a 'psh' noise. "You don't want any of his friends. They're just like him."

"Aren't those your friends, too?"

"Yeah, and they're fine friends," Luke responded, "Not so great more than friends."

Emma tapped her fingers along the countertop. "Any girls he's interested in?"

Luke side-eyed her. "Maybe," He said. "Why, you're gonna try and sabotage it?"

"Why would I do that? I don't want him. I want to get back at him. By getting the girl he wants before him."

Oh, duh, Luke thought. She was bi. He knew that. He felt silly for not remembering it earlier. "I think that's still sabotaging it," He laughed.

"Whatever," Emma rolled her eyes, smiling. "So will said girl be here?"

"Maybe," Luke repeated, "And maybe I'll introduce you when she gets here."

"Ugh," Emma said, patting him on the back as she walked by to (hopefully) actually get something done. "You're the best. No wonder C loves you so much."

She had gone outside before Luke could even process what she had said. He knew she was probably just bluffing, but he liked the way it sounded. He liked to think Cierra really did love him.

Luke didn't think about it for long. He had far too much to do. And before he knew it, Cierra had arrived, and he was silently praying that everyone in his backyard would stay quiet as he had asked.

Everything went smoothly, and now Cierra, newly adorned with her initial necklace, was mingling with her friends and drinking a glass of wine (Luke had tried his hardest to find the fruitiest beers on the market in hopes she'd bite the bait but to no avail.)

And then Cierra was coming over in his direction. "Did you set Emma up with your friend?" She asked, gesturing to the two girls. They had been chatting for a bit now and seemed to be hitting it off.

"She asked me to," Luke shrugged.

"She's flirting so hard," Cierra commented.

"How can you tell?"

"She's twirling her hair," Cierra laughed. "She always twirls her hair when she flirts."

As Luke watched Emma twirl her hair, he noticed a brooding Mason watching from a distance. "That's not gonna end well," Luke said. And he knew that, but he also knew Emma wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Why? Do you think he'll be jealous?"

"No," Luke said. "He doesn't want Emma anymore. But he wants the girl she's talking to."

Luke watched Cierra's eyes flicker as she pieced the situation together. She took a swig of her drink. "She's playing with fire."

"That surprises you?"

"Of course not. That's what she does." She patted his shoulder. "But you're right. It won't end well."

And then Cierra floated away and was talking to someone else. And Luke went back to his host duties, such as refilling the drink cooler and taking people's keys if he noticed they were drinking too much.

He was bent over at the cooler, simultaneously refilling it and trying to pick out which beer he wanted to drink when he heard footsteps approaching him and a voice saying "Hey."

Luke turned around. He had never met this person before, but he knew exactly who it was.

Maybe Luke had stalked him on Facebook a while back, but he didn't even need to have seen a photo to know.

"Matt." Luke said, curtly. To what do I owe the pleasure, he wanted to add but bit his tongue. Because it was Cierra's birthday and he had to be on his best behavior. Even if Cierra would have wanted him to say it, too.

But once he got started with Matt, Luke wouldn't be able to stop. He was seething with rage just looking at him. After saying his name. He already felt like his jaw was locked in place and his face was heating up.

"Nice of you to have this for Cierra," Matt said. His voice was dripping with insincerity.

"Thanks," Luke said back, matching Matt's sarcastic tone. "Although I'm not sure how you heard about it, since you weren't invited."

It was starting. The slippery slope. Luke was aware it was all downhill from here, but he couldn't help it.

Matt looked at Luke like he was confused. Asshole, Luke thought. The word kept popping into his brain with every new glance he caught of Matt.

"Cierra and I are friends," Matt responded. "You didn't think she would want me here?"

Luke scoffed. "You're funny."

"I'm not joking."

Asshole. "She's not your friend. And she doesn't want you here, on her birthday."

"Are you really that jealous?" Matt said. On the outside, he just looked a bit appalled by the situation. But Luke could see that underneath that, he was enjoying this. He liked toying with Luke like this. Asshole, asshole, asshole.

"Jealous of you?" Luke laughed. "Cierra is my girl. She doesn't even like you. Get over yourself." The words were pouring out of Luke and he couldn't stop them. It was easy. Everything was easy to say and do when Luke was angry.

"She was my girl first, though, eh?"

