To the moon ♡ muke

28 - let me love you while the moon is still out ☽

It was a Sunday so the actual school part of the institution was mostly empty. Still, Michael and Luke walked a few centimeters apart, not really ready for anyone to see them together. Together as a couple.

They knew they would be the center of attention among their peers anyway since they were kidnapped and gone from school for almost two weeks.

It was Michael who mentioned it but Luke agreed immediately. He hated being the center of attention and he wanted to have control over who knows Michael is his forever for now. That he is Luke's and Luke is Michael's.

Michael's driver was on the duty to get their stuff to their rooms while they had to come to the principal's office as soon as possible.

When they arrived at the dark wood door Luke raised his hand to knock but Michael stopped him. "I love you." He simply stated and for some reason, it was exactly what Luke needed to hear.

A simple confession that made Luke realize that whatever it is, he wouldn't have to go through it alone.

Michael knocked instead of him and someone opened the door quickly, revealing a room full of people waiting for them.

The principal was seating in his seat, next to him the chief of police and both of their mothers. What confused Luke was that both of Lia's parents were there as well. Mr. and Mrs. Stillwater were both his and Michael's teachers but he wasn't sure just why would they be present.

Luke's mum was quick to hug him and Michael wandered to where his mum was seating and seat down next to her. She grabbed his hand and Luke noticed a small, reassuring smile which calmed him down as well.

"Thank you for coming," The chief said and asked Luke and his mother to sit down as well.

"No problem," Michael spoke up. "Why are we here again?"

He smiled and grabbed a folder that was lying on the table in front of him. "You're in no danger and nothing is wrong," Chief said calmly.

"Then why are we here, chief?" Luke asked.

"Please call me Henrik or Mr. Walsh." And Luke had zero intentions of doing so but he nodded anyway.

"The trail towards the criminal organization that took part in your kidnapping won't start that soon but we just wanted to make sure you know everything we do."

Both boys nodded and Mr. Walsh continued. "Mr. Hemmings do you recognize this man?" He asked and passed over a photo of him. It was a regular ID picture. The man on it had a different haircut but Luke knew who he was.

He looked at Mr. and Mrs. Stillwater. "That's your neighbor Alex." Luke looked at Michael who had a frown on his face. "He's the one who dropped me off at the gallery that evening."

Mrs. Stillwater smiled at him like she did when he painted yet another painting she was proud of.

"Yes, his real name is Peter King. He's a policeman in training at our station."

Luke looked at the chief and back to Lia's parents.

"I knew you'd go to Michael's exhibition." Mrs. Stillwater spoke up. "And since I know my daughter I knew she'd help. We had some criminal problems in our neighborhood for the past few months so I knew Peter was working for the police. I simply asked him to keep an eye on her but he made a plan to befriend her and see what you two were up to. It was for your own safety, I'd drive you to the gallery myself but I knew you wouldn't ask."

Luke knew Lia will lash out when she'll learn her mother was spying on her. Maybe Luke could keep that secret from her since she was basically protecting him.

"King only drove you there but when you two went missing he was the first one on the crime scene. We also had him on the investigation since." Mr. Walsh explained. "We knew that the people who kidnaped you had someone on the inside since we found some traces of communication between them and someone on the campus."

This time Luke looked at the principal who was just staring at his lap. He wasn't in handcuffs so that was something.

"I want to ask you, both Mr. Hemmings and Mr. Clifford, in what kind of relationship were you with your History professor Mr. Reina?"

Luke's mouth opened in shock and he looked to his soulmate. His facial expression was less surprised but he didn't seem to be okay with it either.

"He is our teacher," Michael said. "And I and Luke went to consult him about the history of soulmates and our families one day."

"Thank you, Mr. Clifford." Mr. Welsh nodded. "As it turns out Mr. Reina is the brother of Patricia Reina, the red-haired woman to whom your grandmother allegedly owed money. We found trackers in both of your phones with his fingerprints on them."

"H-he takes our phones away during tests," Luke said quietly.

It was the first time the principal has spoken. "The school wants you to know that we had no knowledge of Mr. Reina's past. We apologize to you for the consequences."

Luke knew the words spoken were meant for his and Michael's mother. The principal was known for being a money grabber and he had two of the most wealthy women in the city in his office.

Luke's mum was well aware of his traits so she ignored him and turned towards the chief of the police. "Thank you for your information. Before the trial starts make sure to contact our family lawyer, we'll help as much as we can." She then looked at Lia's parents. "I'm sure I can speak for Michael and his family as well when I say this, thank you, Isabella, for involving the police. In a perfect situation, Luke would come to me about going to Michael's exhibition but we've made this mess ourselves."

When they said their goodbyes Luke was the last to leave. The news was shocking and he wanted to forget about it as soon as possible.

And he knew Michael's lips were very distracting so he was pretty sure he could persuade him into a make-out session before unpacking.

"Luke." He turned around to see Mrs. Stillwater waiting for him. "I know this isn't the perfect moment but both me, my husband and Liam are kind of helpless in this kinds of situation. Lia's been acting very weirdly recently and I am just not sure what to do. I asked if it was a soulmate or love thing and she threw a glass at the wall."

Luke nodded. He's been having so many issues of his own lately he didn't really have the time to talk to his best friend.

He rushed behind Michael but slightly less excited about being alone with him than before.

☽☽☽

Nothing a little make-out session can't save (:

Thoughts?

Mr. Reina?

What do you think Lia is moody about?

vote and comment for an actual make-out session in the next chapter (;

Love, Lucija ☽