the match (luke hemmings au)

pt. 4

It had been a weird few days between Luke and I. He seemed like he was avoiding me. Every time his blue-gray eyes met mine, he looked away immediately, instead of giving me his usual cheeky wink.

It pissed me off that he was pissed off just because he didn't get laid. Boys are so sex driven, it was borderline disgusting. The funny thing is that I wasn't even upset at Luke besides the fact that he was upset with me! I was kind of concerned that he hadn't hit me up for any booty calls lately. Part of me was jealous at the possibility that he was sleeping with someone else, and that scared me.

If I was jealous of other girls, did that mean I had some kind of feelings for Luke? It was a confusing situation for me. There was the ten year old part of me that had a crush on Luke and the sixteen year old part of me who was constantly being put down and bullied by Luke... Not to mention the eighteen year old part of me who liked having fun with Luke. I didn't know how I felt.

None of that really mattered though. Luke was Luke and he had every right to sleep with other girls, regardless of how I felt. He didn't owe me anything. We weren't dating. I wouldn't even say we were friends. More like acquaintances with benefits? I was surprised that he even wanted to hook up with me in the first place. Well, it didn't shock me that he could while he was shitfaced, but when he asked me for the first time after the party, I was baffled. He could ask anyone and I doubt they would say no. He just has that magnetism about him, like I've said before.

"Riles?" a voice called for me, breaking me from my train of thought, "You good?"

I turned to Emma, "Yeah, this class is just so fucking boring," I sighed.

Our International Relations professor had been rambling about nothing for the past twenty five minutes, and I was pretty sure I was zoned out for twenty three of them.

"I know," Emma rolled her eyes, "and I get to go to work after this!" she faked excitement, "Are we still going to work on our homework when I get off later?"

"Sure, I have some other things I have to do," I told her, "I'll make sure to get them done before you're off your shift,"

Our teacher reminded us that our assignments were due by midnight and dismissed us for the day.

"Bye Em!" I shouted after her, as I finished packing up my bag.

I glanced at Luke sitting across the classroom, meeting his blue eyes once more, and he looked away immediately, just like he had for the past several days.. I sighed inwardly and made my way to the exit.

- -

I turned the knob, shutting the water off and grabbed my towel. I always liked to shower before doing my homework.. I felt more productive when I was clean.

Glancing at the mirror, my eyes drifted to the small mark, slightly darker than my skin tone. My birthmark. One of two in the world. I traced it with my finger. It almost reminded me of a dog in a weird way. It had two lines coming from the majority of it, like a corgi's ears all perked up. I hated that it was on my shoulder blade. It was taboo to show your birthmark, though most people didn't care much. I felt like it was something special to be kept between me and my soulmate, so I never was able to wear tank tops. Summers were dreadful.

Sometimes I fantasized about what my match was doing. He could be anywhere in the world. Did he have black hair? Or was he a redhead like me? What did his eyes look like? Were they brown? Or a pretty blue, like Luke's?

The thought of Luke shook me from my fantasy. I knew I had to make things right with him. I hated the feeling I had in my gut, just knowing that things between us were awkward. He didn't have to keep sleeping with me if he didn't want to, I just wanted to make sure he wasn't mad at me.

I wrapped my hair in the towel and slipped on a clean outfit. It was beginning to get warmer so I opted for a pair of gray running shorts and a white t-shirt. My hair was still wet, but I decided to throw it up into a bun.

I quickly grabbed my keys, making sure to lock my dorm behind me, and made my way to the elevators. I was unsure what to say to him. I wasn't even sure if he was actually upset with me, I'm not sure what reason he would have to be upset with me, but with the way he was acting, it definitely felt like it. On top of that, I wasn't even sure if we was at his dorm. I hadn't told him I was coming over, frankly because I was nervous he would tell me to fuck off or something.

As I reached the seventh floor, I realized I still had no idea what I was going to say to him. I felt a lump form in my throat. I'm not sure why I was so nervous. It was just Luke Hemmings. I reached my hand up and tapped my knuckle on the door.

The door opened to reveal a dripping wet Luke. All he had was a white towel wrapped around this waist.

"Wha-" he began, "Oh, Riley, uhh," he stuttered.

"Sorry I didn't text you or anything," I spoke quickly, "I just felt like we should talk,"

A droplet fell from his hair onto his broad shoulders, "Okay, I guess. Come in, then."

I entered his dorm room turning to shut the door behind me. When I turned back towards Luke he was facing away from me. My heart stopped as I noticed the dark brown mark on his left shoulder blade.

It was identical to mine. Luke Hemmings was my match.