It took everything in Luke not to strangle him at that moment.

He wanted to yell out exasperatedly. He wanted to shake with anger. But he couldn't do any of that; he couldn't show Matt any signs of weaknesses. He wasn't losing this battle against this loser. Against this asshole.

"And you lost her 'cause you're an ass," Luke said, finally getting a bit closer to him. "Now get out of my house."

"I haven't even said happy birthday to Cierra yet," Matt said, smirk still present. Seemingly unphased by everything taking place. "I can't leave."

"She doesn't want you here," Luke reinforced. "Leave."

"I don't know if I believe you," Matt said. "I'll just ask her myself, then."

Luke felt his face fall when he saw Cierra hurriedly walking over to them, her blue eyes wide. He could see that the glass in her hand was shaking, only slightly.

"Hi, C," Matt said, stealing the line right out from under Luke.

x x x x x

Cierra and Vicky were enjoying the show.

They were standing at a distance from the group of people, shoving chips in their faces as they watched everyone. Mostly, they were watching the Emma - Mason - girl that Cierra still didn't have a name for even though she was at her birthday party - love triangle.

Mason was about to blow. Maybe Cierra should have been worried since it was her party and most people wouldn't want shit to go down at their birthday. But she and Vicky were kind of having a fun time watching the trainwreck.

Cierra had her eyes locked on the scene, and finally, Mason approached Emma, tapping her on the shoulder. "He's confronting," Cierra said, repeatedly tapping Vicky's arm. She got no response. She just kept tapping; she didn't want to miss an important moment.

"Uh," Vicky interjected Cierra's tapping. "Cierra..."

"Are you seeing this?" Cierra asked, trying her hardest to read lips.

"I think you need to see something else..."

That was enough for Cierra to snap her head to her side to look at her friend. Vicky was looking behind her, at where the coolers were.

When Cierra looked too, she thought she might pass out.

It was the sight she never wanted to see. Her worst nightmare. Her biggest fear.

She thought she might puke right there, on the lawn, in front of all her friends, at her birthday party.

She was mortified.

Cierra could already tell how angry Luke was. And she could already see that Matt was enjoying how angry he was making him.

She had to put a stop to it. She was the only one who could put a stop to it.

Between Emma and Mason on her right, and this on her left, it felt like her whole party was falling apart.

Cierra marched over to the pair of boys with a lot more confidence than she actually contained. She could feel her hands start to shake.

Matt eyed her up and down when she approached and she knew all too well it was so he could make Luke angrier than he already was.

"Hi, C," Matt said, and Cierra rolled her eyes without helping. It was a natural response at this point.

She felt Luke's hand on her hip, pulling her closer to him. It was tight, tighter than usual. Cierra wasn't sure if mad Luke scared her or turned her on. Probably both. Either way, she couldn't find it in herself to look him in the eye.

"Don't fucking call her that," Luke practically spit. Jesus, Cierra thought. Something absolutely went down before she got over here for this to already be coming out of Luke's mouth.

"Luke," Cierra warned, softly. Not to stop him, but more so to try and calm him down in any way she could. His hand squeezed her side even harder, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

She managed to bring her own eyes to meet his, and she immediately saw his glance soften. It was the smallest change, but Cierra could notice it. He was trying to reel it in because he didn't want to be angry in front of her.

Matt was looking at Cierra. He had spotted her necklace and was gazing at it. Then back to her eyes. "Do you want me here?" He asked.

God, what an idiot, Cierra thought. It was embarrassing to hear him. So now she was going to embarrass him.

"No, I don't," She said, hoping it would humble him as much as he could be humbled.

"Don't just say that because he's here," Matt replied.

Cierra noticeably rolled her eyes, again. She'd say that whether Luke was here or not and Matt knew that. She hated that he was pretending she was ever nice to him or ever treated him like a friend.

"I'm not. It's my party and I want you to leave."

"You heard her," Luke said. Power couple, Cierra thought to herself.

Matt was back to looking at Luke after he said that and his face was filled with pure disgust. "You're a joke. You don't deserve her. You were fucking a different girl a week ago and everyone knows it."

Cierra's arm immediately flew in front of Luke's chest, and her gut instinct was right, because she felt the pressure of his chest push against it as he lunged himself forward to get his hands on Matt.

He did tell Cierra all those days ago that when he met Matt, he would beat him up for her.

