「 it's you // lrh 」(complete)

10 \\ ᴛʜᴇɴ

  ♡ ・・・・・・ ♡  

Two years later, 5 Seconds of Summer was going stronger than ever. With four full albums –one of which was live–, twelve singles and seventeen music videos, plus several tours in which they held shows all throughout Oceania, North and South America, Europe and Asia; 5SOS was one of the most acclaimed bands in the western side of the world. That made me the proudest person that had ever set foot on Earth.

The last four months were super hectic; you would be able to tell just by looking at the bags under my eyes that not even a kilogram of make-up could cover. The reason wasn't my job –it was going as smooth as usually did– but my imminent wedding. It was taking a toll on me. Weddings were supposed to be events to enjoy, yet I was about to have a meltdown here due to all the pressure. Don't get me wrong—my fiancé wasn't pressuring me: I was. If I was going to get married, the whole thing needed to be as flawless as it could be.

However, at the bottom of my heart, something told me that I mustn't do this. This 'something' had a full name and was currently sitting in the most secluded corner of a little vintage coffee shop in the suburbs. My eyes found his back as soon as I had pushed the front door, and I walked towards him.

"Hi, Luke," I greeted and took a seat in front of him.

Luke and I kept in touch after the whole thing between us had blown up. We wouldn't meet up or text each other as often as we used to, but we were incapable of completely quashing our friendship. I congratulated him when his last song made it –once again– to the top of the charts, and he did the same when he found out through Erin' boyfriend that I had been promoted (I was still a humble editor; however, I was now free enough to choose which manuscript I wanted to edit instead of having another person to pass them onto me).

He lifted his eyes and smiled broadly. I still loved his smile. "Hey, Ali."

When I told my friends that I was printing an extra invitation especially for Luke, they went ballistic and asked me why I would do such an outrageous thing. He was my sort-of-ex, after all. I plainly observed that he was still the most important person in my life, and I wouldn't take so huge a step in my life without his support. Our friendship was greater than any quarrel.

He took off his cap and placed it on the table. I guess that once you become a worldwide-known superstar, you find yourself having to wear one of those every time you attempt to leave your house.

"I ordered chamomile tea for you." He pointed the cup in front of me with his index finger. "Is that alright?"

He remembered exactly what I liked. There was a pang in my chest that I tried hard to ignore.

"Yes, thanks." I grabbed the spoon and started stirring the hot beverage. "How have you been doing? We haven't seen each other for a while."

"Everything is going fine. Actually, I just got back from the South American leg of the tour." His hand palmed the black suitcase next to his chair. "I had literally just landed when I received your text."

I checked his face more carefully and let out a soft laugh. "I can tell you've been travelling, you even seem a little bit tanner."

"South America is boiling hot around this time of the year because it's currently summer down there," he informed me and proceeded to explain how seasons are the exact opposite in the southern hemisphere (something, I may add, I already knew since I paid attention to our Geography lessons). "We ended up spending a lot of time in hotel pools."

"Stressful," I joked. After taking a sip, I asked: "any girl in your life?"

Luke and Lia had split up exactly eleven days after their relationship was confirmed –not that I counted the days, though–, and it left both fandoms (5SOS' and Lia's) in pure and utter shock. Why would they break up if they were, oh, so perfect for each other? In some way, I guess they were: they seemed to be taken straight out of a WeHeartIt couple photo.