Disconnected | Luke Hemmings

chapter eleven

Later in the week, the guys decided it was time for them to have a practice session so that they wouldn't be rusty by the time they had to go to LA. As much as I was upset about the prospect of them leaving, I knew that I had to be supportive, so I opted to hang out during their practice to listen and observe. We all ended up at Michael's place this time, which I knew brought back a lot of memories for the guys from when they were first starting out as a band, and made me just a bit emotional over the whole thing, especially with LA on the ominous horizon. They ran through their more popular ones first and then played a few tunes that got less stage time, just for the sake of practice. I told them what I thought about a few new guitar riffs they had come up with while on tour. Calum even ran a few lyrics by me. It was going pretty well, but eventually they all wanted to take a break.

"Man, I just really want a hamburger," Calum stated as he set his bass aside.

"So go make a hamburger," I prompted. I was sitting on Michael's couch with a cushion in my lap, curled up and mindlessly scrolling through my phone. I was quite comfortable, honestly.

"Yeah, but that's the thing," Calum said as he rose to his feet. "I want a hamburger, but I don't want to go through the effort of actually making the hamburger."

"I just want a nap," Michael grumbled from the other side of the room. Luke and I exchanged glances; we both knew that he and Amy had spent the night together last night, but neither of us knew exactly what had transpired. We both had our suspicions, though. I was anxiously waiting for a prime opportunity to gossip with Amy about all of it.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," Ashton announced from behind his drums. "I'm gonna drive Calum and whoever else wants to go to get some hamburgers, Michael's gonna go nap for an hour, and then we can get back to work. Sound good?"

"Sounds good!" Calum agreed, grinning and clapping his hands together.

"Feels good, too," Michael mumbled cheekily with a tired smirk on his face.

Ashton groaned. "For the love of God, Michael. Go get some rest and wake up with some better puns."

"As you wish," Michael replied, already making for his hideaway room. "Wake me up in an hour." And with that, he shut the door. The boy was probably asleep the moment he hit the pillow.

"Luke? Danielle? Hamburger time?" Calum asked. Ashton twirled his keys around his fingers expectantly.

"I'm good, but you guys go ahead," I answered. Truth be told, I was quite comfortable on my spot on the couch. "Although, if you bring me back a chocolate milkshake, I wouldn't complain."

"Noted," Ashton said. "Luke?"

"Nah, I'll just stay here, too," Luke said. "But like...a double cheeseburger to go would be cool."

"Yeah, yeah. See you lovebirds in a bit." Ashton and Calum clambered up the stairs and soon were out the door.

Luke, meanwhile, had made himself comfortable on the couch and had pulled my feet into his lap. He began massaging my ankles gently.

"Mmmm," I sighed contentedly. "That feels nice."

"Good," Luke said with a smile.

I smiled back. "You guys sound good today."

"You think so?"

"Yeah." I leaned back into the couch cushions. "I love listening to you guys play together and work on stuff. You're all so good at it. It kind of amazes me a little bit."