After Midnight | lrh

• 10 •

--- LUKE cont ---

Shit shit shit. The entire room gasps at my admission. I take a breath, puffing my cheeks out as I consider backpedaling somehow, but I can't come up with something fast enough. My band mates are all looking at me like I've lost my mind (spoiler: I definitely have), and the host is waiting for me to continue.

"I uh.. I met a girl the first night we played here. There's not much more to it than that." I laugh awkwardly; the vague answer leaves a lot to be desired but I hope it's enough stop the questions. I shift uncomfortably in my seat and chew at my lip, pleading silently with anyone who looks at me to please just change the subject.

"I met a girl too," Michael interjects, glancing at me with a sly grin. Everyone looks startled, as he's been happily in a relationship for some time, and they all lean forward, my remark forgotten entirely as the interview seems to have taken a scandalous turn. "She delivered my pizza, and I've gotta tell you, I've never been more interested in anything than I am in pizza."

The room bursts into laughter and the conversation gets back on track, but I can feel my phone buzzing near-constantly in my pocket as social media implodes with speculation about my mystery crush. After what feels like a century, the interview ends and we pile back into the car for an interrogation I was even less excited about- the one my band mates were going to give me.

"What the fuck was that, Luke?" Ash is the first to speak when the car door has barely shut.

"Dude." Calum is less verbose in his shock but manages to sum up my feelings pretty nicely.

I nod in agreement, groaning, before saying "I don't even know! It just.. FUCK!"

There really was no explanation. I had just been thinking about Ruby, and even though my brain knew better, my mouth got ahead of me. Worse than that though, we had just made plans to meet tonight after the show, and I know there was no way I am going to get her out in public or even up to our suite now that people had caught a whiff of something exciting. They knew, but they didn't know much, and they'd be in full force looking for the girl who had me out of sorts of live radio.

I pull my phone out to text her, but see she's beat me to it.

Ruby: So much for going out tonight.

-RUBY-

I jump out of my seat in the quiet library and yelp when I hear what Luke's confession on the radio. I'd taken the day to myself, catching up on work and studying, and making sure to listen to their radio appearances while I work. I'd been excited to hear what they had to say, but certainly wasn't expecting that kind of excitement. From the tone of his voice when he continued, Luke had sounded almost as surprised as I was about what he'd revealed.

At first, hope bubbles in my chest that he is having similar warm fuzzies about me as I'd had this morning watching him sleep in the golden glow of sunrise. It doesn't take long for the reality of his fame to come crashing down around me though, sinking that bubble of hope like a lead weight straight to my feet. I'd been in this fandom long enough to know what happened each time any of the guys had a love interest. Be it positive or negative, the interest and curiosity in the new women was nearly viral, and there's no way we were going to be able to sneak out undetected. His big mouth has just ruined our big night, and before I think too long about it, I send a message to the number he'd texted me from earlier to let him know I'd realized as much.

I go back to my work and try to focus, but all I can think about is Luke thinking about me. Obviously, I had been on his mind enough that it interfered with his work day and for some reason, this filled me with pride. Being a fan girl is a tireless task and working to contain the fan girl in me while I was with Luke was just as tireless. At any given moment, there is a part of me ready to faint and panic that I was with (and then *with*) this wildly famous man from a band I had long loved. Despite this urge and the copious amounts of knowledge I'd filed away in my time in their fandom, being with Luke brought out a side of me that I hadn't really let loose around strangers before- he made me feel confident and comfortable enough to take risks. Maybe it was because, in my heart, he wasn't a stranger at all but a friend I'd never met. I connected with him in a way I hadn't ever experienced before.

Meeting Luke, being with him, talking to him- all of it was so far beyond even my wildest dreams that I can barely believe it had happened at all. Luckily, I don't have to think about it too long, as my phone buzzes to alert me to an incoming message. I guess his ears were itching.

Luke: We will figure something out, promise. I need to see you again.

Suddenly, the largest butterflies to ever exist have taken up residence in my stomach. Luke Hemmings needs to see me again. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect any of what had happened to me in the last three days, and this revelation was no exception. All I'd expected was to go to this show on my birthday, have the time of my life, and then to relive for months to come.

WELL.

I certainly was not disappointed.

And I couldn't bear to think of him being disappointed either, so before I could change my mind, I tapped out a quick reply and tucked my phone away, taking a deep breath and trying to calm my behemoth butterflies.

Ruby: If you insist. :) Meet me after you're done.

I attached my home address.

Author's Note: This chapter's a bit short and a sort of a fluff-filler, but the feels are important! Shouldn't be a long wait for the next update. Please vote, and comment! I love the feedback and genuinely appreciate every second you've spent in Ruby and Luke's world. Are you rooting for them? What do you think will happen next? XO