MAZES | cake ✓ | warning:shitty!

f o u r t e e n

this one's more from luke's point of view yw hoes
jk ily remember to comment and vote <3

there's just a little bit of lashton in this chapter too but not a lot srry haha

i wrote this listening to waste the night haha lovelovelove
bUT LETS TALK ABOUT THE WASTE THE NIGHT INTERLUDE THOUGH GOD PLEASE OH MY GOD I AM OBSESSED
~gia ;) ;)

----

<< Two weeks later. >>

"No, Luke, you can't leave yet, you're still-" The voice of Ashton echoed throughout the bamboo fort and overhang of The Infirmary, tending to Luke, who was stressed and riled up. The scars on his back were now a pale pink with a bit of white, the skin healing slowly but successfully, but Ashton wanted to make sure that nothing got infected before the scars closed completely. An infection underneath closed skin was harder to treat than open, as weird as it sounds.

"I want t-to see C-Calum," Luke insisted shakily, his back still stiff and sore with the white scarring of words slashed into his back.

"You can see him in a day or two, just please lay back down," Ashton coaxed. "You don't want your scars to reopen."

Reluctantly Luke shuffled back into the hammock attached between two trees, resting his head back and closing his eyes.

"I miss him," Luke sniffed, tears pricking his eyes.

In total it had been about three weeks since Luke saw Calum, or really anyone else outside The Infirmary, but Ashton was good company. Luke thought Ashton was a good kid, he could get used to hanging around him.

"I know you do, Luke," Ashton said softly, resting his hand on the back of Luke's and caressing his knuckles with the pad of his thumb.

Luke gave a fluttering smile at the curly-haired boy, who flashed a dimple.

"But... Just be careful, okay? I know that when you were in love with-" Ashton was cut off by Luke whining and shaking his head frantically.

"Don't talk about it, please don't talk about it, I don't want to think about him," Luke whimpered, covering his face with his arm. Ashton let out a small 'shh' and squeezed Luke's hand.

"Luke?" Ashton addressed calmly.
"What?" He breathed out.

"Do you... Do you remember who hurt you? Who did this to you?" Ashton slid his arm under Luke's back and traced the pale scars with his fingertips, his touch as soft and feathery as a rose's petal.

Luke's throat tightened.

"N-No," He murmured, lying right through his teeth. He remembered who did this, it was plain as day. He was frightened, frightened of how weak they made him, frightened of what they said to him. He was just scared.

"Luke." Ashton huffed, using his other hand and brushing Luke's messy blond hair up from his forehead. He hadn't bothered to fix his hair in the three weeks he was being treated so his hair wasn't in a quiff, it mopped over his forehead.

"D-Don't make me talk about it," Luke sobbed, bringing his knees up to his chest and burying his face between them. "They'll hurt me, god, they'll k-kill me, I-I-"

"Luke, you can't not tell us. Whoever they are is hurting you and if this keeps going on, you'll get permanently injured. You can only get so much scarring," He sighed, kissing Luke's temple to sooth the sobbing boy.

"P-Please, A-Ashton, don't m-make me talk a-about it," Luke hiccuped, his eyes watery and bloodshot, his face twisted in emotional distress as he dropped his head back down onto his knees, tears streaming down his scarred cheeks.