the science project || l.h.

[six] - [don't move, honey]

"Ready to go?" 

I look away from my locker to see Luke standing there, leaning against the lockers with one arm. He looks bored, and he's probably ready to go home.

I nod. "Uh, yeah, but.. Wait, am I going home with you?" I ask. His eyes widen a little, and he pushes himself off the lockers.

"Well, uh, I thought.. Y'know, after school.. Thought you literally meant after school. But whatever, it's cool," he says, playing it off. I frown softly. "I can... Are you driving?" I ask. I don't trust Luke, especially in an object that can get into accidents easily. 

He shakes his head. "My mum won't let me have a car. She has the same fear as you." He chuckles softly. He must've seen the panic in my eyes. I smile a little.

"But, it's not far from here. We could walk. Unless you want to wait for my mum to pick us up." He says, rubbing his shoulder. As much as I'd love to spent more time with his mum, I shake my head. "No, walking is okay."

He waits while I pack everything into my bag. I close my locker as the bell rings. I look at him. "Do you not have anything with you?" I ask. He shrugs. "Nah,"

I sigh. Well, this will be very fun... 

We start walking. It's really quiet. I don't really make an effort to say anything. And he's just texting the whole time. So, I just look around and observe the area.

"So.. I never exactly learned where you're from..." Luke says randomly. I look at him. "Are you trying to make small talk?" I ask, amused. His eyes widen a little. "W-What? N-no, I,"

I giggle. He sighs. "I was trying to be less awkward," he mumbles. I look down and smile, kind of happy he made an effort.

"Los Angeles," I say. He looks at me. "What?" He asks. I look at him. "You asked where I was from. LA. Los Angeles, California,"

"Oh." He says, nodding. I don't think he expected me to actually answer. We keep walking in silence for a few minutes. We come up on his house. I recognize it from the last time I was here.

Luke pulls out his keys and unlocks the door. He walks right in. "So much for ladies first," I mutter, closing the door behind me. 

On the couch sits two older boys. They are busy playing a video game of some sort. I look at Luke.

"Oh, these are my brothers. Ben and Jack." He says nonchalantly. They don't look at me. I look away awkwardly. 

"Aw, fuck, Ben!" Jack nearly shouts. "Haha, sorry, Jack, my game!" Ben chuckles. Luke and I just stand watching. They both look at us. 

"Whoa, he-llo," Jack says, looking at me. My cheeks turn unbearably red as both his brothers look me over. They're older than us, about in their twenties.

Luke grabs my arm and pulls me up the stairs. "Okay, see you later," he says quickly. He practically drags me, and I nearly fall about three times.

We get into the hall and he opens the first door on the right. He pretty much throws me inside and steps in, closing the door behind himself.

I set my things down. "Well, thanks, that was nice of you," I say, a little frazzled from being pulled and pushed around. He doesn't reply, just lays on his bed. I sit on down on it where there's room and pull my bag over. I take out our project stuff.

"Are we going to do the Bach thing?" He asks. I open up my laptop. "Well, actually, I found some really cool thing on how your perception of time changes as you get older, and-"

Luke whines. "Can't we do something fun?" He pouts. His lip ring sticks out when he does that. I turn my attention back to him. I sigh.

"But this is interesting..." I say. He smirks a little. "What?" I ask, defeated. "You're a huge nerd." He says. My mouth falls open slightly.