Bully // l.h. // Book 1 of Bully Series

25. Homecoming

“Luke, meet Isabel and Kat.” I said when the two of us finally made it to where I had been standing prior to running up to greet him. After we had parted from our initial embrace, the fans decided it was time to flood in and demand pictures. Some even wanted my picture, which I had found a bit odd. At first, Luke struggled a bit to get his bags back onto his shoulders, but I’d taken one, and that made it a bit easier.

The blond girl and her friend seemed frozen in shock. I giggled quietly and gestured to the phone clutched tightly in Kat’s hand.

“Would you like me to get a picture of you guys?” I asked. Her gaze shifted to me before she nodded vigorously, no words coming from her mouth. Luke and I shared an amused glance before he stepped between the friends and turned to face me. I held the phone up and snapped a few pictures, just in case one was blurry.

I was finally able to step back away from the mobs of fans after I handed the phone back to Kat. My alone time wasn’t destined to last forever, though, because suddenly a pair of arms was wrapped around me from behind. I tensed for a moment but relaxed when a very familiar voice sounded in my left ear.

“It’s my Dae-light!” Ashton practically shouted, rocking the two of us from side to side. He let me go, and I turned around to face him.

“You need a haircut.” I pointed out, looking at his unruly sandy locks. Ashton’s smile morphed into a pout as he looked at me.

“I’ve been gone for three and a half months, and all you have to say to me is ‘you need a haircut’?” He complained. I opened my mouth to say something, but another very familiar voice beat me to it.

“She’s not wrong, Ash. You are looking a bit scruffy.” Michael quipped as he slung an arm around Ashton’s shoulders. My eyebrows lifted when I saw his hair.

“And your hair is darker. What happened to the light brown?” I asked. I hadn’t noticed it when he first walked through the doors into the main part of the airport (probably because I was more focused on trying to see where Luke was), but Michael’s hair had been dyed a good five or six shades darker. It was still brown, but no longer light. He shrugged.

“Wanted a change, I guess. I’ll probably dye it again soon. Dunno what color though.” I laughed.

“Well, don’t dye it too often. Wouldn’t want your luscious locks to all fall out.” Michael laughed as well, but before he could give me a reply, another voice piped up from behind me.

“I thought I was the one with luscious locks!” I turned to see Calum standing there. He smiled cheekily before pulling me into a hug. “Missed you, Daeyna.” He murmured as we pulled away from the embrace.

“You too, Cal.” I agreed.

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Liz had set up a small coming home party with everyone’s parents. I couldn’t help but smile when the boys walked through the front door of the Hemmings household and found their families standing in the living room. Shouts erupted from both the boys and their loved ones. I stood back and watched each one of them greet each other.

Ashton’s brother was probably the most excited out of the entire group. As soon as Ashton walked into the living room, Harry’s arms were wrapped around him in a tight hug. I couldn’t help but smile was the six-foot drummer crouched down in order to talk with his brother on the same level. When he stood up, his mother and Lauren stepped in for hugs as well.

Calum’s mom came in at a close second in terms of excitement. For a moment, I thought she was going to tackle Luke out of the way when he came in between Calum and her. Luke, however, quickly realized he was in Joy’s way and moved so she could gather up her son in a tight embrace. Just beyond her were Mali-Koa and David, both with large grins on their faces. As soon as he took a step away, David pulled him in for a hug, then Mali did the same.