Another Life (Sequel to Toxic) - Luke Hemmings

Chapter 1

I must have played through every scenario in my head hundreds of times in the last few months. I tried to envision what it would be like and how it would go, seeing Luke again for the first time. I don't think I ever prepared myself for this rude awakening, and even though every single scenario I concocted in my head ended with me in tears, that wasn't how this went. I felt a tinge of pain at first, but after the initial shock went away I was surprisingly kept together.

The second he saw me he stopped in the middle of the classroom. I only met his eyes for a short second, but that didn't stop me from analyzing what 6 months had done to him. These months had honestly treated him well, and I was shocked that that thought didn't burn as much as it should have.

His hair was grown out and curly, and it was almost down to his shoulders. That alone almost made it hard to recognize him at first. He took his lip ring out and had a sweatshirt on which covered all of his tattoos, definitely making him look less threatening than before. It was like all the dark edge he had was gone, and if I didn't know any better I would have thought he was just a normal college guy. I did know him better though, and when I came to terms with that I finally looked away.

The professor walked in moments after, and when Luke realized he scrambled to a seat in the second row, and far away from me. It threw me that I didn't really have a reaction, and by the looks of it, it threw him too. He looked me up and down before he scurried out of the center of the room, and I could see the slight confusion on his face. It was mostly guilt that I saw, which is why I looked away as fast as I did.

I wasn't going to lie, he looked good. Watching him look at me like that was going to be what broke me down, so that's why I made the smart decision to break away before it could get to me. Our professor started introducing the class, but I snuck a quick glance in at Luke one more time to see him just sitting there all shaken up.

It honestly gave me a sense of pride, seeing him all flustered while I really sat here unbothered. I didn't know if it was the sudden surge of adrenalin that I got when he walked in, or if it was just the plain fact that I had healed? Was I really okay? The thought of being fine had me wrapped up for most of the class, and by the time our professor started talking about our next class on Thursday I was mostly present again.

I still didn't want Luke to approach me, since that was still a valid fear in my head. I guess I had gotten through seeing him, but even though I surprised myself with that, I knew talking to him would be a different story. I started stressing myself out with escape plans for the remaining 10 minutes of class, and when he sent us off the best I could come up with was just walking... fast.

I scrambled to put all my things away in my bag, and when I looked up and saw Luke standing up with his bag already over his shoulder, I said fuck it and started throwing shit anywhere it would fit. I swung my back pack over my shoulder and raced down the aisle so I could get out before he had the chance to stop me.

When I got down to the bottom of the stairs I looked to see him stumbling over what to do with himself. It was like he wanted to stop me but couldn't get words out to, so he just stood there with his mouth flopping like a fish and his hand reaching out. It happened so fast, and when I realized he was too all over the place to get control I knew this was my way out.

"Iz-"

"Fuck you." I said plainly, barely stopping on my way out of the classroom. I didn't actually mean to cut him off, but it just so happened to be the exact moment he got his voice to work.

I didn't take the time to see his reaction, but I didn't care. I didn't care about his feelings or if it was cruel of me to say, I just really didn't have any fucks to give at this point. I was thrown into a fit of rage when I first caught him cheating, and I hadn't been mad about it since. I went right into months of pain and sadness, but seeing him again made me angry again. It was better than being in pain, I guess.