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Pretty Girls ⇼ Luke Hemmings

Brains and Eyeballs.

“Have you ever been to the Harn Museum of Art?” I blurted out as Luke and I ate lunch, in hope to reignite the conversation. “I used to go with my parents. We’d come all the way up here just to look at some paintings. I used to hate it, but now I wonder if I’d have a better appreciation for it now that I can understand the hard work and back stories.”
“No. I haven’t. Thought about it, though. I didn’t want to go alone, and the boys wouldn’t go with, so…” his voice trailed off, his shoulders hiking up in a shrug.
“Oh. It’s lovely. You should really go.” Luke nodded, dragging a hand across his neatly shaved chin. His eyes scanned the cafeteria before shifting back to me. “I just thought, since you like art so much, that you’d appreciate it.” His lips pulled into a smile.
“Would you go with me?” he asked, lightening my mood. As many times as he told me that he wanted to be alone with me today (and yesterday, and tomorrow), he still couldn’t help taking me out. Maybe he really was changing. Maybe everything would be alright after all.
“I would love to.” I smiled.

“Today?” he asked, becoming excited. It reminded me of a young child. The way he was so ecstatic and on the edge of his seat.
"I have to study for my finals, we already took the day off yesterday to see my family." I giggled and he shrugged, trying to seem subtle but ultimately failing. He didn’t have any finals—he was strictly sticking around for me, hanging out with me while I studied for my Bio and Art History final that were both schedule the night after Luke left. His plane left around 9am, and we planned for me to come with to drop him off. Then, I’d do some last minute studying, to make up for the time lost, until 7pm. The next morning, mom and dad were due to pick me up and take me home at 10.
"You can study tonight. Come on, we only have today and tomorrow. Make the most of that time with me." It saddened me—the way he so desperately wanted to spend time with me, doing anything and everything. “What if we take the bus and you study on the way there? I won’t bother you, I swear.” He mouthed a please, trying not to seem clingy or persistent. I couldn't possibly reject his offer.

All he wanted to do was turn back time, to make our previous lazy afternoons worth something; to give me something to hold onto before he left; to present memories that would never leave my brain no matter how hard I forced them out.
“Okay.” I promised, gathering my things quickly, at the expense of his impatience. "Let's go." Nearly jumping out of his seat, he grabbed my hand and walked toward the door at a fast pace. I couldn't ignore the feeling I had. Deep inside my stomach, tingling. Ticking. Like a bomb was about to go off inside me.

When the bus came, we boarded and Luke paid my fare. He guided me to a seat in the back, sitting so close that our legs were touching. He didn't seem to notice, though. I did. I wanted more than anything to reach over and set my hand on his thigh, like I have seen girls do to their boyfriends. Is that the normal thing to do? There was a couple sitting a few seats in front of us, her head was set on his shoulder, his hand on her upper thigh, and they were speaking quietly. Maybe we could do that. If our time together wasn’t running out, I would. I’d take the risk and show the public display of affection. Then again, he’s only ever held me in front of his friends. He’s never shown me much affection in front of strangers. I couldn’t possibly face the rejection of him not wanting to hold me right now. As much as I wanted him to, I had to respect his boundaries. And; as always, if we hadn’t fought yesterday, I’d be much more comfortable leaning into his touch. But fighting, for us, is inevitable.

I wonder how he’d react. If I just set my head on his shoulder. Would he pull away? Or accept it? Perhaps I should take a less subtle approach. Like touching his arm. Or accidentally touch his leg. I took a deep breath, staring at the ink stained into his skin. Delicately reaching over, I ran my finger over one. He looked at the patterns my fingers traced, seeming unphased. He leaned over and pressed a kiss on my forehead, his fingers interlacing with mine. His grip didn’t leave mine the entire ride. We didn’t talk much, he only stared out the window, his thumb running over the back of my hand until we reached our bus stop and he led me off.

As we waited in line, he glanced down at our intertwined hands and pulled me closer to him. His arm draped over my shoulders. I closed my eyes, trying to forget that he was leaving soon. When I opened them, he was smiling and paying our admission, leading me down a hallway and to one of many exhibit rooms. I admired him as he stopped to watch a painting. His head crooked momentarily before straightening as he crossed arms.

