Lucifer a.k.a Luke Hemmings

Chapter 9

Eventually, I decided I'd had my fill of dancing, singing, and partying. By then, it'd reached nearly 11 o'clock. I told Luke I was getting tired and he brought me around to say my goodbyes. I made sure to ask for Jared and Shawn's numbers, and they obliged happily. I hugged them both and left with promises to stay in touch. After we left, I found myself leaning into Luke in the backseat of the car. I fought, but struggled, to keep my eyes open during the car ride. The weight of sleep tugged heavily on my body.

"We're here," Ashton said. Sitting up, I realized I must've fallen asleep. We were parked in the parking lot at my apartment complex. We all filed out of the car and made the journey to my apartment on the second floor.

"You guys are welcome to stay if you want to. I know it's really late. There's an extra bedroom down the hall and there's couches out here," I said to them. We were currently standing in my living room, everyone looking ready to pass out. I kept a blanket and several pillows on each of the sofas out there, mainly for decoration, but it came in handy when I was too tired to go all the way back to my room.

"Oh thank god," Ashton groaned. He plopped down onto one of the couches, slipping off his shoes and pulling up a blanket and pillow.

"Well that one's taken," Calum yawned. He laid down on the other couch in the living room and grabbed the blanket and a pillow from the arm of the sofa.

Before Luke could get a word in, Michael rushed back to the extra bedroom. It was surprising, considering the fact that was extremely sluggish ten seconds prior. "Mine," he called as he closed the door. Ashton and Calum were silent, no doubt already asleep.

"So what about me?" Luke asked, looking disappointed and all too tired. He was gorgeous, even when he was half awake. His eyes were half closed, his mouth slightly down-turned. I took a few seconds to take note of how long his eyelashes were. How unfair.

"You come with me," I instructed. I grabbed his hand softly and led his back to my room. Once we were inside, I closed the door and flicked on a light switch. "The bed's big enough for booth of us." My room was decorated in white, cream, and silver. There were string lights and curtains draping down above my bed. It looked like a cloud, with fluffy white blankets, sheets, and pillows. Furry rugs and soft carpeting covered the floor. I had several paintings that I loved hanging on the walls. My favorite was a replica of Van Gogh's almond blossom. There were plants and candles on shelves and a multitude of books and CDs in bookcases. It was my favorite room in the apartment. I liked to think it looked a bit like what some people might say heaven looked like.

"Are you sure?" Luke asked.

"You look about ready to fall over any moment now, so yes. I'm sure," I told him.

"Alright, but are you comfortable with this? I don't want it to be too much too soon for you." His voice was filled with sleep, but even still, it was clear he cared more about me being comfortable. That endeared him to me even more.

"Oh," I said quietly. The fact was, I hadn't thought about that. That day, Luke had asked me to be in a relationship with him, in a roundabout sort of way, and I'd agreed. Now, we wouldn't just be two friends sleeping in the same bed out of convenience. Was I alright with that? I knew the answer even before I spoke.

"That's fine, really," I told him.

"Ok," he replied. "Thank you then." He bent down and took off his shoes and socks. Then he stood back up, unbuttoned his shirt, and pulled it off. That left him in just his jeans. "I don't really like sleeping with so much clothing on." He laughed, but I just stood there. In my trancelike state, my eyes roamed over his bare torso. His abs weren't overly large, but were clearly evident. When he ran a hand through his hair, I saw his muscles flex the slightest bit.

"Um," I began to bring myself back into the present, "I just need to change." I usually just wore a large shirt and sweatpants, so nothing especially attractive. I was debating whether or not to riffle through my dresser for something more appealing when Luke's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You can wear this if you'd like," he spoke, walking toward me with his dress shirt in hand. He stretched out his occupied hand to me and I stared at it for a short while. "I just figured it'd be alright since I'm a bit bigger than you." His logic made since. But my mind was going in other directions.

Taking the shirt from his hand, I smiled up at him and tried to hide my nervousness. "Thank you." Luke nodded and walked over to the bed, pulling the covers back and climbing in. When he stayed turned towards me, eyes opened, I cocked my head and stared at him. As if getting the hint, he chuckled and closed his eyes. "I'd appreciate it if you turned around."

"Don't you trust me?" Luke asked, peeking one eye open. Glaring at him, he just laughed. He eventually covered his eyes with his hands. "Fine. There you go, Princess." He was unusually playful for that time of night.

When I was confident he was no longer peeking, I turned away from him and removed my shoes then slid my jeans off. The leather was somewhat difficult to get off, but I managed. I pulled my shirt over my head and was about to put on Luke's shirt, but stopped to take off my bra. Finally, I put on the shirt, buttoned it, and saw that it reached halfway to my knees. Then, I turned back around. A man to his word, Luke still had his hands over his eyes. I turned off the lights and walked around the bed to the other side, climbing in as well. Pulling the covers over me, I curled into the fetal position and welcomed sleep. Several minutes had passed when I felt my body being pulled into another one. I didn't have to open my eyes to know that it was Luke. His arms were wrapped around my sides loosely, I laid my hand on his chest and rest my head below his on the pillow. I was warm and comfortable, the heat from our bodies warming me beneath the blankets.

"Thank you Luke," I whispered.

"For what?" He spoke quietly in a gruff voice. I thought about all the things I was thankful to him for. For the party. For the people he'd gotten me to meet. For caring. For being kind. For being honest. For being a friend. For being more. For being him.

"For everything."

"You're worth everything, Scarlett," he replied.

And with that, I welcome you back to Lucifer a.k.a. Luke Hemmings. It's been a long time coming and I'm glad to finally be back. I can't promise an update soon, but my goal is to get a new chapter out within the next two weeks. I hope some of my old readers will come back and keep reading. I think my writing has improved in the past few months. Thanks to AP classes, I guess.

Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know what you thought!

XO
Kate Rose