player ♚ lrh

31 - choke

"Luke Hemmings is such a fucking asshole."

Elise just about choked on her own spit, a rough cough leaving her lungs in an awkward wheeze as, across the room, Michael took an angry seat on one of the cafe's chairs.

Cole leaned against the wall, amused. "You've got my attention."

And mine, Elise couldn't help but think.

She wasn't entirely sure if the boy realized she was there too, sitting atop one of the wooden barstools that easily made her feel even shorter than she was—though it'd be vastly incorrect to say that she wasn't already—legs paused mid-swing at the sudden interruption.

Her and Cole had been bored out of their minds for the past half an hour, waiting for the time to drag on so they could both leave and get on with the better, more interesting parts of their day.

And now, the very person Elise was planning on rushing to the second she got out of there was suddenly the topic of discussion. She had to pause.

Michael groaned. "He's just such a dick for no reason,"

"You say that like it's news," Cole laughed, rather loudly. Elise frowned. "So? What'd he do?"

"Exist."

Elise couldn't stand the way they talked about him. She didn't know much about their relationship but it was hard to imagine them ever being anything other than enemies—though she did overhear enough to know that it was different. Once. It made her a little upset to think she was never around to see it.

Cole rolled his eyes. "Look, mate, this is literally the most exciting thing to happen all day. Give me the details,"

Michael leaned his head against his palm, still a bit annoyed. "Where do I even start?"

"The beginning, preferably," Cole deadpanned, unfazed by the scowl Michael sent his way. He grinned, a rather patronizing tone coming out. "Come on, I'll walk you through it. The first thing that happened was..."

"Dude."

"Sorry, didn't mean to pull a Luke,"

Elise cringed. It seemed like the closer she got to the boy, the more they put him down. And each time, it worried her a little more about what might happen if they were to find out exactly what the pair had been up to in these past months, and exactly the extent of the relationship they shared.

She wondered if they'd care about her feelings for him. She liked him a lot, but would it matter? Would they dismiss it, call her clueless, or naive, even? It was hard to imagine a better outcome, one that didn't leave a lump in her throat and a heaviness in her chest, because they'd never be there to witness the side of Luke she saw. He didn't show it often, not unless he was with her.

'If' didn't even sound right anymore. It was inevitable. It was when. And that scared Elise.

"Pull a Luke?" She questioned aloud, hardly meaning to but hardly making an effort to take it back.

Both boys looked at her. Michael, specifically, because he had no idea she was standing there, listening to his attempt at ranting.

Cole just laughed lightly, shrugging. "Yeah, you know him. That guy from before—" he paused suddenly, head shaking whilst Elise pursed her lips. "Never mind. I'm sure you remember,"

"Yeah," she swallowed.

Cole took no notice. "Well, anyways, it's like when you're being a dick, you're pulling a Luke," he shook his head lightly, laughing. "It's stupid, but if you really knew him it'd make more sense though. I can tell you that much," he laughed a bit.