Childhood best friends Luke and Mia are going to college next fall, and their friendship is changing. Everything is changing. Luke, having been absolutely in love with Mia since forever, is growing tired of their platonic friendship. Although their...
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I wake up in his bed for the third time this week. I barely live in my own house anymore. The walls are a comfortable grey and the bed is warm. Feels like home more than home does.
"Good morning, Sunshine," my best friend in the whole world, otherwise known as Luke White, walks in holding a cup of coffee.
"Good morning, Lukey," I smile and sit up, knowing he absolutely hates that name. I'll never stop calling him that.
"Call me that again and you can't sleep here anymore." He doesn't mean it, but his straight face with those painful slate grey eyes almost makes me believe it for a second.
"That's not funny," I frown, "I thought you loved me."
He looks really flustered now, speechless almost. Luke raises his right arm and scratches the back of his neck out of nervous habit. Cute.
"I'm kidding, you idiot," I say, halfway through a laugh. Throwing the blanket off my legs, I get up and walk over to him. Luke is wearing a grey hoodie and his favorite flannel sweatpants.
He hums in response as he puts the coffee down. Meeting me halfway, my best friend wraps his large arms around my waist in a hug.
"I do love you, sweet girl," Luke whispers in my ear. He says something else, but he's so quiet and I'm so busy trying to enjoy this hug that I don't try to hear it.
"Okay, get off me. I have to brush my teeth," I respond, pushing him off me. Luke laughs, shaking his head. I like his laugh a lot.
---
After brushing my teeth and doing the other parts of my morning routine, I walk back to Luke's room where he's sitting on his bed watching one of my favorite Disney princess movies, Tangled.
"Lukey, I had no idea you enjoyed watching these kinds of movies," I tease, jumping into bed right next to him. He pulls me into his lap, facing the TV screen.
"Shut up and watch your movie," he says. I feel a ghost of a smile press into the back of my head. I do as he says while he wraps a stray arm around my waist, putting his head on my shoulder.
"Would you help me brush my hair if it was that long?" I ask.
"Mia, you know you wouldn't give me a choice," he replies with a chuckle.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, if I was reluctant, you would cry and I'd have to help you."
"Am I really that needy and dependent on you?" I frown.
"That's not what I mean, sweet girl."
"Then what do you mean?" I push his arm off me and get off him. Why is he such a butthole? All he had to do was say yes.
"I mean," he says with this weird look, "you're my best friend. You push me to be better. And even when I don't want to do the right thing, it's always you who convinces me. I don't want to see my girl upset. You know that. I might not know how to handle a situation at first, but the second I see my Mia cry, it's game over. There's nothing I won't do to put a smile on that face."
"Would you eat moldy cheese?"
"Depends.. Is it cheddar?" he laughs. I shove him a little bit before crawling back in his lap, facing him.
"You're my best friend in the whole world," I tell my Lukey, squeezing him in a hug.
