"So touring the world must be a dream come true for you boys, am I right?"
"It is. We’ve mentioned multiple times how grateful we are for being able to do all of this and it really is all thanks to our fans" Ashton says, eyes telling that the words come from his heart. All the other boys nod to show that they agree.
"Is there anything that you don’t like?"
"Uh, no, not really. We meet new people every single day and get to see all these places we never though we would" Michael says.
"And all this while doing something we love" Calum adds, earning another group of nods.
"So Luke" The interviewer says and makes him look up from his hands.
"You haven’t said much. I’m guessing out of all of you boys being away from home is the hardest for you?"
Luke bites his bottom lip and slowly nods.
"Is there someone special waiting for you there?"
Luke thinks for a moment. Every voice inside of him wants to say ‘yes’. He’s tired of keeping it as a secret. He’s tired of pretending like his heart doesn’t want to go home more than it wants to see the world. But he doesn’t get the chance to do so.
"No, Luke is just a momma’s boy. Aren’t you?" Calum says and when Luke’s eyes meet his he sees from the look on Calum’s face that he shouldn’t tell the truth. Not now.
"Yeah. I miss my mom a lot" He says and the audience behind the interviewer coo.
"That’s cute. So you’re not off the market then?"
"No. I’m single" Luke says and fakes a smile, wondering why two simple words felt like someone stabbed him on the chest.
-
"Is this thing even on?"
You laugh as you watch Luke tap the camera on his laptop.
"Yeah, babe. It’s on"
Luke smiles and adjusts the screen before he leans back on the couch he’s sitting on. The internet connection wherever he is right now seems to be the worst ever but it’s better than nothing. The picture freezes every other minute but at least you get to hear his voice properly. You look at the clock on your wall and see it’s almost 3am. But you won’t mention that to Luke or he’ll insist you go to bed.
"So how was your day?" Luke asks and you hear his ringtone go on. He doesn’t even check who the caller is before he mutes it.
"It was okay. Not half as interesting as yours though I believe" You say and see Luke’s face drop.
He hates when you say that and you know it. It makes him feel like you think that nothing that you do matters when to him it does.
"Well I’m sure that’s not true. All I did was go from interview to another" Luke casually says as if it was nothing special.
"Oh yeah, I saw one on youtube from today. Momma’s boy, huh?" You chuckle.
Luke smiles but it fades away quickly.
"I’m sorry"
You frown and try to think what would possibly make him apologize.
"You’re sorry for what?"
Luke sighs and pulls the grey beanie on his head forward.
"For saying that I was single"
You listen to his words and then giggle, waiting for him to join you. But he doesn’t and you can see that he is dead serious.
"Luke, why are you apologizing for that? We’ve talked about this earlier and I don’t mind that you haven’t made us public yet" You say with a smile on your face even though that was a lie.
You do mind. It’s hard enough that your boyfriend has been away for 6 months but on top of that even though you’re currently on a holiday you haven’t been able to visit him because apparently some people from their crew think that it wouldn’t be good for the band if it turned out that Luke was taken. And you understand. Lie. You don’t understand. Michael has a girlfriend too and they don’t mind her visiting them and them being photographed on dates and holding hands and doing all that you wish you and Luke were doing at this very moment.
