The Art Of Love / l.h ✔️

10

~Fae's POV~

Maria might've gotten a little bit mad at me again, I admit. We'd left the mall almost immediately after I explained that I knew Luke because he was in my art class and we rode the bus together. She evidently didn't like that I'd not mentioned to her that I knew Luke, not that I could've mentioned it to her. It wasn't like I had known he was the guy she'd been crushing on the last two years.

Now it was Monday morning, meaning I had another day of school ahead of me. I crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom, hopping into the shower once the water was heated up. Since I had shaved my whole body just a few days ago, my shower didn't take me that long because I didn't need to shave today. So when I finished taking my shower, I turned the water off and hopped out, wrapping myself in a towel. I grabbed all of my makeup supplies and got into my bed, beginning to do my daily makeup routine. You'd think that after doing my makeup one way for so many years that I'd manage to get it done quicker now, but that wasn't the case. In fact, I still took just as long to do my makeup now as I had when I first started.

Regardless of how long it took, my makeup looked just as good as it always did when I finished, so at least that was a plus. When I finished doing all my makeup, I went ahead and put on a pair of underwear and a bra, putting my towel up in the bathroom before I headed into my closet to find an outfit.

I pulled on a tan colored pleated skirt and then a shirt that was light brown and said "sweet memories" on the front in a darker brown color, tucking it into my skirt loosely. I then pulled up a pair of light brown socks that went up over my knee, slipping my feet into a pair of dark brown boots that went just a bit above my ankle. When I was dressed, I left my closet and quickly brushed out my hair in the bathroom, leaving the black strands free to fall down my back in waves. Lastly, I applied some deodorant quickly and then spritzed some perfume on myself before I grabbed my backpack, swinging it on as I left my bedroom and headed down the hallway.

Not wanting to be late to the bus stop, I hurried down the road and over to my bus stop, waiting there patiently. However, as more time began to tick by, I began to wonder if she had come earlier today and I'd missed the bus. It wouldn't have been the first time that that had happened to me and I was sure it probably wouldn't be the last either, knowing my luck. Right when I was about to decide to stop waiting and instead go ahead and walk to school, I heard that familiar sound of the bus engine as it came down the road. I peered out into the street and quickly realized it wasn't coming from the direction it normally did. I turned around and saw the bus entering from the place she'd usually exit, causing me to frown and furrow my brows in confusion. Had she suddenly switched up her route or something?

The bus rolled to a stop and I heard the doors open, having to walk around the front of the bus so I could get in since the bus wasn't facing me like usual. When I entered, I immediately noticed that Luke was sitting in our seat at the back of the bus, his head leaned back while he seemed to be sleeping. I softly poked him on the shoulder and his eyes snapped open, looking very tired still. "Oh. It's you." He mumbled, not making any move to get up. He sure could be stubborn when he wanted to be, and sometimes I forgot that.

Knowing that he wasn't going to be moving for me, I quickly managed to slip past, our legs touching as I was forced to try to move between those long legs of his. I sat in my seat and sat straight, not surprised to see when I looked over that he'd returned to the sleepy bag of bones that I'd found him in.

Luke's messy curls looked soft and I scanned my eyes over his side profile, from that strong and sharp jaw that was littered with stubble to his full, perfect lips and up to his somehow elegant looking nose. He had a nose that reminded me of something like a fairy. His lids were shut as his chest rose and fell calmly, though I'm pretty sure he wasn't actually sleeping. Maybe he was trying to, though. I wouldn't put it past him at all, especially after all the times I've seen him sleep in Mr. Thomason's class. That boy had no shame in sleeping where he wanted, when he wanted.

Deciding I should probably not be staring at him like a creep, I turned my head and looked out the window for the rest of the bus ride.

**

"Fae!" I heard my mom yell for me as I sat in my bedroom after school, doing my homework. The TV played the movie Shrek quietly on the screen while I worked, filling the silence of my room.

"Yes?!" I yelled back, not wanting to get up and have to go to her. I was in the middle of doing homework and I would've preferred if I didn't have to stop, but because this is my mom, it didn't work out the way I would've liked for it to. I waited for a moment to hear her yell back to me about what it was she wanted from me, but the response never came. She just stayed silent, probably knowing I'd come to her if she called for me, even if I didn't want to. It wasn't like I had the option to not do that, either.

A deep sigh left me as I set my pencil down on top of the page I had flipped open to in my physics text book, leaving it there while I crawled out of bed. I left my room and headed down the hall, finding my mom and dad both in the living room, sitting on the couch with one another. "Yes, mom?" I asked, coming to a stop in front of the coffee table. My dad put his phone into his pocket, seeming to have been talking to someone. He looked over at mom and mom glanced back at him before her dark eyes landed on me again, her gaze gentle and soft looking. I waited for one of them to say something about why they'd called me here, but both of them seemed lost in their hesitation, remaining quiet. "What's wrong?" I asked curiously, looking between the two of them.

My mom glanced over at dad and then smiled lightly. "Um, you remember Mr. Hemmings, right? Your father's coworker?" She began, causing me to look at her dumbly. I'd only met a few of dad's coworkers when they came over to discuss business, but it was never longer than five seconds that I spoke to any of them. "Not really." I admitted awkwardly, fiddling with my fingers. Mom hummed and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, can't say that I blame you." She muttered.

"But I called you down here because, well...He's going on a trip with his wife for a little while," She said slowly, eyeing me closely like I was supposed to have something to say about that. "Okay...? And what does that have to do with us?" I asked when she didn't continue, frowning in confusion. She spared my dad another glance, who was looking at me the same way she had been. "Mr. Hemmings has a son your age who has to stay with us while he's gone." She responded, causing me to frown. I didn't really like the idea of having some strange guy staying with us who I didn't even know, but it wasn't like there was anything I could do about that. Maybe he was actually nice, if I was lucky.

"For how long?" I sighed out, looking down at her as I furrowed my brows. She looked up at me and shrugged. "About a month." She answered, causing my eyes to widen in surprise. I'd expected her to say something more like a week, not a whole month! "A-A month?" I gaped at her and she lightly nodded her head. "Yes." She confirmed. "He shouldn't give you any problems or anything, according to your dad. Mr. Hemmings said he keeps to himself." She said.

It was only then that his last name really dawned on me, making me feel like a major moron. I only knew one person with that last name. "When is this supposed to be happening?" I asked, a flash of blue eyes passing through my head. "He'll be here on Friday." Mom responded, to which I lightly nodded my head, frowning to myself. "I have one last question. What's his name?" I asked, having a strong feeling that I already knew very well who it was. I just needed the confirmation from her, from someone. Mom paused for a second, furrowing her brows together in thought.

"I think his name is Luke."