“What are you looking at?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but it’s wonderful!” He glanced at me with enthusiasm in his eyes. “Just look at it, Valerie!” he exclaimed, pulling me so I stood in front of him, his chin settling on the top of my head. “The-the colour scheme! And how it secretly portrays—Wow.” He breathed, staring at. “I love it.” He turned to me. “Don’t you love it?” he inquired.
“It’s wonderful.” I nodded. “Lovely… Beautiful.” But I was really staring at him. I could care less about the painting. He was the most beautiful work of art I’ve ever seen and I don’t want him to leave me.

***

“Luke, where are we going? The bus stop is over there.” I asked, but he only laughed, pulling me alongside him. When he noticed me struggling to keep up with his long legs, he slowed his pace and snaked an arm around my waist. His hand slipped into my back pocket as he gave my ass a gentle squeeze. I couldn’t help but laugh, gently swatting his arm. It amazed me how we were walking on eggshells earlier today and now, his hands were all over me and we were laughing.
“I thought that… Well, since we’re already out-um-” he stopped, sighing as we crossed the street.
“What?” I asked with a small laugh. He’s never been one to shy away.
“I just wanted to take you on a spontaneous date. So you’re not allowed to know where we’re going.” His voice was rushed and mumbled as his speed picked back up and he led me down the street. We were walking for what seemed like forever until finally stopping in front of a large building. Luke took his bottom lip between his teeth, swaying back and forth on his feet and waiting for me to react.

“An arcade?” I wasn’t sure what he wanted to do here, but gave him a bright smile anyways. I didn’t want to discourage his efforts, so I leaned further into his touch as we walked into the crowded building.
“We’re going rollerblading.” He grinned, pulling me to the back of the building where the rink was.
“I don’t know how to rollerblade!” I laughed, but followed him to the desk anyways.
“Me neither.” He turned suddenly, causing me to stop dead in my tracks so I wouldn’t bump into him. “But that’s what makes it fun.” The smile returned on his face as he rented rollerblades for us and led me to a table where we set our things. He helped me take off my shoes and replaced them with the skates before putting his own on. He held onto my hands, easing me forward as he moved backwards.

His movements were slow and calculated, stopping once we reached the edge of the rink.
“Are you ready?” he called over the music, stepping into the rink and pulling me closer.
“I’m going to die!” I laughed, my legs wobbling as Luke pulled me with him. My eyes were glued to my feet, nervously watching them in attempt to focus. I chewed on my lip, my brow furrowed. Luke’s movements were smooth, one leg sliding back before the other followed. I kept my knees locked, allowing Luke to move me effortlessly. There was a loud pop song playing through the speakers, bright lights flashing around, and kids zooming past us.
“Move your legs!” Luke encouraged, glancing down to see my resistance. He skated to a stop, moving behind me and setting his hands on my waist.

“Come on, Val!” He laughed.
“I’m scared!” My voice was high-pitched, not wanting to wipe out on the hard floor.
“I’ve got you baby. Come on. Left, right-” I followed his orders, slowly sliding my feet forward. My legs were shaking. Despite Luke’s firm grip on me, I still felt like I could fall any second.
“Why do we have to use the ones with the wheels in a line? I can’t balance on these!” Luke laughed, shaking his head.
“You’ve got it, baby. You’re doing great.” He picked up the pace a bit. “I’m letting go now-” he warned, but I cut him off.
“No! Luke don’t-” He ignored me, releasing his grip. “Luke!” I screamed, flailing my arms. I was about to lose my balance and fall face forward, when Luke whizzed past me, spinning around to face me and grabbing my arms, steadying me.

“I thought you didn’t know how!” I complained, swatting his chest before immediately grabbing back onto him. He laughed, his thumb rubbing into my skin.
“I may have… stretched the truth. It’s been a while.” I gaped at him, shaking my head.
“You lied!” He continued to move backwards with me, pulling me in circles around the rink.
“My mum used to take us rollerblading all the time,” he shrugged, his face tinging pink. “Then, she got remarried and never had the time anymore.”
“How old were you?” I asked.
“God, I must’ve been 11 or 10… So Tiff was like 6 and Simon was 13ish.” He sighed, glancing at a passing family. “She used to let us bring our friends and we’d get nachos and then have a huge sleepover at our house.” Luke spun around, skating to the side of me and allowing me to hold onto his arm.

