the tourist | l.h.

viii

Luke

"Aww! Lukey's got a date!" Michael teased, pinching Luke's cheeks as if he was a 5 year old.

Yes, tonight was date night for Luke Hemmings. Flavio said that today would be a free day as well and tomorrow will be the next time they travel. 

He was really nervous, even if it was only 10 in the morning. He couldn't help but think about what they'll be doing during the date because, well, he doesn't live in Cinque Terre. 

"I don't even know what to do for this date, man. What was I thinking?" Luke said, landing on his back on the bed, his hands running through his curly hair. 

They were all currently in Ashton and Luke's room. The other two couldn't stand not being around them. "Google has all the answers." Ashton winked.

The boys searched on Google for all the 'fun things to do in Cinque Terre' and 'date ideas in Cinque Terre'. "Well, you could just take her for some nice pizza and then sit by the waters." Calum suggested. 

"But what makes that any more special than yesterday?" Luke complained.

"Uh, it's pizza and not gelato?" Calum suggested, earning a slap in the head from Michael. "Hey! What was that for?" Cal pouted.

"Oh, you felt that? I thought there was nothing in that head of yours." 

"Why are you fucking ru-"

"Shut up! I feel like a dad around both of you, damn." Ashton finally stepped in. The two stayed quiet and subtly glared at each other like children. "Anyway, I think you should go this restaurant," Ashton gave his phone for Luke to see, "It has a lot of good reviews and like a nice view of the waters. I think it's romantic." 

Luke looked at the phone and mentally agreed with Ashton. It did look beautiful, from the photos at least. He just hopes that it's that beautiful in person as well. "Okay, I think I have something in mind."

-

It was now 5 pm, the time that they said they'd meet. 

Luke had told her to dress casual and she seemed kind of confused. Luke sat in the lobby of their hotel and waited for her.

Malaya came out of the elevator dressed in a regular long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black shorts, and sneakers. "Hey." she smiled at Luke who was dressed as casual as her. 

"Hi," Luke couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach as he looked at her, "For casual, you look amazing." 

"Thanks, I try." she snickered. 

The two begin their walk towards the restaurant Ashton had googled hours before. Fortunately for Luke, the reviews and ratings were correct.

The place was quaint but elegant at the same time, the view of the waters was spectacular, and the food was mouthwatering. "Wow, Luke. This is amazing." Malaya said as she stared out into the blue that surrounded the place.

"I'm not gonna lie, but Google brought us here." Luke laughed, and so did Malaya. "So, I really want to get to know you. Like, you." Luke said, looking intently at Malaya.

She gave him a confused look, "Don't you already know me?" 

She didn't understand what he meant by 'get to know you'. They've been talking to each other for the past days of the trip and she has revealed pretty much what everyone knows about her. What did he mean?

"I don't want to be just some other person, Malaya. I wanna know every detail about you." he further explained. Luke didn't just want to know about her favorite color or her pet peeves. He wanted to know about what her fears are and what her biggest dreams are.

Malaya swallowed the lump in her throat. She had a tough exterior, but it was only to protect the delicate person she was hiding inside. She knew that if she were to tell Luke everything, she'd have to reveal that fragile girl she's been keeping inside this whole time.

"Uh, okay." she said, still not too sure about what was going to happen. 

-

It's been about an hour and a half of them sitting in the restaurant, eating and talking. They were on the topic of 'childhood stories'. 

"I grew up in slums of Manila so the games we'd play would be out on the streets," Malaya paused, taking a sip of water, "Something I could never forget was when we were playing water games and we got someone, who was walking on the streets, wet. He literally chased us for 10 minutes." she laughed, Luke laughing along with her.

"Wow, what a childhood you've had." Luke shook his head. He paid the bill and they made their way down to the beach. "I wanted to make sure we got here before it turned too dark." Luke said, both their feet covered in sand.

Malaya instantly took out her camera and started taking pictures of the beautiful blue waters that was laid in front of her. As she walked further away from Luke, he observed her. 

He noticed how happy and content she was just by taking pictures of beautiful sights. She also never went out without her camera. Luke wondered why she had such an attachment to the Olympus camera she always brought around.

Luke saw her kneel down to check the pictures she took. He slowly walked up to her and slyly took a picture of her on his phone. Her dark hair covered her face, but he just wanted a memory from this night. 

They both sat down beside each other, facing the ocean that continued to roar. "Could I ask you a question?" Luke asked her.

"Shoot."

"Why do you bring you camera everywhere?"

Malaya felt her heart drop to her stomach. Every time somebody asked her this, she could never answer. This topic always brought tears to her eyes and this would be revealing her fragile self.

But, it was different this time.

"Uh, my mom was a photographer." she said, her head bowed down. "She used to travel the world to take pictures and she met my dad while she was in the Philippines."

"What happened? Why used to?"

Malaya's eyes started to form tears, "She got diagnosed cancer when I was fourteen." 

Luke's heart started to ache for her. He finally saw the truth behind the wall she built up to protect herself. "She passed away after that. While she was on her death bed, I made a promise to fulfill her dreams by traveling every single part of the world and taking pictures on this camera," she pointed to the camera.

"This was hers. And, to answer the question you kept asking before: My mom left all her savings for me to do this whole travel thing because I made a promise to her." she finished, letting the tears from her eyes roll down her cheeks.

Luke inched closer to her and placed his arm around her to comfort her. He didn't really know how to make things better, he was sort of just awkward like that. "I had an abusive father." he blurted out, thinking it would make her feel better.

Malaya looked at him, not knowing what to say. "He was abusive and my mother was mostly absent. My brothers were too scared to run away, but I wasn't. I found safety in my bandmates. They took care of me the moment I got out of that toxic household." 

She still didn't know what to say, so she just inched even closer to him as he held her. "I'm sorry, I just didn't know how to make things better." he admitted.

"We're both fucked up. I think that counts for something."

-

oofers

im dying from this heat y'all

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- v.d.