Live, Laugh, Luke

Chapter 21

We can run down the street with the stars in our eyes. We can tear down this town in the dark of the night. Just open the door we've got time on our side. We can make it out alive.

Luke's POV

"Open up!" I hear Calum shout down the hall.

"Not me in there," I shout back.

"Ah fuck, not again. Sorry Freya," I hear Calum say. I grin, poking my head out my door to see him standing in front of the bathroom.

"That desperate to see a naked girl?" I tease, making him flick me off. I hear the water shut off and a couple seconds later Freya emerges, wrapped in a towel.

"It's all yours," she says to Calum. "Hey Luke," she adds, looking past him and giving me a wink as she heads back to her room. Not before 9pm, I remind myself. Not before 9pm. Calum is in and out of the shower in a couple minutes and I jump in after him, Ashton and Michael using the other. We had a photoshoot today so we actually had to look clean. When I come back to the kitchen, Freya's already there, eating a bowl of fruit and yogurt. A lot different than yesterday's rush.

"Morning," she mumbles, covering a mouthful of food, only glancing up for a second from her computer.

I pour myself a cup of coffee from the pot before walking up behind her and leaning against the table to see what she's doing.

"Whatcha doing?" I ask as she scrolls down a page.

"Just the news," she says with a shrug. "Got to keep up to date with world events." I raise my eyebrows, slightly impressed. I didn't know many people our age that read the news and didn't just get their world updates from twitter. Her phone starts ringing and after she checks the caller ID she jumps from her seat.

"Shit," she mutters under her breath. "I gotta take this," she says before walking outside by the pool. I watch her for a second before drifting back towards the kitchen, poking a finger into the bowl of rice to find my phone. A sharp knock on the door to the pool jolts me around and I see Freya there shaking her head at me. Busted. I guiltily pull my hand away, turning when I hear someone else coming to see Ashton walk in.

"Who's she talking to?" he asks, nodding towards the pool and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"I dunno," I shrug. Calum and Michael soon join us and when it hits 8:00, I knock on the window, signaling to Freya it was time to go. She nods, talking for a couple more seconds before hanging up and coming back in.

"Sorry, just a friend checking to make sure I wasn't dead. We talk every day and I haven't had a chance to respond the last two days. Made her worried. She doesn't know I'm back in the States," she explains, grabbing her bag and shoes as we head towards the door.

"Every day?" I ask, raising an eyebrow, remembering our rules from the previous day where she said friends don't talk every day. She seems to think about that also because she shakes her head.

"It's different," she tells me. "I've known her since I still lived in a house instead of on a boat." I don't say a word, letting the subject drop as I follow her out to the car.

When we get to the building and say goodbye to Freya for the day, we wind up in an empty conference room. This morning would be spent signing stacks of pictures for Capitol to use for those sending fanmail.

"So what's going on with you and Freya?" Michael asks as we go through the stacks. "There was so much tension the first day, but now it's disappeared."

"Something happen?" Calum asks.

"No, I don't know what you mean," I say with a shake of my head. Rule #2, don't draw attention to it. I'm pretty sure telling them about the arrangement would qualify as drawing attention to it..