Guardian Angel - Cake AU

Chapter 5

Calum flops onto his bed and shuts his eyes, just to relax for a moment. He processes all of the information Luke just told him. He finds his mind wandering to the bruises he saw today, and wonders how it could have possibly gotten that bad.

When Calum first met Luke, he looked perfectly fine, bruise-free.

In just a few days, he was completely different.

What's his real story? he asks himself. And then he has an idea.

He grabs his notebook, flipping to a blank page, and writes:

Luke Hemmings

• abusive dad - organized with his days - believable

• first day of school - monday - told a fake story

• blue, stunning eyes, beautiful blond hair in a quiff, and a black lip ring

• wore black skinny jeans, black converse, a white t-shirt, and a black leather jacket on monday

• skipped school until friday

• friday - showed up at school - bruised and broken

• friday - wore a plain black t-shirt, black skinny jeans ripped at the knees, and black converse. His hair looked messier than the first time I saw him

Maybe it's none of Calum's business, but he wants to help. He wants Luke out of his house and he wants to tell him how much he likes him already.

He taps his blue pen against his chin, searching his brain for anything else he noticed.

Nothing.

He looks over all the information, trying to fit any pieces together.

Still nothing.

Just one question.

• what's his real story, and how much of it has he told me already?

***

Running home, Luke's bag slaps against his back and his skinny jeans make it uncomfortable. His hair falls flat from the sweat, and the short necklace he wears hits him in the face everytime he takes a step.

As his house creeps into view, he pulls his phone out of his back pocket to check the time: 3:31.

He's expected to be there by 3:35.

This is where his long legs finally come in handy.

A few more steps, and he's there. Come on, Luke, he thinks.

In less than a minute (which feels like an infinity) he arrives at the door. Fixing his posture, he checks the time once again. He has two and a half minutes.

Wasting no more time, he opens the door swiftly. The smell of drugs and alcohol fill his nose.

He has to control his gag reflex-something he's learned and perfected throughout his life- or he'll be considered a "disruption."

So, he quietly makes his way towards the stairs, setting his right foot on the bottom step. He looks back, making sure no one is in sight. Slowly, he ascends the staircase, wincing whenever it created the slightest noise.

Just one more step, Luke.

Too late.

"Hey, freak!" Luke hears a slurred voice from behind him. He spins around, only thinking that if he didn't give himself whiplash, this would.