Learning To Fall

thirty three

Valentine's Day; a day that made every insecure single person want to either drown themselves in tears or alchohol. Also a day for people to celebrate each other, despite the fact that we should all do a little bit of that every day. Before, I wasn't very fond of Valentine's Day. And now? I still hated it.

"You can't be serious," Luke laughs from his place in the driver's seat. I nod, indicating that I was, in fact, being serious. "All this time, and you still feel the same about Valentine's Day?"

"I just don't see the point. It's centered around love, but shouldn't we all be loving each other everyday?" I ask hypothetically. Luke shrugs in reply as he turns off of the highway.

Since the night that Luke and I kissed, things have been different. It started as little things, like Luke showing more affection. A rare kiss in private, or holding onto my hand constantly. Then, his bravery begun to show. The first time he kissed me in front of our group of friends was something I'd always remember; the wide eyes and gaping mouths. They'd accepted it though, telling us that they'd been making bets on when the two of us would get together. I told Cara that we'd been doing the same with her and Ashton. The only difference was that they weren't together yet.

"What are you thinking about?" The blond next to me asks, aware of my silence. I observe him before replying. He was concentrated on the road, one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding mine sitting in the middle console. The boy was always attractive, that was for sure. But Luke was beautiful in a way that crept up on you. As he became more familiar, he also felt more and more like home. It filled you with warmth, like getting into bed after a cold winter's day.

"Nothing," I find myself grinning, and he gives me a knowing look. "I was just thinking about everyone's reactions when we came out as a couple." At this, Luke smiles.

"Are you sure you don't wanna do anything today?" He goes back to asking.

"I'm perfectly fine with staying in and just watching movies," I reply. Luke begins to make a noise of agitation, but he stops.

"Can I at least buy you something?"

"You can buy me food to eat while we're watching movies," I assure the boy. If I was looking at him, I know he would've rolled his icy eyes. "If you really wanted to do something special, why didn't you come up with something before today?" Luke parks the car in front of his house. The pale boy turns to me with a mischievous grin.

"How do you know I didn't?" At his statement, I narrow my eyes into slits.

"I swear Hemmings, if you-"

"You won't hurt your boyfriend, will you?" The boy teases. I pretend to consider the idea, and he makes a noise of disbelief. "And to think that I'm in love with you." My face heats up at the confession that Luke repeats to me every day. He's said it since the day we started dating again, and each time I blush like it's the first time he's said it. Of course, I hadn't said it back. I wanted things to go slow, despite the fact that Luke and I had already been a couple. This time was going to be different, better.

"What do you think the rest of them are doing?" I ask instead, changing the subject to our group of comrades. Luke makes a noise of boredom from the driver's seat.

"Hopefully not stuck in traffic," The blond shrugs. We were stuck at a red light, only having got off of the highway a couple of minutes ago.

"Think of it this way; we get to spend time together before I completely ignore you during the movie," I joke. Luke scoffs in reply.

"You can't ignore me," The boy insists. I raise a dark brow, challenging his statement.

"I ignored you for a whole year, actually," Is my counter. Luke's silence is enough to let me know that I won our small debate. He mutters something like "yeah, whatever," before the traffic light finally turns green.

>>

When we arrive at Luke's house, Liz and I spend time together in the living room while Luke cleans his room. She was spending Valentine's day with a group of friends (Galentine's day, she was calling it,) and was due to leave in an hour.

"Although I trust you and Luke, I want you to stay downstairs," Liz reminds me, and I nod to let her know I understood.

"That's not a problem, Liz. I hope you have a great time, you deserve it after what you've been through with Luke, let alone the other two brothers," I answer, and the older woman smiles. "How are they by the way?"

"They're great, Andy. It's been a while since they've seen you, maybe you'll have to come over for a family dinner soon." The woman suggests, and although I want to decline for fear of intruding, I nod anyway. It's a good thing I don't, because Luke enters the living room. After that, we spend our time talking about whatever comes to mind. Luke and I pick out our snacks and set them on the coffee table in front of the large living room TV, and soon enough Liz leaves with a group of older women. Then, Luke smiles over at me.

"So, cheesy romance or gory horror?"

Spoiler alert: I choose horror.

>>

During the middle of our second movie, Luke gets a call from Calum. Turns out that Calum burnt the meal he made for Nova. Luke resolves it by talking him into delivering a heart-shaped pizza to her door. Thirty minutes later, I get a text from Nova telling me to "guess what Calum did for her." I have no trouble guessing.

"Are you sure you didn't want to do anything special today?" Luke checks for what it seems to be the thousandth time today. I raise an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because if so, I'm gonna have to cancel something," The blond boy reveals.

"Luke, I want to find out what you did." I assure him, he smiles instantly.

Twenty minutes later I'm in Luke's car, blindfolded and unsure of what was going on. Although I insist that the blindfold isn't necessary, he affirms me that it is. So needless to say, when the car brakes for good and is parked, I'm relieved.

Luke leads me inside where ever we were, and instantly I'm hit with a cold breeze. A shiver makes its way through me involuntarily, and I feel Luke squeeze my hand. He leaves me for a short time, and if I strain my hearing I can hear him mumbling something to another person. Then, he's back, and the blindfold is undone; it falls from my face instantly and hits the ground. At first, I have to look away; things were too bright, and it was overwhelming to someone whose sight was obstructed. When things finally feel normal, I look at the sight in front of me. A smile finds its way to my face at the sight I see.

Luke had rented out an icerink for the two of us. Fairy lights are strung up around the rink, and rose petals are casually thrown anywhere on the ice. In the middle of the rink, a red blanket is set up. Everything is done perfectly, and it makes me wonder who helped him set it all up. When I turn to face Luke, I notice that Ashton and Cara were standing on either side of him. My already wide enough grin spreads even more, and I bring all three of them in for a hug.

"You guys are so corny," I laugh as we all release from the hug. "So, who's idea was this?" Both boys look to Cara.

"What? I couldn't help myself," The girl laughs.

"You guys should stay," I suggest. Deep down I knew that Cara was thinking about what she would want a guy to do for her when she formed the idea. Hockey was always more her thing than it was mine, and I wasn't going to let her miss out on this even if it wasn't initially for her. Ashton opens his mouth to most likely disagree, but I shake my head. "I'm not taking no for an answer, Iriwn. Now get your ass on the ice and skate with Cara like I know you want to."

"I mean, she's not wrong," Luke laughs, and we all watch as Ashton's face flushes. The only thing left to do was skate. So, we do. And shortly after we have pizza delivered (there wasn't enough food in the small basket on the blanket for the four of us,) but soon enough after that we skate again.

Valentine's day has never been my thing. But as long as I have Luke and my best friends to share it with, it might just become one of my favorite holidays.