serenity // luke hemmings

1.04

Luke had text Alex as soon as the taxi was on its way back to the house he was sharing with the boys for the duration of their stay.

‘meet me outside your building at 8am tomorrow, i’ll explain then :)’

She read over the message one last time the next morning, just to make sure she wasn’t going to look like an idiot waiting down stairs for him. When she was one hundred per cent confident that she’d read and understood it properly she checked herself in the mirror quickly before making her way out of her apartment.

Alex ignored the small part of her brain that told her that this was a bad idea, insane even. She could hardly believe she’d agreed to this; sure Luke seemed like a nice guy and he understood her in a way that no one else had for a really long time but that didn’t make this in any way normal. If it had been anyone else she would have said no way, there wouldn’t even have been a moment’s hesitation; but there was just something about Luke, something that made him different.

When she exited the building she immediately saw him leaning up against the railing of the stairs, facing away from her. He looked more like a male model than a teenage boy and she could hardly believe that he was even bothering with her.

He heard the door swing shut and turned to see her looking at him. Luke noticed that whenever he was around Alex he wanted to smile and he didn’t want to stop. She had realised that for someone who seemed so sad, Luke sure did smile a lot (not that she was complaining; that smile could cure cancer and create world peace).

“Morning beautiful.” He loved the way she looked down at her feet to hide her smile and he loved that he’d been able to make her smile to begin with. “Long time no see.”

He held out a cup of coffee that she hadn’t noticed he was holding. She took it, offering a small thank you and then looked down at her watch. “It’s only been like, 5 hours Luke.”

He shrugged. “Five hours is a long time.” He bit at his lip ring.

“When did you get that done?” She asked, raising a finger to point at her own lip. He definitely hadn’t had it when they’d first met.

“Oh, this?” He reached up and began to fiddle with the ring. “Thursday; Mikey wanted some new tattoos and I’ve wanted to get it done for a while so I did.”

He held out his arm, indicating that they should head out. Alex skipped down the last few steps and looped her small arm through his.

“It suits you.” She told him, returning to their previous conversation as Luke started to direct them. “So what are we doing?”

“Well, when we first met you told me you didn’t know why you were here anymore; that you needed a reason to stay. I figured I could show you a few of my favourite places, show you some of the reasons I like it here. Maybe my places could be a reason for you to stay.” He shrugged again; a little bit worried that she’d think it was a stupid idea.

“That’s really sweet.” She was taken aback by the fact that he’d even bothered to remember anything she’d said when they first met, let alone do something about it.

He looked down at her and was glad to see that she genuinely seemed pleased.

“So do I get to know in advance where we’ll be spending our time or is it supposed to be a surprise?” She finished the last of her coffee and he took her empty cup along with his own and threw them into a bin as they made their way down a set of stairs to the Underground.

“It’s a surprise, of course.” He laughed. Alex made her way towards the gates but Luke pulled her back. “Hang on a second; I’ve got to get a ticket.”