Vacant: A Luke Hemmings Fanfiction

Chapter 1

Flipping through the old vinyl records, I smiled as I passed my favorite album, Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown." Slipping it out of the cover, I clumsily popped it onto Susan's fifty year old record player. The start of "Song of the Century" began, and I quickly began turning the album to skip songs, passing by "Last Night on Earth" and "Murder City." Finally, I got there. Number 16. The beginning chords of my favorite song, "21 Guns" played.

"Do you know what's worth fighting for?

When it's not worth dying for?" I sang along softly with Billie Joe as I dusted off some antiques.

"Does it take your breath away-"

*SLAM*

"JESUS OF FUCKING SUBURBIA!" I screamed, my breath literally taken away.

A tall, frail boy collapsed in front of the door.

"Oh my god, are you ok?" I call out as I threw open the other door.

He said nothing and stumbled past me to get into the store.

I stood there in shock. "Excuse me," I followed him, confused.

"Hide me!" he gasped, desperately trying to catch his breath. I panicked, knowing he was in a rush and couldn't explain.

"Where?" My eyes widened, searching the room. They landed on a small cabinet. "There!" I shoved him in that direction and he fumbled with the handle. He practically jumped inside and curled up in order to fit. I slammed the door and shuffled back to my earlier position.

Within seconds the door opened, a gust of wind entering with the pursuer. I turned around, expecting to face some gang members- except that's not what I saw. I nearly choked. Holy shit.

"Miss, have you seen a boy about this high," the man gestured with his arm, "a black beanie and tank top?"

"N-no." I stuttered. I figured the boy was in trouble with some other guys, not the cops. The cop's eyes narrowed at me.

"So you won't mind me looking around?"

He didn't wait for a response before ducking under a table. I bit my lip nervously while he peered over a counter.

"Ah... ahh..." quietly came from the cabinet. I pinched the bridge of my nose. You've got to be kidding me. Luckily the man was too far to hear the sounds of the pre-sneeze. "Ah..."

"ONE. TWENTY-ONE GUNS. LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS, GIVE UP THE FIGHT!" I shouted while a sneeze erupted from the cabinet.

The cop sprung up in surprise, a hand clutching his chest.

"Sorry, uhm. S'my favorite part." I mumbled sheepishly. He cocked an eyebrow and stared at me for a moment before he continued searching.

I avoided looking at the cabinet to make sure I wouldn't draw attention to it, my hands playing with the record cover instead.

The cop glanced around, making his way to my side of the store. As he turned to face me, I could see that his nametag read "Dinkleberg".

His eyes dropped to where the boy was hiding. Swiftly he reached for the handle and tried pulling it. My breath caught in my throat as he frowned, the door not budging. Every time he managed to make a gap, the door immediately shut back. It was like "Boy vs. Cop: The Battle in the Cabinet." Officer Dinkleberg took a few steps back and rubbed his hands together in preparation to use all his force. Before he could launch at the cabinet, a stern voice interrupted him.

"What do you think you're doing?" someone snarled. The officer jumped back alarmed, his eyes searching for the source of the voice.

Susan stepped out from behind a wall, glaring at the stranger. It was actually quite amusing, seeing a full-grown man being scared by a 72-year old woman.

"Can I help you?" she said with an annoyed tone.

He cleared his throat, trying to recover, and managed to push out nervously, "Uh, m'am. I'm searching for a tall teenage boy, blonde, blue eyes, black beanie an-"

"I don't give a flying futuristic Phil about who you're looking for, you won't find him in here."

"Listen, miss, I don't know who you are but-"

"Susan. Susan Rus. I own this shop, which means I have every right to kick you out. So on that note, I would suggest you leave before I have your badge removed, 'officer.'"

"Ms. Rus, will you stop interrupting me?" He continued, not waiting for a response. "By order of law I am allowed to search these premises as long as it helps the current case."

Susan glared at him, his eyes revealing intimidation and and his face flushing.

"Well sir," she dared him, "you can look around as much as you like, but you're just wasting your precious time. I'm not hiding anything and I'm positive Lucy over here isn't," looking over to me, "being she's only 17 and she's only here to volunteer. So go ahead, officer. Make yourself at home." Susan slickly smiled.

Regaining his composure, Officer Dinkleberg took a deep breath. "It's okay m'am. I trust your store is well-kept. I'll be on my way now, sorry for the trouble." he muttered, awkwardly waddling to the exit.

Right as he was about to leave, he turned to quickly note, "Just so you know..."

"Yes?" Susan innocently responded.

"If you're hiding anything, it's punishable by law. I'm just saying, if you know anything, it's better to tell us now than for us to find out later." With that, he left the store and didn't look back.

"Who was that?" Susan asked, clearly irritated.

"Dinkleberg." I squinted my eyes and shook my fist in the air, trying to lighten the mood. Susan chuckled and shook her head.

"I'm going to go back and 'count inventory.' I'll be gone for 15 minutes. Try to keep yourself together." Her eyes were glinting with something I couldn't detect. She walked backwards until she disappeared behind the door. She knows! She knows he's here! But... why would she help me? I disregarded any future thoughts and lunged for the cabinet.

Swinging open the door, I let the anger take over. "Who do you think you are, storming in here like that?!"

My voice faltered, realizing that he didn't even look up at me. His body shook, a strangled gasp emitting from his throat. "Oh... um... are you crying?"

I awkwardly inched towards him and crouched down. "There, there." I patted his head softly.

He quickly moved away, flinching. "Don't touch me!" he said. "Please" he added. I retracted.

I stared at him. "Who are you?"

His bloodshot eyes met mine. "I'm Luke."

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