"Stuck In The Friend-Zone Again and Again"

"On The Radio"

I woke up the next morning in Luke's arms.

Maybe I should have felt guilty about sleeping in the same bed as another guy and cuddling all night when I had a boyfriend, but Luke and I were just friends.
Jake knew that. He knew we cuddled and slept in the same bed. And he knew we were just friends.

Luke was already awake, of course, and handed me my phone to check the time.
6:36. I groaned and sat up slowly, so as not to hit my head again.
Without me even asking, Luke slid down and held out his arms to help me down.
I smiled and put out my arms too, allowing Luke to lift me to the ground.

I thanked him and rushed to the tour bus shower, clothes in hand.
I showered quickly then dressed in my chosen outfit: a white tank top with writing that read "it's not Wingardium Levi-O-sa, it's Wingardium Levio-SAH" and black jean shorts.
I didn't bother to dry my hair, instead choosing to French braid it down my back.

I emerged from the bathroom to find Luke dressed and on his phone, and the boys sleeping.
Luke suddenly made a surprised noise and I padded over to see what it was.
He simply held out his phone, revealing that he was on Keek.
It was on a Keek posted by Ashton at 12:04 the night before, the caption being "Parke 5ever".
Luke just turned the volume up and pressed play.

Though you could see nothing, you could hear my quiet voice ask "can you sing?" and Luke's gentle reply of "of course".
The beginning of his rendition of The Only Reason in his soft voice could be heard before the video ended.

The fans were going nuts, needless to say.

"They are literally the weirdest friends ever, and my friends are weird," I said to Luke.
"Yes they are," Luke agreed.

I ran into the house and grabbed a box of Reese's Puffs cereal (my favourite) and returned to the bus. I didn't bother to remove my shoes, since Luke was wearing his too, and we were just gonna leave soon anyway.
"Breakfast," I told Luke.

When I had sat down next to Luke with my cereal, he smiled at me.
"Last day of exams!" He cheerfully reminded me.
"Thank God," I sighed. "Then you have me all to yourselves, no school. On Thursday we can go in the pool, cause it's supposed to be really hot, and on Friday night we have my party, and on Saturday we can hang out with Jake."
"Then on Sunday we have to leave," Luke pouted.
"Don't remind me," I frowned.
"So we are invited to your party, right?" Luke said, changing the subject.
"Of course!" I laughed. "But I'm telling everyone who asks that you're leaving Friday morning so a bunch of people don't crash my party."
"Good thinking," Luke nodded. "I can't wait to meet your friends."
"Oh you'll love them," I assured him. "Grace doesn't really know who you are all that much cause she's more into fashion than music. Jackie likes Calum. Alice is literally head over heels for Ashton."
"As much as you were for me?" Luke teased.
"Not quite," I chuckled.

I finished my last handful of cereal then dusted off my hands.
"We should get going soon," I told him. It was 7:45.
"We have 10 minutes," Luke argued.
"Fine, what do you want to do?" I asked.
He thought for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Make a Keek and get Ashton back!"
"Yes!" I agreed. "Quickly," I added.
Luke nodded and pulled out his phone.
He went on Keek and I went to the little pantry and grabbed some honey.

We snuck back to Ashton's bunk, and Luke handed me his phone then helped me up to sit on his bunk.
I hit record and he squeezed some honey on Ashton's hand.
He then used his hair to tickle Ashton's nose, and when Ashton groaned and reached up to scratch his nose, he dove out of the way.
This resulted in Ashton getting a faceful of sticky, gooey honey.
He sat up quickly.
"Luke!" He yelled, angry.
He and I burst out into the laughter we had been keeping in, and the other boys bounced up with exclamations of confusion just as the video ended.

Luke and I continued laughing devilishly and just as Ashton tried to wipe some honey on Luke, he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder, snatched my backpack and ran from the bus.

Once Luke had set me in the passenger seat of the car and I had stopped laughing enough to be able to function, I typed "Paris and Luke's revenge" as the caption and posted the video to Keek.
As Luke began to pull out of my driveway, I looked at him to find him looking at me out of the corner of his eye and we started laughing again.

I pulled out my text book and began to review again, just to have one last check over.
This took about 6 minutes, so not too long later I was packing it away.

By this time, Luke had switched on the radio, and just as I zipped up my backpack Don't Wait by Joey Graceffa came on (I am listening to this on repeat right now).
"OH MY GOD THIS IS MY SONG!" I squealed, cranking the volume.
"I know you've got a strong heart," Luke sang.
"It's written in the stars," I jumped in.
We sang the whole song, and totally jammed out to the awesomeness that is Joey Graceffa.

Too soon, we were at school, and a familiar mixture of dread and anxiety filled my stomach.
Luke took one hand off the steering wheel and took my hand and gave it a squeeze.
"You'll do great, I know it," Luke smiled reassuringly.
"Thanks, Luke," I smiled gratefully, getting out of the car.
"Anytime, babe," Luke said. "Starbucks?"
"Starbucks," I laughed. I turned and began to walk into the school.
"See you later!" I called over my shoulder.
I saw him wave back before pulling out of the parking space and start to drive towards the exit of the school parking lot.

I hurried into the school and rushed to my math classroom, making it just as the bell rang.
I sat down and put my backpack on the back of my chair and began to tap my fingers on the desk, a sign of anxiety.
I closed my eyes and pictured Luke's voice in my head; "You'll do great" he had said.

I sure hoped so.