summer & luke // l.h. [ON HOLD]

when she feels tears in her eyes

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luke.

the ute kept sputtering out. luke's dad wasn't saying anything, but he was getting pissed, luke could tell.

'try again. turn the key,' he said, 'then shift.'

this was the biggest oversimplification if luke had ever heard one. turn the key, listen to the engine, depress the clutch, shift, gas, release, steer, check both mirrors, indicate, watch out for cyclists...

the shitty thing was, he was pretty sure that he'd be able to do it without a hitch if his dad wasn't sitting there in the passenger seat, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. luke could imagine himself doing it just fine.

but it was like this at soccer too, sometimes. if his dad was mad at the referees, or fired up about unfair play, luke could never relax.

turn the key, shift, gas.

the ute died.

'you're thinking too much,' luke's dad snapped.

which is what his dad always said. when luke was a kid, he used to try and argue with him. 'i can't help, but think. i can't turn off my brain,' he'd say, and they'd get into a big argument which always ended with luke getting smacked for talking back. he knew better than to argue now.

turn the key, shift, gas.

'start again. now this time, don't think-'

the ute died again. luke put his hands on the edge of the steering wheel and laid his head against the middle, bracing himself. his dad was practically radiating frustration.

'goddammit luke! i seriously don't know what to do with you. i don't know what else i can say! i taught jack how to drive in 2 weeks.'

if luke's aunty ellie was here, she would frown at that. 'they're two different boys,' she'd say, 'different types of people.'

and his dad would just grit his teeth and hate luke a bit more.

'i guess jack doesn't have any trouble not thinking.'

'call your brother stupid all you want,' his dad said, 'i still taught him how to drive the freaking ute in less than a month.'

'but i can't even get my license yet,' luke muttered into the dashboard.

'that isn't the point,' his dad half shouted. if luke's mum was here, she'd lay a hand on his dad's shoulder and tell him 'andrew, calm down - go outside and yell at the sky if you're so mad.'

what did that say about luke if he wished his mum and aunty were following him around, defending him?

that he was a pussy.

that's what his dad thought, and that's probably what he was thinking now, judging by his silence.

'try it again,' his dad frowned.

'no, i'm done.'

'you're done when i say you're done.'

'no,' luke said, 'i'm done now.'

'well, i'm not driving us home. try again.'

luke started the ute. it died. his dad slammed his hands against the glovebox, and luke opened his door and slid out quietly. his dad shouted his name, but luke just kept on walking. they weren't even far from home.

when luke passed by summer's street, he decided to walk down it and take a short detour. there was a dog in front of her house, and it lifted its head to watch luke walk by the gate. the dog dropped its head back onto its paws when he was certain luke was no threat.

luke couldn't really see into the house. the windows were dark. maybe if he stayed for long enough, summer would come to the door and see him. luke just wanted to look at her face again. just one more time before he had to go and face his dad back at home.  her big brown eyes, her beautiful cascading hair, her slow smile. but summer didn't come to the door. the dog looked up again, and seemed like it was about to bark, so luke kept moving, away from the house.

saturdays were the worst.

+

summer.

mondays were the best.

today, when she walked onto the tram, luke actually grinned at her. like, properly. the whole time it took her to get to their seat.

summer didn't smile back directly, not in front of everyone, but she couldn't help grin at the dirty gum-covered floor and check every once in a while to see if luke was still smiling at her.

he was.

lola was looking at her too, but summer decided to ignore her.

luke jumped up when summer got to the seat, and he let her in so she could sit next to the window. when they both sat down, he grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. it happened so fast that summer wasn't sure it actually happened. she didn't even have time to die of ecstasy or embarrassment. her face felt hot.

luke squeezed her hand and moved his face right up close, next to her ear.

'i missed you,' he whispered. summer felt tears in her eyes and she stared out the window.

they didn't say anything more on the way to school. luke walked with summer to her locker, and she put away her extra books. then they stood there, together, leaning against the badly-painted school wall until the first period bell rang. the hall slowly emptied.

then luke reached up and twisted a small piece of summer's hair around his index finger.

'back to missing you,' he said, and disappeared down the corridor.

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sorry for the wait, i feel so bad, i haven't updated simmer down in like a gazillion years :(( but it's so close to hitting 100k!! whaaaaat!! hahaha thankyou to all of you who have joined the S&L ride since the last update, and thankyou for pushing me to write more :) hope you enjoy this update xx