One Thousand Songs Later

"Lily?" I heard a voice ask. Someone's hand gently shook me, I groaned and turned over. "Wakey wakey, we're almost in New Jersey," cooed a thick British accent. My eyes flew open.

"Luke?" But I didn't even need to ask, Luke was leaning over me and smiling down at me; he was awake. I sat up and flung my arms around his chest, Luke's breath hitched and his body stiffened; I immediately let go of him.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. Luke rubbed his ribs and winced.

"Fine, it'll just take some getting used to."

"How did you even sit up?" I asked, a little scared just thinking about it.

"Don't worry about me." Luke gave me one of his killer-smiles and all worry slipped away.

"C-can I try hugging you again?" I asked hesitantly. I hadn't had one from him in two months, at least not a proper one. Luke spread his arms out and I gently wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Good?" Luke asked. I chuckled, how I wish I could tell how much I need him, but words can't express what I feel.

"Never better."

When we broke apart, I moved Luke's cart closer to the window and we watched the the rich green hills unfold before us. This was where we'd be staying for the next eight years.

Luke (obviously) could've gone to any college wanted and majored in any department but he's majoring in Math and chose Princeton because I'm going there. I was offered a full scholarship for undergraduate school there; I'm majoring in English. I'm not quite sure if I'm going to stay at Princeton for graduate school or not though. Luke was offered a scholarship for undergraduate and graduate school - not exactly surprising.

"Miss Tomlinson? We've arrived." The co-pilot announced. I grinned and kissed Luke's cheek happily.

Problems arose as soon as we landed. The biggest one was that Luke was obviously in a lot of pain. After a series of protesting and grumbling, I managed to convince Luke to get into a wheelchair, it was too much for him to walk yet. Don't you think that makes since seeing that Kyle broke both of his legs?

Apparently Luke thinks he's superman because he keeps saying he can walk when it's obvious he can't.

The second problem was that we were a bit late to the orientation. Okay a lot late. I didn't realize it was so hard to find a cab with one of those wedges to get a wheelchair inside. And since we're attending a school of overachievers an genius', punctuality is crucial. They probably started like two hours beforehand just to test the new freshman.

The third problem was just the result of being late. All the staff got a bad impression of us and probably think that we're spoiled rich kids that don't appreciate what a great school this is. Everyone was staring at us like we were crazy and I can't blame them, being late is a sign of an unsuccessful life, and that's why we're all here, to be successful.

Luckily, we're in the same building, the "Butler" building. But of course, to make things worse, Luke's dorm is on the highest floor and is literally the farthest away from the elevator.

My room is on the first floor and fortunately, right next to the elevator, but of course, girls aren't allowed on "guy floors" and guys aren't allowed on "girl floors" so I can't visit him. The only reason why I know where Luke's dorm is because we're talking to each other on the phone. Yes, we're that type of couple.

But all went well when one of Luke's roommates (name unknown) offered to help him set up, diminishing my accelerating stress levels. Once we had hung up, I set to work, first getting my bed made and then setting my clothes into the dresser. My roommate seems nice, her name is Hannah and she looks like a Greek Goddess. Wait - I stand corrected, a southern Greek Goddess. Her southern accent is as thick as Luke's British accent.

At dinner, the food would've been good if we could've chosen where we got to sit. For the first two weeks, staff wanted us to sit with the people on our floor to get to know them. The girls were fine, some of them knew me from magazines and we're nice to me, some of them weren't.

I didn't care at all, all I could focus on was that Luke was sitting right next to my first love, Nick. They genuinely seemed like they were having a good time together. Which is what scared me.

I could pick Nick out easily. Even though he had changed, his hair was lighter and he's grown too much for my liking, he was still recognizable; I couldn't say the same for me. I looked nothing like I once was five years ago. Hopefully, that's what will get me through these years. And hopefully, he won't recognize me. I tried not to stare.

"Lily! Come here, I want to introduce you to my roommate!" I heard Luke call. I froze in my seat and squeezed my eyes shut. I could feel two pairs of eyes staring at my back. Could this day get any worse? Seeing there was no way out of this without looking like a complete freak, I slowly turned around and walked over to the boy's table.

"Don't you mean Mildred?" I asked, quickly glancing at Nick's face. He narrowed his eyes at me, I quickly looked back at Luke.

"What are you-"

"I thought we talked about you to stop calling me by my middle name?" I asked, thinking quickly.

"But Lily is your-"

"Middle name." I cut him off short and glanced at Nick again who looked like he was thinking hard. I began panicking, I need to get out of here. "Anyways, I don't feel very well, my - uh - stomach is hurting. It was nice meeting you Nick, but I must go." And with that, I practically sprinted from the dinning hall.

In my dorm, I refused to give anymore thought about Nick and busied myself with organizing all my things. When Hannah came back, things just got worse.

"Hey Lily, who was that cutie you were talking to before you left?" Hannah chirped. I swear it was like my heart stopped.

