Home Away From Home

Chapter Seven

DAY TEN

The beach wasn't terrible. I think being that it's been over ten years since I've been to one, I kind of exaggerated my fear. I did manage to stay back from the water by talking with some of Luke's family. Luke joined us for an hour or so before he saw a friend and ran off.
It's been a little over a week since the picinic, and I'd say I've adjusted fairly well. The heat is still next to unbearable the majority of the time, but I'm getting used to it. The Hemmings took me to the Sydney Tower at Darling Harbor, and we went to Port Jackson.
Luke is still as impossible to read. He's still stand-offish, and he'll only talk to me when he wants to talk to me.
I closed my journal and placed it back in its drawer.
"Hey."
I looked at my phone to see an unrecognized set of numbers display across the screen. My eyebrows furrowed as I inquired who was texting me.
"It's Luke."
"As in Hemmings?" For starters, why was Luke texting me, and how did he get my number.
"No, the other one."
"Oh, thanks for the clarification."
"Ugh. You're frustrating even when we're not talking in person!" I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling even though no one was around.
"I'll have to keep that in mind... How did you get my number anyway?"
"My mom made me put it in my phone for emergency purposes."
"Is there an emergency?"
"No."
"Then why are you texting me?"
"I was just going to ask if you wanted to come over to my friend's house. Actually, to clarify, my friend wanted to know if you want to come over. I'm just the messenger."
"Glad to know my company is welcomed by all."
"Can you not do that for like two minutes and just give me an answer?"
"Fine. Where does he live?"
"I'll come home and pick you up in like a half an hour."
"Okay."
I threw my phone across the bed as I ran my hands threw my hair. I wiggled my toes as I anticipated the upcoming afternoon. I need to make a good impression on Luke's friend-- it's probably his only one.
I changed about four times before I settled on black shorts and a white shirt that has a bunch of butterflies on it. You can never go wrong with black and white.
I was pleased with myself being that I was ready with ten minutes to spare. I looked in the mirror to make sure there were no loose ends-- literal or otherwise, and then I noticed my hair.
I had left a ponytail in all night and morning, and it was half out. It was a tangled mess. I ran to the bathroom and struggled to regain possession of the hair tie. After I cut it out, my hair was so knotted I was afraid I'd have to cut that too.
"Not today!" I whined to myself as I ripped out chunks of hair while running the brush through. I went over to the tub and ran the water, putting my head under the cold stream from the faucet. I flipped my hair up, getting water everywhere. I'd have to clean this up later.
My brush finally ran smoothly through my half-wet, half-dry hair, and I smiled in triumph. I left the bathroom to grab my bag, but I ran into Luke-- literally.
He sighed like a disappointed dad. "I've been waiting outside for like seven minutes!"
"I'm sorry, I--" I frantically pointed to my hair, but he didn't seem to care.
"Let's just go!" Luke verbally rushed me out of the house.
As I reached for the car door, his hand had beat me to it. I swear, this kid needs to make up his mind. Luke opened and shut my door for me before getting in the driver's side and pulling out of the driveway. It was a short ride, but the silence made it feel longer.
Luke got out of the car and began to walk inside without me. I quickly unbuckled, though my intentional swiftness caused struggle, and jogged up to him. I found security in knowing Luke, but that's the only reason I stood so close to him. And he smells nice.
"I'm back!" Luke yelled. When Luke yells I've noticed that his accent gets thicker, and I like it.
I followed him down the stairs where I was face-to-face with three more boys. Three?! I was expecting one boy. One.
"HI!" They chorused.
I pulled my lips up, smiling an uncomfortable smile. "Hi." I squeaked.
"Greta, right?" The boy with blue hair asked without taking his eyes off the screen.
"Yup." I popped my 'p' and stayed standing as Luke went to sit down.
"Michael." The blue-haired one introduced himself from across the room, still not looking at me.
"You can sit down. There's room here for you." The boy Luke was sitting next to patted the seat next to himself on the couch.
I didn't know what to do, so I just made my way over to the couch. I was planning to just sit next to the boy with dark hair, but Luke shoved him over and made space for me between them. I swear he does these things just to make me uncomfortable.
"Thanks," I grumbled as I plopped down. It wasn't until after I sat that I realized how small this couch is.
"I'm Calum by the way." The dark-haired boy introduced himself, giving me a big cheesey smile. Quite the heart-stopper. "This is my house."
I nodded respectively. "Nice to meet you."
