misfits \\ l.h a.u.

|5|

I want to hug Luke :o

I got dressed quickly. Luke had texted telling me to meet him outside McDonalds at the shopping centre. I put on a pair of denim shorts and a cropped red top, showing off my belly button piercing. My older cousin had done it for me on my sixteenth birthday. I did my hair in two French braids because I loved how it looked when it got to the dyed bit.

My Mum drove me to the shopping centre and I made my way to McDonalds quickly. When I couldn't see Luke, I leaned against the door frame and took out my phone. Ashton had texted me.

Have fun with Luke ;)

I replied quickly, and then I put my phone back in my pocket. I waited for fifteen minutes before taking out my phone to text Luke. I was about to send it when someone knocked into me and sent me flying across the floor.

"I'm sorry Nina, I was just trying to scare you!" Luke's guilty face appeared in front of me, holding out a hand to help me up.

"It's fine. Just don't do it again." I sighed. I put my hand in his and he pulled me up onto my feet. My feet were nearly touching his and our faces were far too close for it to be normal. We both took a step back. Luke cleared his throat.

"Why were you so late?" I asked him.

"My brother got sick all over me when I was about to leave the house." He shuddered.

"Ew." I frowned.

"Yeah." He said, and silence ensued. We decided to just walk around until we came across some place we wanted to go into.

"Let's go into urban outfitters!" I suggested.

"Sure." He smiled. He linked arms with me and we went in together. I bought one of those cool jars with straws in them for smoothies, and Luke bought a disposable camera. When we left, he opened the camera.

"Smile!" He told me, pointing the camera in my direction. I covered my face with my hands.

"Nina, please! I want to remember this day!" He said cheesily. He was such a dork.

I posed for a few silly pictures, and then I took some pictures of him. We turned the camera around and took some pictures together.

"Let's save some film for later." I suggested.

"Okay! Where do you want to go now?" He asked me.

"I don't mind. Let's go get milkshakes or something." I suggested.

We went to an ice cream place that sold milkshakes.

When we were in the queue, Luke's eyes widened.

"That's my ex." He whispered, pointing not-so-subtly in the direction of a pretty girl with curly dirty blonde hair.

I felt an odd twinge in the pit of my stomach, and frowned. I wasn't jealous.

His eyes widened even more when she noticed us and walked over. Without saying a word, Luke slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I took a sharp intake of breath. His hand was resting on my bare skin. I almost shivered.

"Luke!" The blonde exclaimed. He lifted up a hand.

"Hi Grace." He said, with a smile that was clearly forced.

"I didn't know you had a sister!" She smiled at me.

"This is my girlfriend Grace." He lied with a light laugh. I started to cough.

"It's nice to meet you Grace, I'm Nina." I forced out when Luke gave my waist a quick squeeze.

"Nice to meet you." She said, her smile drooping. "Luke, I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a coffee or a bite to eat one day, you know, so we can talk."

She looked at him, biting her lip. I noticed how she placed a delicate hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry Grace, I don't think that would be appropriate, since I'm dating Nina." He said politely. I looked at Luke and he gave me a warm smile.

"I'm sure Mina wouldn't mind." She looked at me. I opened my mouth to say something but Luke interrupted me.

"Grace, don't drag her into this. We need to move on. And also, her name is Nina." He said firmly.

"Okay. If it's what you want." She pulled Luke into a hug, wrenching him away from me. I felt cold now I wasn't pressed against his side. When she pulled away from their longer than necessary hug, she kissed his cheek.

"Bye Mina." She smirked. I could practically feel the smoke blowing out of my ears.

"Bye slut." I muttered once she was gone.

Luke burst out laughing and I couldn't help but join him. His laughter was contagious.

"I'm sorry, that must've been so awkward for you!" He apologised after he finished laughing.

"It's okay." I smiled softly. We were standing quite close together. If I just leaned in a bit closer, our lips would touch. Instead, I turned away.

"She's awful isn't she?" He shuddered. I hummed in response.

We ordered our Oreo milkshakes and brought them out of the shopping centre and sat on a low wall by a statue.

"I'm really glad that you're friends with us now." Luke smiled at me, nudging my shoulder.

"Me too." I smiled back at him genuinely. When I was around him, I just wanted to smile more, and laugh more.

"At first I thought you were kind of quiet, but now that I've spent more time with you, I guess I know you better." He said quietly.

"Aww, Luke." I teased.

"I'm serious!" He told me with a chuckle. I took a sip of my milkshake.

"So what happened with Grace?" I asked tentatively.

"She never wanted to go out and go on proper dates together. It was all about the physical relationship for her. We didn't do anything bad, but it was such a messed up relationship so I broke it off." He shrugged. He didn't seem upset.

I didn't say anything.

"I should probably bring you home now." He smiled.

"Sure." I managed to squeeze out. I had all these feelings, flying around my entire body that had me buzzing, and he didn't even know. I didn't know what to say.

When we pulled up at the apartments, I told him he didn't have to walk up with me.

"Thanks Luke." I said to him. "I had fun today. And thanks for being friends with me I guess."

"Your welcome Nina." His eyes twinkled.

He leaned in closer to me, and for a moment I thought that he was going to kiss me, but when he wrapped his arms around me I realised he was giving me a hug. I hesitantly placed my arms around him. It felt quite awkward on my part, but he seemed happy.

He pulled away. I opened my mouth to say something, but Luke placed a kiss on my cheek swiftly, and no words came out.

"Bye Nina." He said with a big grin. I simply stared back at him.

"Bye." I said quietly, but he was already in his car, and he couldn't hear me. He beeped the horn repeatedly as he backed out of his parking space.

I watched the back of the car until I couldn't see it anymore.

I walked up the stairs to my apartment slowly, thinking to myself.

What on earth was Luke Hemmings trying to do to me?