let me go || l.h.

t w o

before opening my book, i sneak a peek over at the door to see if i can at least recognise the people who have just arrived. imagining uncles with huge hands and aunties with too much makeup and overpowering perfume, i smile as i see my older cousin, calum, arrive. surprisingly, rory hadn't found him first, and therefore, wasn't bombarding calum with a bunch of soccer statistics and questions. calum and rory had a great relationship, mostly because they were both soccer fanatics.

he catches my eye and smiles, making his way over. "tiahn!" he exclaims, wrapping me up in a bear hug. "hey calum!" i reply, "i was hoping you would show up- i was starting to go bonkers!" he laughs, sitting down next to me. "where's mk?" i asked, in reference to his older sister. "she escaped," calum mock-whispered. i laughed as calum turned, gesturing to the boy behind him, who i didn't notice before. being the little social butterfly that he is, calum almost always brings a mate along to family events. "tiahn, this is luke. luke, this is my little cousin tiahn." calum says, as way of introducing us. smacking calum on the arm, i exclaim, "i'm only two years younger than you!" i hear luke chuckle as he holds out his hand for me to shake. only then do i gather the courage to look up at him.

wow. most of calum's friends have been big guys who would look more comfortable sitting on a bench press than on my auntie's floral print sofa. but not luke. luke was definitely different. i could feel myself blushing just looking at him. i felt completely lost in his eyes. they were so clear. they reminded me of a bottomless ocean. i just wanted to dive into them and never come out. breaking my gaze, i slowly let my eyes skim over the rest of him. he was tall- a whole head taller than me. his legs seemed endless. he wore a ripped band t-shirt and had covered his wrists in bracelets and wrist bands. luke was gorgeous. usually, guys didn't have this effect on me. but with luke, i was hooked. i just didn't want to look away.

luke smiled, and only then did i notice the ring in his lower lip. his whole outfit, from the ripped band tee to the blonde quiff, just screamed punk. i smiled back at him shyly, and looked back down at my shoes. no way would he ever like me. i mean, we dressed the same, but that was it. looking back over at him, i saw his eyes take me in. did he like what he saw? calum must have thought so, hitting luke on the arm and telling him to stop perving at his little cousin. "who, might i remind you, i have seen in nappies and on the potty." calum said, laughing. i felt heat rush to my cheeks and tried to hide behind a curtain of hair. luke, however, didn't seem too embarrassed. lucky!

***

taking long, confident strides, calum made his way over to the bench i was sitting on. picking up my book and phone, calum shook his head. "what's this, t?" he asked, holding up my book. i snatched it off him, carefully bookmarking my page. "a book, what does it look like? i know you aren't very familiar with this particular item, calum, but come on!" i replied, teasing him. calum pulled a face at me while luke laughed, shaking his head at calum. "who needs books? that's what google is for!" now it was my turn to shake my head. calum and i would always argue about this. there's nothing wrong with a good book! luke surprised me by taking the book out of my hands and slowly thumbing through it. "you like the mortal instruments series?" he asked in surprise. "yeah! i've only just started to begin reading the series again, but i've read all five books dozens of times!" immediately after replying, i looked at my shoes and could feel myself blushing again. i must sound like such a nerd! why couldn't i keep my big mouth shut? "really? so have i!" luke replied, handing me back the book. as it fell into my hands, i felt his fingers graze mine. i shivered, and then looked back up at him, losing myself in those bright blue eyes. "you like nirvana?" i asked, nodding towards his tee. "i only own every album they've ever created!" he answered, smiling. "you like them too?" i held up my phone in reply, where the album artwork for 'smells like teen spirit' was displayed. i smiled, and knew that i was going to want to see a lot more of this boy. i only hoped he felt the same way.