5 Seconds to Love You

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Luke

Chapter Twenty-Seven

*Luke*

"What about this?" I look up from my phone to see Angel spinning a circle in a beautiful red dress. The two of us decided to go to the mall since our previous plan of a picnic got rained out, and Angel drug me into some girly store that apparently just opened. At first I thought going in here was the worst idea possible, but now seeing Angel in this beautiful dress, I may have changed my mind. The dress is short, coming a few inches above her knee, and there are scattered sequins along the top. The red compliments her blonde hair perfectly, and really brings out her blue green eyes. Long story short, she looks amazing.

"I thought you were trying on jeans?" I say, as to not seem over enthused about her appearance.

"I was silly, but I saw this and couldn't resist slipping it on." Her smile is wide, making her look even more beautiful.

"I really like it." I grin, taking in her beauty. "Really like it." I see her cheeks blush slightly, making me grin more. I wish she knew how happy our new found relationship makes me. I love being able to say that she's mine instead of just wishing she was. And yeah, I think she's still unsure about it all, but she still is showing me more affection than before and that's enough for me.

"What do you think of stopping over there," Angel points to a tuxedo shop across from the store we are currently in, "and pick out something that matches this dress?" She's jumping up and down on her toes slightly, and smiling like crazy.

I cock my head to the side while reflecting her smile, and ask, "What?"

"For homecoming silly." She playfully punches me in the shoulder and I send her a fake frown in return, to which she giggles at. "You know, that dance you asked me to?"

"Riiiiight." I say pretending I didn't forget about the dance, and failing terribly.

"Luke!" She scolds with a laugh, getting a dirty look from the employee at the front of the store.

"You better watch out or that lady is going to come after us." I joke, jerking my head towards the employee. Angel shakes her head at me, ignoring my statement.

"But really Luke, how did you forget about homecoming?" She directs the conversation back to the dance, and I shrug my shoulders.

"I don't know," I shake my head. "After everything with... I don't know. I guess I just didn't know if you wanted to go anymore."

"Luke..." She takes a step closer to me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "It isn't Braden that's keeping my heart locked up, it's, it's me." She shakes her head and wraps her arms around my neck. "I'm trying to get better about it, I promise."

"I know you are." I place a small kiss on the top of her head, and she looks up with sparkle in her eyes. She bites her lip, a nervous habit of hers of come to recognize, and rests her chin against my chest. My eyes are locked with hers, and I can feel our hearts beating in sync. This what falling in love is supposed to look like, to feel like. And I think it like it.

Slowly I bring my lips down to Angel's, and let all of my feelings fall onto her. Her small and ever present tentative drawback makes my heart fall little, even though I expected it's to happen. It's not as bad as it used to be, not at all, but she still does it all the same. I know it's not her fault, it just happens, but I wish there was something I could do to make her feel less... less afraid.

"I know you are." I repeat against her lips, pulling away to look in her eyes. Her blue green orbs flash an expression of fondness into my own eyes, and it makes Angel's tentative nature on my mind completely disappear.

"Now come on," I slip my hand into hers, trying to ignore how her fingers tense up before quickly relaxing. "Let's go buy you that dress."

*****

"I have an idea." Angel proudly proposes a few hours later. I am sitting on the couch in the band house, Angel's head in my lap and her feet hanging over the couch's arm. I'm not sure how she ended up laying on me, but I don't object because I really like it. I don't know why she's finally decided not to push whatever's happening between us away, yet it's so nice that she doesn't. It almost feels now like she never had any doubts about us... Almost.Because she still has her drawbacks whenever I touch her.

"Really?" I ask, staring up at the ceiling, playing with a stand of her hair.

"Yeah." I'm not looking at her, but I can somehow feel her smiling. "Remember that time you met," she makes air quotes around the word, "my mom?"

"Yup." I answer, not sure where she is going with this.

"Well I was thinking..." She snuggles farther back into the chair. "Maybe if she met you properly, she wouldn't think I'm such a loser." I look down at her and I can see her biting her lip, her eyes closed.

"Why do you think your mom hates you?" I ask her, and her beautiful eyes suddenly snap open to reveal her blue green orbs. "I mean, you've mentioned it before so I was just..." She takes a deep breath and shakes her head, almost as if she's telling herself it's nothing. But then she sighs, and begins to talk.

"Ever since... Ever since my dad died, she's been different. I mean obviously because her husband died, but it's different than that. She wasn't just sad, she was all of a sudden really rude and snippy to everyone. I thought it was just a phase, and that it'd eventually go away but..." She closes her eyes again. "It never did. Then when Braden died, I thought maybe she'd talk to me about losing the person you love. But she never did that either. It was like everything about her situation got worse. She started blaming me for a bunch of random things, and basically telling me I was a failure." I see a silent tear fall from her left eye, and I gently swipe it away with the back of my hand. She flinches slightly, and I try to tell myself that it's because she's lost in thought, but deep down I know it isn't.

"So when she yelled at you that night... I felt like I'd never get her approval for anything. The one new friend I bring home in over a year, and she can't even pretend she likes you." She shakes her head again, and I begin to sit up a little straighter.

"Well then let's go change you relationship with your mother." I proclaim as she sits up.

"Wait what?" She tilts her head and looks at me with a small and confused expression.

"Like you said, we'll go introduce me to her." I smile. "And maybe the guys can come too?" She nods excitedly, her eyes brightening at the thought of her mother changing her ways. "Like they say, the more the merrier. Right?"
"Right." She replies, jumping off the couch and following me up the stairs to the kitchen. There, I find my three bandmates sitting around the counter. I walk up to Calum and smack him in the back, making him turn around and punch my gut in retaliation.

"What was that for?" I ask, grinning slightly.

"What was that for?" He returns, slapping my shoulder before turning back around in his chair. I ignore his actions, I'll let him have the last laugh... For now.

"Everyone grab your coats, we're going on an adventure!" Angel shouts giddily, clutching the front door knob in her hand, ready to go. I'm happy that this has gotten her so excited, but I will feel horrible if her mother doesn't react well.

"Where are we going?" Michael asks as the boys join us by the door.

"An adventure, I told you." The sides of Angel's mouth turn up, and I place my hand on her shoulder, expecting her small flinch.

Except it doesn't happen.

My insides begin to jump up and down, and I'm pretty sure a huge smile is spreading across my face. I can feel my skin begin to heat up from happiness, does that even happen? This is the first time in... well, ever, that Angel hasn't shied away from me when I put a hand on her. This is huge. Did the part of her brain that tells her to flinch turn off for a moment? Or does the thought of something changing for the better in her life make her less on-guard? I don't care what it is, because no matter what, this means she's coming around.

This means she could be fully mine one day.

One day.