Hearts Upon Our Sleeves

It was Saturday afternoon that the blonde knocked on the door of the house the girls shared, smiling when the brunette opened the door and let him in, thankful for a friendly face when his housemates were ignoring him whilst they kept themselves occupied with other things.

"Hey, B," he greeted the older woman with a quick hug, following her into the kitchen where she had the things she needed to make tea. "You busy today? I was thinking of going to the cinema; there's a new Will Smith one showing today if you're interested."

"I'd love to, Luke," she started as the kettle boiled and she started making her drink. "But I have to work on my project before I go to work later, so I can't. Next time?"

"Sure," he sighed, leaning against the counter dejectedly. "Are the girls busy too, or is it just you?"

"Steph's working so she can have tomorrow with Michael," explained the brunette, pulling the coffee out of the cupboard for him. "I don't know about Megan. The boys all busy?"

"Michael's doing the same as Steph," he told her as she made him a drink as well. "I think Ash is essay drafting and God knows what Calum's up to. I thought I'd ask you lot so I wouldn't have to go alone."

"Megan's in her room," prompted Bethany with a smile. "Go ask her, then come back for your coffee."

Luke returned the smile and left the kitchen to find the young woman he was in love with. Finding her door open and the nineteen year old lying on her bed playing with her phone, he knocked softly to get her attention, smiling when she looked up and saw him.

"Hey, Meg," he said, walking inside as she sat up and returned his greeting. "You busy?"

"Nah, everyone else is though, so I'm bored out of my mind," she sighed, scooting over so he could sit with her. "You have something for us to do, or are we just being bored together?"

"That new Will Smith movie's out and I thought someone might want to see it with me," he explained, biting his lip ring. "Or we can see something else if you'd rather; I don't mind what we watch."

"We can work that out when we get there," Megan told the blonde with a smile. "Give me ten minutes and we'll go, yeah?"

"I'll be downstairs when you're ready," he replied, getting to his feet and leaving the room, looking back with a grin, glad of a chance to spend time with her alone. "Don't take too long!"

Luke barely had enough time to finish drinking the coffee the twenty two year old had made him before the young woman found him in the kitchen talking to the eldest of their group of friends and announced she was ready to go. The two friends said goodbye to Bethany before leaving the house, slowly making their way toward the bus stop nearest their homes to catch the first one into town so they wouldn't miss whichever film they decided to see, discussing what was on as they travelled.

It wasn't until they arrived at the cinema that they finally chose what they were going to watch. Not wanting to wait almost an hour to see the Will Smith movie he had originally suggested, Luke paid for two tickets to the chick flick Megan had mentioned wanting to see a few weeks before, telling her that if she wanted to buy something, she could pay for the popcorn.

Twenty minutes later, the pair of them were sitting in their seats as the lights dimmed and the previews started, the blonde glancing at the young woman beside him to see her send a text before switching her phone off, his smile fading when he recognised the name Will as being the same as the man he felt he was losing her to.

***

It was two hours after Luke's good mood had dulled that they left the cinema, deciding to walk through the town for a while before catching the next bus home again. The sun was just setting in the early evening as they made their way along the high street, the young woman texting Will again as she spoke distractedly to her companion, not noticing his hurt expression until he changed the subject abruptly.