the society imagines

luke x reader

luke's pov
"Hey, at least try to look busy, okay?" I pushed a wet rag into the boy's idle hands and he nodded sheepishly, embarrassed to be caught slacking off. I smiled at him to reassure that he wasn't in trouble and sat back down on the stool in the corner.

Clark and Jason were happy to "make rounds" and scare people into working but I preferred to observe from afar. That was probably why people tended to like me over them; I wasn't nearly as scary.

I reached for the ring hanging from the simple chain on my neck and smiled to myself. Tonight, I'm going to ask Helena to marry me and I know she'll say yes. Grizz helped me pick out the ring this afternoon and it was perfect for her, not too flashy but still stunning.

I was wrapped up in planning what I was going to say that I almost didn't hear Clark screaming at someone across the room. Keyword being "almost." I rolled my eyes and stood up, jogging over to see who was under his wrath now.

I was shocked to see a girl sitting down on the edge of one of the tables, blood dripping from her hand and tears rolling down her face as she tried to talk, which was impossible with Clark yelling in her face.

"Hey, what the hell Clark! Give her some space!" I pulled him away from her and he scoffed. He always said that I was "too caring" or "too generous" when it came to discipline but it was warranted in situations like this. "What is going on?"

"Well she's obviously not pulling her weight," Jason said, looking at me like I was an idiot. I rolled my eyes at him and glanced back at the girl who was looking paler by the second.

"Yeah moron because her hand is gushing blood," I said, wrapping an arm around her waist and gently standing her up.

Clark and Jason exchanged a look and frowned. "What are you doing? She can't just leave her job," Clark growled.

"Well I say she can," I said, glaring at them both before turning my attention to her. "Are you okay to walk?"

She just nodded, still looking completely petrified but I guess Clark can do that to a person. I took her into the kitchen and Will immediately walked over and wrapped the dishtowel he had been using around her hand. "Woah, what happened?"

"Haven't figured that out yet. Can you go get a first-aid kit, please?" He nodded, taking off towards a back room while I picked her up and sat her down on one of the counters. "Put more pressure on that okay? You lost a lot of blood already."

"Okay," she whispered. Her hands were shaking and I rewrapped the towel and squeezed, knowing that she was probably a bit weak from the blood loss.

"What happened?"

"Um there was shattered glass on the table and I dragged my hand through it. I was just trying to get the glass out but Clark yelled at me. I promise I wasn't trying to be lazy," she said, the words rushing out.

"No no, don't worry, you aren't in trouble. Clark and Jason are both total morons, I'm so sorry they yelled at you. And I'm so sorry about this," I said gesturing to her hand. She just shook her head and smiled at Will as he set the box down on the counter.

"Okay, let's see what we've got here," he said, gently unwrapping the towel from around her hand. She winced and Will's eyes widened when he saw the small shards in her palm. "I'm going to have to pull these out."

"Is it going to hurt?" She looked terrified and I gently grabbed her other hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I'll just talk to you and you won't even notice it's happening," I said, grinning at her. She gave me the tiniest hint of a smile and I counted this as a win. "What's your name? I don't think I've really seen you before."

"(Y/N). We were in the same calculus class but I wouldn't have expected you to notice me."

She winced a little and I frowned. "Why's that?"

"You were popular. And I wasn't," she said with a shrug. I felt like such a jerk because of course, she was right. I was too wrapped up with Helena and football and I barely noticed anyone who wasn't in that circle of people. "That's a pretty ring," she said pulling me out of my thoughts.

In all of the commotion earlier, I had forgotten to tuck it back into my shirt. I smiled and rolled it between my thumb and pointer finger. "It's for Helena. I'm going to propose to her soon." (Y/N) smiled and nodded and I could tell that she was genuinely happy.

"All patched up," Will said, patting her hand. She thanked him and I helped her hop down from the counter.

"You're off the rest of the day," I said and she looked at me, shocked. "Go home, get some food and rest. You lost quite a bit of blood so you should just get somewhere warm and relax. I'll walk you."

"No!" Will and I widened our eyes in surprise at her sudden outburst. She was so softspoken that the shout was alarming coming from her. She seemed to realize how loud she had been and tried to laugh it off. "I mean, you still have to work."

"Then I'll walk you. I'm heading out anyway," Will offered but she shook her head.

"Really I'm fine," she said.

"The streets aren't safe. Please, just let one of us walk with you," I said, confused as to why she wouldn't want an escort home, especially from a member of The Guard.

"You'll have nowhere to walk me to," she whispered. Will and I exchanged looks and I put a hand on her shoulder.

Will finally let out a small sigh and crossed his arms. "You don't live in a house, do you?"

She slowly shook her head and my jaw dropped open. This girl had been living on the streets this whole time?

"Why didn't you go with friends to a house? It's dangerous out there!" I suddenly felt a brotherly protectiveness for her.

"I don't have any friends to go with. I'm just tired of being alone," she said, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. Will pulled her into him and looked to me.

"It's okay, I'll take her to Allie's."

"No, let me take her to Helena's," I said. She pulled away from Will and wiped her tears. "There are tons of girls for you to be friends with there."

She smiled and nodded and we went back out to the cafeteria to grab her bag. "Are you sure it's okay? And it'll be okay with her?"

"Of course, it would kill her to know that someone was sleeping on the street because they didn't have anywhere to go," I reassured her with a smile.

The walk from the cafeteria to the house wasn't a long one and I was glad when I was wrapped in the warmth of the living room. "Baby!"

Helena bounded down the stairs and pecked my cheek before smiling at our new guest. "Hey, hot stuff. Who's this?"

"This is (Y/N). She needs a place to stay."

"Well, then she is in the perfect place! Come on, I'll get you settled upstairs. There is an empty mattress in my room that has your name all over it," she said. (Y/N) looked comfortable for the first time since earlier this evening in the cafeteria. I smiled as they went upstairs, falling more in love with Helena when I saw her being so generous.

And besides, the proposal can wait until tomorrow.