fifteen ; l.h.

him

luke didn't know how some girl he'd never even seen before could make him rethink his decision to end his life with just a few words and an empty promise.

fifteen reasons.

was it worth it? was this small spark of hope that she had somehow ignited in him - brightening the dark tendrils of his fucked up life - really all that special? he sincerely doubted that.

but the warm assurance of her pinky still locked with his, long after they'd stopped talking, contradicted the feelings of suspicion that should've been nagging him at this point. suddenly standing on that ledge didn't feel like a death wish. it made him feel lighter (not that he'd ever admit it aloud, god forbid).

then, he felt his pinky being tugged as she sat on the ledge, legs dangling dangerously over the edge as she readjusted herself. he followed in suit, never letting their small connection break as he inched ever closer to her radiance.

and then the realization struck him like a lightening bolt. she was radiant. she was colorful and kind and beautiful, even though he could barely make out her features. she was the embodiment of everything he could ever wish to be, and here she was, trying to fix something that is far too broken to be fixed.

"this is a mistake," he blurted suddenly. "i'm a mistake. you should never have come up here."

he quickly took his pinky from hers and wrangled his hands together harshly, ignoring the rush of cold that made his spine shiver. he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, meeting her steady gaze.

"you don't mean that," she said softly.

"i do!" he argued. "god, i do. you're so.....not me. don't you get it? i'm a screw up. everything and everyone i ever cared about is gone. and do you know why that is? it's because of me! i ruin everything. fucking hell, why'd you show up? huh? why didn't you just let me jump?"

his fists were clenched in his lap and his face was red with exertion, and he looked everywhere but at her. he wanted to jump off, right there, right then, but he couldn't stand knowing he'd hurt a person like her in the last few moment of his life. she didn't deserve the pain of watching someone kill themself. she was too pure.

"because i care about you."

"you don't even know my name," he shot back resentfully.

she swung her legs and slid off the ledge onto the roof, stumbling a bit as she recaught her footing on the concrete surface. he didn't even turn around.

"then tell me your name," she replied desperately. "tell me everything about you. i want to know how you walk. how you talk. how you eat. what you love. what you hate. i may not know anything about you, but i do know that i am not going to let you do this to yourself. just let me in. please."

only at her small whimper did he turn his head. his cold blue eyes met her pleading hazel ones and immediately, guilt filled his senses. with a soft grunt, he finally got off that stupid ledge and onto the roof, directly in front of her. he swore he could hear her sigh of relief and he nearly grinned.

"im luke hemmings," he finally introduced and she smiled up at him.

"noelle devereaux," she laughed faintly. "it's nice to meet you, luke."

the sound of his name slipping off her tongue made an unfamiliar feeling of happiness erupt in his chest. it was warm and he wasn't sure why he'd ever let the feeling slip away from him in the first place.

"you too, noelle."

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double update bc i reallllyyy wanted to get luke's pov in before i lost inspiration. i got a really good idea and i felt like if i waited, i'd forget lol. but yeah, here's lukey! thanks for reading! please comment or vote if you enjoyed! :-)