we belong together | luke hemmings ✓

xiv.

WE BELONG TOGETHER,
CHAPTER FOURTEEN

IT HAD BEEN a few months since Finn moved in, and he had finally secured a place of his own. Honestly, Luke was grateful. It wasn't that he didn't like having Finn around, he did, he just didn't particularly like having him around all the time. There were times he wanted to be completely alone with Zain, and he couldn't exactly do that with Finn around.

Currently, Zain was helping Finn to move, and then they had a meeting with their management. Zain hadn't told Luke what the meeting was about, just that it was important. In the meantime, Luke decided to go out with Juliet and Daisy. That would distract him from worrying at the very least. Besides, it would be nice to spend time with other people that weren't his band mates or Zain and his band mates. Surprisingly, Gina decided to come along with them as well.

"I love Zain, don't get me wrong, but it's nice to hangout with just you sometimes", Juliet said as they browsed the clothing racks.

Juliet was Zain's best friend, er best girl friend that is, so the sentiment surprised Luke, but it made him smile all the same. He was glad when people liked to spend time with him. "It's nice spending time with you too", Luke grinned. "Zain doesn't really like shopping much - unless it's sunglasses and jackets. He loves that."

"Men", Daisy said flatly, causing Luke to laugh.

"Tell me about it", he snickered. "If I didn't dress him, he'd be a lost soul."

"Honestly, how do they survive without us?", Daisy laughed. "Noah is completely hopeless on his own. It's ridiculous!"

"Not me, I'm a lesbian. Y'all stay safe though", Juliet smiled brightly.

Luke noticed that Gina wasn't really speaking, and nudged her gently with his shoulder - enough to get her attention but not enough to startle or alarm her. "You're being pretty quiet. Is everything okay with you?"

"Oh, yeah!", Gina reassured with a smile. "I just don't know how much you're comfortable with me chiming in on the conversation when it revolves around Zain."

Luke shook his head. "You're free to say whatever you want, Gina, it's not going to hurt my feelings!", he reassured. "I know we both dated Zain, but there's no hard feelings, and anything you have to say is valid."

Gina found herself smiling again. "No wonder he fell so deeply in love with you - and then did it all over again. You're too kind for this world." She patted his shoulder. "You're a really good person, Luke. I mean that."

The meeting had been quite draining on Zain, whether he wanted to admit it or not. You could see it in his eyes. He walked into his apartment with his head and shoulders hung low. It was basically their apartment now. Luke was always staying over. Zain made his way into the bedroom, where Luke was hanging up the new clothes he'd bought. With a sigh, Zain made his way over to Luke and pulled him into his arms so that his chest was pressed to Luke's back and his arms were wrapped tightly around the blonde's middle. He dropped his head onto Luke's shoulder, breathing in his scent. Feeling Luke, knowing he was there, always made him feel better - safe, sane, seen.

Luke leaned into his touch, but frowned in concern. "What's wrong, baby?", he asked gently. "I can practically feel your stress."

It was more like depression. Thick, crippling depression that weighed him down despite the thirst for adventure and the hope for something new bubbling under the surface. "The band broke up. New Dawn is dead", Zain answered, his voice muffled by Luke's shoulder.

"What? Why?", Luke asked in confusion. "I thought-"

"Finn can't stand to look at Blake. I'm surprised he forgave me with the way that he feels, but I guess maybe he felt like that was a worse betrayal", Zain mumbled. "And I think that I should keep my distance from Blake as well, at least while our relationship is so new and fresh. It was causing too much strain. And honestly, I think we were just beginning to outgrow everything. We've been together since we were kids. That was great, but now we're starting to want different things musically."

Luke frowned a little. He wondered if Zain was actually as okay with this as he was pretending to be. He knew from experience that if they really wanted to, they could release music individually while they remained a band if they really wanted to. This was a purposeful split. "How do you feel about everything?"

"Honestly? I'm a little sad, but this doesn't mean I won't get to see the boys again. What it does mean is that now I get to find new management that cares about me and my wellbeing, where I can release whatever kind of music that I want. Tour was nice, sure, but doing it all the time was exhausting. I get time to myself now, finally. I get to spend time with you, and only you. So, I guess it's bittersweet, but I know that, ultimately, I'll be much happier in the long run. Nothing is changing much and yet everything is changing all at the same time. Isn't that funny? Life is so strange."

Luke chuckled, turning in Zain's arms so that they were facing each other. "Yes, I suppose life is strange, isn't it? Everything changes, and yet everything stays the same." He kissed Zain gently before resting his head against his chest. "You and me though? We're a good change. I'm happy about this change, and I'm glad to call you mine."

"You're so sappy", Zain teased. "But I'm glad to call you mind too, even if the rest of the world can't understand it. You make me so beyond happy. I know that I fucked Jo extremely bad before, but I'm glad you gave me the chance to make up for it - to be a better man. I don't know what I would do without you, without us. I was just existing before I met you - existing and nothing else."

Luke kisses the top of Zain's head before resting his chin atop his hair. As Zain listened to his heartbeat and Luke familiarized himself with his boyfriend's scent and touch, he couldn't help but to think that maybe they would be okay after all.

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023
POPPY SPEAKS !
while i was writing this chapter i watched this movie called Stockholm, Pennsylvania and that shit was wild from start to finish and then it immediately went to Reviving Ophelia, which is apparently based on a single chapter from a psychologist's novel called Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls which was slightly less wild but still wild and eye opening (pretty sure the guy who played Jesse in My Babysitter's A Vampire is in it) so i had a pretty interesting night LOL.