Rejects // Punk Luke Hemmings

Epilogue

<Luke's POV>

I rolled the paintbrush between my forefinger and thumb, contemplating what I was going to paint. "Can I do something really cheesy?" I asked quietly as an idea popped into my head and a smile grew on my mouth.

"Sure," Kara laughed, a sound that I would hear for the rest of my life if I could. Nodding, I realized what my idea would entail, and I felt my face heat up. "What is it? You're blushing..."

"Well... I wanted to paint something on your shoulders..." I mumbled.

"Well you've seen me in a sports bra before, Luke. Why would that be embarrassing?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"No, I meant I wanted to paint something in the same place I have my tattoo," I clarified.

"Oh..." Her cheeks reddened as she realized what that meant.

"If you don't want me to paint it there, I can do it somewhere els-"

"It's fine. I don't mind. I feel comfortable enough with you that I can have a bra on without the straps," she laughed.

"If you're fine with it, then I guess I'll paint on your back then," I chuckled and nodded.

"Alright then." Kara reached down and pulled the hem of her shirt up and over her head. I sucked in a small breath, holding it as she smiled up at me and sat down on her bed, facing away from me. She then slid the thin gray straps off her shoulders and made sure her hair was secured in a bun. "Go for it whenever," she cooed.

I took a deep breath and picked up the pallet she'd given me, along with a few tubes of extra paint. I situated myself behind her, and close enough to the edge of the bed that I could reach the cup of water sitting on her bedside table. Then I went to work.

Picking a yellow-orange paint, I started on her left shoulder. It took a little while, and there were many shivers on her part from the cold paint, but soon I'd finished the sun.

I followed suit then, painting each planet in order. When I finished about two hours later, most of the paint I'd gotten was gone and I was happy with the finished product. Granted, it was messier than what Kara had done on me. And instead of the planets starting on top of her shoulders and curving down in the middle, they started on the backs of her shoulders and sloped up in the center so that the Earth and moon rested on her spine just below the nape of her neck. But all in all, I smiled at what I'd done.

"Finished," I murmured in her ear, kissing the base of her throat gently. I was careful to avoid the still-wet paint on her skin though.

"How did you sit through that while I was painting on you?" She let out a laugh. "It was so ticklish!!"

"Guess I'm just made of stronger stuff," I replied playfully. If it were up to me, I could've stayed with her like that for eternity. And no, it wasn't because she was practically exposed before me, though that was a bit distracting. But the feeling of this moment, the emotions that ran over our skin, transferred from one to the other like electricity, it was astonishing. Captivating.

I had never been more in love with anyone than I was right then.

Sitting there on her white comforter, I was at peace. The early twilight streamed in through her lace curtains and dappled her smooth, flawless skin, and I knew then that she was the girl I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. This was the girl who had taken my heart, cutting through thorn bushes and walking over glass to reach it. Then she had mended it, and placed it on a pedestal, one that only she could ever reach.

"Luke..." She breathed, turning her head so her cheek was pressed against my hair. My lips were still peppering her skin with soft kisses, and I felt goosebumps rise at the contact.

I wanted to treat her so much better than I'd ever be able to, but that doesn't mean I couldn't try to show her how much she means...

"I love you Kara," I mumbled against her shoulder.

"I know Luke. I love you too," she chuckled.

"No. You don't realize what you mean to me." I lifted my head, placing a hand on her cheek to turn her eyes toward me. "I would give you whatever you wanted if it were in my power. I would tear down a city for you. Hold up the sky, drain the oceans, anything you ask for or want, I will do my best to get it. I swear." Tears sprung to her eyes as she placed her forehead on mine, and I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.

"Luke, you know what I want? What I'll only ever want?" She whispered. I nodded and she finished her thought. "You. I only want you. And I think that's the only thing you can ever truly give me."

"Then take me. Take my heart and my soul and whatever else you want, because you're the only one who's ever really had a purpose for it. You're the only one who has gone after it."

And with that, she closed the gap between our lips, and though the contact was hardly even there, I'd never been so breathless.

Instead of letting her pull back, as I could tell she was going to, I wrapped an arm around her bare waist and pulled her onto my lap. She turned her body so it was facing mine, and placed her delicate hands on either side of my face.

I felt her smile against my mouth as she let her hands trail down my sides, coming to rest at my waist. I knew what she was going to do before she did it, and broke off to let her tug my shirt up and over my head. We both froze for a moment, realizing this was the farthest we'd gotten before. I gave her a questioning look as I tucked a stray piece of black hair behind her ear, to which she nodded slightly.

I smiled and kissed her again, letting my hands rest on her lower back. I could've cried, because this moment, no matter what I did to try and delay it, would end sooner or later, never to be repeated. The lighting would be different, or we'd be older than we are now, whatever the reason, this wouldn't happen again. So I tried to keep myself together and let it happen the way it was going to happen.

She pushed her fingers into my hair, whispering against my lips briefly. "Can you take a picture of the paint before it gets too messed up? I might need it for reference..."

I chuckled and nodded. She stood and grabbed her camera quickly before handing it to me and turning around. I turned it on, letting the auto-focus clear the image of her back before pressing the button under my finger. There was a soft click before it displayed the image on the screen.

"Would you like to see it?" I murmured, kissing beneath her ear as she nodded. I placed the camera in her hand and watched as she looked at it for a long time, scrutinizing every detail of the artwork on her skin.

She inhaled deeply, turning to look at me with those bright hazel eyes of hers. She smiled delicately, the slight dimple in her left cheek showing just a bit.

"I'm going to keep this forever," she promised mischievously.

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A/N

There it is. The final part of this book. There will be no more from 'Rejects' and now I get to start prewriting for 'Losers' and I'm really excited for it. I also get to go back to my other stories that I've totally neglected!! Yay!! I'm really excited for that too honestly.

Thank you all so much for this. I'm going to go further into what's happening now in the full author's note I'll be posting very soon (along with a surprise ;D) so I'll just leave it at a simple thank you and I love you.

~CC XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO