Not Fine at All (Luke Hemmings a.u.)

Chapter 4

LUCEY'S POV

Luke stared back at me as if he were still trying to register my presence. I shifted my weight to my left foot as I began to feel extremely uncomfortable under his intense gaze. 

"I know you're probably really freaked out, seeing me standing here in your kitchen after all this time..." I began slowly.

"Well, yeah, to be honest, I kind of am," Luke interjected. "What are you doing here?"

I expected him to be angry, so I was quite unsettled by the evenness of his voice. I stopped, unsure of what to say at this point, when Calum jumped in to my rescue.

"Um, I can actually explain that. You see, I told her she could stay here last night," he stuttered out.

"Last night? You mean she spent the night here and you didn't even tell me? What's going on?" Luke asked incredulously.

"It's not his fault, Luke," I spoke up. "I called him and asked. I got into a bit of trouble and I needed somewhere to go."

"What kind of trouble could you possibly get into, Lucey?" He asked sarcastically as he shook his head, and though it sounded rude, I didn't let it show that I was offended.

"She's not ready to talk about it yet," Calum interrupted, boldly as if he was standing up for me.

"What's that supposed to mean??" Luke sounded exasperated at this point. "Guys, I really don't understand what's going on."

"Can we just talk about this after breakfast?" I asked shyly. "I'm pretty hungry."

Hoping a change in subject would smooth over the tension, I reached up and tugged on the end of a piece of hair while I waited for a response. Luke opened his mouth as if he were about to object, but then he closed it again as his shoulders slouched

"Uh, yeah. I guess... We made pancakes," he said, apparently giving up on any further questioning.

"Sounds delicious," I smiled.

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LUKE'S POV

We ate breakfast in mostly silence, aside from some failed attempts at casual conversation. I was still struggling to take all of this in; it had happened so suddenly. One moment I was asleep and having this strange dream about Lucey and I, and the next, I wake up and she's standing in my kitchen asking for pancakes. 

I watched her from across the table as she shoveled her food into her mouth as if she hadn't eaten for years, and I couldn't help but wander what she had been up to for the last eighteen months (not that I had been counting). As much as I hated to admit it, I had yet to get over her, even after all this time, and it hurt me to think that the only reason she was back was because something bad had happened and she felt she had nowhere else to turn. I was just the lesser of two evils. 

Despite the situation, she was still just as beautiful as ever, sitting there in her oversized clothes that I'm pretty sure belonged to Calum with chocolate smeared across her chin. I had always thought she looked like some sort of pixie type of creature. Her features were so delicate and defined, from her wide green eyes and slender nose to her tiny frame and porcelain skin. Every detail about her was just as pretty as I'd remembered and I was so in awe of her beauty that I'd forgotten to chew my food. The way her pink lips quirked up slightly to the right whenever she was hiding a smile. The way she only had one dimple when she grinned. The way her dark eyelashes rested across her cheeks whenever she was sleeping. The small sea of freckles sprayed across her nose that you could only see when you were close enough to kiss her... Even her gingery hair that I'd always teased her about somehow made her seem whimsical.