drive // luke hemmings

luke's driver's test: car or no car?

Luke sat nervously beside Kasey on the drive to the driver's test location. Liz had taken the responsibility for the pair on this morning. Luke had always insisted that the pair take their tests on Kasey's birthday so that they could take them on the same day once they both turned 16, but Kasey finally convinced him to use the fact that he was a month older as more than just something to bring up in arguments. 

"All it means is that you'll probably die sooner. At least this once you'll have something to brag amount when I'm taking care of your sick and dying body." She had teased the day before to ease Luke's worries. 

The pair sat in Luke's bedroom as the sunset came through the window, dinner resting in their bellies after the usual Sunday night meal at Luke's. 

"I already know you're gonna pass so I don't know why you're worried. You've been nailing parallel parking for weeks. You don't have anything to worry about." Kasey declared, tossing the hacky-sack she'd found on the floor while she laid with a pillow under her head, staring up at Luke. 

It had been a month since the movie theater incident and the pair hadn't spoken about the occurrence, but Kasey would be lying if she said that anytime Luke's eyes sat a little longer than normal on her or stared at her from across the dinner table while he thinks she's not looking it didn't make her want to scream in his face "are we just friends who hold hands? or do you think I'm pretty?"

Luke would also be lying if he said that as Kasey laid on his floor tossing the hacky-sack in the air, sunset illuminating the otherwise dark room, he was anything except smitten. She spilled tomato soup (made with milk, not water. Luke always remembered, even though he could barely taste the difference) on her shirt at dinner and was insistent upon changing. 

It wasn't anywhere near the first time that Kasey had to wear some of Luke's clothing, but this time as he ran upstairs to grab a shirt for her, his mind raced, thinking of all the shirts he owned, begging his mind to help him decide which would look the cutest tucked into her denim shorts the way she always did with baggy tees. 

Luke couldn't help but giggle watching his best friend lay on his floor in a Guns and Roses shirt. 

His Guns and Roses shirt. 

So to say that Luke was a little distracted on the morning of his test would be an understatement. They'd woken up early that Monday morning to drive to the DMV where Luke would take his test. Kasey hadn't initially planned to stay the night, but she'd dozed off on Luke's floor while they watched Pretty Little Liars, their favorite show to binge-watch together. 

So as Luke walked into the large grey building with the line visible as they walked toward the sliding doors, his mind was focused on one thing. And it wasn't anything to do with vehicle safety. 

Luke stared as Kasey and his mom walked ahead. He couldn't take his eyes off the tee- his tee, tucked in and the sleeves cuffed in normal Kasey fashion. 

What's his is hers, or whatever, he thought. That's what best friends do. 

Luke assured himself that his best friend wearing his clothes didn't need to be such a big occurrence. She'd done it before and she'd do it again. 

Or so Luke hoped. 

"You're gonna do fine, Pukas." Kasey teased, patting him on the back, her hand lingering just a second longer than what felt right. 

Luke mustered a nod and giggle, before sitting down and trying to focus on what a three-point turn was. 

-

"So, Mr. Hemmings-" 

"You can call me Luke." 

"I'll remember that next time." 

"Next time?" Luke's eyebrows raised, his stomach churning. "What do you mean next time?" 

"Your overall performance on this exam was sufficient for a pass, however that one mistake you made, turning into the wrong lane during the road test, was an automatic fail. You're able to make an appointment again for a week from today if you so wish."

Luke's ears shut off. He was sure the man with the crooked nose and glasses was still talking to him, but at this point he didn't care. He'd failed. 

He and Kasey had planned to go out for lunch together once he'd passed. He was going to pay for her lunch, even if he needed to beg his dad for an extra ten dollars. Now all he could think about was crawling into a hole and staying there for at least a week. 

He carried his papers in his shaking hands as he walked down the long hallway back to the lobby where his two biggest fans were waiting. Where he'd need to explain that he was a failure. He wanted so badly to just sit in this hallway and stay in a world where Kasey thought he could do anything he set his mind to. 

He slowly trotted back to where he had left them sitting. They stood and greeted him with grins until they saw how dull their bright boy looked. 

"Can we just go home? Mom, you have to drive. Your youngest son is a failure." And out the door he went. 

Luke had always been known to be kind of a drama queen, but this time Kasey knew it was different. 

"Go talk to him, you already know he won't talk to me. Here's my keys, he'll be back for them if you don't bring them anyway. Shoot me a text once you console him." Liz sighed, sitting back in the chair, People magazine in hand. 

Luke knew Kasey would follow him. There wasn't a shred of doubt in his mind she'd be out the door less than a minute after he stormed out. 

He couldn't wait that long. 

He started waking back inside as she met him right outside the building. Before she could even say anything, her arms were open with Luke inside, tears staining her- his shirt. The two stood there for a minute in silence, the only sound being the cars passing by and Luke's soft sobs. Once he started to wipe his tears, Kasey grasped his hand softly and led him to the car. She unlocked the doors and they both climbed to the backseat. Luke stretched out, laying his head in Kasey's lap, his cheeks still red and tear-stained. He looked up into her eyes, adding a question mark to his action with his eyebrow raised and she nodded, feeling compelled to put her fingers into his hair. 

The pair sat in silence again for several moments, before Luke broke the silence. 

"Do you think I'm a failure?" 

Kasey started laughing, and Luke's eyes went somber. Noticing her impact, she calmed down, stroking the sides of his forehead. "Seriously Luke?" 

Their eyes met, and suddenly Kasey couldn't breathe. The icy blue in his eyes had frozen her solid. She broke their eye contact. 

"No, Luke. I don't think you're a failure. Didn't Albert Einstein suck at math? But he was Albert Einstein. He did all that cool math stuff!" Luke smiled, watching her struggle to console him. Kasey had never been the best with words, yet there was nothing Luke desired more for comfort. "Anyway, you don't need a license to drive me crazy. You've been doing that unlicensed for years." She giggled. She felt her stomach start to spin, the butterflies breaking out of the cocoons they'd once spun, surging from her belly all the way through her body, her skin crawling. 

Luke smirked. He knew Kasey was just kidding, but hearing her say he drove her crazy made him weak. Her fingers drifted softly across his forehead, his skin set ablaze by every soft graze of her fingertips as she ran her fingers through his hair, humming softly. He recognized the tune. 

"Kase?" He spoke softly as she pulled her phone out. 

Kasey's attention drifted from texting Liz to the healing boy beside her. 

"Yes, Pukas?" She looked back down to finish out the text and hit send as she heard Luke clear his throat. 

"You look really good in my shirt."