let me go || l.h.

t h i r t e e n

as luke's lips touched mine, i felt that spark again. i felt the electricity coursing through me as our lips met. in the back of my mind, i remember that there were people around. but i pushed the thought away. i only wanted luke. and from what i could tell, luke wanted me too.

luke pulled back from our kiss gently, smiling like a little kid at christmas. he had a great smile, it was almost impossible not to grin back when you saw it. turning around, i saw calum and katrina nodding approvingly, although calum did look a bit out of place. "once again, hemmings," he said, "i have seen tiahn in nappies and would greatly appreciate it if you didn't suck her face off in my presence. thanks." luke began playing with his lip ring, but smiled in spite of himself.

i looked down at the lock screen of my phone- which now proudly displayed the 5 seconds of summer logo- and checked the time. i frowned down at my phone. it was 3.36pm. we had to be home at 4.00pm. "do you have to leave soon?" luke asked, looking down at me with sad eyes. i nodded. "we'll leave at 3.45," i said to the girls. none of us wanted to leave.

luke grabbed my phone from my hands and flipped up the camera. he made the camera face us, and took a picture. i set the picture as my home screen. i looked at my friends and saw them doing the same- michael and kat doing funny faces, and calum kissing the top of elena's head.

luke shook his head at michael. "is it even possible for you to take a picture with your tongue in your mouth?" he asked. michael laughed, "as a matter of fact, it is," he replied. as if to further prove his point, michael took two more pictures of himself and katrina- one smiling, one kissing her! michael gave luke a cheeky grin. "in that last picture, my tongue may not have actually been in my mouth, but i don't think that really matters, now does it hemmings?" michael said, causing laughter to erupt from everyone. i saw katrina blush and i laughed even harder. she had kissed plenty of guys before, why was michael any different?!

***

after a few more minutes, we said our goodbyes. i gave michael a hug and earned a kiss on the forehead from calum before making my way over to luke. i wrap my arms around his neck as his long arms encircle my waist. we stand here, holding each other, for a few minutes. i can hear his heart beat through his shirt- steady and strong. i don't want to let go. he pulls away, and plants a soft kiss on my lips. i smile up at him. "can we walk you guys home?" luke asks. i think about it for a moment. "i don't see why not!" i reply.

***

we all walk to my place, every couple holding hands. at one stage, we all have a piggy back race- each girl on the back of her boys. luke and i start out in front because of his long legs, but somehow those long legs get tangled up in themselves and we fall- hard. i lay on top of luke and we stayed there, laughing, for a good 5 minutes. i looked down at luke's smiling face and thought i was the luckiest girl in the world. he kissed me quickly, and we continued walking. the boys started talking about a song they were writing.

"hey," i said suddenly, interrupting their conversation, "where's ashton?" luke laughed. "he had to go watch harry play cricket today." i was confused. "harry?" katrina asked, "is that his brother?" michael nodded. "can ashton come along next time?" elena asked, looking up at calum. he pouted. "nice try, but you can't get rid of me that easily," calum said, wrapping an arm around elena's waist. we all laughed. "no, seriously," i said, "invite him along next time- i can bring my friend julia." luke laughed, "you're quite the little match-maker," he said, holding my hand even tighter. i had to agree with him.

***

all too soon, we reached my street. i looked up at luke and saw my sadness reflected in his blue eyes. "bye," i said quietly. "wait," luke said, wrapping his arms around my waist, "can i walk you in? i'd like to see your mum again." i laughed. this boy had a lot to learn. reluctantly, i nodded, leaving calum, elena, michael and katrina outside. i saw my hand shaking as i entered my key into the lock. for some reason, the cold bit of metal just wouldn't go in. luke chuckled, took the key from my hands and slid it into the lock- with far too much ease for my taste. i playfully shoved him out of the way as i opened the front door to my house.

"mum!" i called out, "we're home!" i set my keys down on the table and felt luke squeeze my hand reassuringly. why was i even nervous? if anyone should be nervous, it should be luke. but, as always, he looked calm. mum came down the stairs, her face obscured by a pile of washing. "grab the top pile for me, will you tiahn?" she asked. i grabbed it and set it down on the table. mum still hadn't seen luke yet. i cleared my throat to get her attention. "um, mum?" i ventured. she turned around, eyes widening as they focused on luke. "you remember luke?" from behind me, luke walked up and shook my mum's hand. "mrs. biundo," he said, oozing charm, "what a pleasure it is to see you again." he let go of her hand, and stood next to me again. for once in her life, my mum didn't know what to say.

i smiled at mum, grabbing luke's hand. she looked at our hands, then at me, and smiled brightly. i had braced myself for yelling. what was going on?! "hi luke," she said evenly, "how are you?" luke smiled, looking relieved. "i'm great thanks, yourself? he replied. mum refolded a pair of my pyjama pants, "i'm well," she said. before the silence could get too awkward, i broke in. "luke just wanted to walk me in." i said, hating how my voice caught on the last word. mum smiled at luke, "well, i think that's really nice." she said, more to him then me. luke smiled back at her, "i just wanted to say hi, but i'd better be going." he said. mum nodded. "well, it was nice seeing you again luke. i hope to see more of you." she said. luke smiled, "as do i, mrs. biundo," he replied.

as i walked luke to the door, i couldn't help but notice the relieved smile on his face. i chuckled under my breath. "what?" luke asked. i shook my head at him, still laughing. "you are such a mummy's boy!"

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