The Red and Yellow Rose || A Lander fanfic

Part 4- Trust and True love

Luke and Hailey stared at Jake in shock as he finished the story. Luke had started crying about two minutes ago, and Hailey was close to joining him.

"I- I had no idea he felt that way..." Hailey says, looking at Luke.

"I didn't know either, Hailey," Luke replies.

After a bit of silence between the three, Luke stands up, making both Jake and Hailey look at him sharply.

"Well, we know now," Luke states, determination ringing in his voice. "And we need to help him. I'm going to go talk to him, make things right." With that, he walked out of the pizzeria, leaving Hailey and Jake staring at the clear door swinging shut as Luke starts running.

"Should we go after him or do you think he can do it himself?" Jake asks, looking back at Hailey.

Hailey smiles, then picks up a menu. "I think they should have their privacy, I believe in Luke," she says, looking at the options. "What do you think about sharing a pepperoni pizza?"

——- .🤎. .💔. .💜. ——-

Luke runs to the nearest bus stop, and after being dropped off continues running until he reaches Zander's house. He no longer felt the sadness he had previously been dealing with, and instead felt determination. He had to fix this. He had to get Zander back. He approached the door and knocked.

"Oh! Hello Luke," Mrs. Wickham greets warmly as she opens the door. "Unfortunately, Hailey's gone to the mall, and Zander...well..."

"I know," Luke says softly, surprising Mrs. Wickham. "I...need to talk to Zander, I think I can help him.

Mrs. Wickham debates for a moment, before opening the door further and smiling. "Alright Luke, I trust you."

——- .🤎. .💔. .💜. ——-

Zander is, once again, lying on his bed. After all, it's not like anything is worth doing. Not without Luke. Suddenly, a knock rings out from his door.

"Come in," he sighs, assuming it'll be Hailey, since Jake probably told her everything. After all, Jake can barely keep his own secrets quiet. Snitch. However, when Luke enters Zander immediately scrambles to stand up. "Ah- Luke- uhm...hi..." he says softly, hugging a silky purple pillow and looking out the window. He could already feel tears welling up and he scolds himself for it. After all, Zander was the one who had broken up with Luke, not the other way around.

"Hey, Zander," Luke says gently. He doesn't really know where to start, so instead of speaking, he walks up to Zander and hugs him. Zander stiffens, then hesitantly returns the hug.

"W-what are you doing here Luke?" Zander asks. "Shouldn't you be going and finding someone actually worth your time instead of wasting it on me...?" Zander's voice is barely a whisper, but look manages to hear it.

"Zander, when I'm with you, there's no such thing as wasting time," Like says gently, running his hand through Zander's hair.

"But- I'm just such a waste of space!" Zander exclaims, starting to cry. "I never do anything right! I'll probably just hurt you, and then you'll leave- just like the others!"

Luke's eyes widen slightly. He wasn't just talking about his father, but also...Jake. Before the competition, when Jake betrayed the club by saying all those awful things, proving Zander's original mistrust in Jake right. Luke had assumed that Zander's trust issues with the peach-haired boy was due to him bullying Zander and Hailey in the past, but clearly it went much deeper than that.

"Zander, I would never leave you," Luke says, causing Zander to look up, his periwinkle eyes meeting Luke's golden ones. "After all, I made a promise, didn't I?"

Zander's eyes widen, he didn't expect Luke to remember that. Back in Elementary, the two had made a promise to each other. They would stick together, no matter the circumstances, and never leave.

"I-I just don't want to hurt you," Zander whispers. "I don't want to end up like my fath-"

Zander's cut off as Luke suddenly leans down and kissed him, a kiss both gentle and loving. He freezes for a second, before slowly melting into the kiss. When they pull apart, Luke speaks up.

"You aren't your father, Zander," he says, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Zander's ear. "You're Zander, and I love you for that."

Zander smiles as his tears become happy instead of broken. He hugs Luke again, and neither of them move, not wanting to leave each other's embrace.

"Am I allowed to call you my honey bun again?" Luke asks, getting a laugh from Zander.

"Maybe," Zander replies, rolling his eyes. "Only if I get more of your scarves."

From that day on, the two kept their promise and stuck together like peanut butter and grape jelly, knowing that nothing could drive them apart.

End

Ack sorry this story was so short and ended so quickly! If you want angst worry not! More is coming soon!
-A.G/S.S.