Happily

Chapter Two: Back for You

(Juliet King)

           Juliet, calm the hell down. My foot kept shaking and I couldn’t get my hands to stop fidgeting. I kept shifting in my seat, the feeling of Harry’s eyes on me making me awfully uncomfortable. I tried diverting my attention to what really mattered – the talent show.

            I felt a tap on my shoulder, making me jump. I turned around to see my boyfriend, Luke, squatting on the floor beside me. “Hey,” he said, smiling and showing his pearly whites.

            I sighed in relief.

I thought it was Harry.

“Hi babe,” I smiled back, leaning in for a kiss. I left his soft lips and the coldness of his lip ring rest on my lips. “Babe, you reek,” I laughed.”

“No, that’s you,” he teased.

“Where’d you come from?” Luke’s blonde hair looked a bit damped and I saw some sweat around his forehead and neck. His black muscle shirt was drenched but was hardly noticeable in the dark.

“Band practice,” he said.

Luke was an aspiring musician, playing “punk rock” music – but I argue they’re pop. He was going solo until his neighbor, Calum Hood, moved in. Calum would blast All Time Low (one of Luke’s favorite bands) from his car and bedroom. Luke then had the idea of starting a band. Afterwards, a kid named Michael from our old high school joined. The boys were short of a drummer so they held auditions and soon after, Ashton (their drummer) joined. They became 5 Seconds of Summer.

Luke changed positions and instead sat on the floor and stretched out his long legs. “God, I’m so tired. Has Katie gone on yet?”

“No, not yet.” I felt the breeze of the air vents and thought of Luke who was full of sweat. Normally, I found it very attractive when Luke got sweaty after band practice. He would always wear muscle shirts that exposed his toned biceps. But I didn’t want him to get sick, letting the cold air dry him. “Babe, you need a sweater. They have the AC on in here,” I whispered into his ear.

“I don’t have one with me.”

I sighed, feeling worried until I remembered I had Luke’s sweater that I never returned to him sitting in the trunk of my car. I stood up and Luke held the back of my thigh. He looked at me with his blue eyes and asked, “Where are you going? I just got here.”

I let out a small smile and knelt down in front him between his legs. “I’m going to get you a sweater. You have one in my car. I don’t want you getting sick.”

“I’ll go with you,” he offered cheerfully. Although we lived in Florida, the weather was strange and the entire week we had been having chilly nights.

“No,” I watched as his smile turned into a pout. “It’s cold outside. I’ll be right back. In the meantime, take a seat. Those stilts you call legs might trip somebody.”

He gave me cheeky grin and shook his head. I gave him a quick kiss on the lips before I stood up to head out the door. Not even three steps forward, I felt a hand grab my ankle causing me to lose balance and nearly fall flat on my face. I prayed no one had seen. I turned back at Luke who was looking at me mischievously. “Don’t trip,” he smiled.

I rolled my eyes, mouthing an “I hate you” and continued heading towards the door. I pushed the handles and swung the doors open. The felt the cold evening breeze run through me. I looked up at the parking lot as I was walking down the stairs and saw to shadows standing by the lamppost. As I got a better view, my knees locked. My stomach started turning. It felt as if lunch was coming back upstream. It was my father conversing with Harry.