Another Life (Sequel to Toxic) - Luke Hemmings

Chapter 8

I spent all day yesterday in my head about Luke's fresh wounds. I knew him too well, which unfortunately meant knowing something was going on. I had class with him today, but I was trying to fight the urge to ask any questions. I didn't want him to think I was concerned with his life, so as I sat in my seat in the lecture hall I tried to talk myself down.

I saw the professor walk in with his stack of paperwork, placing it on the desk in the front and letting everyone know class was going to start in a few minutes. It wasn't until he ducked out of the room again that Luke strolled in, cutting it close to being late by just 1 minute. He still looked beaten up, but when he looked up at me this time he didn't look as flustered as yesterday.

I had my bag in the seat next to me, and right as he climbed the stairs to find his own seat, I moved it to the floor. I couldn't stop myself from making that small gesture, even though my mind was screaming at me that prying about these new bruises was a bad idea. He saw that act as an invitation to sit with me, and without hesitation he made his way down the aisle and into the now empty seat.

I didn't know if he was curious about why I all of a sudden wanted him near me, but I guess if I were him I'd be very curious. We sat there in silence for a handful of seconds until I finally decided to unload my bag. I placed everything I needed for class neatly on the small piece of desk in front of me, and I saw Luke doing the same out of the corner of my eye.

"We're doing a quiz at the end of class on what I'm lecturing today." The professor waltzed right back into the room and started speaking without even looking up at the class. "You can do it alone or in pairs, just don't turn it into a social event." He carried on monotonously, making me tired all over again.

With the impending doom of a quiz lingering in the back of my mind, I tried my best to pay attention to every single word that came out of his mouth for the next 45 minutes. I had completely forgotten the reason I wanted Luke to sit next to me in the first place, but once our professor relieved us of his teachings to tackle this quiz, I instantly remembered.

"Do you wanna do it together, or...?" He asked cautiously after we each took a sheet and returned to our seats.

"No... I mean, yeah, actually." I stumbled, being instinctually cold to him at first. He gave me a weird look before reading over the paper in his hands.

After the first few questions and equations, I realized we only had one left with 20 minutes of class still left to spare. I had finished the calculations on for the third question, and I was waiting for him to finish with his so we could compare.

"Can I ask you something?" I spoke up, but barely. I was so uncertain about questioning him that it came out as a whisper.

"Yeah, what's up?" He stopped what he was doing the second he heard me, putting his pencil down right in the middle of his equation.

"What happened to your face?" I asked, glancing over at him to see how uncomfortable he just got by that question.

"Mike, remember?" He said, analyzing my reaction before returning his attention back to his quiz.

"Then why do you still look like you got jumped when Mike doesn't have a scratch on him anymore?" I pointed out, watching him stop writing but keep his head hung over the paper.

"You know I bruise easily." He said sternly, going back to writing as if that was it.

"They're new and we both know it." I told him quietly, noting that the chatter in the lecture hall was quieting down now that everyone was starting to finish the quiz.

"Are you finished with this equation yet?" He asked impatiently, changing the subject. I wasn't expecting him to get snippy with me, but the second I got attitude I dropped it.