in the crowd • luke hemmings

28. "there you are"

hearing a soft knock at his door late at night and opening it to reveal lola in a sweater that had belonged to him at one point and her curls in the sweetest pigtails luke had ever seen, and feeling her lunging forward to wrap her arms tightly around him and pressing butterfly kisses all over his face was the closest luke had ever come to religion.

they barely slept that night, too excited to see each other again; the week that lola had been away had seemed so long and it felt like they had everything in the world to catch up on.

she re-applied his pink plasters properly, kissing every cut, every bruise that littered luke's pale skin and making him feel home again; both of them laying together on his couch with a blanket thrown over them and sex education on the tv - a show lola's parents had recommended to her that she wanted to watch with luke.

"baby?"

luke had missed hearing her soft voice call him that, and couldn't keep the smile from his face as he responded with, "yes sweetheart?".

"do you have a lot of fights next week?" lola's fingertips traced up and down his forearm as it curled tighter around her waist, sending shivers down luke's back.

"i have a few baby." he pressed a light kiss to the back of her head, waiting to let her speak again - he knew she was going somewhere with what she was saying.

"we have this like - thing - with the studio every year in mid november." lola felt her nerves twisting in her gut and internally groaned when she realised how much this was starting to sound like a promposal.

"it's like a christmas dance thing, where all the dancers go and they bring their friends and stuff - we do it in november because december is filled with preparation for the christmas showcase. and i was thinking if you wanted to come with me it might be fun?"

luke wrapped his arms even tighter around his girlfriend, finding it unbelievably cute that she would invite him - luke didn't go to his own prom, and he'd never felt like he was missing out on much, but a chance to see lola dressed up and happy was not something he would pass up easily.

"i'd love to go baby. what day is it?"

"it's next friday."

a weight plunged into luke's stomach when he realised that he did have a fight that day - and one he couldn't back out of at that.

his coach had been getting increasingly annoyed with luke's gradual withdrawal from boxing - the more time he spent with lola the less he felt like fighting - and his coach was threatening to stop booking him matches if he stopped accepting them, and when boxing was luke's only income, it was a risk he couldn't take.

but lola's tone was so hopeful and the invitation was so sweet that luke vowed then and there that whatever it took, he'd go with her.

"i'll be there sweetheart."

***

"you asked him to go to the dance with you?" bella cooed exaggeratedly and lola groaned, letting her head fall face first onto her pillow.

"please stop you make me feel like i'm back in high school-"

"i'll be sure to vote you guys prom king and queen!" bella quipped before lola could even finish speaking, a grin spreading across her face as lola whined into the pillow.

"this is bullying!" her muffled protest just made bella laugh, and she blew on her nails to dry the polish faster.

"so finally you won't have to put up with calum and ashton stepping all over your toes when you dance with them."