𝙏𝙀𝙈𝙋𝙏𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 • 𝙇𝙍𝙃

33. awkward conversations

the car ride had been mostly silent. luke knew if he connected to bluetooth, falling would be the first song to play, because he had been listening to it on the way to his meeting.

he wasn't ready to give emma the satisfaction of knowing that the song was growing on him, he maybe even liked it. he listened to it frequently, always thinking of her and always smiling like an idiot.

"why are you being so handsy?" emma asked. luke had practically forced her into his car, bidding an apology and short explanation to calum, who promised to call sometime the next day.

luke hadn't released the death grip on her arm for the entirety of the car ride. it didn't hurt, only because he was the one doing it.

"because i'm pissed at you" luke bluntly said.

"you? mad at me?" emma was astounded. "you lied to me about dealing again, and you're mad at me?"

"yes!" luke shouted, finally releasing her arm so he could run his hand through his tousled hair — something that always managed to calm the boy down.

"i lied to protect you," luke placed both hands on the steering wheel, a little on edge considering how their last ride together had ended up. "you can't do this with me anymore, and i know you're too damn stubborn to actually listen to me, so i called for backup"

emma narrowed her eyes. "you didn't"

"oh, i did" luke didn't bother trying to hide the smirk on his face.

"you seriously told ashton on me?"

luke nodded, if anyone was able to get through to emma, it was ashton. or so he thought.

"you realize he's not going to understand the actual problem, right? he's just going to flip shit because i was with you" emma pointed out.

"i called him while you were saying bye to calum, and trust me when i say that we're on the same page"

the phone call started off rocky, with ashton interrogating luke for multiple reasons, though luke was able to spin it around so both boys would put up a unified front — something they haven't done since emma came back into luke's life.

"fuck you" emma groaned, eyes widening at the words that just left her mouth.

"and don't you dare say what i know you want to say, because i know you already did that" emma huffed. luke stared at the girl in pure amusement, he knew just how to get under her skin in the most irritating way possible and he didn't even have to say anything.

"but....i already did that" luke sent her a wink, causing emma to sink down into the seat with an annoyed expression on her face.

"you're irritating as hell, luke hemmings"

"tell me something i don't know, sweetheart"

"actually, you just gave me an idea" emma smiled wide and pulled out her phone.

"and what would that be?"

"you'll see," emma sent a quick text. she noticed a notebook lying on the floor and picked it up. "what is this?" she asked, twirling it around in her hands.

"just a few songs i've been writing, none of them are finished, though" luke softly snatched the book from her hands and tossed it into the back seat, carefully making sure the business card nestled between the pages didn't fall out.

"i didn't know you wrote songs" emma rested her hand under her chin, staring at luke in awe. she was slowly starting to love learning new things about him.