new kid [lashton au]

Fifteen

Word count: 834

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[LUKE'S POV]

I woke up again and it was 9 in the morning. Have I really been sleeping for that long? I guess so because my parents were gone and there was a sweet note left for me.

Hope you're okay Luke. We'll be back by 9 pm. See you then, Mom and Dad.

Great, I'm alone again that means. Better than being with them honestly. I'm bored though. Wait, I just remembered, I have the note the boy gave me.

I reached into my pocket and found the crumbled piece of paper inside it.

Hey, if you're Luke Hemmings then I'm glad to see you again. It's Niall, Niall Horan. I never realised how messed up things were for you when we were little but I've been seeing you each year. You stay in the same hotel and I feel bad. I'm coming back to where you used to live soon, I hope you still live there. I hope we can meet up again soon.

- Niall

He left his phone number at the bottom too. I want to be home already so I can call him.

And sure enough, the next few days were a blur. They were all the same. It was my parents leaving, me being bored, cutting, and going back to sleep.

And finally, it was time to leave. I wasn't as sore but there were still some very clear bruises and marks from the beating on the first day. I hope it'll go away soon, I don't want Ashton to see it. Wait. Fuck. Shit. Balls. Dick. Bitch. Goddamnit. I cut. I stopped because of him. I wouldn't cut him. But I cut myself. God, why can't I ever do something right. My parents make me go insane but that's not a reason to do something like this. But who knows if Ashton even feels anything to me. I don't care that he said he feels something to me, he could be lying.

Whatever. At least I'm not dead. Yet.

We boarded the plane and I got the window seat again. I kept dozing off, thinking about Niall's note and Ashton. I memorised the phone number just in case the paper gets lost. I also wrote the number down on my other foot that doesn't have a ton of fresh flesh.

I hardly remember much, I was on the verge of insanity. We got off the plane, got into our car and went home. I went to my room and crashed into my bed. Then it was dark. But I couldn't sleep. I got my phone and it was 4 in the morning. Today is Sunday.

I was back in my room. Everything that happened feels like a dream. I touched my face and felt the bruises. It was not a dream.

I reached into my pocket and found the paper. I dialled the number and shakily pressed call. It rang a few times and then someone picked up, the same voice as the boy in the restaurant.

"Hello?" The boy said.

"Hi. Who is this?" I asked, hoping the voice would say Niall.

"Niall Horan. Who are you?"

"Luke Hemmings."

Niall: "Dude. You better be telling the truth."

Me: "I am. We met at the restaurant. I'm sorry for what you saw."

Niall: "I know that's not all. Why haven't you called before? My parents gave you their numbers."

Me: "It's a long story. But basically I didn't call because I didn't want the numbers to be invalid. As long as I didn't call and didn't know that the numbers were invalid I still felt connected."

Niall: "The numbers are still valid. But it makes sense. I'm glad to finally talk to you again, mate."

Me: "Me too. I've missed you."

Niall: "I can't wait to see you again, I'm coming back to near where I used to live in less than a month."

Me: "No way! I still live in the same house. At least for now, I haven't gotten kicked out yet."

Niall: "How have things been going?"

Me: "Parents, bad. Abusive as fuck still. School, I don't know. I met a boy who I like and we've been talking a bit. I've been helping him after school with Chemistry and both times it ended up with us talking about our trauma. I don't want to share more cuz I said I'll keep those things private. How's your life."

Niall: "Interesting. I've been decent. School's fine. Not much, just boring. Nothing really is happening. I don't know."

We talked for another 3 hours about life and were catching up on stuff we missed in each other's lives. I was able to feel safe and genuine happiness with Niall. I like it and will always like it. We ended up saying a few 'goodbyes' and hung up.

I then fell back asleep.

I hope I can just wake up and it be time for school. I need Ashton.