for the art of war (lashton)

7. why are you everywhere I go?

Every time Luke saw Ashton, he was reminded of the kiss, and the worst part was that Luke still didn't know anything about it. The lunch he'd had with Ashton yesterday was pretty much useless since Ashton hadn't given him any answers. On the brighter side, when they worked together in Physics, they had finally managed to stop yelling at each other. Things were still awkward between them—if not more awkward than before—but it was definitely a step up. They'd spend most of their time chatting about their favorite TV shows or video games instead of working on the project at hand. It turned out that Ashton didn't like FIFA, and Luke thought that was revolting. Sometimes, on a good day, Luke even managed to get a smile out of Ashton, and Luke loved that. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before other people (particularly Michael) started noticing the sudden dynamic change between the two.

"I don't understand," Michael commented. Luke, Michael, and Calum were all eating lunch in the library since Calum had forgotten to finish his homework from the night before. The library was quiet but spacious with a high ceiling, making it hard for other people to eavesdrop into their conversation, but the boys still spoke in a hushed tone. They sat at a round wooden table in the corner behind some bookshelves, far from the other students who were studying in the main section of the library. 

"What's up with you and Ashton?" Michael continued. Luke hesitated and tried his best not to choke on the chicken he'd just taken a bite of. 

"What do you mean?" he mumbled. 

"Just a week ago you guys were at each other's throats and now you guys are best buddies." 

Luke scoffed. "Best buddies? Far from it." Luke paused. "He's an annoying piece of shit," he said quickly. Calum looked up from his paper with an amused smile. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Michael laughed. "Alright then. I thought you guys were finally getting along." 

Luke didn't respond, but instead plastered on a fake smile. He wanted to laugh and tell Michael no, but all he could think about was the kiss. It was all he could think about, and he wanted to ask his friends for advice but he chose not to. A part of him didn't want them knowing about what had happened at all. At this point, Luke was hoping that time would continue on normally and he would eventually forget about the kiss entirely; however, yet has a day passed by without Luke making eye contact with Ashton and thinking, we kissed each other. And Luke thought it was weird; he thought it was weird that he'd kissed a boy but didn't seem to mind it. Luke had had a couple of girlfriends in the past but it had never occurred to him that maybe he wasn't straight. He was straight, wasn't he? 

Michael dropped the topic and began rambling on about a pretty girl he'd seen at the supermarket yesterday. Calum finished his homework, pulled out a jar of vegemite like he always did, (there was an international food store not far from the university) and the three of them ate the rest of their lunch as if nothing had happened. Luke zoned in and out of the conversation, his mind replaying what had happened on Saturday. His brain was doing that awful thing where it overthought scenarios, and Luke could do nothing to stop it; thankfully, Calum and Michael didn't seem to notice that Luke was barely paying attention. 

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Soon, the dreaded Finals week had arrived. Luke preferred to view Finals on a positive note, because once he finished his tests he would be straight on the next plane back home. He missed his relatives, even the embarrassing grandparents that would hold you in a hug for a few seconds longer than socially acceptable. He missed the annoying cousins that would comment on things that didn't need feedback. He missed them all, and this only pushed him to study harder for his tests. 

Waking up on Monday, Luke was nervous. He'd never taken Finals before in college and he wasn't sure what to expect. Thankfully for him, he only had to take two tests today.