fifteen ; l.h.

him

luke and noelle were back at the first place they'd met. same roof. same ledge.

his arm was draped around her shoulders as her head rested on his chest. the feeling of happiness that filled luke made him wonder why he had to leave in the first place.

she was the source of his joy. he just wished he could've figured that out sooner.

"why'd you go back to brooklyn?" she asked softly.

that's when he knew. he had to tell her everything. there was no avoiding or changing the subject. all he could do now was tell the truth and hope she understood.

and so luke told his story. he spoke of his family and everything that he'd felt in the past year or so. it hurt to relive this yet again, but when noelle didn't make any move to leave him, he felt reassured.

"i'm sorry i never told you," was what he ended his story with. "i didn't want you to hate me like i hate myself. I didn't want you to leave."

"i would never leave," she spoke confidently. "and i definitely could never hate you. you mean the world to me. none of that was your fault. you just wanted to be free."

he kissed the top of her head, pulling her closer to him.

"i love you," he mumbled into her hair.

"and i love you," noelle smiled brighter than she had in a while. "forever and always."

"forever and always," he repeated, liking the way it sounded.

"hey, look! the sun's coming up."

they looked out into the distance and luke was reminded of his brother as the sky slowly transitioned from purple to pink to a gradual blue.

noelle held the hand that was slung over her shoulders and squeezed it, signaling that she knew the significance of sunrises to him.

"reason five," she spoke, almost teasingly. "the sunrise. it's beautiful, isn't it?"

"yeah, it is," he was looking down at her, but she would never know the double meaning behind his words. "you realize that you don't have to finish those fifteen reasons anymore, right?"

she looked up at him childishly, "i thought you wanted to hear them? we still have ten more."

"i did! but i've actually found the only reason i need to stay alive," he shrugged.

"yeah? what's that?"

"remember the night i left? the night you gave me the fourth reason?"

"me," she whispered, putting the pieces together.

"yes, you," he grinned. "you are the reason i have to live. the only one I need. but ashton's a close second."

noelle giggled, recalling when calum had told her about luke's best friend.

"i'm sure there's plenty of other reasons you have to live," she replied skeptically.

"sure," he played along. "like your eyes, your smile, the way you look when you sleep-"

"i meant something not related to me, doofus," she rolled her eyes teasingly.

"oh, in that case, you're wrong," he smirked cheekily.

"you're insane."

"only for you, love."

"and incredibly cheesy."

"again, only for you."

"and a liar."

he held a hand to his chest in fake offense. "why can't you believe that you make me happy? that you give me purpose?"

"it's just, what if i hurt you?" noelle inquired insecurely.

"it'd be an honor to be hurt by you, noelle leann."

she snorted suddenly and nudged his side with her elbow. "lucas robert, you did not just quote the fault in our stars to me."

"what? too mainstream?" he joked.

"such a loser," she groaned, yet her laughter escaped, making her body tremble.

"i should get you home," he suggested, though he didn't really want to.

"i don't want to leave you," the smaller girl argued. "i just got you back."

"i'm not going anywhere," he promised. "except maybe to your house later so we can hang out some more, okay?"

"why not now?" she pouted like a small puppy.

"because," luke laughed. "your parents will worry if you're not home."

"fine," noelle conceded.

luke could sense something in her tone that suggested that there was more happening than she was leading on. that there was another reason why she was so reluctant to go home.

he forced himself to ignore it, instead helping her off the ledge and walking hand-in-hand with her to the fire escape.

"i'll see you later?" she raised an eyebrow.

"of course," he leaned down and pressed a lingering sweet kiss on her lips.

"mmm, promise?" noelle muttered as they parted.

"promise."

-

going back to his apartment was - for lack of a better word - weird.

it was still as empty and bland as before, save for his desk. he assumed (and hoped) that it was just because noelle had found the note he left for her.

falling backwards onto his still made bed, he let his mind wander to the past few weeks of his life.

he'd gone from being suicidal to being in love so quickly, luke was surprised he didn't have whiplash. but then again, he did have a few sources of support that helped a lot.

noelle, ashton, the irwin family, marie, even calum - according to his girlfriend.

then he paused. girlfriend? was that what she was? he certainly hoped so. he loved her, but he also thought that titles were unnecessary. it was all he could do to hope she believed so as well.

still, he was back to the place he was beginning to call home. and he couldn't be happier.

+

YAY LUKEY. Sorry if this is short idk I'm on my phone in line for a ride in universal studios lol. I made it fluffy to make up for potential shortness so I hope y'all enjoyed that!!!

I also got my brother to start calling calum 'clumberry' and I'm laUGHING SO HARD ITS SO FUNNY

QUESTION OF THE DAY: what is one thing that annoys you?

Mine is when people walk slow while they're right in front of me. As in turtle slow. SO ANNOYING IM DONE. ESP IN AMUSEMENT PARKS HOLY GOD xx