Attention Seeker // Luke Hemmings au

Chapter Eleven // Percy

I'm on my way home from uni when I get a call on the phone. I groan, turning down the volume to Beez in the Trap. "Hullo?" 

"P-P-Percy? Is that you?" a shaky voice asks, sounding almost on the verge of tears.

"Mrs. Winters? What is it?" I turn at the intersection, my eyes focused on the road. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's all my fault, Percy. All of this. I am so sorry."

"What is?" I have an idea what she's talking about, but I get the feeling she needs to get this off her chest. "Mrs. Winters, are you okay?"

"I'm the reason Ciel killed himself. I should have let him come home. My husband was just so angry and he's been drinking a lot, so when Ciel asked to come home, I told him no because I didn't want Henry to hurt him. Oh my God, this is all my fault. I should have been able to stand up to him. This is all my fault. This is all my fault. This is--"

"Mrs. Winters, please. This isn't your fault." It's mine. "Please don't blame yourself. He was having a lot of issues, and it wasn't just you. It isn't your fault." My voice dies for a moment, but I continue. "I think there was just a lot building up for him, and he needed an... outlet."

"So he killed himself?" She lets out a bitter laugh. "I just can't handle the concept of my poor son... not being around anymore. I mean, yeah, he wasn't home, but he was staying with you and Diana. He was safe. But now, he's... gone." 

"He's happier now, Mrs. Winter." My voice sounds unbearably small, but I can't bring myself to talk any louder. I stop at a red light, staring straight ahead. "I've come to respect his decision to give up on us all. We all fall down, but he refused to get back on his feet again. I know I'll never understand how he felt, I don't think anyone will... I just wish I could have been there for him."

Beep. "Come on, asshole!" a voice behind me screams. "Get moving!"

I don't hesitate to flip off the car behind me before I step on the gas, heading home. "Anyway, Mrs. Winters, please don't blame yourself. Everything was just too much for him, and he cracked. None of us could have helped him. He was too far gone." As much as I tell myself this, I can't help but hate myself for not even trying.

She sighs over the phone, and I can picture her tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, the same colour hair as Ciel. "Thank you, Percy. I needed this. I'll see you tomorrow after school with Diana, then?" 

"What's tomorrow?" My eyebrows furrow together.

"We're clearing out all of Ciel's things. It's just too much for me to keep them here. Diana says that she's going to go through and pick out the important things, and we're going to throw out everything else or put them in storage."

Diana never told me about... "Oh, right. I'll see you tomorrow, Mrs. W." I slip my phone back into my pocket and turn onto our street, pressing the intercom to open the gates before parking in our driveway. 

"Hey, mum, where's Diana?" 

She looks up from her book to me, her eyes scanning over my wrinkled t-shirt, ripped jeans, and blazer disapprovingly. As if I care. "Hmm, I'm not sure. I think she went to her room with some boy." She shakes her head, a soft sigh leaving her lips. "As if Ciel wasn't bad enough, today she brought home another scrawny blonde. He's obviously from the low-income suburbs. I don't know why she picks these people." 

"Another scrawny blonde?" I repeat, ignoring the rest of her tirade. "Did you catch his name?" 

"Luke, or something." Upon realizing I didn't care about what she had to say, she returned to her magazine. 

I don't really think much about this Luke character other than the fact that I'm pretty sure he's Diana's way of replacing Ciel. I don't have time to consider him anymore before I reach her room. I stop in the doorway, and I'm about to snap at her for not telling me about Ciel's tomorrow when I see the boy sitting on her bed, strumming my guitar. What the hell.

But to be quite honest, the song he's playing is actually kind of... good. I don't recognize the lyrics, but his voice is pretty decent.

"... I feel so damn lost, and it comes with the cost of being alone. Everything is falling down. We're suffering, helpless thoughts and out we sing, prayers go to the sky."

My gaze flickers to Diana, who's watching him intently as he sings. She seems utterly fascinated by him, her eyes trained on his lips. I wait until the song ends, then I knock casually on the door as if I haven't been here the whole time.

"Percy?" They both turn to look at me in sync, but I can see Diana's gaze lingering on Luke a second too long. "What's up?" she asks, smoothing her strawberry-coloured hair with the palm of her hand.

"Is that my guitar?" I nod my head to the boy, apparently Luke based off his blonde hair and thin frame. 

"Is it?" Luke blinks rapidly and quickly stands up, holding it out to me. "I'm so sorry! Here, take it. I hope I didn't mess it up or anything. I just--" He talks very quickly, almost like Ciel. I lose track of what he's saying when I see his bright blue eyes looking at me.

"It's fine," I say, almost in slow motion compared to him. I glance at Diana, and it suddenly makes sense to me why she picked him. He's a lot like Ciel, only he seems more... normal. He's very energetic and happy, and his aura is bright. Ciel's was obscenely dark.

Luke lowers the guitar and props it up against one of Diana's many dressers. "I'm Luke, Luke Hemmings. It's nice to meet you." He holds his hand out for me to shake, something that I haven't seen people do in a very long time.

I shake his hand, which is surprisingly big considering he's only what--sixteen? Maybe seventeen. I take note of his strong his grip is, and I can't help but eye him up and down. He's actually rather attractive, honestly. Nice job, Diana. "Percy."

Diana jumps off her bed then, and I notice for the first time that she's wearing skinny jeans and a t-shirt, something she would only wear when she was with Ciel. Yeah, Luke is definitely her replacement best friend. "What's going on, Percy? Why aren't you studying or something?" Something meaning drinking, smoking, or doing things that Mum would disapprove of, probably.

"Mrs. Winters invited me to come look at Ciel's room tomorrow," I say, nonchalantly glancing around the room. "She seemed to think I already knew about it." 

 Diana shrugs. "I mean, I wasn't sure if you wanted to really go after the breakup and all..." She trails off, and it's obvious in her eyes that she wasn't trying to exclude me, she was honestly worried. That makes me feel at least a little better.

"I'm going," I say anyway. "I'll pick you up after school and drive you there, okay?" 

Biting on her lip, she looks down at her converse clad feet. A curtain of hair hides her face, then, and she looks a way I've never really seen her. Vulnerable. Before I can say or do anything, that boy, Luke, takes her hand in his.

"It's okay," he says, smiling. "You'll be okay. Don't worry." Such simple words seem to have a great affect on my sister for some reason because when she looks up, she's smiling. 

"Okay," she tells me. "Be ready for three fifteen." Then, to my surprise, she turns to Luke and hugs him. My sister doesn't hug anyone. What's going on? Even Luke seems surprised, but after a moment, his arms snake around her. Her hands rest on her midback, unlike when she would hug Derik and his hands would go straight to her waist.

I like this boy, I decide as I leave the room.