Just Ask - Luke Patterson x Reader

Just Ask

She stared at the blank word document on the screen in front of her Her eyelids began to droop, gaze blurring parts of the screen. There was supposed to be a 1500 word essay on The Civil War sitting in front of her, but she could barely keep her eyes open to type on the keys. She reached for her coffee mug, pressing it to her lips.

She had stayed up all night making last-minute edits to her brother's posters that she designed for his band's show on Friday. Although she loved helping her brother and stretching her creative skills, she wasn't aware that she'd end up taking on all their social media planning, graphic design and general marketing work when she said yes. She never asked for any payment, but right now she wished she had the monetary encouragement to push her along toward the finish line.

She set her coffee back down on the side table and moved her fingers back to their positions on the keyboard. A new message popped up on the side of her computer, and she sighed deeply before clicking on it. It was the family group chat. Her mom was reminding everyone of her doctor's appointment that afternoon, of course following that up by asking for requests for what everyone wanted for dinner. As a two-time breast cancer survivor, her mother was acutely aware of abnormalities and often went to the doctor to get the clear quickly after the signs showed. However, she was also hard-headed and never wanted to dwell on the conversation. She wrote a short reply of encouragement and minimized the chat.

Her hands moved to her eyelids as she closed them briefly, applying pressure to them and rubbing circles over them. Her mom had reassured her earlier that morning that she was sure it was nothing, that she was just going to get that verified, but Y/N couldn't help but think of the worst. Flashes of her mother in that hospital bed sleeping, tubing winding through her mouth, and her nose as Y/N held her hand by her side passed through her mind. She shook her head, trying to snap herself back into the present. She pulled up the word document again and started typing.

She heard the band file into the room, shouting their own personal greetings at her. She rose a hand to wave at them and then continued typing. She felt the couch sink next to her, a familiar smell of patchouli and aftershave wafting around her. She looked up to see Luke's smiling face focused on her.

"Oooh, she's BUSY today!" He said with a smile, pretending to type by pressing his fingertips into her thigh.

She rolled her eyes at him, removing his hand from her skin. "Yeah, and she'd loveeee if a certain guitarist could let her get to it!"

He clutched his chest, a fake look of hurt spread across his face. She pursed her lips together, concealing her growing smile. He held her gaze for a few more seconds before he finally rose his hands to the sky in defeat, raising to stand in front of her.

"You got it, boss!" He saluted to her, causing her to let out a muffled laugh.

She watched as the musicians took their spots on their makeshift stage. Luke and Julie began to run vocal warmups together. She couldn't help but smile at how seriously he took every second of rehearsal. He was already bouncing on his tiptoes as he sang, his cheeks starting to regain that red color that grew every time he performed. She had to force her eyes to retreat, zeroing in on her laptop again.

She started to write a few sentences before her fingers halted again. She pretended not to see the way her wrists were shaking. She lifted them, rotating them back and forth before grabbing her coffee mug again. She shot the rest of the glass back, setting the mug back in its spot. She moved her neck in circles and rolling her shoulders back and forth, trying to shake the caffeine's effect on her growing anxiety.

She normally stayed away from coffee and soda because it caused her normal anxious tendencies to elevate, but she had no choice today. She knew that Reggie, Julie and the boys would probably have edits for the poster she designed that'd she'd need to get done early tonight so they could print them in time. That meant that she had to squeeze her homework in now or it'd never get done.