Calum laughed, thought I don't know if it was because of me or something else. "Yeah, you too."
"And I'm Ashton!" The boy with shaggy, curly hair yelled from the floor.
"Hi," I spoke again, quietly.
Michael cursed a few times before dropping the controller to the floor. "Be careful!" Calum yelled, his brows furrowing.
Michael glared at him before turning around completely to face the couch I occupied. "So you're from America?"
I began to nod. "Obviously, Michael. Don't ask dumb questions." Luke spewed defensively.
I blushed on behalf of Luke, but I was also annoyed that he didn't let me answer. "If I recall correctly, Luke, you asked me the same question the first time we met." I spat.
Luke looked at me with a hard expression, but his eyes softened once they landed on mine causing my already pink face to burn red. "Yeah, but I just told these guys where you're from like an hour ago."
"Kay." I said, softly looking away from him.
"So what do you do for fun in America?" Ashton asked with a curiously excited demeanor.
I took a deep breath, deciding my answer. "Well, as a nation, we carve trees a lot. You'll be walking down the street and see a tree that looks like Gandolf next to a tree that looks like Elmo. And we have professional whistling competitions that are as popular if not more popular than professional sports. We also go on weekly trips to space where we take leisurely walks on the moon." I looked at them all blankly.
"Wait, you say 'lee-sure'???" Michael asked astonished,
I sighed hard. "Yeah, and if I say it differently than you, it's because I'm American."
Michael smiled widely, boring into my eyes.
"You're sassy." I heard Ashton say quietly.
I shouldn't have agreed to come here. "Sorry." I said to whomever. I looked at and played with my hands as they rested in my lap.
"Don't be sorry; it's funny!" Calum nudged my shoulder.
I pressed my fingers over my eyes to calm myself down and looked back up. "Just to clarify, we do none of those things. We do the same things you do for fun. Except we don't have a strong following for Cricket."
"Fair enough." Calum bobbed his head, still looking at me. They were all looking at me like I'm some alien.
"So do you all go to school together?" I pursed my lips to avoid any awkard facial expressions I might make.
"Well, me, Luke, and Michael do, but Ashton goes to a different school." Calum pointed around, making me more familiar with names and faces.
I nodded my head again. "Cool."
"Yeah." Calum spoke, and the unintentional tension was unbearable.
I felt Luke's knee pressed up against mine, and I remember an article I read about human's and their acute awareness to touch. "If someone is touching you, there's a great chance they know it." I found it on Twitter or tumblr or something, though, so its credibility can't be trusted.
"Are you graduated?" Ashton asked.
"Just graduated last month."
"So you'll be eighteen soon?"
"She's sixteen," Luke spoke up, answering for me again.
"No way!" Michael challenged.
"I left my birth certificate at home, so you'll just have to take my word for it." I said trying to make a dry joke. The most I got was a supressed smile from Luke.
"We've all graduated. I've been graduated for two years, and these lads just graduated last year." Ashton spoke proudly of himself, and it was cute.
All of Luke's friends are ridiculously handsome, and it's making me feel ridiculously self-conscious.
"You should come back and study in Sydney." Calum offered.
"I've actually always thought about a semester or year abroad here for college." I noticed Luke look up and at me in my peripheral vision. I turned my head to get a better sight of his face.
He looked surprised but a good surprised.
"Do you play Fifa?" Michael asked, getting his game set up again.
"What's Fifa?" I cringed waiting for an outburst I knew was coming.
"What's Fifa?! Luke, have you taught her nothing?" I thought Michael was going to pop a blood vessel, but I was amused at his comedic reaction.
Luke shrugged. "Have her stay at your house and see if you want to teach her how to play Fifa."
I rolled my eyes, distancing myself from Luke as much as possible.
"So rude." Ashton whined up at Luke from the floor. He turned to me, whispering. "I said the same thing the first time I hung out with these guys."
I smiled, comforted by Ashton's relatability. Michael squeezed into the already miniscule space between me and Calum, practically pushing me onto Luke's lap. My face burned, and I didn't know whether to acknowledge our position or not.
I turned to Luke, which put our faces at an incredibly close distance. "I'm sorry." I whispered.
"You're fine." He smiled sympathetically, and I returned my attention to Michael.
As Michael explained the controls to me and the logistics of the game, my stomach felt warm with butterflies. Luke had seemed to settle in a little more behind me, causing my shoulder to overlap his, and I quickly became aware of Luke's arm resting partially on my thigh as he played on his phone.
I recalled the article again.
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