“She used to be great at those,” he said, looking down at me. “Sleepovers,” he clarified. “We’d have themes. Like, I don’t know… Scary stuff. And she’d peel grapes and make spaghetti, telling us that they were brains and eyeballs, and put on horror movies before we went to sleep.” He was smiling, staring forward and leading us in a curve. “And in the morning, she’d make a shit ton of pancakes to pig out on for breakfast.”
“It sounds like some parts of your childhood were happy.” I wasn’t sure if he realized this. If he knew that there was a time when he was happy with his family life.
“Yeah,” he sighed, pulling me to the side of the rink and helping me step up. “We were all so much better off before mum married Rick.” We sat back at our table, Luke slowly helping me to sit before moving next to me.

“Luke?” I asked, my voice quiet as he drummed on the table with his thumbs. “What happened with you and your mom?” I wasn’t sure if he’d answer me. The only person he ever talked about was his father and, even then, we only spoke briefly. All I knew about his mom was that she had three kids (including Luke) and was on her second husband.
“We were so happy, the four of us—me, my brother, my sister, and mum. Then when I was 15, she married Rick. It was like we suddenly didn’t matter anymore. And Rick was always so fucking mean to us. He’d hit us if we said the wrong thing or ground us for months if we didn’t do our chores. That’s when I started smoking cigarettes. To ease the pain, I guess. Then I met the boys when I was 16 and saw how fucking happy their families were and it fucked with me. And back then, we didn’t give a damn about anything. I started doing drugs and drinking and Rick kicked me out because Tiff needed a good influence.” He paused, pushing his hair out of his face in frustration.

“I was living in Ashton’s basement for two years and I’d work at a diner with my mom after school. It was the only way I’d get to see her. I’d tell her how bad I wanted to leave this town and never fucking come back. She’d cry, so I’d stay. Ashton was done with school at the time, so I’d always skip to hang out with him. It’s a miracle I graduated. And when I did, I knew it was my chance to leave. The boys and I all got in here and we decided to come out. Tiffany was so angry when I told her. She was only 13, and I was leaving. She told me she hated me and never wanted to see me again. Rick and Simon didn’t give a shit. Simon was too busy doing drugs of his own, Rick never really cared about me in the first place. And mum? She wouldn’t look me in the eye. She’s the only one I’ve talked to in the past three years. Simon and Rick don’t care enough to pick up the phone, and Tiff is still angry.” I was shocked by his admission, but didn’t know what to say.

“So, I haven’t been back. No one wants me there.” He finished, staring at the wooden table.
“I’m sure that’s not true-” I began, but he only cut me off.
“That’s why I need to go back.” He finally looked at me. “I abandoned them just like my dad, and I need to make it right.” He grabbed my hands, bringing them up to his lips. “You showed me that I could be loved. I just want to be loved by them again.” I set my hand on his cheek, giving him a reassuring smile.
“They never stopped loving you,” I told him, meaning it with every fiber in my body. “I’m sure they can’t wait to see you.” He gave me a small smile, pulling out of my grip.
“Only my mum knows I’m coming. I wanted to surprise Tiff and Simon.”
“That’s amazing, Luke. I know they’ll love it.” He pulled me close, his arm draping around my shoulders as he kissed my forehead.

“They didn’t think I could do it—College, I mean. They didn’t think I’d make it this far. Hell, neither did I. I was too busy getting in fights and doing coke these past two years, that I’m so behind in credits. But I’m here still, and this term is going really well. I used to believe them when they said I’d be back, but now I don’t. I think I can graduate college and do what I really want to do. And that’s all because of you. You helped me realize that I can do this.” He squeezed my hand looking down at me. “Thank you.” Again, he kissed my forehead, his breathing heavy and his heart beating fast. “What do you say we get some nachos and get out of here?” he asked and I laughed, nodding.

Notes

Comments

I've just read this story in about 24 hours and all I can say is Oh My God! How have you written something (and someone) so perfect?

Lois22 Lois22
5/30/19

urgh I love this

Prinny1321 Prinny1321
5/29/19

@Alisha_PArrish101love
Arrogant Boys!!!

Can you tell me what the next One will be called please?

@Prinny1321
I promised I would finish it, and I'm finishing it!