luke and vada, despite : luke

despite mixed signals

it's currently 6am, and i've been woken up to the sound of my phone ringing. i exhale deeply before reaching out and fumbling for it on my nightstand.

i'm having trouble opening my eyes, because they hurt so bad. i'm pretty sure they're swollen from all my crying last night.

i open and squint my eyes the best i can, trying to read who's calling at this ungodly hour, my heart instantly beating faster once i sees that it's noelle. she never calls me this early.

"hello?" i answer, voice still groggy, "ellie? why are you calling so ear-"

"vada!" she shrieks, causing me to position my phone away from my ear, "where did you go? it was such a great night, and you just disappeared!"

"i got sleepy," i answer simply, readjusting my head on my pillow, "it was a tiring week."

"vada!" a male voice chimes in, which sounded like michael's, "you didn't say goodbye to me! do you not miss me as much as you miss calum?"

"give me that," noelle says, and i hear her struggle to get her phone back, "friday funday literally just ended, vada, what happened to you? i left you so many texts."

"vada!" another male voice screams i'm certain is calum's, "we're walking noelle home! i mean, me and mikey are more drunk than her, but we'll keep her safe."

"thanks, guys," i laugh, "but i feel like it's noelle that's walking you two home."

"vada, it's me for real," noelle sighs, "the boys are now arguing over who did the most body shots. as i was saying, what happened to you last night?"

"luke walked me home, but i don't really wanna talk about it yet, ellie," i sigh, feeling my eyes start to close involuntarily, "even i haven't been able to process things yet."

"okay, i understand," noelle answers, "let me know if you wanna talk about it, okay?"

i'm about to answer her, when realization hits me. why is noelle with only michael and calum? when it was luke, michael and calum that arrived all together?

"ellie," i gulp, not even sure if i'm prepared for the answer to my question, "is luke not with you guys?"

did he not come back last night after he brought me home?

she stays silent for a while, and i know noelle's debating on whether or not to answer me. this instantly gives me the feeling that i'm not going to like what she's about to say.

"well, he was gone for about 30 minutes when he walked you home, then he went back to labyrinth right after. then he left for good at around 4am," she answers, and pauses again before continuing, "he left with zoe."

i feel my heart physically ache, my whole body tenses up, and my fingertips grew cold instantly.

"oh," i manage to get out, "d-did you see how they were last night? happy? did it look like he was having a good time with her? or did it look like she was just throwing herself at him? or were they both equally and willingly having fun with each other?"

so many questions are racing through my mind, and so little time to absorb everything i'm finding out.

he walked me home, didn't he? he wanted so bad to walk me home, to make sure i was safe, right?

and then he went back? and spent the night with zoe?

"i don't wanna answer that, vada," noelle answers softly, "i-"