The seven of them retreated back to the table they had earlier claimed as they waited for their food to be served to them. Although Michael had previously sat to Avery's right, Luke stole his chair before he could return. Luke smirked over at Avery as she giggled.
Avery continued her silence, something that was natural to her. She watched her two best friends engage with the four men she had just recently become acquainted with.
She watched as Brooklyn and Calum flirted throughout their stay at the restaurant. She smiled at the subtle hints they dropped. The way he laid his hand on top of hers as they bonded over their favored instrument; the one they both enjoyed playing. She saw the way he looked at her when she laughed at something one of the other boys were saying. She admired the way he looked at her with a glow that she had only seen once before, in her father's eyes on nights he was too intoxicated to know any better; she realized the intoxication they caused one another.
Her focus then turned to Stella, who seemed interested in Ashton. She noticed the way the two of them exchanged conversation, how there was never a silent moment between them. They laughed about God knows what. They debated on which songs were better than others and pleaded their cases. Michael seemed to enjoy judging for them. Avery noticed as Ashton placed his hand on Stella's thigh nonchalantly. Stella looked down at her thigh, engulfed in his large appendage. She removed his hand and continued on with the conversation, not drawing attention to the gesture.
Soon after, Avery began to listen more to Luke. She found herself thinking about every word he had to say. She noticed the way he looked at her when she wasn't looking at him; the dead-giveaway being the fact that his eyes hurriedly traveled to the floor as soon as she looked his way, followed by a lip bite.
"You were right, Lukey," She winked at him, trying to strike up a conversation, "the chicken butterfly is wonderful." He smiled at her before taking a sip of his drink through the straw he had obviously been chewing on. 'What a child,' she remembered thinking of it. Little did she know, Luke acted like that on a normal basis.
Once all of their plates were practically empty, Michael suggested the small arcade down the street, "They have coin machines in there. It's super fun," he persuaded. Stella and Brooklyn looked to Avery for approval. Since she enjoyed going to dinner with them and was a sucker for arcade games, she happily agreed.
They walked out of the restaurant and Michael led the way, followed by Ashton who walked next to Stella, Calum and Brooklyn who walked together, and Avery. She counted the bodies of their party and realized someone was missing; Luke. She turned around to see if he was behind them, which he wasn't. "Hey, has anyone seen Luke?" Avery said, grabbing the rest of the group's attention.
They all checked their surroundings just as Avery had done seconds before but none of them had spotted their friend. Calum stopped walking and rolled his eyes, "We actually always lose him," he said, looking at Avery, giving her an insight on the reality of being acquainted with Luke, "He's always the last one out. He waits until the last second to tie his shoes, he forgets his wallet, wants to triple check to make sure he has everything he needs; something." Not knowing what other kind of response to give, she laughed.
"It's true," Stella continued for him, "Last week we were all piled into Cal's SUV on our way to the beach for the day. Luke was still inside. He told us he was ready but he still wasn't out there. Michael walked back into the house to get him and walked in on Luke in the bathtub." The entire group apart from Avery laughed, but she urged a fake giggle.
Just as Michael was beginning to join in with a story about him, Luke hustled out of Nando's, "Sorry mates," he mumbled. "What, did you go to the toilets and fall in?" Michael teased him. Luke looked at Michael out of the corner of his eyes, "Shut up, asshole." They all started walking towards the arcade once more, this time Luke accompanied Avery. "You okay?" she asked once she knew the rest of them weren't listening.
"Yeah, my mumma called. They always give me a hard time when she calls, but she just wants to make sure I'm doing good," he started. Avery smiled at the thought of Luke being close to his mother. "I'm only seventeen and I'm living with these dicks," he said, "She checks in periodically to make sure I'm even still alive."
Once they had reached the arcade, the group split up into smaller ones, finding their ways to their favorite games. Since Avery had never been to this particular arcade, she didn't know where to go. Luke had began to follow Michael to the back of the large building before Avery called out to him, "Luke!" she yelled over the clash of the ski balls, and the pangs of the various other games.
He stopped in his tracks, not sure whether he actually had hear his name being called or not. Avery speedily walked up to him, "Mind showing me around?" He smiled, "Not at all."
She looked down at her best friend. He was sleeping soundly on her chest. This is why I love you, she thought as she smiled.
