serenity // luke hemmings

1.07

Neither Luke nor Alex spoke during the elevator ride up to her apartment. The air, however, was heavy with what they were refusing to say. She looked him over and couldn’t supress the laugh that rose in her throat when she caught sight of some of her lipstick smudged around the corner of his mouth.

As he turned to ask what she was laughing about, he saw the lipstick stain in the reflection of the mirror panel. He shook his head and began to laugh along with her.

“That’s a work of art.” He stated, bringing the tips of his fingers to the mark.

The joke and the laughs had relieved some of the tension between them but it still wasn’t entirely gone yet. They didn’t know where this was going but they both had a fairly good idea. There was a small ‘ding’ and then the doors slid open.

Alex led the way, Luke following close behind her. He resisted the impulse to reach out and help her when she fumbled with the keys because he realised that it probably had something to do with him being there.

When she finally got the door open, Alex stepped inside, holding it open for Luke to join her. She let out a nervous breath; she wasn’t used to this, she didn’t make a habit of inviting boys she met less than a week ago back to her apartment. She shut the door and turned around to see him looking around the living room and kitchen area, his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans.

She thought that it was unfair that any one person could look so unbelievably good while doing something so simple and common place.

She stopped herself from reaching out to him, and instead dropped her keys onto the small table beside the door and took off her coat. He spun around and walked back towards her, stopping about a meter away. The same tension from before made the space seem too little and too much all at once and they both noticed.

“I can’t believe you’re nineteen and you live here on your own.” He spoke up, an incredulous sort of smile on his face.

“I can’t believe you’re nineteen and in a band that’s touring the world either, but here we are.” She countered with a shrug.

“Here we are.” He repeated as he took another step forward.

Alex knew it was going to happen so she wasn’t sure why she was surprised when he kissed her again. It wasn’t the same as the kiss outside, no, that had been a spur of the moment thing. This time, however, they both knew exactly what was happening. His hands dropped to her waist; his thumb rubbing small circles on the skin of her hip, just under the waist band of her jeans.

She stopped the kiss, pushing him away and taking a step backwards until she hit the door behind her. She kept her eyes closed for a second, honestly afraid what she might find when she chose to open them. When she did, she didn’t expect him to look concerned (she’d thought maybe angry or even hurt possibly) but he did.

“This isn’t right.” She spoke mostly to herself, but it was also an explanation of sorts. “I hardly even know you Luke. I don’t do these kinds of things.”

He took a hesitant step towards her. “Alex, just hear me out. If you want me to leave after I say what I’ve got to say then I’ll go, but just give me a shot.”

She nodded but wouldn’t meet his eyes. Luke placed his finger under her chin, tilting her head so she had to look at him.

“I don’t know what this is, this thing with you and me. I have no idea. And I don’t know how you’re feeling because you never want to tell me, and that’s fine, but I’ve known you for less than a week and I just feel so connected to you. I want to tell you everything because you’re the first person that I think will be able to understand. You make me feel like a normal person, Alex.”

“Luke – ” She tried.

“Let me finish. I agree; this isn’t right.” He stepped closer again and there was virtually no space between them. He brought a hand up to cup her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. “But does this feel wrong to you?”

She shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Me either.” He responded, his blue eyes searching hers.

He began to step away, respecting that this was still her choice to make. He didn’t get far though before she pulled him back and connected their lips once again as the two of them stumbled down the hall towards her bedroom.

When Luke woke up, Alex wasn’t next to him anymore. He might have panicked if not for the fact that this was her apartment. He glanced at the clock, which read 3:08am, before climbing out of the bed and making his way towards the door. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of their, near identical, ripped jeans lying on the floor.

He spotted her sitting on the windowsill in the lounge room. She looked so perfect; the moonlight had leeched the colour from her features, her bright hair still stood out though. It was then that he noticed that she was wearing his shirt; it was something so small but he loved the fact that she easily could have gotten one of her own but chose to use his instead. He went over and sat next to her, looking out the window as she did.

“I like to sit here sometimes.” She spoke softly. “The city looks so beautiful and it’s so still, you know?” She looked over as he nodded.

She noticed the sad, lost look in his eyes from the first time they met was completely gone. He looked content.

He realised that, for the first time, Alex didn’t look completely hopeless. She looked like she knew that things were going to be okay.

It had been a few minutes since either of them had spoken and Luke was almost afraid to interrupt the silence that had enveloped them so effortlessly in that time.

“With the band,” He began. “There’s always so many people telling us that we won’t make it or we’ll never amount to anything because we’re so young; and it scares me that they could be right because we work so damn hard for this. I was kind of drowning in all the pressure and the negativity, I was losing myself. Then I met you; you saw me gasping for breath and without even knowing, you pulled me up and helped me to breathe again. I went up there looking for a life jacket, and it just so happened to look like you.”

He was tracing a pattern on the exposed skin of her thigh; something she’d come to realise he did whenever he was deep in thought. His hair looked silver in the moonlight and the fond smile on his face was unmistakable.

“When I went up there I felt so disconnected from this city, from this place I’ve been in for so long, and I had no idea why I was here. But these past two days; getting to see it through your eyes and then getting to share my favourite places with someone, it reminded me why I came here and why I stayed for so long.” She let out a small laugh and shook her head which caused her hair to fall into her face. “I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you, Luke. You gave me my reason to stay.”

He tucked her hair behind her ear before leaning in and kissing her softly.

“If I showed up here tomorrow with two plane tickets, would you run away with me?” There was a joking tone in his voice but she could see the smallest bit of sincerity in his eyes.

“What about the band though?” She responded with a chuckle.

“Eh, forget about ‘em.” Luke grinned. “All I really want is you.”

She blushed at his words, even though she knew it was only meant as a joke. Speaking of the band made another question come to mind (this one she was less enthusiastic for him to answer). “When do you guys leave again for tour?”

His hand stilled and he looked out of the window for a moment before bringing his eyes back to hers. “Tomorrow night.”

 The two of them couldn’t help but think about how unfair that was. They’d been brought together just to be torn apart.

-

(dedicated to my sister because she challenged me to fit as many references to 'she looks so perfect' into this part as i could and that was really fun to do. also, because she convinced me that it was morally acceptable for me to make two nineteen year olds, that haven't known each other longer than a week, have sex.)