Foreign Exchange // Punk Luke Hemmings

Introductions

On a scale of one to ten, my mood the next day was about a negative thirty-eight. I woke up seething, before I realized that Luke had only been here for two entire days. How in God's holy name would I deal with him for an entire year and a half?!

I endured his existence on the way to school, and during the few classes I had with him. Thankfully Danny and I didn't sit together at lunch, or I think I might have died. I hated people watching me eat, so if Luke had been there, I would have skipped eating.

When chorale came along, I entered the room to find two things wrong. First, Ms. Tessle wasn't there. Second, Luke was there. I groaned and walked to my seat, ignoring the tall boy sitting at the piano.

"Nice to see you too Haylee," he smirked from the bench. "How's your day been?" Luke stood and made his way up to where I sat, doodling on my skin.

"A thousand times worse now that you think we're on speaking terms..." I mumbled, keeping my eyes on my arm. I noticed that my hand was shaking slightly with nervousness, so I force it to steady itself out.

"Aw," he stopped in front of me. "Come on princess, I don't get why you're acting this way," he leaned forward and rested his hands on the back of my chair. His voice was low and gravelly, making my stomach do flips.

"Maybe because you're being a huge díck to me," I snorted, shaking my head.

"Just because I have one doesn't mean I am one," he chuckled darkly. Suddenly his hand was under my chin, tilting it back so I had to look him in the eye. I almost gasped at how close his face was to mine, the blue o his irises more intense than of ever seen in a pair of eyes. "But believe me, it is big," he grinned slyly.

"Get away!" I shoved him off, running my fingers through my hair as I tried to compose myself. Just then, Mitch entered the room. Dämn, if only he'd come in ten seconds ago!

"Hiya Haylee. You must be Luke," he smiled as Luke sauntered across the row of chairs to meet him.

"Yeah," Luke nodded with a friendly smile. "You're a friend of Haylee's, right?" How the hell does he go from a pretentious little bítch to the nicest guy in the world?!

"Yeah, we're actually in a band together," Mitch said, and I groaned again. Now Luke knew someone else who was in the band. Great.

"Oh yeah," Luke leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. I couldn't help but notice how his shirt stretched over his taut muscles, the tattoos on his skin shifting with the movement. "I heard about that. I'd love to check your music out."

"That would be awesome!" Mitch said excitedly. "We should hang out sometime, yeah?" Now he'd done it. I was officially done with the day.

"Sounds good," Luke beamed, his gaze flickering to where I sat, brooding over my misfortune. I realised I was still watching him, causing his lips hitch up in that half grin that already frayed my nerves when I thought about it. I quickly looked away, trying not to think about how the ring in his lip shifted when he smirked, or the way his eyes drowned you in their ocea-

Stop, I thought to myself. I couldn't let this idiot get to me.

Finally, others began entering. I just went back to the design I was drawing on my forearm, a looping knot which we used as our band logo. I planned to get it tattooed on, but not until I was officially an adult.

I was working so intently that I didn't notice a body plop down beside me. Not until she tapped my knee lightly. I looked up so see probably my closest friend smiling at me.

"Graceybear!!" I threw my arms around her excitedly. "You're back!"

"Good to see you too Haylee," she laughed, hugging me back. "So how have the first few day of school been?" she asked pulling back to look at me.

"Horrible. It's school, first of all. And second, I've had to deal with Luke over there..." I replied irritatedly.

She cocked her head slightly, eyebrows furrowing a bit. "That the immersion kid or whatever he's considered?"

"Yeah. And I think he technically called a foreign exchange student, which makes no sense. He speaks English for God's sakes," I rolled my eyes, glaring in Luke's direction as he chatted with my friends. "On a happier note, how was Europe?" I asked, anxious to hear her stories.

"It was amazing!" Grace had missed the first few days of school since she'd spent the entire summer going around Europe. The Charity Club was there to give thousands of dollars worth o essentials to those in need across the ocean, and I was so proud of her for getting the courage to do that. "I met so many amazing people and heard so many stories. I just feel so much more aware of people's needs now."

"I bet it was just so cool," I nodded. Ms. Tessle entered just before the bell rang, looking a bit winded an flustered.

"Settle down everyone. Get to your seats please," she said, putting down the things she was carrying. It was a stack of what looked like song books, though I couldn't see what they were.

I sighed as Luke sat a few seats away from me, his eyebrow quirked up, making me roll my eyes yet again. If he kept this up, eventually my eyes would get stuck from rolling them too many times.

"I'm so sorry I'm late everyone," Ms. Tessle sighed. "The sheet music for the songs we are going to be performing at the assembly just arrived a few minutes ago and I had to get them."

"What are we singing?" Keran asked excitedly. There were a few sounds of agreement throughout the class.

"Well, we will be preparing four songs together, and which ones we preform at the assembly will depend on the songs our soloists and duet choose to sing."

"And what are the four songs?" Mitch asked a bit impatiently.

"They are It's Time by Imagine Dragons, I Miss You by Blink-182, Geronimo by Shepard, and Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy," she smiled. "I would be willing to bet you all know those songs, or have at least hear of them?" Practically everyone nodded. Including Luke.

"Wow Ms. Tessle, I didn't know you had such good music taste," laughed a girl named Marley, who was nice but didn't really talk to me.

"Well I'm only twenty-two. I don't live under a rock," she rolled her eyes. "How about we get started. What should we work on first?"