redamancy // l.h au

eleven

I woke up in a bed that wasn't mine.

Trust me, if this was a teen-angst rom-com, I'd be jumping with joy.

But it wasn't. And the only jumping I was doing was jumping out of that comfy bed, unfortunately.

The floorboard creaked underneath my cold feet as I regained my memory of the night before. I had panicked at the festival and Luke had let me stay at his house.

I looked over at the clock: 9:25am. I couldn't remember if I had texted Charlotte that I'd spent the night at Luke's, but when I reached for my phone, I had numerous missed calls and texts from her.  Hesitantly, I replied back and got a reply barely a few seconds later:

Me: omg sorry. stayed at luke's. got a little sick. see you in a few

Char: im going 2 kill you :-)

Me: luv u 2 !!!!

I slipped my phone back into my pocket, pushing my hair out of my face and tying it back with a hair elastic that I had on my wrist. I tiptoed to where Luke had fallen asleep at the foot of the bed and smiled.

He looked beautiful when he slept. His face was pushed into the pillow and his hair was gorgeously tousled. His mouth was wide open, revealing his perfect straight teeth. He was drooling on his hand and I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

His other arm was thrown above his head and he seemed to have kicked all the blankets off of him, so he was one tangle of legs, blankets, sheets, and loveliness.

Just when I was about to turn away out of the fear of being too creepy, his phone began to vibrate on the floor a few feet from him, directly in front of me. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but closed it. He was still sound asleep, completely oblivious and snoring.

I rolled my eyes, leaning over to look at the caller ID: Lindy Sinclair.

I straightened myself up and walked towards the bathroom, taking deep breaths.

It doesn't matter to me. It doesn't.

Luke had told me she'd hurt him last night before I fell asleep. I didn't catch the rest of it, but I was half asleep when I felt his fingers graze my cheeks and down my neck. I was too sleepy to realize what was happening, but now, it sure as hell made everything more complicated.

I wanted to believe Luke felt something for me, but the way he acted last night? Now I highly doubt it. I mean, I'm not surprised. He's, well, beautiful. And I'm . . . normal.

I turned the light on in the bathroom only to realize that I was still wearing Luke's shirt. My shorts are hidden underneath the material. I blushed as I hugged the shirt closer to me. It smelled like him (well, obviously) and I couldn't get enough.

A knock at the door startled me. I opened it slightly to see a disheveled Luke; eyes droopy and a lopsided grin spread across his face when his blue eyes find me. "Will you be long?" He said, putting his arm at the threshold.

I glanced at the mirror and my jaw dropped. I looked a hot mess. And Luke was standing a foot away from me. Oh, my God. I turned back to him, trying to hide the blush in my cheeks, and nodded.

He let out an exaggerated sigh and smiled at me. A second later, the boy handed me a waded up T-shirt, "Here, I washed your shirt for you."

"Ever heard of folding?" I raise an eyebrow, taking the wrinkled T shirt from Luke. "Thanks,"  He smiled at me and looked down to scroll through his phone. He frowned at it and I waited for him to leave, but he just stood there. "You know, me using the bathroom requires you to let me close the door."

"Oh," He said, immediately looking up. He backed out of the threshold into his room. He shoved his phone in his pocket before speaking again, "Let's do something today,"

"What do you have in mind?"

He thought for a moment and shrugged, "I don't know, actually. I just want to hang out with you."

"Tempting. I'll accept your offer if you would kindly let me get ready,"

He stumbled back, "Oh! Right, right. Okay. Well, um, bye," He shuffled out of the room faster than I could even mutter, "You're a moron,"

__________________

When finished changing, washing my face, and brushing out my hair, I walked into the kitchen to find all the boys crowded around the kitchen island, shoving cereal into their mouths.

Calum's head popped up when I entered and he smiled, brightly, "Rheee-ah!"

"Cal!" I mimicked his excitement and leaned against the kitchen counter behind him. Next to him was Michael who gave me a sweet smile and waved, to which I obviously waved back.

Ashton was texting away on his phone (probably in deep conversation with Misty) before he looked up and smiled at me, "So I see you spent the night?"

Blushing, "Um, yeah. But not like that. I just was sick. Is all. That's it." Luke's cheeks went red beside Ashton and I smiled to myself at the thought.

"Mmmm-hmmmm," Michael said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"So, what are you guys up to today?" Ash asked, referring to Luke and I.

Luke shrugged, "Still haven't decided."

Calum chimed in, "We should all get facials."

"Seaweed wraps!" Michael says.

"Do you guys even know what those are?" I asked, tilting my head at the four idiots.

"Does it have anything to do with sushi?" Luke asked and I shook my head and he continued, "Then, nope. Not interested."

Michael's eyes lit up and he opened his mouth to tell us another idea when he was interrupted by the ring of Ashton's phone. He bit his lip when he looked at the text message and turned to Luke, "You need to talk to her today. No time for plans."

"Her?" I blurted before I could stop myself.

Ash turned to me with a sad smile while Luke looked down at his hands, "Lindy."

Oh.

I nodded. Michael, thinking no one heard, whispered in Calum's ear, "Is it just me or has she gotten even hotter?"

Luke, Ash, and Cal all thumped him over the head at once and I burst out laughing.

A few minutes later, when things got quiet, I fidgeted, "I should get going. Char's worried."

I received numerous "boo"s and "aww"s as I exited the kitchen to the foyer. Luke had followed me out, watching me as I tied the laces on my sneakers.

"Do you think I should do this? Get closure with her?" Luke says, suddenly.

I hesitate for a moment. I swallow, and nod. "Maybe it's for the best."

"How do you know she's changed?" He asked as I stood up, eyebrows knitting together.

"I don't. But I know you're smart enough not to fall for any of her bullshit." I smirk and he laughs, scratching the back of his neck. I quickly add, "I don't know her, but she seems to judge me, a lot."

"Yeah. She did that with Misty as well."

"Why?"

"Competition." He shrugs, as if it was something I should've already known.

"And I'm competition?" I ask, skeptically.

Luke scoffs, "Absolutely."

I turned to grab my purse and smiled at my converse when I reached for it.  All this chaos and blushing and blue eyes made me almost forget about the pills.

Almost.