serenity // luke hemmings

the end

Luke was nervous, way more nervous than he should have been. He'd played on stages to hundreds of thousands of people at a time; yet it was standing there, waiting for a girl, that he was more nervous than he could ever remember being. He wasn't sure if he was shaking because of the cool London air or because of the butterflies assaulting his insides.

His eyes flitted from face to face of each of the people who passed him. The vast array of people in cities like London never ceased to amaze him. There were old people, young people, families, people of every race and ethnicity. There were all these immensely different people all co-existing in the same space, he thought it was incredible.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. Ten minutes to eight. If Alex was coming she was cutting it close; maybe she was just trying to mess with him. God he hoped that she was actually going to show up.

As a group of teenage girls walked by him he made sure to pull up his hood a little more to hide himself, just as a precaution.

That was how Alex saw him; the hood of his jacket pulled up, the same ripped skinny jeans he'd been wearing the day he left, his Vans barely holding it together. She couldn't understand how anyone walking by could ignore the boy; in the light from the wheel in behind him, he seemed to glow.

Then his eyes met hers and a smile stretched across his face, and then she was positive that he was glowing.

Without even realising, she'd stopped walking but that didn't matter because within a matter of seconds Luke had closed the distance between them and was pulling her into his arms.

Luke wanted to hug her, to cry, to kiss her, to smile and just look at her for as long as he could. He was feeling so many things at the same time that he didn't quite know how to react. In the end he just settled for a hug.

Alex let out a slight gasp and a quiet laugh when he lifted her up and spun her around. She had run over this scenario a million times in her head all day. She had gone over everything that could possibly happen, but none of that compared to the perfect simplicity of the moment.

When Luke pulled away he almost looked reluctant, but even that wasn't enough to wipe the grin from his face.

"I was beginning to think I was going to have to set up camp outside your building." He told her, bopping the end of her nose lightly.

She looked down at her watch (that was just another seemingly small thing that he loved about her, she actually used the watch she was wearing) before meeting his eyes again. "We'd better get going or we'll be late."

Luke didn't even hesitate to take her hand and Alex couldn't help but realise just how right it felt having her hand in his.

People walking past actually stopped in their tracks to watch the two teenagers. They were so wrapped up in each other, so in love, and people noticed.

"How did you even manage this?" Alex asked as they walked up the steps to the express lane.

"I had to pull the celebrity card." He shot her a sheepish grin. That was something he would've hated to admit to anyone else. "They usually only let you pay for a private one with a minimum of three people but I managed to persuade them.

"Aren't you supposed to use your super powers for good, not evil?"

When she said that and gave him the cheeky smile that he'd missed so much he couldn't stop himself from kissing her quickly before he had to give the man their tickets.

As the door slid shut the two of them finally got a chance to get a good look at each other in proper lighting.

Alex noted that his hair was a little longer; a beanie covered the most of it while his usual quiff was flattened out and swept across his forehead, which only served to make him look even younger. It also seemed as if he'd somehow gotten even taller, he had at least a good seven inches on her now. His eyes might have been a few shades darker but she couldn't be sure, and there was a hint of stubble along the line of his jaw. Other than that he looked pretty much the same, in fact she was certain she'd seen him in that exact outfit before.

The first thing Luke noticed was that she was wearing his shirt; the realisation made him smile like he was crazy, he really did love the way she looked in that shirt and from the light blush that spread across her cheeks she knew it too. It might have been the lighting, but she looked a little more tanned than she had been before. Possibly the most obvious difference was her hair.

He reached out and twirled one of the, now chocolate brown, strands around his index finger.

"You dyed your hair." He stated the obvious observation, his eyes moving from her hair back to her eyes.

"Yeah, when I redecorated the apartment I felt like it was time. I was getting a bit sick of the red clashing with my outfits." Her laugh rung out in the mostly empty space.

"It looks really good." He told her and she let out a relieved breath. "C'mon."

He laced their fingers together again and led her over to one side of the pod before he sat down, gently pulling her into his lap as he did so.

Alex bowed her head and let her hair fall in front of her face to hide the blush that had reappeared when he wrapped his arms around her waist. Luke didn't try and make her look up, he just sat his chin on her shoulder and looked out of the glass capsule.

"I felt this was kind of poetic." When he spoke he was whispering and neither of them were quite sure why. "You know, because this is where we first met; it's kind of like coming full circle, and it's a wheel that literally rotates in a circle. This all sounded better in my head."

When he laughed she could feel the rumble in his chest which was pressed to her back.

"I really missed you." He whispered, so close that she could feel his lips grazing her ear with each word.

Alex turned just enough so that she could face Luke without actually having to put much effort into moving. He reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, before he was able to completely remove his hand she took it in her own.

"I missed you too." She pressed a light kiss to his knuckles. "I'm sorry about that bit in the middle."

"Hey," He brought his free hand up to cup her face. "I thought we agreed; no more apologies."

"Yeah, we did." She said with a small smile.

Luke took the opportunity to lean in and press his lips to hers. This still felt the same as it had before they'd been separated, their lips still remembered the shape of the others and they still moved in perfect synchronisation.

When they pulled away Luke was looking at her like she was the whole damn universe, and to him she pretty much was.

"You're in my goddamn veins, Alexandra White."

It took her a moment to figure out why the words sounded so familiar, and when she did she quirked an eyebrow. "Lucas, I believe that was my line."

"Well, it's only fair that I get to steal something of yours." His lips formed into yet another crooked grin. "You did steal my heart after all."

As much as she tried, Alex couldn't stifle the laugh that crept up her throat.

"That was the cheesiest thing you've ever said to me; and I'm willing to bet it's also the cheesiest thing you've ever said, period." Luke loved the sound of her laugh too much to even pretend to be offended by that comment.

"It's alright though, because you love me." He wasn't sure where that had come from but it hung between the two of them.

There were a few moments of silence before Alex responded, and when she did Luke kissed her again.

"Maybe I do, Luke Hemmings. Maybe I do."

-

wow. i can't believe it's over.

thank you to everyone who's ever read this and voted and commented and added it to their reading lists or told their friends about it. you guys are great, thank you so much.