“No, Ashton! Stop!” I giggled. We were sitting in maths goofing off. We were supposed to be working on our homework, but it only turned into a tickle fight. I pushed his hands away from my sides and noticed that some people were looking at us.
“We need to be quiet, Ash. We’re going to get in trouble.”
“So what?” he smirked.
“So, I don’t really enjoy drawing attention to myself.”
“Why not?” he giggled as he once again attatched his hands to my sides and tickled me.
“Stop,” I laughed, “Ashton, I have to work tonight. I need to get my homework done.”
“Okay,” he frowned pulling his hands away from me and continuing his work.
I worked silently for a few minutes, until my attention was drawn to a figure entering the room: Luke. Why is he late all the time? He was going to take a seat when Mr. Trent called him over to his desk. Probably to lecture him about always missing the whole first half of class. They started arguing, but I couldn’t hear what about. Luke sighed then walked over to his seat. He sat in his chair then laid his head down on the desk. I wonder what was bothering him. I don’t know why I even care. He’s nothing but rude to me.
At lunch, Luke still seemed upset. He sat with his friends, but they seemed oblivious to whatever Luke was feeling. They all talked and laughed, and Luke just sat there, looking down at the table. He must have felt my eyes on him, because he glanced up, and our eyes met for a split second before I turned my attention back to Ashton. He’d been talking to me, but I obviously wasn’t listening. I was too focused on Luke. I didn’t want to be, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to know what his problem was. He’s like bipolar or something. I have no idea. But, whatever it is, I’d really like to find out.
-----------------
I piled all of my books into my locker and grabbed what I’d need to do my homework tonight. I shut my locker when I realized I had left my jacket in my last class. Ashton’s driving me home, so I better be quick. I hustled back to the classroom and grabbed my jacket just as my teacher was leaving. By the time I had retrieved my jacket, the halls had already cleared. Everyone’s gone already. Ashton will wait for me. I hurried down the hall but stopped before I turned the corner. Luke was leaning against the wall being yelled at by a middle-aged woman whom I assumed was his mother.
“What is going on with you, Luke? You don’t do your schoolwork anymore. You lock yourself in your room. And last week you broke into the liquor cabinet and got into trouble at the dinner. And now I’m getting called in by your teacher. Is there something going on with you?”
“Of course there’s something going on with me, Mom! But of course you’re too blind to notice!”
“Don’t talk to me like that-”
“You never listen! You never care what I have to say about anything! All the shit going on with you and Dad. All this pressure at school. It’s eating me alive.” his voice grew quieter as his gaze hit the ground.
“You wouldn’t know pressure if it hit you in the face, Luke. What do you have to worry about? You have everything. So don’t try to tell me that you’re being wronged.”
Then, the classroom door opened, “Mrs. Hemmings, I’ll see you now. Thank you for waiting.”
She sighed and entered the classroom. Luke took a deep breath as he slid his back down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. I didn’t know what to do, so I just threw my jacket over my shoulder and walked around the corner. I tried to pass by Luke but he cut me off with his voice.
“Hey,” I stopped in my tracks and turned to him, “Did you hear all that?”
“Hear all what?” I lied.
“Nothing.” he looked back down, “I’m going to be a little late today.”
“Alright. Um...I’ll cover for you.”
He didn’t respond, so I took that as my cue to leave.
--------------
Ashton dropped me off at home and told me he would call me later. I let Uncle James know that Luke had some things to take care of before he could make it to work. He was a bit suspicious, but he obliged before putting me to work in the kitchen to replace Luke. There was a little bit of an extra mess today for some reason.
I had washed almost the whole sinkfull of dishes when Luke finally arrived. He kept his head down as he tossed his bag into the back corner and threw on his apron.
"Um I've already got the dishes almost done for you, so."
"Thanks." he mumbled, standing there awkwardly.
"Well I'll just go work up front." as I stumbled past him, I noticed his left cheek was really red and irritated. I stopped in my tracks.
"Are you ok?" I asked him.
"What?" he scoffed.
"Your cheek."
"Yeah. My mom just got real pissed. It's no big deal." he rambled as he began to work on the dishes.
"Was it something she talked about with the teacher?" he froze.
"I thought you didn't see anything?" he turned to me.
"I-" I stuttered.
"You lied." he sighed deeply. I couldn't see the expression on his face, because I didn't dare to look. I imagined it was an angry one.
"You weren't supposed to hear any of that." he breathed, "Look, just don't tell anybody."
"I won't." I promised.
"But why did she hit you?" I asked after a long period of silence.
"Isn't that what all parents do when they get mad at you?" he spoke without looking up.
"My mom never did."
"What do you mean 'did'?"
"She died. That's why I live with my aunt and uncle." I confessed.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Well what did-" I began to ask about his mom again, but he had another idea.
"Look, are we just gonna play twenty questions? Because I don't really have the energy for it right now." his tone was suddenly harsh.
"I-I'm sorry. I'll just go." I started to walk out.
"Your lips are sealed." he demanded.
"Yeah." I agreed and went to work.
Luke made me nervous. One moment he could be calm and the next he was furious. Even the smallest thing could set him off. I wouldn't say I was scared of him. He was just so unpredictable. I didn't know how to act around him.
Seeing the fight with his mom and then discovering that she slapped him in the aftermath only opened more questions for me. And I was determined to find the answers.
YOU ARE READING
Amnesia || Luke Hemmings
Fanfiction"I'm going to show that it wasn't good just because I was drunk and you were tired. It wasn't a mistake."
