Luke Robert Hemmings. He had always lived a rough life as far back as he could remember. At age five he was entered into the foster system, making it easier for him to believe that nobody wanted him. With all the back and forth between homes and 'parents' Luke didn't have many constants in his life. Not a constant school, a constant family, or a constant job. That's why Luke enjoyed the stars so much. Even though they left every morning, they always came back at the end of the day. No matter how bad the day went Luke could always escape reality for a few hours and just watch the night sky. It calmed him. This routine started his first night in the system, he was still young so he didn't quite understand that his parents weren't going to be picking him up from the babysitters house as they promised or that he would be staying with strangers until someone wanted him or until he turned 18. He did learn that night however, that certain people shouldn't have children. The foster 'parents' he ended up with were the type that was only in it for the check, they made him sleep on the basement floor. While he was down their he noticed a blur of light through the tears that had taken over his eyes due to the young boys fear of the dark. When he followed it he noticed a small crack like window on the top of the wall and if he laid on the floor just right he could see the stars. So every night, until he left to a new home, when they locked him in the basement he relied on the starry sky to keep him calm. Once he got older he would sneak out of whichever 'room' he was supposed to sleep in but not for normal teenage shenanigans, but to watch the stars.
Today is Luke's birthday. July 16th. Normally his birthday holds no significance, nobody ever remembers anyway, but today is his 17th birthday. The day he gets to leave the system and live in his home. A home, something he hasn't had since he entered the system. A place for him, and only him. Luke got emancipated and with help from government funding he got a very, very small apartment, but for him it was absolutely everything. It had a bed, a tele, a kitchen, and a bathroom. More importantly he had a home that he wouldn't get taken away from him. Part of his emancipation meant he had to have a part time job and continue high school so the first thing he did was go to the record shop down the road and put in an application, then he took the local bus to the nearest high school to sign himself up. Being that he was now a legal adult didn't mean much for him, he usually took care of himself anyway. The only change he really felt now was that he wasn't lonely because nobody wanted him, but because he chose to be. This thought brought him much relief, he no longer had to fear abandonment.
When he finally got back to his new home it was almost dark. His home. No matter how many times he said it in his head it made him smile. There was just enough time for him to walk to the local park and look at the stars for awhile. When he got there he laid in a field, put his earbuds in, and watched the sky. He erased the world around him when he did this. He felt as if it was the best time for him to think, it was while he wasn't mad, or stressed, or excited. It was just him. He was existing in such a big world full of horrible people and from living with so many types of people he learned quickly that people have a hard time thinking clearly when there is emotion in the way to cloud the judgement of your consciousness, so that's when he did the most thinking. When he was with only himself, music, and the stars. He thought about everything. About how his mom and dad left him, about all the people that left him, about how lucky he was that he got to leave the system so early, about the kids that weren't so lucky. Then he thought about nothing. He just enjoyed the moment. Erased every thought, fear, person. He just took in the beautiful sight around him. He laid their until he felt a presence beside him, and when he looked there was a girl laying beside him. She just laid there staring at the sky as well, he was confused, but didn't dare question it and let her ruin his time with the sky.
"You know what's amazing?" This mysterious girl asked Luke, never taking her eyes off he sky. "How incredibly small and unimportant our existence really is in perspective of the universe." (A/N was that even english?)
"Mhm. I mean look at the stars. They're the same stars as last week, last year, same stars as when we were kids. When we weren't even born. In a hundred years, nobody is going to know who I am, who you are, but they'll know those same stars." Luke spoke without thinking. He normally didn't speak so much to people he didn't know. He hates people.
"That was deep. My names Kinzly by the way, sorry if I interrupted your time." The girl named Kinzly apologized for her existence, Luke thought it was stupid.
"Luke."
"Man of many words I see." Luke just hummed as if confirming her suspicion. " I come here every night to relax, I just thought it was odd that you were here because I never see anyone out here."
"I just moved into the area, I'll find a new place to do this tomorrow night." Luke sighed, he still hasn't looked away from the sky above him, in his mind hes studying each stars beauty.
"What exactly is this?" She's quite nosey in Luke's mind. In her mind though, she's just very curious about the cute guy that was sitting in her spot.
"Every night I watch the sky." He spoke, still having no emotion present in his voice.
"That's cool. You said you just moved into the area? Are you going to the high school this year?" Luke couldn't quite understand why she was so interested in him, he was just trying to enjoy the stars.
"Maybe." It was currently summer break, giving Luke awhile to choose if he wanted to homeschool or go to the high school, being in foster care he didn't ever go to one school for a long period of time so this was going to be a change. " I should probably start walking back home before it gets too late, I still have a few things to unpack." He made an excuse to leave the conversation, but in reality he did have to unpack a few things he had.
"Okay, see you around then." She half smiled and waved him off. She had a nice smile, that's one thing Luke would have to admit. He thought she was quite pretty, but he didn't need anyone. Especially a nosey girl. He was just getting to a point in his life where he had nobody to abandon him, he was safe. He needed to keep away from any type of emotional bond. As soon as he started his walk she caught his attention. "Hey are you sure you should be walking home all alone in the dark?" Luke just laughed at this question before turning around and shouting.
"I have loved the stars way too long to be scared of the night." With this small statement he started walking back to his apartment building, not knowing the huge smile he left on the young girls face.
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A/N
I hope you enjoyed this chapter of 'Broken Sky' as much as I'm enjoying the concept I have for this whole idea. I just came in and changed a few details and I'm going to try and update more frequently.
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