Fire on Fire [L.H]

thirty-six

(Danielle's POV)

     I poured myself my third glass of wine as I was sitting on the porch in my backyard. I heard the door open behind me and it shut. 

       "You look like you could use some company," Luke's voice said to me. I turned to look up at him and allowed him to sit on the chair next to me. "Why are you out here?" 

       Calum and Luke wer here with me, Jay, and Cara. We were all kind of just hanging out, had dinner. Their company was nice having. I haven't had company like that since Jet died. So it's nice to have that right now. 

        "Just needed some air," I told him. "And kind of felt like drinking alone." 

       "Do you still wanna be alone?" He asked me. I turned and looked at him before shaking my head. 

       "Not really," I said. 

        "Then we can drink together." He took the bottle of white wine and poured himself some. I was getting tipsy anyways and he seemed like he was getting there himself. He definitely sounded like it. After Luke helped himself to my personal bottle, he looked out into my backyard as we watched the sun slowly setting itself. 

       "Thanks for earlier today," I said, breaking our comfortable silence. "I appreciate you defending me the way you did." 

        "I just felt like I needed to get you out of there. I knew if I didn't like it, you weren't gonna like it." I smiled at that and turned to look at Luke. 

        "I probably shouldn't even know this knowing you but, Terry told me what you did." As soon as I said, "Terry told me", Luke's head immediately snapped back to me. 

       "He did?" He asked. I nodded. "Look, Dani, I know you said no fighting and I wasn't trying to start one -" 

        "Luke!" I said chuckling. "It's fine. I'm not mad at what you said," I told him. "I actually appreciate what you said," I assured Luke. His expressions dropped to being calm. 

        "Really?" He said. 

        "Even though we aren't really dating, I feel like you would have done that if we were." Luke nodded at me assuringly. 

        "I definitely would," he admitted. I turn and look back at the sunset. Luke scoffs. "You know what's funny is, sometimes I feel like we really are dating. But granted, it's been like almost six months so I can see why." I laughed at that. 

        "And they said only two weeks at least." 

        "This is the longest tow weeks of my life," Luke joked, causing me to laugh as I agreed with him. "I'm kind of glad that it's been this long. I don't think we would have made it to this point with all the fighting we do if it wasn't for this publicity stunt." I nodded as I took a sip of my wine. 

        "I know," I said. "I think back and just laugh, wondering how we haven't killed each other yet." That made Luke laugh into his glass as he went to take a sip of his wine. 

        "I don't even know where this came from, to be honest. But I just know that what I said the night we fell apart, I should have never said. I don't think we'd be in this stunt right now." I could hear a few slurs leave Luke's lips so I know he was beginning to get a little bit drunk, but I was too. But we were very controlled, I could tell. 

         "Do you think we would be together right now if it wasn't for that argument?" I asked, turning to look at him. Luke's eyes stayed set on the sun as I saw her take a deep breath in a sigh it out. 

        "If I had to be honest, yeah, I really do think we would have," he told me, turning to look at me. 

        "I still don't understand what happened," I said, taking a gulp of wine. 

        "Somebody didn't show up, I've just come to terms with that," Luke said before taking another long sip of his wine. 

         "I just remember Cara was working at the restaurant we were going to and she got off at 5:15, which was our date time. And I waited for you and you never showed up so I left," I explained from what I remember from almost six months ago. 

        "Wait," Luke said. "The date was at 5:15?" Luke questioned. He sounded genuinely confused, but serious. 

      "Mhm," I hummed, pouring myself another quarter glass of wine after finishing my last bit. I grabbed a cracker I had sitting on the table between the both of us and took a bite. 

       "I thought it was 5:30," Luke said with a scoff. 

       "Then why didn't you say something, crazy!?" I asked Luke, laughing myself. I really do think back to our date and just laugh at how I thought he stood me up. 

        "My phone died. And when I charged it again, I hadn't gotten anything which is why I thought you ditched me," he said. 

         "Why would I ditch you if i asked you out on the date anyway?" Luke laughed at me, shrugging his shoulders. 

        "I'm sorry, Dani. For all of it," Luke said after the silence that sat between us for that uncomfortable moment. I turned to look at him. That was his first ever apology to me. He was using his feelings! "You didn't deserve to be talked to the way I talked to you that night we fell out. Or anything else I've ever said. Emotions were high and I left them get to the best of me." 

        "I'm sorry too," I said. "I guess I should have broke down the whole thing to begin with. We wouldn't be at the stage of hate right now." There was another silence that sat upon us for a few seconds after Luke broke eye contact with me. "You don't hate em anymore, do you?" I asked him. 

       Luke sighed again, but shook his head at me before turning to my direction again. "No," he told me. 

       "Good, because I lost that hate. I just don't like you at times," I joked with him, since it was getting a little too emotionally invested. 

        "As long as we're on the same page," he joked back. I rolled my eyes and chuckled at him. "I'm not gonna lie to you, I don't want this coming out bad but, I'm glad we never dated." My heart kind of fell hearing that statement. Behind all the hate and even at the time, I really had the strongest feeling he wanted to be with me. 

        "Why not?" I asked him. 

        "Trust me. You don't want me with you," he said. "You're gonna regret it." He said looking me dead in the eyes. 

        "Why would I regret it? I thought we were mutual then," I said. 

        "No, believe me, we were," he reassured me. "You just deserved better than me. Just, trust me. Okay?"