mistake || c.h au

|| chapter one ; snapchat stories ||

|| december 28, 2011 ||

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Tegan picked at a thread on her sweater as her friends attempted to comfort her. The jumper wasn't hers, but one of Calum's that he'd left behind the previous night in his haste to leave.

"I really hate him," Luke shook his head after a while, breaking the silence that had fallen upon the four of them.

Tegan kept her gaze focused on a spot on the wall in front of her, and gave a small shrug by way of acknowledgement and reply.

"I can't believe he just left though!" Luke continued, his eyebrows knitting together into a frown. "He didn't even try to talk it out with you."

Michael and Ashton both shared a small glance, before shooting a warning one in Luke's direction. Luke however did not catch onto the hint, as he continued to talk about Calum.

"I really hope he realises what he's letting go," Luke sighed, before adding quietly: "He never deserved you anyway."

It was Tegan's turn to sigh, and she stood up and left the room as she did so. She padded through to the dimly lit kitchen and took a seat at the island.

Tegan's mother was extremely dedicated to her work, and spent most of her time either in her office up town, or jetting off to various destinations to attend important business meetings, meaning that she was never really home. Tegan and her mother had never really shared a close relationship simply due to her mother's commitment to work. So, despite the festive period, Tegan was home alone once again while her mother was in New York.

It took Luke at least five minutes to work up the courage to follow after Tegan. It wasn't because he was nervous as such, but because he was so worried of losing his best friend in the event that he said something wrong.

He shuffled into the kitchen, making just enough noise to make Tegan aware of his presence so as not to startle her. Luke wrapped his arms loosely around Tegan's waist from behind, and let his chin rest on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Luke spoke quietly. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

Tegan nodded lightly, and looked down at her waist as she placed her hand over Luke's.

"You know I'll always be here for you no matter what, right?" Luke whispered.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Luke," Tegan replied quietly. "It just fills us all with false hope."

"Well, you know what?" Luke only paused briefly, but it wasn't long enough for Tegan to reply in any way. "I am promising you, because no matter how much you may want to get rid of me - I am never, ever going to leave you."

"Okay," Tegan let a hint of a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "I'll hold you to that."

Michael and Ashton joined the pair in the kitchen. Michael flicked the main lights on, which startled Luke. He pulled himself away from Tegan quickly, but let out a sigh of relief once he realised that it was only his friends. Michael and Ashton couldn't help but chuckle to themselves at Luke's state of short lived panic.

"Hey," Ashton spoke softly, taking a seat on a stool on the opposite side of the kitchen island to Tegan. "How are you feeling?"

"Numb," Tegan shook her head. She wasn't sure what else she was supposed to feel - emotionally anyway - because she was still attempting to come to terms with her situation, while simultaneously attempting to find a way out of it. "And kind of hungry."

"Good. Because Michael and I were just coming through here to ask if you wanted us to order a pizza?"

"Sure," Tegan shrugged. "I think there's a menu in one if the drawers over there."