Wildflower - {lashton au}

Peony.

Luke felt like an idiot searching for a quick tattoo flash of a gladiolus flower to give the tattoo artist. Eventually he settled on one and gave it to the artist to stencil, but not before he gave Luke an "it's about time" look.

Once the tattoo was done, he was already in love with it. It was on the back of his arm, just above his elbow, and it barely stung. The thing that stuck with him, was that he felt like Ashton was right. Floral designs really fit him, and he honestly felt like a whole new person. As he entered the waiting area, he scanned around looking for the curly headed boy, but couldn't spot him anywhere. He furrowed his brows before waking up to the front desk. "Excuse me," he said the woman, who smiled at him. "Did you happen to see a boy with dark-ish blonde curls in here?"

"Oh, you mean Ashton?" Luke was surprised she knew the boy by name, but nodded to her. "He left about half an hour ago. Was there something you needed from him?"

Luke felt his heart sink. Ashton was really the only person he wanted to show off his tattoo to, and he was gone. He'd probably never see him again. Defeated, he shook his head and thanked the woman once more before leaving the shop.

———

"Show us the ink, Hemmings!"

Luke rolled his eyes but smiled as he dragged his sleeve up to his shoulder and turned around to let his friends see his tattoo. Their first exclamations were that of awe, and he felt himself smile as Crystal asked, "What made you decide to get this?"

Luke turned around to them with his head hung but still smiling. "There was this guy there who started talking to me about what I was getting," he started. "I still hadn't picked something yet, and it also didn't help that someone-" He pointed a look at Calum "-left me to do it all on my own."

"That's our fault, actually," Michael admitted with a guilty expression. "We thought it might be good for you to do something like this on your own. Sorry if it freaked you out or anything."

Luke smiled at his friend's honesty, nodding his head. "I was a bit nervous, but I got over it. Anyway," he continued, "this guy started asking me what I was getting and if I had anything floral tattooed on me and—" He paused, wondering if he should tell his friends about him basically opening him like a book and reading him like poetry, but decided against it. "He suggested this, and I fell in love with it."

"It does look really beautiful, even after a few days," Calum said softly as he pulled Luke's sleeve up again, tracing the line work lightly with his fingertip. "It suits you, I think."

Luke smiled shyly before thanking him, his cheeks tinting a slight pink color. After, the four friends decided to go to Starbucks and get coffee before Michael and Calum go to the gym and Crystal goes to her friend, Bryana's. Luke was planning on just lounging around the house with Petunia all day, which is probably what he'll do when he gets home.

The four joked and carried on for the whole drive, Luke trying insanely hard not to think about the curly headed boy he had mentioned earlier. Luckily, for him, the drive wasn't very far from his home, so he didn't have a lot of time to reflect. The four friends ordered their drinks and started heading toward a table, when Crystal pulled Luke back slightly. "Tell me more about the guy," she said softly, a knowing look in her eyes.

Luke smiled softly, blushing against his will as he looked down at his hands. "He was," Luke started, smiling wider. "Crystal. I can't even describe him. Sometimes I sit back and think that he wasn't real. That's how indescribable this guy was."

Crystal's eyes shone as she smiled at her friend, hooking his arm in hers as they continued walking. "I hope you see him again," she said softly, leaning against his shoulder before breaking away as they got to their table.