Forgiven // l.h. // Book 2 in Bully Series

18. Lost Time

Luke almost won in the argument over whether or not to bring salty or sweet snacks to his room. However, moments after he exclaimed that there was no way I could convince him that chocolate chip cookies and milk are better than potato chips, Liz poked her head in the kitchen and told him the chips were for a recipe and he couldn't have them. Of course, I laughed at him the entire trip up the stairs. It's a wonder I didn't spill the milk I had poured into two large glasses.

"Really? You're still laughing?" Luke complained, pushing the door to his room open and stepping aside to let me in. I set the glasses of milk down on his desk before turning to grin at him.

"Of course I am." I giggled lightly. "Gotta make up for lost time somehow." I added. That seemed to change the tone of the conversation, as Luke set down the package of cookies next to the milk and sat down on his bed. I joined him, plopping down on the end of his full size bed and pulling my legs up from the floor. Immediately I found myself toying with the hems of my pajama pants.

"I guess we start from the beginning, huh?" Luke suggested. I nodded.

"But only mention the important parts. We don't need to go over every trip to the bathroom we made in the past five years." I added, giving him a small smile. Luke laughed, leaning over to grab a glass of milk. He handed it to me before taking the cookies and his own glass from the desk.

"I'll have you know there was this bathroom in Alabama that was almost as big as this house. It even had a section for showers!" He exclaimed, as if it had been the coolest thing ever. I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Only you would be excited about a shower stall in a bathroom you visited once in a foreign country." I chuckled. After a moment where both of us grabbed a cookie and munched, I spoke again. "What was the tour like?" I asked. Luke smiled, and I knew just from that one reaction it had been a great experience for him.

"Fantastic. We were a bit nervous to be meeting the lads from One Direction, but we shouldn't have been. They're all nice." I nodded as he continued. "The audiences were awesome. Mum kept us fed and reminded us to get sleep." I chuckled at that one. Liz was like a mother to all four boys. And me, though I had never said that to anyone.

"Sightseeing and interviews were loads of fun. Though it was a bit hard at first, you know, when they'd ask about girls. I always joked about it, saying no girls ever liked us. Convinced myself it was true as well. I thought you hated me." I frowned, taking a sip of my drink.

"Well, I can certainly say that my first year back in the United States was an interesting one." I said, changing the subject slightly. "Kendra had joined a sorority, and I ended up being her plus one at pretty much every party. Wyatt made trips down to our school fairly regularly because he had a girlfriend there. She was super adorable, but she had to move back home for some reason and they broke up. I took a guitar class and the professor loved me because I was able to help her teach the others how to play. It was a nice year." I said. Luke nodded.

"And the boyfriend?" Luke prompted, looking expectant. I sighed. I had been hoping he wouldn't ask, but I certainly couldn't say I was surprised that he did.

"His name was David. He was in my Chem class and was the reason I didn't pull all of my hair out that first semester. Um, he was sort of a jerk apparently. None of my friends liked him, but he was never mean to me. But it didn't last long after first semester. His ex girlfriend transferred to the school and he was more interested in her than me." I explained. Luke seemed satisfied with my response, as if knowing that none of my friends liked the guy was a great thing. Actually, I knew that's what he thought.

"We put out an album in 2014, and had our first headlining tour the next year. Ash got a girlfriend. Cal had a nude leaked to the world. We had to change our logo because of some dick head company. And we took a break in 2016 for a few months so we could catch up with family. Now we're recording again and are touring again. That's about it." Luke said. I frowned and held up a hand while I finished chewing the cookie in my mouth.