Make it Stop ⇼ Luke Hemmings

One.

It was in seventh year when Luke Hemmings walked into my homeroom class. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he had a deep frown indented into his features. And Mrs. Langston made him introduce himself. I remember exactly what he said, because he broke my heart thirty seconds later. His voice was slow and shaky, with a hint of an accent.

“I’m-uhm-I’m Luke Hemmings. I’m twelve… I just moved to Sydney from Adelaide. I have two brothers and my favorite food is pizza.” And the class laughed at his bit about pizza. I didn’t, though. Mrs. Langdon directed him to sit next to the girl he thinks is the cutest, and the class went insane, the girls pushing their chests out and making puppy dog faces as he scanned the class, grinning slightly. I didn’t make an effort to look desirable, I was too focused on the dimples in his cheeks.

 

He stared at me for a brief second, and my heart sped up. I wasn’t sure why, though. I had high hopes that he would chose the seat next to me, but he opted for the one a few seats to my left. The one next to Madison Brown. Rolling my eyes, I stared at my best friend Kaylee. Of course he chose Madison Brown. She’s the most popular girl in seventh year. Kaylee went on the rest of the day telling me that she thought he’d sit next to me. She wouldn’t shut up about it until lunch, When we sat with Calum, Michael, Steph, Ella, and Ashton brought Luke to sit with us. Part of me hated Luke for choosing to sit next to Madison Brown. I didn’t talk much in year seven lunch anymore.

 

***

 

In year eight, all our friends were rushing to get dates and kiss people. Kaylee had paired off with Ashton, the boy I’d been in love with since year two, and didn’t care how much it hurt me. But I didn’t say anything. I waited until I got home and cried every night. Cal and Steph started going out just because he said she was pretty and Jake Wilson is dumb for not seeing that. They were both lonely and decided to be lonely together. Ella and Mikey fell into each other because at a party one night he kissed her and she never got over it, so they eventually started dating. It was just Luke and I, everyone claimed that we should go out, but we hardly got along. Let alone saw each other that way. The night I found out about Kaylee and Ashton, I told dad I was running away, it was the year mum ran away, too. Of course he didn’t believe me. He knew that when I got hungry, I would come home for dinner, and that’s what I did. But as I ran down the street, I grew tired and thought it best to stop at the park and rest. I was only there for a few minutes, when a boy sat next to me on the swings. It was Luke. He gave me a small smile, the one that made me angry.

 

“Hey.” He quietly spoke, as if he was unsure whether he wanted to talk to me. “What are you doing here?” He asked. “It’s getting dark.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“I’m running away.” I blandly stated. “Why are you here?” He shrugged.

“Mum and dad are fighting.” He looked at the children playing with their mothers. The sun was beginning to set, and most children were being forced to leave. “Why are you running away?” He asked slowly, looking at me again.

“Because Ashton and Kaylee are in love.” My voice cracked, a few tears falling out of my eyes as I angrily wiped them away.

“You love Ashton?” He inquired. I nodded. Silence struck us for a long while, until the park was completely empty besides us two. “Romy, can I ask you something?” He blurted out, almost immediately regretting it.

“I guess.” I let out a forced, dry laugh.

“You hate me.” He said.

“That’s not a question.” I spat.