the bucket list | lrh

15 - room 207

"We only have one bed?" Valentine had expected it a little, but she was still much too surprised to hide the expression on her face.

"Uh... is that bad?" Luke didn't understand why that could possibly be an issue, but he didn't want to make the girl uncomfortable—per usual.

"Oh... no, I just didn't expect that."

"I'm sorry."

Luke felt awful in that moment. He knew he should've booked a room with another bed, he just didn't know if Valentine would mind it. He didn't expect to have touched the girl so intimately during the concert, and it had slipped his mind that he'd have to deal with it at some point. He kept his head low as he slung his own backpack across the dresser, unzipping it and digging around for his pajamas.

"It's alright," the girl responded, noting the frown that seemed to be etched onto his face. She didn't want him to feel bad, she was just caught off guard. The idea of sleeping close to the man had her head spinning. How could she handle that after nearly dying from his innocent touch earlier? Not to mention, Scout would be absolutely furious had he found out about such a neglected detail. Valentine hated doing things that her father wouldn't approve of, despite being a normal teenager.

Luke wandered into the bathroom to change, and the girl took a moment to examine the room. There was a small counter space with a mini fridge built in, with a microwave she was sure they wouldn't be using atop. The bed was queen sized, so surely there'd be enough room for the two—she just had never been so close to him before the concert, and saying that she was nervous would be an understatement.

When Luke returned she already had her own pajamas in hand. Although, she nearly dropped them when she set her gaze on his outfit.

A plain back tee shirt accompanied by a pair of grey sweatpants. She thought the world was playing tricks on her, because she thought she could spot a confident smirk rested upon Luke's lips as he noticed the way she was staring.

She wasn't hallucinating though, because Luke did notice. Luke could hardly tear his eyes away from her surprised expression. He was beyond confident at the way her mouth hung open a little, and her eyes widened just a tad bit.

"I'm—uh... I'm gonna go change now," she announced, partially to convince herself that she could actually do it without collapsing at the view in front of her.

When she saw her reflection in the mirror, she almost gasped at how exhausted she looked. Dark purple circles had developed beneath her eyes, and her face was more flushed than usual.

"Wow," she mumbled, examining herself for a few seconds before slipping out of her concert clothes and into a pair of grey sweatpants of her own. She felt a little too uncovered in her little pink tank top, but she hadn't brought another shirt to wear to sleep. She didn't expect herself to be sleeping with Luke, of course, so she knew she would just have to make do.

As she hesitantly turned the doorknob and left the small wash room, she felt like she was on full display. It didn't help much that the blonde was nearly gawking at her. She couldn't tell if she was imagining the reaction, and if she was just seeing what she wanted to see.

"Hi," he mumbled, cursing himself mentally at the word that had escaped his lips in a despairing attempt to ease the tension.

"Hey," she smiled back, a little too innocently for Luke to ignore like he'd hoped he could.

He was sprawled out across the length of the bed, and Valentine found herself wishing she had the courage to just jump in next to him. Although the thoughts sounded appealing, she wiped her pure little mind of them because that's Luke Hemmings she's staring at.