Cherry / l.h ✔️

12

~Violet's POV~

I ended up winning the game.

Luke was having a little pouty party on the opposite end of the pool because, according to the guys, he always won. So, it was either because he didn't win or because of the fact that I kept taking sticks when he was trying to get them. Either would make sense to me. Michael, Ashton, and Calum were drinking alcohol, and so was Luke, just by himself.

I felt a little bad about it, honestly. I swam over to the deep end, and Luke looked over at me as he set his bottle of vodka on the ground outside of the pool. "Why're you pouting?" I teased, and he snorted.

I gripped onto the edge of the pool, keeping myself in place as I looked up at him. There was a little ledge he was sat on in the pool, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not." He muttered. I raised a brow at him, not buying a word he was saying. "Then why are you drinking down here alone?" I pointed out, cocking my head to the side. He rolled his eyes and looked down at me, "What does it matter?" He sighed, annoyed.

I glared at him a little, not appreciating the attitude he was giving me. "Is this because you didn't win? Ash told me you usually do." I blurted, causing him to groan. "No." He mumbled, but the pause before he spoke told me it was. I squeezed myself into the spot beside him as he gulped down more vodka, our thighs pressed together beneath the water. "It's just a game, Luke. It's really not a big deal." I said, and he looked down at me.

I didn't look back at him. "You're so annoying." He groaned, slouching back. I frowned, looking down at the water as I kicked my legs out in front of me. I scoffed, "You're just whiny." I dismissed his insult. "No. Ever consider that you're just annoying?" He shot back, and I looked over at him.

"I've not even done anything to you." I defended, and he sat up, the water rippling around us. "Can you just shut up?" He sighed, and I did, for the moment anyways. I didn't really understand Luke at all. Sometimes he was nice, but then other times he was like this. "Why don't you like me?" I asked reluctantly. I heard him inhale and then exhale deeply, "I don't like change, or new people." He said simply, not bothering to go anymore into it.

So I asked, "How am I change?" I didn't expect him to say anything, so it surprised me a bit when he did. "You're new. I just moved here a few months before I met you, and all I had besides my parents was the boys. I expected it'd stay that way." He shrugged, picking up the bottle of vodka again.

I didn't answer for a moment, trying to put myself in his shoes. In a different way, I related to how he felt. New people was hard for me, too. That's why I'd only ever had Lexa. At least I knew her, what her intentions were. I hated when she brought around boyfriends, trying to get me to befriend them. Partly because they were new, but also partly because they were all assholes and I could tell. I wanted no part of it.

When she went out with other friends instead of hanging out with me, I just shrugged it off. It wasn't anybody else's fault besides mine that I was antisocial. I was happy that she had friends, a life, people who cared for her. I was, but there was another part of me, a more selfish part, that was always a little upset about it. I felt like I was losing her to all these new people, new to me at least, and I didn't like that.

"Not all change is bad, Luke." I said, and he exhaled deeply.

He knocked my shoulder with his bicep, looking down at me. "I know that. I don't think you're bad, Cherry." He chuckled, taking another sip of vodka. "Hell, I know you're not. Too much of a little prude." He teased, a hint of a smile at the edge of his lips. "Shut up." I shook my head, looking back at the water.

"You know I'm right." He hummed, and I rolled my eyes as I continued kicking my legs in front of me. "You wish you were." I said, looking over at the boys at the other end of the pool. Michael currently had a bottle of alcohol in his hand, chugging it while Ashton and Calum yelled nonsense at him. I watched as he choked and shoved the bottle to Calum, coughing up the alcohol into the pool.

"Don't have to wish about that, prude." Luke snorted, and I diverted my eyes back over to him. "I hate when you call me a prude." I groaned, annoyed. He grinned, nodding, "I know. That's why I do it. That's also why I take any chance I can find to say cock, because you hate that, too." He chuckled, and I frowned, uncomfortable.

"I don't hate that word. It just makes me uncomfortable because I'm not used to hearing someone say that." I corrected, and he raised a brow. "You'll get used to it, and then you'll be saying it." He assured, to which I scoffed. "I don't think so." I disagreed. He just hummed, "I do. You just need to say it first." He stated. I shook my head repeatedly, "Absolutely not." I declined, and he looked amused.

I changed the subject before he could continue to try to persuade me to say it, kicking my feet still. "So how am I getting home?" I asked randomly, and he stared at me before he shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Subtle subject change." He snorted, but then he shrugged. "You'll probably just sleep here. We've had too much to drink." He said. Then, something stuck out to me.

"I don't have any change of, um..." I cleared my throat, his eyes peering down at me intently. "You can do it!" He exclaimed mockingly, causing me to smack his bare shoulder. "I don't have any panties." I said, and he rolled his eyes. "I'll just wash your clothes." He said, and I nodded reluctantly.

"What am I going to wear while they're washing?" I pressed, worried. He smiled a little, a quiet chuckle slipping past his pink lips. "You worry too much over small things, Cherry." He said, shaking his head. "You can just wear a pair of my boxers." I scrunched up my nose when he said this, and he noticed. "I meant a new pair, idiot." He bumped my shoulder a little roughly, causing me to slam against the pool wall.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, flicking water in his face. He smiled, soft laughs tumbling from his mouth. "Shit, sorry." He chuckled, not sounding very sorry at all. "Whatever." I mumbled.

I looked up to the sky as a silence fell between Luke and I, ignoring the yells from the opposite end of the pool as I continued to kick my legs lightly. A few minutes went by before I felt a grip on my thigh. "Stop kicking your legs." Luke murmured from beside me, and I looked over at him. "Why?" I yawned, continuing to kick them anyways.

His fingertips dug into my thigh, "You're making me fall asleep." He said, and I realized he had one of the most relaxed looks I'd ever seen on his face. I stopped kicking my feet, "Sorry." I mumbled, yawning again.

Luke waited a little while after I'd stopped kicking my legs to remove his hand from my thigh, his fingertips softly brushing against the bottom of the shorts I was wearing.