Cake (LukexCalum FanFiction)

Chapter 4: The Invitation

The rest of the week passed by with the blink of an eye. Luke was caught up to speed quickly, and was already known by the staff as 'The Brainy Rock Boy'. The name didn't bother him in the slightest; he liked being somewhat of a role model to his fellow classmates. And being treated like a prince was pretty nice, too. Many of the younger students whispered and gawked when he passed in the hallway. Some of his peers hated all the attention this 'new kid' was getting. But Luke simply ignored their hushed curses as yet another teacher used him as a model for some assignment.

The only teacher that didn't treat him as such was Mr. Greyson; in fact, he acted as though his IQ was that of an elementary student. While it frustrated him greatly, Luke understood that his anxiety barriers were a handicap, and he strived to please his mentor.
~
"No, Lucas," Mr. G sighed once again that Friday, trying to help Luke with his anxiety saying "To help from getting it worse and having a panic attack; what you need to do is to pay attention on one thing and take deep breaths and breathe slowly." Luke broke the tip of his pencil in frustration, trying to finish the day's handout.

"Luke-" Mr. Greyson tried to write the answer for him, but Luke slapped his hand away.

"I know!" Luke spat, gripping his hair with his free hand as the bell rang out in the hallway.

"Clearly, you don't," Mr. G muttered under his breath as Luke grabbed his bag, shoving the contents of his desk inside, not speaking. "Finish that for Monday, and we'll go a little slower next session, yeah?" Luke made a noise in his throat to show he understood, and left without a word.

As Luke walked to Calculus, he was stopped by a familiar voice. "Hey Luke! Over here!" It was Ashton, who was standing by his locker with Calum. Feeling his temper cool, Luke approached them with a forced smile.

"Hey, guys." Ashton glanced over at Calum, a smirk on his lips.

"Hey, I'm gonna go try and talk to Zoe before math. See you there, Luke?" Luke nodded, and Ashton left him in the now almost-empty hall with Calum. A silence fell over them again. Luke cleared his throat, about to ask what class Calum had next, a common icebreaker Luke had grown accustomed to using, but Calum stopped him with a hand.

"Here." Calum gave Luke a slip of paper with someone's number on it. Luke peered down at it, trying to decipher which digit was which. Calum pulled at Luke's forearm, pulling him close.

"Call that when you get home tonight. You have a landline, right?" Calum whispered into Luke's ear, his warm breath creeping around to the back of his neck. Luke's first reaction was to shiver in pleasure, Calum chuckled softly, tracing his fingers along Luke's lower back. "Look, we're gonna be late. Get to class." Calum broke their embrace, and strode down the hall.

Luke stood frozen, replaying what had just happened. Does that mean he likes me? He thought to himself. Luke walked down to Mr. Greyson's room, arriving just after the bell. Mr. G looked up in displeasure at Luke's tardiness.

"Mr. Hemmings, why are you late?" Luke pulled his binder out of his backpack. Ashton looked over at him from his seat across the room, near the front. This was the only class that Luke didn't want to be in the front for; he wanted to be as far away from Mr. G as possible.

"I was talking to someone." He simply spoke, opening to his notebook to a fresh page to begin the day's morning work. Luke heard footsteps climb closer to his desk, a face lowering itself to his height.

"I should grant you detention, Lucas. This isn't sophomore, child, this is Pasadena High. We have higher expectations." The class grew silent at his words; no teacher in the entire school would even dream about giving Luke detention. They would let him get away with anything.

Luke furrowed his brow, looking up at his teacher. "Don't you think that's a little harsh for my first time being late?" Some kids held their breaths; no one talked back to Mr. Greyson.

Mr. Greyson rose in realisation. "Ah yes, I must have forgotten! Mr. Hemmings is thought of to be a 'godly figure' in this class, due to his above-average intelligence. Teachers compensate his irate attitude and treat his acquaintances as though they are paupers; they COMANDEER other student's special rights and responsibilities, just because he is dissolute!" Mr. Greyson had moved back to the front of the room, his eyes focused on Luke. Others turned to look at the student's look of fear. "Now, Mr. Hemmings, would you please come to the board?" Luke looked around anxious, and rose from his seat. He made his way through the isles of chairs and bags, and face his teacher, who was writing a set of different words on the board. "Define these, if you are so intelligent, Lucas." He shoved the Expo marker into Luke's hand, and stepped back, giving him free reign. The words were comandeer, dissolute, pauper, compensate, irate, intelligence, and acquaintance. Luke felt sweat grow in the palms of his hands; he couldn't define any of them.

"This, class, is why Mr. Hemmings is no different then the rest of you! While most of you could easily come up here and write the meanings of these words, Mr, Hemmings struggles! His IQ is much lower than all of yours, because he cannot complete this simple task!" Luke felt his face grow red. He moved the marker over to the word 'intelligence'. It sounded familiar. "Go on, Lucas, define the easiest word up there! We are all waiting!" 

Luke panicked, and wrote the first thing that came to his mind. His entire face was beet red as Mr. G checked his definition.

"Intelligence means information found by police?" Mr. Greyson questioned. Some kids laughed, and Luke felt tears sting at his eyes. "Wrong. Go again."
~
Finally the bell rung, signalling the end of the day. Luke avoided everyone, already hearing the kids in his class gossip about the Hell he was put through. Ashton tried to console Luke, but he just pushed him away. As he walked through the doors of his house, he was surprised to find no one was home. Then, he remembered the number Calum had given him. He rushed into the kitchen, punching in the numbers to this mystery phone. It rang a few times, Luke leaning against the kitchen counter. A familiar voice finally spoke.

"Hello?" Calum's voice cracked through the old landline.

"Calum! Hey, you wanted me to call?" Luke felt butterflies wander in his stomach; he loved hearing the sound of Calum's voice.

"Yeah, uh, I was wondering if you'd like to come with Michael, Jack and I to the mall tomorrow. Just y'know, chill out, relieve the stress." 

Luke felt himself perk up. "Of course! What time?" 

"Eleven until six, if that's good for you."

"That's awesome, see you then!"

"Uh yeah, see ya . . . "

The line crackled, and Luke fluttered up to his room. Even though it had been a sh**ty day, he had survived the week, and his reward was spending time with the man of his dreams.