Paper Cuts | Luke Hemmings ✔

17. emotions

Luke and Corrine sat in the library reviewing things they had covered so far in English, but eventually, Luke became extremely frustrated, and so they stopped. So, they moved onto their project instead. "So we've gone over favourite, food, drink, colour, flower, blah blah blah . . ." Corrine said, going over what they already talked about, while waving her hands in the process. Luke smiled and laughed. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just- I find it funny when you're talking and then go blah blah blah." he said. Corrine could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She looked away from him, letting her hair shield her face.

"Oh. Moving on." she said quickly. " What do you think we should take about?" she asked him.

"We haven't done future stuff." Luke said.

"Alright then." Corrine grabbed her pencil. "What do you want to do when you graduate?" she asked him.

"Music." Luke said. Corrine looked at him funny.

"Music?" she asked. Luke laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. Music. I've always loved it." he said.

"I would have thought you'd do soccer." Corrine said. Luke rolled his eyes. "You truly are full of surprises." she said.

"What about you? What does Corrine Lancaster want to do when she escapes this place?" Luke asked her.

"I thought it be obvious." she said with a smile.

"I suck at guessing." Luke said.

"I want to move to New York and become a writer." she said. Luke smiled at her.

"You want to write?"

"Yes. I want to write books that make people feel something. Anything. I want people to fall in love with what I write. I want people to fall in love with reading. None of this digital stuff. I want people to want to go to the nearest book store, find the first book that captures their attention, and then bring it home, curl up on the couch with a cup of tea, and read it." she ranted. "I'm doing it again." she sighed.

"Doing what?" Luke asked, cocking his head to look at her.

"Ranting." Corrine said. "I do it a lot. I can't stop."

"I don't mind. I think it's cute." Luke said. Corrine gave him a small smile. "It just means you have a lot to share with the world. I like it when you rant. I get to hear what you think. And not someone else."

"Um, any plans to have a family?" Corrine asked. Luke thought on it for a moment.

"Maybe. If I find the right girl. I've always wanted a daughter." Luke said suddenly.

"You want to be a dad?" Corrine asked. "The one and only Luke Hemmings wants to be a dad?"

"Hey! I think I'd be a decent dad." Luke laughed. "I'd name her Delilah." he added."

"Why Delilah?"

"So that whenever I see her I could ask her what it's like in New York City." Luke said while laughing. Corrine joined in on the laughter, and playfully smacked his arm.

"Please say that's not the reason why." Corrine begged him.

"No, it's not. I just really love the name Delilah."

"What if you had a boy?"

"I don't know. Maybe Max?" Corrine shook her head.

"If I had a boy, I'd name him Levi."

"Levi?" Luke asked her.

"What's wrong with Levi?" Corrine asked him.

"It's such a weird name!" Luke laughed. Corrine frowned.

"My name's weird." Luke stopped laughing.

"I didn't mean it that way. It's just a name you don't hear very often. That's all. Although Levi sounds very promising. Levi Lancaster, the son of a Writer. It's got a nice ring." Corrine smiled.

"Thanks."

"What about a girl? What would you name her?"

"You'll laugh." she said.

"No I won't."

"Yes you will."

"I promise."

"Fine. I'd call her Elizabeth."

"That's not weird. Elizabeth is a pretty name."

"You didn't let me finish." Corrine said. "Or, I'd name her Cordelia." Luke pursed his lips to hid his laughter. "You're laughing!" Corrine whined. "I shouldn't have told you." She's cute when she whines. Heck, she's always cute. Luke thought.

"No I'm not." Luke said, struggling to keep a straight face. He was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Why?" with a laugh.

"Because, Cordelia was my grandmother's name. I was very close to her, and I nearly died when she passed away. I'd name her that to keep her memory alive." Corrine said. Luke smiled at her.

"You're amazing." he said.

"No I'm not." Corrine said. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and smiled softly. She's gorgeous when she smiles. I love it when she does. I just want to see her smile all day.

"Yes you are." Luke said. He scooted closer to her. "You are absolutely amazing in every way possible. I've never met anyone like you before in my life. They way you talk about things, or explain them is so unique. You're just . . . amazing." Luke said. He looked at Corrine, and she looked at him. They stared at each other for a long time. Fuck. She's so pretty, I just want to- Suddenly the bell rang, and both of them jumped.

"Um, are you still coming over tonight?" she asked him, as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"If you want." Luke said.

"Yeah, come around seven though. I'm working late tonight."

"Okay. See you then."

"Bye Luke."

"Bye Corrine."

Luke stumbled out of the library and down the hall in a daze. Keep it together Luke. He told himself. Truth be told, Luke was not okay. When he was talking to her, all he wanted to do, all he could think about, was kissing Corrine. Something was up, and he was determined to figure it out. He found Ashton, Calum, and Michael standing by their lockers. "I have an emergency." Luke said when he reached them.

"Major enough, like we skip class and go get pizza?" Michael asked. Luke nodded. Michael fist pumped the air.

"Alright, let's go then."

Ever since they were younger, the our of them agreed that when one of them had a major emergency, they would drop everything and have a meeting. Things like that included the time where Mike's parents talked about getting a divorce - which, thankfully, never happened - when Ashton's mum started dating this guy, and so on. Luke had never had a serious enough emergency before though, so this was all new to him.

They snuck out the back door of the school, and to the parking lot where they got into Luke's car, and drove off. They went to their favourite pizza place, and ordered two large pepperoni pizza's and four cokes. "So what's your big emergency?" Michael asked, as he took a bit of pizza. Luke took a really deep breath and then told him his problem.

"I think I may have a crush on Corrine."

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well . . . that just happened . . .

-Raven