"Um, the boy with the curly brown hair? That's my-"

"No silly! The one with blonde hair! Do you know if he's seeing anyone? Because I would love to get my hands on a boy like that!"

"Oh, Nick is totally single! I bet he'd be so into you!" I gushed. If they start dating, maybe Nick will forget all about me.

"Can you introduce me?" Hannah asked eagerly.

"Well . . ." I started hesitantly. I was planning on avoiding Nick, not visiting him. "I don't think we're allowed to go on the boys floor."

"Aw come on! I've had enough of goody goodies! Take a chance!" Hannah grabbed my hands and dragged me to the stairs.

"Stop Hannah! Please!" I begged as she dragged me up the stairs to the fourth floor. Damn this women is stronger than she looks.

"You can't be a scaredy cat all your life! You need to break a few rules to grow up!"

"I have broken rules before! I just really don't want to-"

"Lalalalala." Hannah sang as she now carried me to the end of the hallway to the last room. How did she even know what room it was?

"No! Stop!" I lunged for Hannah's hand as she held her hand up to knock on their door, but much to my horror, it opened. Nick's eyes widened at Hannah but then his eyes flickered over to me. I suddenly had an urge to lock my eyes down on my green converse.

"Who is it Nick?" I heard Luke call from inside.

"It's Mildred." I said stiffly. Hannah gave me a weird look, I glared at her, daring her to question me.

"Lily?" Luke asked. I heard a bang from inside the room and I pushed past Nick to see if Luke was okay.

Luke was sprawled across the floor, a foot away from his wheel chair. I couldn't help but smile a little, despite his uncomfortable (possibly painful) position, he had tried to see me. I hurried to help him back up into the chair. The next thing I knew was that Nick was helping me and I was glaring at him.

"Come to give me a goodnight kiss?" Luke said cheekily.

"Actually, I wanted to introduce you to my roommate, Hannah." I gestured to Hannah who was standing at the door.

"Hey ya'll." She said, even though her gaze was fixed on Nick. Nick had a blank expression on his face but made an effort to mutter a small 'hi'.

"This's Luke." I said and patted his shoulder and glanced at Nick. "And that's Nick."

"Nice to meet you." Hannah gave a charming smile that should've made Nick's eyes glaze over but he looked at her like she was something out of the dumpster.

"Anyways, it was nice seeing you again, sorry about barging in." I said nervously, paused and looked at at Nick who's expression had became stone-hard. I turned my attention back to Luke. "I'll see you at breakfast." I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before shakily walking out of the room.

"So maybe we could eat together-" Hannah began, staring at Nick, licking her lips.

"That's against the rules." Nick said curtly, curling his lip with disgust.

"Yeah, maybe another time-"

"Bye Hannah." Nick said rudely before slamming the door in her face. As Hannah and I descended down the stairs, I quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry that Nick treated you so badly."

"Are you kidding? It went amazingly! Besides, guys always try to come off hard to get, all I have to do is flirt with another guy and Nick will be putty in my hands." Hannah said confidently.

"I don't know . . . " I said worriedly.

"And even if he's not interested, there's plenty of fish in the sea, right?"

"There's only one fish for me." I muttered as we entered our dorm.

"So tell me about how you and Luke met!"

"We met at middle school."

"Aww, that's so sweet that you're still together." I smiled a little.

"Well we've only been together officially for half a year but we've known each other for a while."

"I wish my boyfriend had come to Princeton with me." Hannah said sadly.

"What happened?"

"H-he joined the army."

"Hannah, I'm so sorry!" I rushed to hug her.

"It's fine, I - I guess I should've seen it coming. All of his family has been in the military."

"What's his name?"

"Trent."

"How long have you been dating?"

"We're not anymore - we broke up on graduation day."

I pierced my lips. How terrible!

"But I'm over it, I'm moving on already." Hannah said uncertainly, like she didn't believe her own words.

"You may be physically but maybe not mentally." I said gently. Her expression hardened.

"No. I am. In fact, I'm going to ask Nick out right now!" Hannah sprang from her bed and swung open the door.

"Wait what?" My eyes widened.

"Don't worry, you don't have to come. It will only take a minute."

"Are you sure?" I asked slowly.

"Positive. Wish me luck!" She called before running up the stairs.

"Hannah, I don't think this is such a good idea." I warned.

"It'll be fine!"

Hannah, please come back down!" I pleaded.

No reply.

Should I go upstairs? I thought. No way, I thought. I'm not facing Nick. I'll just have to wait this one out.

I made my way back to my dorm and tried preoccupying myself with hanging up pictures on my walls but my mind wandered to a certain someone located three stories above.

Before I knew it, I could hear the sounds of feet hitting the stairs and giggling ringing in the hallways. I held my breath as I watched the stairway from my doorway. Eventually, Hannah came in sight, grinning ear to ear, clutching some's arm - Nick. His thin lips were spread in a smirk, something I've never seen written across his face before but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

His hazel eyes flickered in every single direction, like he was urgently searching for something. Although Hannah was grasping Nick's arm like he was a priceless piece of jewelry, Nick didn't look like he enjoyed being held in such a way. Nick's eyes settled on mine and I gulped.

