play the game | l.h [on hold]

16. luke hemmings and blake sawyer

LUKE HEMMINGS AND BLAKE SAWYER

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Blake sat at the edge of the soft bed, her feet planted firmly on the ground and her back uncomfortably slouched forward. Her eyes were purely fixated on her phone held limply in her hand as she made a futile attempt to process everything that had happened in the past two days.

I slept with Luke Hemmings.

I then ate breakfast with him the morning after.

I found out he's the person I've been talking to for the past month.

The sound of knuckles against wood echoed through the otherwise silent room, though she didn't move from her idle position. It was as if she was glued down, like she was frozen in place.

"Sawyer?"

It was Myles.

Sighing, she willed herself to stand up. Her tight hold on her phone remained steady as she plodded toward the door, gripping the handle and pulling it open.

"Hey," Myles greeted her as he stood in the hallway.

"Hi," she responded timidly.

The man was quiet for a moment, his eyes scanning over Blake's tired features. "Are you alright?"

Chewing on the inside of her cheek in uncertainty, she slowly nodded her head. "Um — yeah, I'm good. Why?"

Myles shrugged, his demeanor and overall attitude benign — a stark contrast to his usual, blunt (and seemingly rude) inclination. "You seemed off this evening. Not once did you make fun of me."

"Maybe I decided to turn over a new leaf."

"And be nice? To me? That's just not possible for Blake Sawyer."

A small chuckle fell past her lips, as she was grateful for his calm, casual banter. "I'm good, I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

He nodded, not seeming to believe her words but playing along with them nevertheless. "Well, get some rest, alright? We're leaving pretty early in the morning for Birmingham."

"Yeah," she nodded. "You too."

"I'll see you in the morning, Sawyer."

Giving her one last smile, he nodded and turned around to enter his own hotel room. Blake let out a small sigh before shutting the door, leaving her alone once more.

Despite what Myles had told her, she knew that she wouldn't be getting much rest — the past four hours were unbelievably perplexing and her mind was running rampant as she attempted to make sense of it all. The entire show after her and Luke's unexpected meeting was painfully awkward. The girl would catch Luke's eyes searing into her more often than not; over half of the images she took of him, he was focused directly on the camera in her hands — or, the person behind the camera.

•

"Blake?"

Ears perking at the sound of her name ringing through the air, Blake stopped walking and turned around. Luke was standing several feet away, his eyebrows pulled together to create an expression that was unreadable in her eyes.

"Luke, hey," she greeted him casually. Wait — he called me Blake. I never told him that my name's Blake.

"I — I," he stuttered, eliciting a feeling of confusion in the girl.

"Are you alright?" She questioned gently.

He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. She was about to question him again, but he beat her to it. "Sa—Blake, I'm Luke."