Stuck in the Middle (Two Stories in One) [Calum Hood & Luke Hemmings AU]

4. Sloane

"Bro, you're burning the pancakes! Get out!"

Sloane's eyebrows raised at the sound of Ashton's yelling, reaching the bottom of the stairs and turning into the kitchen as the smell of burnt pancakes hit her nose. She blinked as she let out a breath with a quiet, "phew", arriving just in time to see Ashton push away a laughing Luke from the stove. He looked to be enjoying himself despite possibly ruining breakfast for everyone. Through his laughter, Luke exclaimed, "I'm just tryna help!"

Ashton shot him a bemused look, a spatula in hand as he pointed it at Luke while Sloane quietly approached, the amused smile growing on her face as she stopped by the counter separating the kitchen and living room where Crystal sat, watching the whole thing go down. "You're fucking it up, man—you can't cook," Ashton scoffed, turning back to the stove.

Luke huffed, lips pouting as he leaned against the stainless steel fridge, arms crossed, biceps in full view thanks to the tank top he wore. It was in that moment that his eyes landed on Sloane, straightening up his posture as she felt the amused smile tug at her lips. Luke's own lips parted as he sounded, "Hey, Sloane, uh—good morning."

Her smile, without her permission really, turned fond as she leaned against the counter where Crystal sat, happily eating her cereal. "Morning, Luke," Sloane greeted, flashing a smile to Ashton who offered a quick wave over his shoulder. Looking back at Luke, she asked knowingly with a soft chuckle, "How's breakfast going?"

Before Luke could answer, Ashton scoffed, "He's banished from the kitchen. Please, take him away."

The offense was expressed across Luke's face with an indignant frown as he protested, "Hey!" while both Crystal and Sloane laughed. "Actually, I was gonna go on a quick supply run," she said, eyes finding Luke's once more, raising her eyebrows almost hopefully as she asked, "You wanna come with?"

Ashton pouted as he transferred a pancake from the pan to a plate. "What about breakfast?"

Sloane's lips parted to speak, but Luke beat her to the punch. "Sloane doesn't eat breakfast." Her blue eyes met with his, and she could see the hint of pinkness that tinged his cheeks as an almost embarrassed smile quirked at his lips. Sloane didn't miss the looks exchanged between Ashton and Crystal, though she chose to ignore them in lieu of her own skin warming as Luke pushed himself off the fridge with a clear of his throat. "I'll just, uh, get my shoes."

He left the kitchen quickly, but not before walking around Sloane and offering her a cute, boyish smile that she couldn't help but return before her eyes met Crystal's. The amused expression the blonde wore wasn't missed by Sloane, who let out a breath and asked, a bit defensively, "What?"

"Nothing," Crystal hummed, sounding deceivingly innocent as she stirred her cereal with her spoon. Her smile was teasing and Sloane rolled her lips into her mouth as Crystal observed, "Totally adorable."

Ashton snickered and Sloane let out a slow breath, shooting Crystal a look. Despite the drumming in her chest and the desire to visibly chew her lips, Sloane kept up the indifferent front before reminding her, "It's not a thing."

Crystal puckered her lips with a shrug as she flickered her gaze up to look at Sloane. "It could be."

Sloane bit the inside of her cheek, her own gaze falling to her hand. Crystal was only putting dangerous ideas in her head that would end in nothing but heartbreak if Sloane decided to stray from what the plan was. Feelings were. . . Not an option. She'd be lying, though, if she said there wasn't a disappointed, sinking feeling in the pit of her chest at the knowledge of her kind of. . . Never getting to be with someone she wants to be with. A decision about her life made for her without any consideration for what she—what Calum—wanted. They were expected to move forward with this, to change their lives for the benefit of companies their parents had built, which were to become their own soon.