Is there a chance that he doesn't recognize me? I thought hopefully. Ha, yeah right. Nick's mouth opened and it looked as if he was going to walk over here.

"Come on Nick!" Hannah said cheerfully and pulled him towards the entrance. I sighed in relief when I heard then exit the building.

I got up from my bed and peered out the window. I could see Hannah happily blabbering away, most likely about her hometown in Alabama. Nick kept looking back, scanning through all the windows on he first floor. I closed the curtain and tried calming my abnormal breathing.

Sleep. I thought. Sleep will help.

I walked over to my dresser and opened the fresh-smelling wooden drawers. I smiled when I saw the familiar gray t-shirt that spelled out 'Holmes Chapel'. I changed quickly, brushed my teeth, and climbed into bed.

The bed wasn't quite as comfortable as mine in England but it was still better than the floor. England. That's where Eleanor and Louis are right now. They're probably having breakfast with Leo; without me. I thought back to when I had last seen them.

Was it really yesterday? It feels like a year ago. So much has happened today.
1. Luke is pretty much paralyzed, I would say he will be able to do things on his on in about a month
2. Nick is here
3.^^
Number two is what's stressing me out the most.

What's really bad is that Nick and I are probably going to have all of our classes together because we're both majoring in the English department.

I haven't thought much about Nick in the last two months, Luke was what was always on my mind. I'm not the slightest bit worried about old feelings resurfacing, I'm concerned that Nick might have some resentment for me and he'll hurt me through my education or through Luke.

Luke has always been careful not to ask me about my past, which I'm completely fine with. But now, it looks like I'm going to have to tell him to avoid misunderstandings and awkward situations. Knowing him, he'll find a way to make Nick and I comfortable, he's always been good at solving people's problems.

I laid stiffly in bed, like it was a bed of nails. Be strong Lily, I told myself, this is just the beginning. But I knew What I needed to do.

Sighing, I tossed aside my duvet and opened the door. I sluggishly made my ways up the stairs and walked hesitantly down the boy's hallway. This is stupid, I though. I shouldn't be nervous about this. He's my boyfriend!

Because he reminded you of Nick, said a sly little voice in my head.Shut up, I told that voice.

I composed myself before knocking on the door. Only then did I realize that Luke would have to get up to unlock it. Shit! Shit! Shit! I swore, thinking back to only fifteen minutes prior when Luke had fallen out of his wheelchair in a sweet attempt to see me. Fortunately, I heard him utter, "Its unlocked."

I twisted the nob and carefully stepped inside.

"You can turn the lights on." Luke said as I stumbled aimlessly in the dark. I could hear muffled laughter in the distance as I tripped over something.

"Oh hush." I mumbled as I staggered forward, taking timid steps with my arms stretched in front of me. "Finally." I sighed in relief when I felt his bed and hurriedly sat down.

"So, any particular reason that you came to see me? You're not exactly a rule breaker." Luke teased.

After a long pause, I finally had the courage to say, "I wanted to talk about Nick."

"Go on."

"I know him."

"I could tell."

"Really?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"For starters, I never actually told you Nick's name and you knew it. Also you keep nervously glancing at him."

"You noticed?"

"I noticed that you're cute when you're worried." I smiled and closed my eyes, Luke was nothing less than perfect. "So how do you know each other?"

"We met at camp."

"We're you enemies or something?" Ha, I wish. I shifted so that I was lying next to Luke, his arms around my shoulders.

"We liked each other."

"Oh." I quickly began to explain.

"What happened was Nick was under the interpretation that I liked someone else and he broke everything off with me even though we weren't actually together. And then you came along and I-"

"Lily, it's okay, I know you love me and whatever went on between you to, we can fix it. Together."

"Your not mad?" I asked uncertainly.

"Have I ever been mad at you?"

"No."

"Then why would this be any different?" I sighed.

"I don't know, maybe because I was scared that I was going to lose you again and-"

"Your not going to loose me." I glanced up at him. Even though I couldn't clearly see him, I could see a distinctive outline of his face.

"I just don't want my past relationships to cause you any stress because you're undergoing a lot of physical pain and it's going to be hard for you."

"I don't care that I may be immobilized for the rest of my life, I care that my girl feels comfortable and happy."

"But-"

"Lily, it's okay, I love you and that's all that matters. Remember what I said to you on our first date?" I thought about it, when was our first date? It feels so long ago. "I said that you can run farther and faster than anyone across the earth but if our Love is true, it will find you. Well I still think that now."

"How are you so perfect?" I asked and pecked his lips.

"You make me act like this."

"Oh really?" I grinned.

"Yes, now please, can we go to bed?"

"Yes. Goodnight Luke."

"Goodnight Lily."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Notes

Finally! It's over! God this chapter is so cheesy! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my story, but please, please read my story Manners which I will be posting a new chapter soon.