Faded and Changed (Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 4

We were outside, the heat of Hawaii pressing down on my head and bare arms. I stood on the sidewalk beside Luke, squinting to see the car that was supposed to have picked us up twenty minutes ago. Calum sighed behind me. 

"God dammit it's hot." He groaned, wiping the glistening sweat off of his forehead.

Right when I thought I was going to pass out, I saw a glint of black speeding towards us.

"Finally! That little shit isn't getting a tip." Luke mumbled, stepping closer to the edge of the sidewalk, getting ready to heave our luggage into the trunk. I glare at the limo, despising it for making me sweat out an ocean.

I rush into the back of the limo, where drinks, and precious AC was waiting. I heard the slam of the trunk closing behind me, and a few seconds later, Luke, Calum and my mother all get in, sitting on the benches/couches/seats/whatever you call them, next to me.

"The second we unpack, I'm somersaulting into the pool, and I swear, I will not give a shit if I land on anybody, so you guys better watch out." Calum remarks, I couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

"I'll second that." Luke laughs, his blue eyes half hidden by his eyelids as he smiles, his wide shoulders bobbing up and down. I only realize I am staring when Luke unfortunately catches me. I blush, and look down, fiddling with my thumbs. I opened the mini fridge and pulled out a bottled lemonade, sipping it, just to give me something to do.

When I looked up, Luke was smirking, and Calum was looking at us in a peculiar way, almost....sad.

I was getting tired, so I plugged my earphones into my phone, putting on "Rock Show" by Blink 182.

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When I wake up, my head is on Luke's shoulder. I jerk up, embarrassed. Luke looked down at me, smiling.

"We have almost arrived. you slept for about fifteen minutes." Luke said, chuckling at my dazed and embarrassed expression.

"You should come to the pool with us! We have a private one, since we would probably be bombarded if we were seen in a place that crowded." Calum said. I looked at him, astonished. A private pool on a cruise? Damn. Well, of course they are Five Seconds Of Summer and rich as hell, but, a private pool? 

"I'm sure Mariana would love to! Unfortunately I have some business to take care of, but I'm sure you can manage without me. Right Mari?" She looked at me, winking. I nodded as she mischievously grinned. Yup, my mother was certainly....different.

The rather long car jolted to a stop. Calum was the first to get out, but I lingered, trying to memorize the feeling of the cool on my skin. "Are you coming, or should we leave without you?" Luke poked his head back into the car, summoning me out.

I groaned as the heat once again hit me. I reached out for my suitcase, but before I could grab it, Calum shooed me away, taking the handle and rolling it after him. "Thanks." I said, smiling at his kind gesture. I stopped to look at the humongous ship. It was lined up parallel to the white boarded. The canal spilled out into the see, just a little bit past the ship. There was a rush of people everywhere. Shouting to each other, panicking, eating ice cream, and screaming at their children. 

Luke took my hand and I felt a jolt of electricity rush through my arm. "Come, we could all easily get lost here." He said.

I rushed to keep up with him, looking back every few seconds to check that my mother and Calum were still there. Calum was looking at our intertwined hands, I caught him a few times, and he tried to mask it by looking a different direction. I turned to face Luke and frowned.

"Hey, what's up with Calum?" I asked, just so he could hear me.

"I don't know, he looks like he's on the verge of getting sunstroke." Luke chuckled. I looked back, He was sweating more than any of us, lugging two suitcases behind him, one of them being mine.

I rushed over to him, grabbing my suitcase. "Jeez Calum, I don't want you to die." I laughed. He looked at me, embarrassed. I grabbed his arm and we both speed walked to catch up with Luke. 

As we neared the boarding entrance, I took put my pass. A man in an impressive uniform eyed it, scanned it into the machine, and let me through. I waited on the inside for the others to do the same.

"Mar, let's go get settled and then you can go explore or go to the pool like you wanted." My mother said.

"Alright, our room number is 108, just come whenever you're ready." Luke said, and we parted ways.