stalker // luke hemmings (DISCONTINUED)

6 : sick days

Penny spent the day after her night with Luke in her bed, battling a cold. 

"I knew I shouldn't have gone in that water," Penny mutters through her chattering teeth.  Just as she was about to start the next episode of Pretty Little Liars, the doorbell rang.  She waited, and the doorbell rang again.  Deciding that she was the only one home, Penny realized that she had to get up.  "Great."

"Fuck," Penny cursed, wearily climbing out of bed, holding onto the wall for support.  Before reaching the door, she found a note on the counter.

At a business luncheon with your father

-Mom

Penny sighed before opening the door, revealing none other than Luke Hemmings, dressed in a red and black flannel shirt and ripped black skinny jeans.  At that moment, Penny almost had a heart attack.  She immediately focused her eyes down at the floor, desperately trying to comb through her ratty hair.  When Penny looked up again, Luke's face held an expression of such concern, it could melt your heart.

"Penny, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just have a little cold," Penny replied, her voice hoarse.

Without an invitation, Luke walked into Penny's home, closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing?" Penny asked as Luke walked into her kitchen.

"Taking care of you," he replied, opening the closet next to her bathroom.  "Go sit on the sofa."

Penny obliged, turning on the Netflix on her television and beginning the episode of Pretty Little Liars.  A few moments later, Luke arrived with a whole armful of blankets and wrapped Penny in each one.

"Thank you," Penny whispered as Luke went into her kitchen.  Normally, Penny would be wondering who gave Luke the authority to roam around her house and look through her stuff - and wonder how he knew where said stuff was - but she was honestly too sick and tired to care.  Penny was only half-paying-attention to the episode.  She kept absentmindedly checking her phone, expecting a text message from Michael.  Each time she looked at her phone, she sighed, and her fever raised a tenth of a degree.

After looking at her phone for about the 15th time, Luke came and sat next to Penny on the couch, placing a pill and a glass of water on the coffee table.

"It's DayQuil, take it."

Penny obliged, placing the pill on her tongue and gulping down the water.

Luke looked at Penny with a smirk and raised eyebrows.

"What?" she said

"Really?  Pretty Little Liars?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It's a great show."

"Okay, sure."

"Don't knock it 'till you try it."

The two watched the episode in silence, until Penny came out of nowhere saying, "You're so much different when we're alone."

"How so?"

"I dunno, when we're alone you don't act like Luke Hemmings, you just act like Luke."  She chuckles.  "Sorry I'm probably making no sense right now."

"No, I understand." Luke paused for a minute, thinking.  "Which person do you like better?"

"Definitely my Luke." Penny blushed after she realized that she called Luke hers.

"So I'm yours now?" He smirked.

"I - uh - didn't mean it like that.  Sorry."  Her cheeks were on fire as she buried her face into her hands.