thin white lines | l. hemmings

20

Fuck.

That was all he could think as he closed the door behind him, leaving Delaney alone and heading back to the two men and his bandmates.

Fuck. Why did he do that?

He knew why the idea came to his mind, and he didn't have time to think of what would happen after kissing her. Which really should've been the first thing he thought about. He'd been thinking about the same thing for the last seven years of his life.

Not Delaney specifically, of course. He had only just met her. But that's another story for another time.

The room had quieted since he left. He was sure they could even hear his quick breaths as he approached and entered the room. Now the man he had punched was slumped against the wall, his cheek reddened where a bruise would form within a few days. He glanced at his knuckles, seeing pink skin that would simply fade in a few minutes.

It took a second for him to notice the absence of the bloody man who was sat on the table when Luke left. After catching Ashton's eye, he pointed to where he used to be.

Ashton shrugged, placing the palm of his hand on his forehead. "He took off. Said he was 'done with this bullshit'. We gave him an address and told him to meet us there if he still wanted to go through with the deal."

He tilted his head back, doing his best to keep his frustration contained to his tense body. "Fuck," he said finally out loud as he brought his hands to the back of his neck, clasping them to rest there as he glanced in the direction of the room he left Delaney in, seeing nothing but a blandly painted wall covered in tacky photos of the artists who had performed in the venue. "Alright, when do we have to meet him?" He breathed out the first few words.

"He said he wouldn't make the deal if you went," Michael said from his spot on the couch.

"Said you were a dick," Calum added on with a shrug like his reasoning behind it made any difference in the outcome.

The idea to stay back was tempting. His eyes were heavy, his throat ached with the burden of the concert, and there was something he kinda wanted to get back to. But he had to be there for the deal. If something were to go wrong, he wouldn't let any of them deal with it themselves. "I don't care. If the deals getting made, I'm gonna be there when it is."

Knowing glances shot between the three others before Ashton nodded. They could've done it on their own. All of them were just as capable as he was, but they saw his need to be involved in each job even if they didn't quite understand it. "Yeah, you should be there," Ashton said, flipping his hand to rest on his head, palm now facing out.

"He can deal. I'm sure," Michael nodded lightheartedly.

"Someone has to stay and take Delaney to the hotel," Luke mentioned as he grabbed his phone from off the table and shoved it into his pocket.

"I have a feeling he's only gonna want two of us there, anyway. So two can take her back," Ashton said.

"Why do you think that?" Luke asked for clarification.

"Because that's what he said," Ashton said simply, making Luke roll his eyes as he continued. "Do you two want to go back?" He turned and pointed to Michael and Calum, who looked at each other and nodded.

"Yeah, sure," Calum answered for both of them.

"Okay," Luke took in a breath, bringing his hand to his face and scratching away an itch that he wasn't even sure was there in the first place. He told Delaney he would be right back, but now he had to leave. "Just...just uh, tell her what's going on," he said simply, pressing his lips together after covering up what thoughts in his mind that he chose not to say.