He didn't really beat him up, but he definitely did get a punch in. Calum had come over before he could do anything else, dragging him back by the shirt into the house.

That left Cierra and Matt. He was holding his face where Luke had punched him.

"Do you have any ice?" He asked.

"Fuck you," She said, walking away to find Luke in the house.

Nobody stopped her on her way inside; they were probably all still too shocked by the scene that had just taken place. Cierra was, too. She didn't know what to expect once she got inside to see Luke, either.

He was in the kitchen. Calum wasn't there, most likely letting him decompress alone. Luke was bent over the counter, hands gripping the edge like his life depended on it. His veins were popping everywhere: his hands, his arms, his neck. His jaw was locked and his eyes were closed. There was a crushed beer can thrown on the counter, and Cierra knew he had just chugged the whole thing once he got inside.

Cierra hadn't noticed the other full can of beer on the counter as well, which Luke promptly grabbed. She got a good look at his knuckles, which were already swollen and red.

"Luke," Cierra said quietly, not wanting him to chug another drink.

Cierra wasn't sure if he just wasn't ready to be approached yet, or he was reminded of his anger with the sound of someone's voice, but instead of drinking the beer, he threw it across the room with a grunt. It smacked against the wall, the liquid flying everywhere.

"Fuck," Luke quickly said, looking at the beer all over the floor and counter, instantly realizing the mess he had made. And then looking at his hand, like he just remembered he had punched someone and it hurt.

Cierra went to the freezer, found a pack of frozen peas, and walked back to Luke, who was leaning against the counter and anxiously tugging at his hair. Cierra put her hand out without a word, and he immediately put his bruised hand in hers. She grazed her fingers over the tender skin, and Luke sucked in air through his teeth.

"Sorry," Cierra said, almost whispering. She was still looking at his hand and not into his eyes and she wasn't sure why. She put the cold peas on his knuckles, and he took another deep breath through his nose.

Cierra finally looked up at Luke, and for the first time, she noticed his bloodshot eyes. He had been crying. He was crying. Cierra had never seen him like this. So angry, but so sad. He was always so stoic Cierra didn't know if she would ever see him cry.

"I'm such a fuck up," Luke let out a small laugh, but Cierra could tell he didn't actually find it funny. He wiped his nose with his hand. "I never wanted you to see me like that. And especially not today. I'm so sorry."

He continued. "I don't know why I get like this... why I'm so... angry. It feels good at the moment and it feels so horrible afterward."

Luke sniffled. His nose was bright red. "I ruined your birthday."

"You didn't," Cierra finally replied.

"Don't lie to make me feel better." A hint of a smile came across Luke's face. "I know I did."

Cierra shrugged. "I don't think so. Matt finally got what he deserved. That's the best birthday present I could ask for."

Luke let out a loud laugh, and he finally felt like Luke again. "He did deserve it. Such an ass. Calling me a joke. Did he forget what he did to you?" He paused. "I'll stop or I'll get worked up again."

"Are you okay?" Cierra asked, putting her hand on the back of Luke's head and running the short locks of hair through her fingers.

"I'm okay," Luke said. "My hand hurts like hell, though. Are you okay? That must have been a lot."

"It was, but it's over now," Cierra said, shrugging. "You're okay and I'm okay and we're okay. That's what matters."

Luke put down the bag of peas on the counter so he could grab Cierra's waist. His eyes were shining much brighter, much bluer than normal. He looked defeated and beautiful, all wrapped up in one.

"Cierra..." Luke said, softly. "I-"

He didn't get to finish. Calum popped his head into the kitchen. "Is everyone alright in here?" His eyes immediately went towards the beer splattered all over the kitchen, which still they still hadn't cleaned. "Cleanup needed in aisle five, lovebirds."

They cleaned the kitchen and then got back outside, where there (surprisingly) was still a party going on. At midnight, Luke brought Cierra a cake and they sang to her and drank a bit too much champagne.

Cierra waited for Luke to finish his thought from the kitchen earlier. He never remembered to get back to it.

x x x x x

This chapter is a whole mess of CHAOS and i think i hate it,

However, we were overdue for a luke/matt beef scene so ur welcome xo. also multiple tswift references here just for funsies

I feel like we only have a couple more chapters :( and a long epilogue !