It's a Long Way Home (Luke Hemmings)

Meet the Boys

"Wait, what?" I laughed anxiously.
"I thought you'd be a boy. Your name is Dani.. I don't know I just assumed you were I-"
   I sighed in frustration. Why didn't he even bother to ask if he cared. The expression on his face was apologetic and I couldn't help but think he was going to tell me I couldn't stay here.
"Look, I have nowhere to go if you could just give me some time..."
   Luke peered confusedly back at me. He bit the side of his lip, fiddling with a small black ring. That's kind of attractive... I didn't know that was there. In fact, he was a very attractive person. He's the kind of boy you'd pass by on the street and only dream of talking to. But that meant nothing to me right now. I was tired and frustrated and could really use a sandwich, or ten.
I tapped my fingers on the side of my thigh nervously.
"I'm not going to kick you out," he said sympathetically, finally flashing me the tiniest of smiles. 
   I released a little bit of the tension in my shoulders.
"I can find a new place to stay just give me a few days, alright? It's not the easiest thing to do."
Luke shrugged, "don't fret. Come in, anyway. I cleaned up an hour ago but Calum decided it would be a great idea to make it look like I've never cleaned a day in my life."
And that was Calum's queue to get up, "hey there, I'm Calum," he said slyly, his hand outstretched. I shook his hand enthusiastically, trying to suppress a small giggle because of the flirty grin on his face. He was dorky; I loved dorky. 
"I'm just gonna put my stuff in my room if I could-- wait, sorry which one is my room?"
   Luke smiled courteously and gestured for me to follow him down a small hallway to the room at the very end. It was furnished with a simple white dresser and a full sized mattress, without the bed frame. I dropped my suitcase and duffle bag in the corner of the room.
"I know there isn't much in it. I couldn't really afford to furnish my whole apartment," he frowned.
"It's alright, I didn't expect you to have a room prepared for me. We are strangers, after all."
   After saying so I felt a little awkward about the ignorance of my decision to blindly move in with a teenage boy. I blushed a little when I realized that he probably had just realized the same thing.
"I'm just gonna, um, unpack," I said, mostly to myself, but hoping he'd get the signal and leave. He nodded off and left me to myself.
   The black high-waisted shorts and crop top I had on were beginning to feel uncomfortable so I changed into a pair of sweatpants and an old tank top that I stole from my best friend a few years back. I had a feeling Luke and I weren't going to be friends like the one's I had back home. David and Alex clicked with me from the moment we met. Yet, here I am, it's only been a few hours and I already felt homesick.

   After putting away all of my clothes and personalizing my bathroom with makeup and toiletries I took a quick shower. I let my hair down to dry and sat on my mattress with a single blanket and clutched at my grumbling stomach. I guess I should have thought about the fact that I'd be hungry after a 14 hour plane ride. It was around 6 pm, way too early to go to sleep and ignore the hunger pains. I tip toed into the living room where Luke and Calum were sitting and they both stopped mid conversation to look at me.
"Do you know anywhere I can get something to eat?" I asked nervously. Calum jabbed Luke in the rib cage with his elbow and Luke snapped out of whatever silent daze he was in.
"Actually, the boys are bringing pizza. We usually have a few slices left over you're welcome to have some," Luke said.
   I felt relief wash over me and just the thought of pizza made my mouth water.
"If it's okay with you guys..."
"Of course it is, love!" Calum said, "who wouldn't want to have pizza with a cute one like yourself."
   I smiled at my feet and tried to hide the blush that crept across my cheeks when Calum called me cute. The boys in America weren't nearly as forward as Calum was. It was nice to feel wanted, for a change.
   And almost as if they needed to be announced to come in, the "boys" came through the front door with three boxes of pizza and a few packs of soda. The savory smell made me want to melt in to the floor where I was standing but instead I took a few steps back so that I could wait for a good time to introduce myself.
   A boy with bright red hair set the three boxes of pizza on the countertop and grinned at the other, who was struggling to untangle his fingers from the plastic bag that held all of the soda.
"We brought the goods," the red haired boy said in a terribly imitated Italian accent.
   Luke chuckled and gave both boys an oddly affectionate hug and then turned to peer at me as if he were telling me it was okay to speak.
   The boy with long dirty blonde hair traced Luke's vision back to me and smiled.
"Hello there," the boy said calmly and turned to Luke, "you weren't going to introduce us to this lovely stranger?"
   I hid my face in my hands until my face cooled down and I walked up towards the boys with caution.
"My name is Danielle, call me Dani. I'm Luke's roommate for the time being."
   The boy with red hair pursed his lips curiously, "didn't you say Dani was a dude?"
   Luke chuckled awkwardly and scratched at the back of his head, "I was a little wrong."
"A lot wrong," the long haired boy rolled his eyes. "My name is Ashton, it's nice to meet you Dani."
"And I'm Michael, and you're gorgeous," the red haired boy said, raising his eyebrows a little.
   I laughed, "thank you. It's nice to meet the both of you. I'm sorry I'm not quite what you expected. Luke wasn't all too thrilled to see me when I showed up."
   Luke protested, "no that's not true I was just a little shocked."
"Who wouldn't be, look at her," Calum smiled, leaning back on the couch and taking a bite from a slice of pizza.
   Luke handed me a paper plate and after thanking him I grabbed a slice of cheese pizza and sat down on a chair at the counter. It tasted like heaven. Then again, I was so hungry that I could eat just about anything and feel like it was worth a pile of gold.
"So. America," Michael started, "what's it like? Is everyone's accent as funny as yours?"
   I giggled, "my accent isn't funny. But yes, everyone sounds like me where I'm from."
"I think her accent's cute," Ashton teased.
"Well I think it's sexy," Calum said enthusiastically, with a hint of sarcasm.
   The boys looked at Luke expectantly, but he kept quiet and stuffed his mouth with a large bite of pizza.
   It was obvious he just wasn't that in to me. I'll admit, it stung a little to know that he wouldn't play along but I wouldn't let that get to me. He didn't seem like a bad person, he was just a little upset that I was a girl, for whatever reason. And then that reason came knocking on our front door.

________________________________

A/n:

   Hi! Thank you for making it to part two, it's greatly appreciated. I just wanted to give you the 411 on my updating. I plan to update every day until August 15, which, if this isn't finished by then, will be the day my updating slows down because of school and all that.
   Also, I'm planning on this being a very light-hearted and humorous story. There are plenty of sad stories to go around out there. Of course, there will be drama and tension and tears, but I promise not to break your heart :)
Thanks again,
Miss America