Not Fine at All (Luke Hemmings a.u.)

Chapter 16

LUKE'S POV

The days prior to the birthday party went by rather quickly. Wednesday was spent grocery shopping for food and decorations, since anything worth reusing had been demolished during Michael's birthday last year. Thursday was spent making last minute arrangements and setting everything up in the living room and kitchen. When Friday finally came, most of the preparations were done, save for some of the snacks that we decided could wait until later, and everyone was pretty worn out.

Luke and I stood in the center of the living room, surveying our handiwork as Calum finished up our lunch dishes. As far as I was concerned, we had done a pretty decent job. The ceiling was strung with white lights adorned with multicolored streamers, and balloons were tied in clusters to the table lamps on either side of the sofas. A handmade banner with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTHERFUCKER" written across it was taped above the archway leading into the kitchen, where a menagerie of appetizers and entrees cluttered the counter. Classy as hell.

"I'll be damned. This doesn't look half bad," I giggled to myself.

Lucey laughed too. "It's better than I expected. Do you think Michael will approve?"

"My guess is he'll be too drunk to even care." 

Michael had a tendency to drink about twice his body weight before the party even started, and then go around annoying everyone else and puking all the time. God knows we all loved him, but his drinking got a little bit out of control. And then there was Ashton, who, although he often supplied the beverages, rarely drank of them at parties. We had yet to figure that one out. The only thing we could figure was that he liked to have a crystal clear front row seat for all of our antics. 

"That's true, but it's not like I can judge him. I'll probably be in the same boat."

I snapped my head to look at her. 

"What? Uh, I don't think so. You know what alcohol does to you!"

"Luke! I was kidding! Jesus, calm down." She reached over and patted my shoulder.

I turned to face her, and she looked up at me, batting those eyelashes. I took the opportunity to lean in for a kiss.

"I'm just trying to take care of you," I explained when we pulled away.

"I know, I know," she smiled. "I was just testing you."

I smiled back and was about to kiss her again, when I heard a rather loud pounding at the door. Michael. Shaking my head and pinching the bridge of my nose, I made my way over to the door and flung it open, bracing myself for what was to come.

"Wazzup, bitches?!" Michael slurred as he stumbled into the house, a beer in each hand. Ashton shuffled in behind him, a guilty smirk on his face.

"Really? Already?" I asked, trying my best to look disappointed in Ashton, though I wasn't even surprised.

"He wanted to get turnt up," Ash shrugged, as Michael wandered into the kitchen to greet Calum. "He's a big boy now; he can handle it."

"We'll see about that--" Before I could finish my thought, Lucey had run up and wrapped her arms around Ashton's neck.

"Well, hey there, Lucey! It's been a while," Ashton exclaimed as she hugged him.

I noted that she was still wearing a long-sleeved shirt, despite having broken the news to the boys earlier in the week about her past and explaining her weird behavior. It was clear she was still a little bit self conscious, despite the secret being out and the boys insisting that it didn't change the way they cared for her. We both knew it would just take some getting used to, but I was glad she didn't need to hide anymore.