Arms||Cake AU||

Chapter 21

Not related to the book but my sister and I made an Instagram account for my dog for a laugh and he's dead cute so go follow it. @major10official but please don't mention Wattpad there. Thanks

#promo

Luke's back slammed into the lockers and he winced in pain. Jake stood in front of him, smirking maliciously.

"Look who it is boys. It's ittle whittle Lukey all on his lonesome." Jake said in a baby voice, faking a pout. "Where's the punk today faggot?"

"In class probably, like we're supposed to be." Luke replied, swallowing nervously. Jake raised an eyebrow and laughed before grabbing the front of Luke's shirt and lifting him off the ground a little.

"Of course you actually want to be in class. Perfect Lucas, never missed a class, good grades, never in detention. Man, I really wish I was like you Luke." Jake sneered, his face just inches from Luke's. "It's my dream to become a pathetic friendless loser, just like you."

Luke turned his head away and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the punches to start.

"You know, I'm surprised your little bodyguard hasn't shown up yet. Where is he Luke? Did he realise how pathetic you are?" Jake's friends laughed, crowding around Luke menacingly. "Or are you just doing what Daddy told you?"

"I-I..." Luke stuttered, struggling against Jake's grip. In times like this, Luke wished he'd done what his Dad wanted and gotten into sport when he was younger. A little extra muscle wouldn't do any harm.

"Look at him, trying to fight back. Isn't that cute?" One of Jake's friends cooed mockingly. Luke glared at him and tried to kick him but Jake was standing too close. Jake tightened his grip and shoved him harder against the lockers, causing Luke to grimace.

"Please don't hurt me." He mumbled with his eyes squeezed shut. In the back of his mind he'd been hoping Calum would show up but after their conversation the day before, Luke knew that wouldn't happen. Calum didn't care about him, and that hurt more than anything Jake could ever do to him.

"Please don't hurt me." Jake imitated in a slightly higher voice. His friends cracked their knuckles and one of them punched Luke in the gut. He doubled over in pain before Jake let go off him and he fell to the floor. He lay on the cold dirty floor as all three boys kicked him until he was numb to the pain. It seemed to go on for hours but in reality it only could have been 5 minutes. They scattered, leaving Luke curled up in a ball on the floor with one tear rolling down his cheek.
---------------------------------------------

Luke wandered through the streets, kicking a random stone along the pavement as he went. His legs and stomach were in agony with every step he took but he ignored it, like he always did.

He meandered aimlessly around town, avoiding looking in shop windows so he wouldn't have to look at his reflection. He thought if he couldn't see them, the bruises wouldn't be there. He had nowhere to go until 4. He couldn't go home or his mum would be suspicious, he couldn't go to Ashton's because he was busy packing and Calum had abandoned him.

He wished he could say he understood, but he didn't; not one bit.

Luke passed the window of a small cafe and glanced inside, trying not to notice his reflection. In the very corner booth of the cafe, he spotted Calum and someone he assumed was his friend Michael. They were laughing at something Michael had just shown Calum on his phone. Luke watched them with his hands deep in his hoodie pockets and the hood half hiding his face. He noticed that the corner of Calum's eyes crinkled when he laughed and his smile was wider than humanly possible. Luke wished he could hear them.

Then he remembered Calum walking away from him the day before and his heart sank. He looked away from them and sighed. They were in there, enjoying a coffee or hot chocolate or whatever they were drinking and he was outside, looking in and wishing he was on the inside too. The story of his fucking life.

Luke turned the corner onto the next street before he started crying. The tears poured down his cheeks before he could stop them. All he'd ever wanted to do was fit in. Sure he had Ashton but having one friend who was a 2 years older than him wasn't great when he sat alone under a tree every lunch time; or when he was being beat up in the middle of a corridor and no one gave a shit. He wanted to not be invisible to the majority of his year. He wanted to have a close knit group of friends; not necessarily be popular, but have enough friends to not feel lonely. He wanted to enjoy his high school experience but he was on the edge, never invited to any of the parties or social events, never told to join a club or encouraged to do anything because nobody knew him and those who did didn't like him.

Luke collapsed onto a low wall outside the bakery and sobbed into his hands, making weird sniffling sounds every couple of minutes. His side hurt, his shoulders hurt, his back hurt, his head hurt - everywhere hurt. Tears continued to fall until Luke was sure he had no tears left. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and stood up, brushing himself down and straightening his hoodie. Not that there was any point because he looked like a hot mess whatever he did.
-------------------------------------------

"Hey Calum?." Michael asked as they walked out of the cafe. "Did you see the random boy who was staring at us through the window?"

"No." Calum replied, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Why?"

"He looked familiar but I can't think of where I'd seen him before. And it was also a little creepy. He just stood there, with his hood up, staring at us - well, mostly you."

"What did he look like?" Calum asked, not looking up from his phone.

"His face was kinda hidden but from what I could see he had blonde hair and he was really tall, like taller than both of us."

"Maybe we're being stalked by a demon." Calum said dramatically, waving his hands about in front of his face. Michael glared at him and rolled his eyes.

"Maybe we are. But if demons look like that, I'm sure you won't mind."

Poor Lukey 😢