Avery walked into Luke's room. She gasped lightly, "Oh my god," she said before closing the door behind her. She traveled to Luke's bed and instantly tore down the wall she'd been building. Luke laid on the side furthest from the door. He was curled into a ball facing the windows opposite from the door. The first thing she noticed was that his hair was dark brown, just as Charlie had told her, "Please don't have a lip ring," she mumbled to herself before climbing into bed behind him.
She wrapped her arms around him as he swatted her away, "Leave me alone," he said before sniffling. "Lukey," she attempted. He looked up at her, his Baby Blue Eyes drenched in his own tears. They closed as his brows knitted together. He turned his body to face her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, "I thought I lost you, Avs," he said as he started crying again.
She held back tears of her own as she held him close, "I'm right here."
He cried until he hiccuped. She laughed, "You're so pitiful." He pouted, wiping the water away, "You did this to me, asshole," he said with a fake smile.
She frowned, "I left for a good reason." "What was that?" he asked, suddenly wide awake and ready to talk. She repositioned, sitting up and laying his head on her lap. Her hands found their way into his hair, like they used to, "I left because I knew it was right. I still think it's right."
"What do you mean," he asked, dragging out the last word like an adolescent boy. She chuckled, "If I told you, that would defeat the purpose of me leaving in the first place."
There was a long pause before Avery stopped playing with his hair, "Why'd you change your entire look then go get shit-faced?"
He sighed, "You and the rest of them," he said, referring to their five friends that were no doubt listening to the conversation from outside of the door, "always treat me like a child. They make fun of me and you take up for me. You pay for me all the time, they won't let me play video games with them, they think I can't even fucking dress myself. You're the only reason I went with it for this long. I like when you play with my hair, I like when you bring me a drink without me asking. I like when we listen to music together. I think it's cute when you take up for me. I like it when you're the one treating me like that. All that would come of it is banter from the rest of them. And I know they do it just because it's funny, but it hurts sometimes. So when you left, I figured there was no reason to stay this way," he ranted.
She was silent for several minutes. "The lip ring is really fitting," she whispered. "It hurt like a motherfucker," he replied, empty laughter following. She knew he was still upset, but she also knew that he would cry if he was hurt too badly. Avery continued stroking his hair, "Do you want to listen to music?" she asked. He looked up at her with a smile; this one was genuine. She opened Luke's bedroom door. No one was standing right outside, which surprised her. However, Brooklyn and Calum were walking down the hall together silently, which told Avery they heard her approach the door and tried to act cool, "Hey assholes, I need my phone." Brooklyn turned around, looking surprised to see Avery. She walked into Calum's room and grabbed Avery's phone, handing it to her. "Thanks," Avery said, "Why don't you guys go see a movie or something. Luke and I are cool," she said. Brooklyn nodded and walked back to Calum.
Avery snatched a pair of headphones from Luke's dresser and sat back down next to him. He laid his head on her shoulder as she navigated through her music to her playlist titled "You're my best friend". The first song that played happened to be Do You Remember by Jack Johnson.
They always enjoyed listening to this song together. It reminded them of when they first met.
They were set up, Avery always likes to put it. She had just moved to Australia from America, a big change in many ways. Jetlag was murdering her, she didn't understand why they called flip-flops "thongs", she didn't know why the Australian dollar had a different value than the American dollar.
She was struggling, but glad her two friends, Stella and Brooklyn, had been there a little while before her. They were more used to things and could help her out. Brooklyn had been obsessively talking about this guy named Calum that Stella introduced her to. It was obvious that she was already crazy about him; and that he was crazy about her. They weren't exclusive, but he was dropping huge hints.
He left notes for her on the table by her door on the nights he brought her home when she was half-asleep. He sent her good morning and goodnight messages. He bought her lunch every time they went out with Stella, Michael, Luke, and Ashton; this is where Luke met Avery.
"Avs, we're going out for lunch with the guys, wanna come?" Stella asked as she pulled a clean towel from the closet, on her way to the shower. Brooklyn smiled, "Yeah, we want you to meet them, especially their friend, Luke."
Avery looked at her two best friends, "Is he hot?" Brooklyn and Stella shared a look, "He's a cutie," Stella said. "Oh great, is he nine?" Brooklyn laughed, "No, hes eighteen. You'll see why she chose the word cutie when we get there. Go get dressed."
They met up at Nando's. It was Stella's idea, since Avery would be tagging along and had never had it, "All the Europeans obsess over this place for a reason," she said as they pulled into the lot.
Avery checked her hair and makeup in the mirror as Brooklyn and Stella watched her, "You're nervous this is so cute," Stella said with a smile. Avery frowned, "Shut up."
They walked into the cool building and found a table that had enough chairs for all seven of them. "I just texted Mikey and he said they're just a few minutes down the way," Stella said.
"What's he look like?" Avery asked, referring to Luke. Brooklyn and Stella shared another look. "He's probably six-foot-four or something like that. He has really broad shoulders but he's rather tiny. He has dirty blond hair that he styles upward. He blushes a lot, it's cute. He has really nice teeth and a cute smile," Stella said. "His accent is hot. He has a deep voice but a rather squeaky laugh. He likes the kind of music you like, which I found interesting," Brooklyn continued. "And he's single," Stella said, her voice seeming to ring. Avery rolled her eyes.
The bell above the door rang as the three girls switched their focus to the four men walking inside. The first was tall, well, all of them were tall. He had golden brown hair that fell in curls. He was wearing Aviators. He sported a black tee that said "The Kooks" and ripped, dark-wash skinny jeans. He walked over to the table, smiling and showing large dimples. The second man to walk in the room had black hair that fell to the front of his face in straight locks. He wore a blue jean jacket on top of an all black tee and black skinny jeans. His lips were super red and curved into a smile as well. The third one also had black hair. It was curly and covered his forehead in thick, shiny locks. His lips were large and kind of chapped. He wore a white muscle tee and black skinnies with a slit on one knee. The fourth and final man to enter the restaurant was the blond. His tongue skated across his lips, showing a dimple on the right. His shirt was a Blink-182 souvenir. His skinnies were almost identical to the boy before him, but the slit was on the opposite knee.
Avery inhaled sharply when she saw him, turning around before she started drooling; she was instantly attracted to him. Stella was on her left side and the one with straight black hair sat to her right, "I'm Michael," he said, attempting to make her feel more comfortable.
When everyone was seated, Stella introduced her to everyone, "Avery, this is Michael, Ashton, Calum, and Luke. Michael, Ashton, Calum, Luke, this is Avery. Be careful. She's fragile," Stella joked.
They caught up from the last time they had seen each other, Avery sitting silently. Once they decided to order, Avery looked at the menu as the rest of them ordered their regular pick. Luke noticed Avery hadn't ordered yet, "Have you ever had Nando's?" he asked. She shook her head, "Does that make me a bad person?" "Yes, but I think you're cute, so let's change that. You like chicken? I recommend the chicken butterfly," he said, smiling. She smiled as well, stepping up and ordering the chicken butterfly. "I like your accent, Avs. I hope it's okay that I call you that," he said. "I like yours, Lukey. Hope it's okay that I call you that."
