Allure | Luke Hemmings

Chapter 9

Luke's POV

Asshole.

Definition: "The worst kind of person. You cannot fully construct a meaning that fully encompasses what this vicious insult means. If you're an asshole, you are disgusting, loathsome, vile, distasteful, wrathful, belligerent, agoraphobic, and more. Assholes are human fecal matter. They are the lowest of the low. They transcend all forms of immorality. It is the very worst of insults; to be called an asshole is to have your very soul ripped apart and shat on. I say that the word "asshole" is the worst cussword of the English language, worst than fuck, shit, and cunt combined."

According to Urban Dictionary that was an accurate definition of the word, and I agree with it.

I, Luke Hemmings, am the biggest asshole to exist; that was a fact.

I quickly closed the app on my phone and slid it on the back pockets of my jeans. After Alex left I felt like punching a wall, or Calum for being an idiot back at the hotel. And thankfully, the wall was closer than him.

I must have left around 20 minutes after she did, which left me with no time to search around for Alex. Leaving with nothing else to do, I decided to walk around Central Park and think of a proper apology.

40 minutes and 3 cigarettes later, I still hadn't thought of one.

I decided to sit down on a bench next to an old couple who were too focused on their grandchildren to acknowledge my existence. I rested my head in my lap and pulled at the ends of my hair in frustration.

Suddenly, I felt a light nudge on my shoulder.

"You alright there, young man?" I sat back again to face the old man sitting next to me. He was bald, and had small eyes that were full of curiosity.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I mumbled.

"It doesn't look like it." His wife I suppose piped in.

I groaned. Having a heart-to-heart with a couple of old people wasn't something I was looking forward to.

"Did you and your girlfriend get in a fight?" His wife asked with a small smile.

I smiled back at them and their attempts to talk to a rude, stupid 18 year old. "Sort of? She's not my girlfriend though."

"What happened?" He asked.

I scratched the back of my head and thought of a way to start. "I kind of hurt my friend's feelings; I called her annoying and snapped at her."

"It doesn't sound that bad to me." The old man said back. "But girls are complicated. And they love it when guys apologize to them." He smiled back at his wife and I felt a twist on my stomach.

"You should apologize to her now. Don't let her go to sleep without her hearing you out." The old woman winked at me, and I smiled at her.

"One more thing." The old man smiled once again. "Ask her out on a date."

I laughed. Not a mean, sarcastic laugh. I laughed because I realized I must really like Alex if even an old man I had never talked to before noticed it.

"I will, thank you for...this." I gestured my hands in the air, indicating I was in fact thankful for their advice.

I stood up from the large bench and waved goodbye to the old couple. Their two grandchildren approached them a few seconds later and they picked them up and embraced them in a hug.

It hurt me. It made me think of the countless times my father would take me to the park. Little me would carry a skateboard bigger than my body, and my father would just sit around and watch my trip countless times. He would often tell me to try harder, encouraging me not to give up.