Reality || L.H.

Chapter 24

I open the door to Calum's house, surprised by the pop of a fancy bottle of alcohol. "What's this?" I laugh as I step in to see that the boys have poorly hung up streamers. One falls from over the doorway as we walk in and Luke bats it out of his face.

"We're celebrating!" Michael exclaims happily. Somehow, he hopped up onto the kitchen counter and sways a bit unsteadily, a mostly empty bottle clutched in his hand. Ashton rushes up to get him down, looking concerned.

I frown as I turn my attention back to Calum, who's come up to greet us. "Celebrating what?"

"You two lovebirds getting back together of course!" my best friend says as he throws an arm around each of our necks. "We got all the alcohol you could ever want, plus Mario Kart and Mean Girls on DVD."

Luke perks up at the last two. I smile at him when he's not watching, too busy racing Ashton and Michael for the two remote controllers. Calum pulls me over into the kitchen, keeping an arm around my shoulders. I rest my head against his shoulder, my eyes on the three boys wrestling each other to the ground for the chance to play Mario Kart.

"I'm assuming everything's good again between you two, but I still feel like I should ask," Calum murmurs, glancing away from the screen where Michael has driven his car into the water.

I sigh, tearing my eyes away from Luke's form to look at my oldest friend. "Nothing has ever been simple and easygoing, but I think we're past the worst of it. It just... It hurts to see how much Luke doesn't believe in himself. I wish he would realize how amazing he is instead of doubting himself."

Cal smiles softly as he slings an arm around my neck. "Oh, Kat, that's just the way he's always been. It's gotten worse since Celeste and his mother and whatnot, but deep down, it's just in him to never believe that he's good enough. But it pushes him to write more songs, better songs. It's what makes him feel the need to try harder to be what he wants to."

"You're right," I mumble as I watch Luke rolls his eyes playfully at something Ashton said.

Calum grins crookedly at me. "Can I get that in writing?"

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes, shoving his shoulder gently. "In your dreams, Hood," I call over my shoulder as I slide off of the stool and make my way over toward the couches. Luke glances over at me as I sit on the armrest beside him, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his shoulder. He lost the war for the second remote to Ashton so his arms are free to reach up and twine around mine. I lean my head against his, closing my eyes for a second.

For once, Michael doesn't say anything as he busies himself with beating Ash across the finish line. Calum comes and takes a seat beside Mikey, smiling to himself as he looks over at me and Luke.

"I love you," Luke whispers as he twists to face me, placing his hands on either side of my face. "I'm sorry for ever messing things up between us. I was just terrified of losing you."

I smile softly as my eyes flicker all over his face. "You will never lose me."

I lean forward and cross the last little bit between us, wrapping my arms around his neck as I kiss him, savoring every second. He pulls me down off of the arm of the couch, drawing me onto his lap. I slide sideways slightly as I try to get closer to him, slipping my tongue into his mouth.

"Ok, I know we're all excited that you two figured out whatever the heck was going on between you, but if you're going to fuck each other can you please do it in another room?" Michael says, shielding his eyes as he waits for Ashton to finish up their race.

I slide off Luke's lap, smirking at Michael who scowls back at me.

Before Luke or I can say something, Calum speaks. "The guest bedroom is still empty. We haven't touched anything in it since you moved out, Luke."

Luke grins at Cal as he pulls me down the hallway, his touch like a live wire igniting me up inside. The second we walk through the doorway of what used to be his room, our mouths crash together. Luke kicks the door shut behind him as he stumbles toward the bed, pulling me after him. My back hits the mattress and I close my eyes as Luke kisses along my jaw and down my neck.

"Can I ask you something?" I murmur, a slight frown crossing my lips.

He pulls away, nodding slowly.

I push myself into a sitting position and Luke takes a seat beside me. I swallow hard, glancing down at the blanket. "You... You didn't like that girl in the picture, did you?"

Luke slides a hand under my chin, tilting my face up to look at him. His blue eyes are wide and vulnerable, no walls between us. But he hasn't said anything yet and I can't stop myself from jumping to conclusions, a silent tear running down my face. I can't go through this again. I can't come so close to everything I've ever wanted only to have it ripped from my hands.

Luke wipes away the tear with his thumb, leaning forward to place a whisper of a kiss on my forehead. "Now who's the stupid one?" he teases gently. "Kat, after Celeste left me for my own brother, I thought I'd never find a girl I cared about that much. But you proved me wrong. What I had with her was a shadow of what we both wanted - this, this is exactly what I've always wanted. You're what I've always wanted, whether I realized that or not."

I smile as I push him back down on the bed. He grins crookedly up at me, running a hand through my hair. "You're getting good at these speech things."

He laughs, reaching up to kiss me. Pulling away after a second, he murmurs against my lips, "Tomorrow I'm taking you on a real date. Clear your schedule. You're about to be wooed."

"Oh? Is that so?" I smile as I tug gently on his lip ring with my teeth, teasing him. "Bring it on, Hemmings."

He grins as he rolls us over, pressing his lips to mine.