Never Let Go {l.h.}

Nine

Lilly's P.o.V.

I wake up to the sound of the new Justin Timberlake song. Can't remember what it's called, but my attention is drawn away from the song to my unusual surroundings. Am I still at the concert? I look around to find I'm on a couch inside of someone's dressing room. The girls come inside and quietly close the door behind them. Darcy rests her hand on my shoulder and asks, "Lilly, are you okay?"

I glare at her, "Okay? Out of all the things to say, you ask if I'm okay? No, I'm not okay, none of this is okay! Why would you bring me here?" I begin pacing the room running my hand through my hair.

Kirsten speaks up. "Lil, we didn't want to upset you. We just missed the boys and wanted to see them. After all, they're the ones who gave us the tickets."

"Wait, what? You're practically best friends with them, and you never bothered to tell me?!"

They look at each other with concerned looks. "Well," Darcy says, "we're actually dating two of them. Kirsten's with Calum, and I'm with Ashton. We've been keeping in touch with them for almost two years now."

"What?! Jesus, guys, why don't you tell me these things?" I sit down, in shock.

"Because we knew you would react like this," Darcy yells. "Point is, we wanted to see them, and more importantly, Luke wants to see you."

My heart drops. Why does Luke want to see me, of all people? I stand up and say, "I can't, I'm not ready to speak to him." The moment I stand up, the door swings open and the boys walk inside.

"Hey guys! Long time, no see," Ashton cheers. He picks up Darcy and spins her in his arms. They kiss each other and everyone is grossed out, except for me. I'm still in shock from what I was just told.

"I need a smoke." I walk out of the room and end up tripping over my own feet. I fall and end up in someone's arms. I look up and low and behold, I'm in Luke's arms. I think I'm about to faint. Again.

"Hey," he whispers.

I can't even manage to form a word from my panicked breathing. I needed air, badly.

"Are you feeling okay?" His ocean blue eyes lock with mine. I'm weak. The only thing stopping me from slapping or hugging him is my hyperventilating.

"Air," I gasp. "I need fresh air, I'm claustrophobic."

He releases me and apologizes. "Want company out there? The least I can do is make sure you get back into the building."

"Fine, lead the way." I sound way bitchier than I intend to. Still, he leads me outside, where there were no fans and two security guards. I pull out my pack of smoke from my purse and put a cigarette between my teeth.

I'm about to light my smoke when Luke asks, "Since when do you smoke?"

Bluntly, I tell him, "A week after you left me to go on tour." I take a step back and lean against the wall. "I wasn't sleeping well, I was barely eating, and I became stressed from school. Smoking was my escape. It smothered the cracks in my heart. Obviously nothing came 'round to fix it, and this was better than the other alternatives out there. I stopped smoking for a while, but today's really pushing me to the edge." After blabbing every little thought of mine to him, I feel like an idiot. What the fuck did I just do?

"Because of me?" Luke looked at me, confused. His shoves his hands in his pockets as he plays with his lip ring. He still hasn't changed.

I change the topic, "So how's the tour going?" I take a long drag of my smoke. I could feel the familiar burning in my throat. Not as sensational as I remember, but better than nothing.

"Good, this was actually our last show. We're taking a break, since we've been touring for the last few years with barely any time for breaks." He tries looking at me, but I keep avoiding his piercing blue eyes.

Luke's P.o.V.

What have I done? Lilly's completely changed. I remember her as this sweet girl with a heart of gold and open arms for me. Now, standing before me, is a punk-rock Lilly who smokes, has finger tattoos, some piercings, and more of an aggressive attitude than I could have imagined. This is my fault. I ask, "Can I have a drag?"

Her eyes finally meet mine, in shock however. She raises and eyebrow, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, why not? How bad can it be?" She shrugs and hands it to me. I inhale and break out into a coughing fit. Good god, the burn in my throat! "What the hell, Lil?" She's laughing at me. I missed that laugh, especially with her beautiful smile.

She puts the cigarette out and says, "Reminds me of my first smoke. Speaking of which." She takes the pack from her purse and throws it in the garbage. "I should really quit smoking. For real this time. Can't be passing that habit along."

I laugh and smile at her. Surprisingly, she smiles back at me. I ask, "So when did this new Lilly come out of you? Piercings and all."

"Last year, the girls moved into my place, and I guess that's when it all started." She looked down at her hands. "The finger tattoos were first." On the right hand, there was a peace sign on her middle finger, and a moon on her pointer. The left hand has a heart with an arrow through it on her pointer, and an "L" on her middle finger. "Ear piercings were next." Lobes, double lobes on both ears, helix on the left ear and an industrial on her right ear. "And I have more tattoos planned out, but business isn't booming like usual in my bar."

"Wait, you own a bar," I ask. "When did this happen?"

She laughs, "Promotions came fast for me when I started working there three years ago. Now I own the place and usually make enough to go traveling, if I really wanted to."

"Well what's stopping you?" I look into her eyes and she looks back at me, not breaking eye contact. The space between us shrank somewhere in this conversation, but I wasn't complaining. The urges I have to kiss her lips. She parts her lips to say something.

"Hey guys!" Ashton interrupts our moment. Fucking Ashton. "Come back inside, we have to go to the after party still!"

Lilly speaks up, "What after party?"

"At a bar called The Deadlands. Sounds quiet, but it's become the most popular bar here. Heard of it, Lilly?"

She laughs, "That's actually my bar. I didn't know you'd be going there." She looks at me. "Coincidence, huh?"

I force out a laugh and say, "Well, this should be interesting. Shall we go?"

On the drive there, I'm with the guys and the girls took their own car. I'm freaking out right now. I'm going to be drinking with the girl I've been thinking about for years, and she owns the damn place. Fuck.

"Luke, you alright mate," Calum asks.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I mumble, trying to control my nerves. Get it together, man!

"Good," Ashton shouts, "because we're here." He's the first one out, with Calum following behind.

Michael stays behind, only to drag me out of the car. "It's now or never, dude." He walks in, leaving me to stare at the entrance.

I take a deep breath in and exhale. Okay, here we go.

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Ending it here! I'm glad I got this one out, especially considering I have the flu 🤒 I've never felt more weak in my life. BUT! That won't stop me from trying to update my story for you lovely readers.

If there are any mistakes/typos, I'm blaming it on my sickness...just saying... 🙈

Thank you to those who are reading this, stay tuned to find out more from this story!

-Em ❤️