you'll never fade to me. - a Luke Hemmings story

5.

It was the middle of the night and I still couldn't sleep. Ever since I had come back from London, its like I couldn't rest at all. I found myself thinking of the most random things, just to try to sleep for a bit, but nothing worked. Aggravated, I sat up and groggily patted down my wild hair. I pulled a blanket over my vest and booty shorts (apparently no-one thought to get me some PJs) and went downstairs, hoping their creaking wouldn't wake anybody up. It's been a long few days and I thought maybe watching a movie would help me relax and sleep. The bags under my eyes were already looking terrible, let alone if I didn't sleep another night.

I jumped on the sofa and landed on something hard. Hearing a 'what the fuck', I almost started screeching until I realised I had just sat on a sleeping Luke in the middle of the living room. He pulled the blanket off his body and looked at me, confusion in his eyes.

'Val? What are you doing here?'

'I should ask you the same thing! I almost killed you just now, I thought you were an intruder.'

'Killed me? You looked ready to cry.', Luke said with a laugh and I felt the atmosphere lift significantly. I'm glad he wasn't mad; if I were him, I'd be furious that someone woke me up by jumping on me. I sat beside him, my blanket over my shoulders and his in the same position; we must have looked like a right mess. I was curious as to why he wasn't sleeping in my sister's room but something told me that big fight of theirs had something to do with it.

'Listen, I don't wanna pry or anything but why are you here and not with Bev?' I tried to make my voice as stable as possible but what if he thought I was sticking my nose into his business? I didn't want to annoy him. He sighed, rubbing his hair, making it stick out in all corners even more. I had a feeling that he wanted to talk, he just found it hard to talk to people... or maybe just me.

'I just- I don't know, Bev got so mad at me for something that wasn't my fault. Like, I can't control my parents, y'know? I tried to calm her down, but she just wouldn't listen and now she doesn't even want my parents at the wedding, but how can my own parents not come to what's supposed to be the happiest day of my life? Sorry, I'm rambling.'

'No, you're not', I said, even though he totally was. 'I get what you mean. Believe it or not, my parents were the same the first time I brought a boyfriend home. I thought my dad would hit him, it got pretty crazy.' I cringed, thinking of Evan; back then I thought my parents were ganging up on me but now I see he really wasn't meant for me.

'What happened? Are you still dating?', he asked. Half his face was illuminated by the moonlight that came from the window of the living room, making his eyes even bluer than in daylight. His cheekbones were sharp and his lips looked perfectly outlined in the dim light. He looked like a painting and I told myself to stop thinking, but surely I'm allowed to find this random guy handsome? I met plenty of people every day at my job who were charming and hot, and this wasn't any different considering after the wedding, I'd probably never see him again. Bringing myself back to reality, I remembered what he had asked me.

'Nah, it was just a summer fling when I was still a teenager. I don't have much time on my hands to date and even when I do, the men in my business aren't exactly gentlemen.'

'You've never thought to give any of them a chance?'

'Why? So they can break my heart and I'd have to read about it in the tabloids the next day? I'd rather avoid having my personal life blasted all over the place.', I said, laughing. Luke didn't laugh, or even smile; actually, he looked sorry for me. I immediately felt bad, I rarely ever tell people about my personal life for this exact reason.

'I'm sure you'll find someone when you least expect it.', he said, while looking directly into my eyes. I felt myself blush, glad that it was dark enough in the room he wouldn't notice. I cleared my throat and went to the DVD drawer underneath the TV. Picking out a comedy and a horror, I held them up and Luke nodded with a smile. Somehow, spending time with him was simpler than I ever thought it would be.

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My eyes opened groggily as I realised I had actually fallen asleep, but all the happiness faded when I yelped at my position; Luke was resting his head on my shoulder. His tall body was wrapped in his blanket on one side and he looked peaceful. I could feel his soft, blonde hair on my neck and it caused my cheeks to heat up. The only time I relaxed enough to actually sleep since I'd arrived here was when I fell asleep next to Luke...

I tried to gently remove his head from my shoulder, but he moved and opened his eyes. They were such a light shade of blue in the morning, I felt something shift inside me. After a few seconds of eye contact, he seemed to realise where he was and what we were doing, which would have looked suspicious to anyone who had seen us. He quickly sat up, scratched the back of his neck and unwrapped the blanket from himself. Are you kidding me? I thought to myself, Why is my sister's fiancé in his boxers looking at me like that and why can I not stop staring at him? 

I look at his long legs, so slim but muscular at the same time and I can't help noticing a trail on his toned stomach that disappeared into his boxers. I pull my eyes away and instantly feel ashamed because why the hell did that turn me on? I blame my hormones and the lack of my romantic life. He doesn't say anything about our former position, or the night we spent watching movies and laughing together. Luke's eyes trail over my exposed legs and my messy hair, and he looks almost innocent, like he doesn't feel the same tension that is clearly in the room. His eyes flash with something akin to emotion, but it's gone in less than a second.

'I have to talk to Bev.', he says, before walking away and leaving my alone with my thoughts.

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(A/N Here's the 5th chapter! Cute pic of sleepy look which suits this chapter! Leave a vote or comment if you liked it please 😊)