#Joke

Chapter 5: Luke's POV

The movie started & I sat myself next to Jo. We decided on Rush Hour because it combined comedy & action. Calum sat on the other side of her & I would tense whenever he inched closer. She didn't notice of course. She was too oblivious to it, I realized that. Headed toward Santa Barbara, Jo was excited to introduce us to her friend Isabella. We owe her a thank you in reality. If it weren't for her we wouldn't have an opening act, or an amazing new person in our lives.

Calum's hand lightly brushed against her & she jumped to her feet.

"I'm gonna take shower." she said & walked to her bunk.

After a good 5 minutes I decided to go check on her, "I'll be back, going to get a glass of water."

I walked out to the kitchen area, where I found her sitting at the table.

"What happened to showering?" I asked.

She stood up from her seat, "Oh I uh-"

"It's okay I knew you weren't actually going to shower," she relaxed, I took a step toward her smirking, "I'm surprised you're wearing more than a towel."

She laughed I could feel myself smile with pride, "Surprised or disappointed?" She joked.

I was in front of her now, very close. Our gaze was broken when she looked down at her bare feet, as I whispered, "If I answered honestly what would that say about me?"

Strands of her dark brown hair fell over the corner of her left eye, my fingers itched with the desire to tuck it away.

"That you're honest?" She said phrasing it more as a question.

I chuckled, "That I'm a perv," I corrected her.

"I'm not following," confusion clouded her face.

A strong rush of will took over & my calloused fingers brushed the strands away. I realized what I had done & pulled my hand away, & took steps back.

I fumbled through my words, "You should go take that shower."

She looked down, frowning a bit with her cheeks flushed, "Oh yeah. Right, and you should head back inside." Her American accent was adorable.

She brushed past me & when she left so did the warmth that radiated off of her.

I walked to the kitchen & grabbed a glass. Turning on the faucet Calum walked in.

"What's up mate?" I asked

He scratched the back of his neck, "The movie's over,"

"I figured. Is everything okay?" I ask concerned.

"Well Aleisha texted, saying she going to be in Santa Barbara, & she wants to meet up..."

My gut dropped. I haven't heard from Aleisha in ages & the sound of her name brought back memories; her making muffins for me, hanging out at the park after school. It all seemed so vivid & vague at the same time. But then I could barely hear the sound of Jo's voice singing "Heartbreak Girl" in the shower, & all of that melted away. A weight on my shoulders: gone.

"You should do it." I nodded confident in my answer.

"Really? Like you're cool?" He seemed surprised.

"Yeah," I could hear clearly Jo's soft voice coming from the shower, and I smiled, "I've moved on."

"Sweet bro." We bro-hugged it out, and he reached in his pocket for his phone.

I walked to the other empty bunk, and laid down. Since there are only five of us & six bunks, the bottom left one always stays empty. We pretty much just use this one when we're too lazy to climb to our actual bunk. Mine is the middle one on the right.

I shut the curtain, right as Jo peaked her head out of the bathroom door. I let go of the curtain just before it was shut all the way allowing me to see her as she walked out in her white bra and black panties, a towel wrapped around her head so her hair could dry.

My breath hitched as she started walking toward me. Did she know I was in the bunk? Did she know I could see her perfect figure practically naked? I realized her bunk was above the one I was in when her belly button was at eye level with me & she was reaching into her bunk. I wanted to reach out & touch her bare skin.

"Shit, I should've done this before I got in the shower," I heard her murmur to herself.

She grabbed something & then scurried back to the bathroom allowing me a view of her fit bum. She then shut the door and I exhaled the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

I opened the curtain & started to exit the bunk when the door opened again, this time she was wearing a largebaby blue Imagine Dragons t-shirt, the hem of her black shorts barely noticeable. The towel was now gone & her dark hair was up in messy ponytail, wisps of baby hairs framing her face.

"Oh um hi," she said looking down, "going to bed so soon?"

"I um yeah, I thought I would lie down a while," she looked at me, as I lied avoiding her eyes.

She huffed a few strands out of her face. There was silence but I wanted to continue talking, though she beat me too it, "Well you wanna have a snack with me first?"

I smiled, "Yeah sure,"

We walked to the kitchen & she opened the cabinet door reaching for a glass. She stood on her toes & I watched for a second. I never actually realized how pretty she was. I knew she was hot & cute but it wasn't until I looked at her, calves flexed, arms outstretched, strands of hair falling over he face like she wasn't trying, that I realized that she was pretty. Not in a conventional, Victoria's Secret sense, but then again who is? Other than those models obviously but really.

She was pretty in a real kind of way. The kind that the jocks in high school overlooked for the cheerleaders but was always there.

"Are you okay?" She asked standing with two glasses in her hands.

"Oh yeah fine. Just zoned out a while."

"You must be really tired."

"Yeah a little,"

"Well there's no way I'm going to let you go to bed without tasting my JoJo's CoCoa."

"JoJo's CoCoa?" I laughed.

"Well t-yeah, it's my special hot chocolate recipe. It's gotten me out of a lot of trouble actually," she spoke grabbing Nesquik powder, milk, marshmallows, whip cream, brown sugar, and chocolate sauce.

"Oh I can't imagine you getting into trouble." I waved her off.

She turned to look at me, hand on hip, a smirk playing in her lips; she scoffed, "Now that's a little unfair. I went through quite the rebellious phase."

"Do tell, please," I stifled a laugh.

"When I was thirteen dyed my hair blood red, & that was the year I went to a private school up in New York. I got expelled that year" she chuckled to herself.

"For what?"

"Setting the principals teaching credential on fire, a long with my permanent record."

"You did that?!"

"Ooh yeah. They couldn't prove it was me except for the fact that I was stupid enough to only burn my file. & considering my track record there, they clearly established I had motive and I took the fall." she shrugged.

"Wow that's pretty punk rock."

"What can I say even good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught." she winked & brought the cups over to the small table.

I sipped from the warm mug, "This is incredible."

She stirred her straw a bit before taking a sip, "It's one of the few things my adoptive father taught me."

She nodded lips pursed into an almost smile, staring into the cup as if watching her time with him replay in the cocoa.

"Whatever happened with him?" I asked before I could stop myself.