"That was terrifying, Jem." Luke mumbled, sitting on the edge of my bed. We'd just finished dinner, and my mom insisted on us staying for a little, even if we weren't going to be in the same room.
I rolled my eyes slightly, sitting beside him and grabbing his hand in mine. "It wasn't that bad, you were fine." I grinned, leaning into him and tilting my head so my nose brushed his jaw. He turned his head a little, the tips of our noses touching.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. If you keep talking about it, I'll kiss you to shut you up."
Luke scoffed, bringing his head a little closer to mine, "You say that like its a bad thing."
I laughed slightly, turning my head a little more when he leant in closer. His lips missed mine, pressing lightly against the left corner of my mouth. I could feel the slight smile that spread across his features on my cheek.
A second later, he leant away as he squeezed my hand slightly. "Do you wanna stay here for the night?"
I should have said yeah, but I couldn't. Stepping through the front door to this house felt so alien to me, like this place wasn't home. I don't think I feel like staying the night in a bed that felt like it never belonged to me. Lukes bed felt right. His house felt right. He felt like home.
"I'd rather stay at your place again," I hummed, keeping the last of my thoughts to myself.
Luke nodded, a smile growing on his face.
"Great, because I'm not used to sleeping in an empty bed anymore."
**
"When are we going home?" Luke said in a soft tone, his hand resting on my back. Both of us had our phones in hand but we were still close, pressed up against each other.
I bit my lip lightly, shrugging, "Whenever. We can go soon if you'd like."
Luke said home like it was ours to share, even though it was just his. As much as it felt like it wasn't mine at this point, this place was my home. Even if I wasn't here more than half of the time.
Luke shifted in his spot and cleared his throat, his fingers tightening a little on my hip as if asking for my attention, "Okay, well.. lets go. We can come back sometime during the week, maybe."
I smiled, nodding at him. He wasn't looking directly at me as he spoke, which was weird because he almost always did. It wasn't an issue, though.
Both of us got up from the bed, stretching slightly. I don't know how long we had been laying on the bed for, but it was long enough to make me have to grab Lukes arm when I stood up.
Luke glanced around my room again, a small smile on his face. Thinking about it now, I realize that this was the first time he was ever in my room- let alone my house.
"Is there anything you need to get and bring over? Y'know, like something you missed." He asked me, turning to me with the same small smile. I thought about it for a few seconds before nodding and walking to my closet. I looked at the almost-more-than-half empty closet and picked out one or two of the shirts and glanced at Luke quickly, who was gazing at the other side of the room. I grabbed a small bag and put the shirts in it, along with a few things from my dresser drawers.
For a few seconds, I stared around the room. I knew I'd have to come back eventually, and stay there. Without Luke.
Eventually, I grabbed Lukes hand and pulled him out of the room. He stumbled a little but he caught himself on my shoulder, which made me giggle.
When we came down the stairs, my Mom was seated on the couch, staring at the tv with a thin blanket draped over her.
Her head turned to me once her ears picked up the sound of us walking down the stairs and she smiled, quicking pausing the movie she'd been watching.
"Are you leaving?" She asked, a little sadly. I know we just 'made up', but there was still part of me that was negative toward her. I couldn't just let that go, even if she'd hugged me, apologized and made nice with my boyfriend.
I nodded, smiling a little when I felt Luke's thumb run over the back of my hand, "We'll come by soon."
She made a face at that, like she was expecting only Luke to leave, but hearing "we'll" made her realise she was wrong.
"Well, okay. I hope I see you soon then." She spoke quietly, sighing a little. I half expected her to make me stay, which I was glad she didn't.
Both me and Luke nodded at her, small smiles on our faces.
I heard my Mom mumble an 'I love you' loud enough for me to hear, and I panicked. All I did was give her a wider smile before rushing out the door, like I couldn't be in there longer. I hadn't heard that phrase in a long time- too long- it was shocking to hear it so suddenly now. I felt bad for not saying it back.
Once both of us were in the car, it was silent, like Luke knew that my mood had totally flipped.
It was dark out, now. When we got to my house, it was around 6. Now, it was almost 9. We'd been there for nearly three hours.
The drive from my house to Lukes wasn't long, but the red light we had to stop at made it feel so much longer. When his car came to a stop, he cleared his throat and reached for my hand, gripping it tightly in his.
"You didn't say it back."
I knew exactly what he was talking about. This shouldn't have been that big of a deal- plenty of people don't say it back to their parents. For me, right now, in this situation, it was. I don't know why.
"I panicked. It's been a long time." I mumbled, looking at our hands. Thirty more seconds maybe, then the light would flash back to green.
It was quiet again, for maybe ten seconds. His thumb was moving over the back of my hand again, making me hold back a smile.
"If I said it, would you say it back?" Luke mumbled softly. His voice sounded hesitant, but calm.
I looked up at him, feeling my cheeks become hot, probably making them red. Even though it was dark in the car, only a dim light, I'm sure he could see the blush.
The expression on his face shifted. At first it was curious, kind of innocent, but now it looked hurt. Because I hesitated, he probably thought I wouldn't. Now I felt even worse than before.
The light quickly flashed to green, and Luke turned his head away so he could start driving. After a few seconds, his throat cleared again as if there was cotton stuffed in it that he couldn't get out.
"Because I do," Luke murmured, squeezing my hand, "I do love you, Jem. So much."
I tried to hold back a smile, even if he wasn't looking. But I couldn't. Instead, I held onto his hand a little tighter and leaned over to kiss his cheek lightly.
"I love you, too."
//
this is a moment that should be marked in history
anyways.. sorry about not updating on friday!!! i just finished it today (wednesday) and i decided to post now. i will not be updating this friday, though, since i am now!!
but!! we are almost at 10k omg this is so exciting for me??? thank all of u for readin this n stickin around!! i hope u guys stay till the end
now i must go,,!! gdbye (-: love u guys so much, cya next friday (pls vote!!!)
- liberty
(ps if i wrote a muke fic would u guys read it lol)
