nova // l.h. (on hold)

03 // lonely

Luke rubbed his sleep-deprived eyes with the back of his hand as he laid in bed. Once again, he had slept late in the day after working the shift until midnight. The alarm clock by his bed read eleven fifty-seven in bright red numbers. Afternoon sunlight lit his room through his curtains, practically reflecting on his pale legs that stuck out under the bunched sheet.

His phone had been blown up with text messages from Calum, who desperately attempted to wake up his blonde friend before work. Luke pushed off his warm sheets and stood up on the beige carpet. Pulling his phone from the charger, he made his way into the cold bathroom.

As he brushed his teeth, his phone vibrated once on the counter. It was from Calum, who worked all day.

She's here.

Luke finished brushing his teeth in a hurry and attempted to fix his hair that wouldn't cooperate. It stuck up in a blonde tsunami that looked like complete shit compared to what it usually looked like.

The hurried boy pulled a maroon sweatshirt from his closet and put on black jeans over his cartoon-printed boxer briefs. With all of Luke's stumbling around and tripping over things on his floor, his brother got pretty pissed off. His mother had gone to the school to put in some last-minute grades and clean up the classroom, while his father just had another plain day at work.

"Jesus, Luke. Would you shut the fuck up up there? It sounds like you're having sex with yourself," yelled Jack from the bottom step. Dismissing his annoyed words, Luke kept looking for another black sock so he wouldn't look stupid with a black one and a white one.

If you don't hurry the hell up, I'm making a move.

I have two more weeks.

Tying his shoes tightly, he grabbed his black backpack from the swivel chair.

Dick.

He grabbed Jack's car keys and raced out the front door to the small car. Tossing his backpack into the front seat, he started the car. The roads were unusually icy for an afternoon, but he made it to Thomas Hood Library just fine. He parked in his usual spot before getting out and trudging through the December snow to the door.

Calum was the first person he saw. The brunette looked excited as he motioned towards the seating area. Vibrant purple hair was noticeable from far away.

"How long has she been here?" asked a nosy Luke.

The exhausted boy shrugged his shoulders. "Half an hour at most."

Luke swung his backpack over his right shoulder, shoving his other hand into his pocket and making his way towards the seating area. Calum anxiously watched from the counter as Luke approached the beautiful girl. He was sure he remembered the Mulgrove basketball star's girl from somewhere, but he just couldn't remember where.

Cal couldn't wait for four o'clock to arrive, so he could get home and take another beloved nap, as he did every day. He didn't have a party to go to, since it was the Saturday before Christmas. Calum wasn't in the mood to get stoned or wasted, anyway.

Typing a list of people to call to remind them of their overdue books on a spreadsheet, Calum watched Luke out of the corner of his eye. The dimpled blonde sat down slowly in a seat a good ways away from the pierced girl. Cal had decided that the girl wasn't his type when he saw her Misfits backpack and ear piercings once again, but he was just acting like he was interested to make Luke nervous. To him, it was so fun to mess with Luke. He didn't plan on taking the dibs from Luke by the end of winter break, he just wanted to see if his would finally let himself have sex.