"You two are seriously one duo I would certainly not want to be on bad terms with." I had been listening to Kendra talk on and on about what had happened in the park two days ago for the past five minutes.
The incident had been publicized almost immediately. There were tons of pictures from almost every angle, and one person had been so kind as to video record the entire thing in case I needed to reference it to remember what exactly had happened. Though most of the video was just sounds of my mom and I mumbling things back and forth, there were a few highlights.
For instance, there was the moment when I shouted about her divorcing my dad and how she just ran away. A few words couldn't be understood, but you could definitely get the gist of what I was saying. The first really audible sentence was when my mom told me not to walk away from her. From there, most of what was said could be heard.
Of course, the entire world of media and fans had been all over it on basically every social media site there was. My twitter blew up with notifications and I had to delete the app because I had no idea how to turn them off when they were coming in so fast. The next day at work, I had to shut off my desk phone because several media outlets were calling, asking if I could pass on messages to Luke about possible interviews for the band.
"Yeah, well it sucks that she's the one who is on our bad side." I said. "To be honest, I never thought I'd see her again. I guess I was just hoping, because I didn't want to have to think about what I'd say to her. I guess we know now." I added, sighing.
"I know what you're thinking, Dae-bird. You weren't too hard on her. Like at all. She deserved a hell of a lot worse than what she got." Kendra assured me. I frowned anyways. I know she deserved it. But on the other hand, she's my mom. The woman who raised me for the sixteen years before she disappeared. We had never been overly close, but we'd joked around and shared things like any other mother and daughter.
"I know, I know. It's just weird. Thank you for talking, though." I said sincerely.
"You're very welcome. I know you don't have a lot of time for your lunches, so I'll let you eat now. Love you!" With that, Kendra hung up the phone.
I leaned back in the chair, stretching my arms up above my head, before actually eating the small sandwich I had brought for lunch.
--
I hated this media attention. That was for sure. I not only felt bad for Luke, who was being criticized and questioned relentlessly about what I meant when I talked about him being sorry for what he did, but I also felt bad for my mom, who was now essentially Public Enemy no. 1 in the eyes of 5SOS fans for talking to Luke and I the way she did at my birthday.
"You're thinking about it again." Luke's voice was quiet as he came up behind me. I watched him through the mirror I was currently standing in front of, putting my foundation on. He was buttoning up a dark blue shirt, and I smiled when I realized he was one button off, but didn't say anything until he got to the top and realized it himself. I couldn't help but let out a giggle at the look on his face when he realized. His eyes snapped up to meet mine in the mirror, and he gave me a slightly exasperated look.
"You knew it was off, and you didn't say anything." He whined. I giggled yet again.
"It was funny." I defended, rubbing the makeup from my hands onto the towel sitting on the counter. Luke huffed and began unbuttoning the shirt again, grumbling slightly. I rolled my eyes playfully and turned around. After swatting his hands away from the buttons on his shirt, I began fixing it for him.
"You do know that I can handle the media asking questions, right? You don't have to worry about me." He brought up the original conversation again. I sighed, nodding.
"Yeah, I know. But it's like everyone hates my mom now, and I feel like it's my fault." I said, finishing the last button at the top of his shirt. Luke took a deep breath, but I interrupted before he could begin to tell me why I was wrong. "I know that she doesn't deserve my forgiveness. I've been reassured by basically everyone about that. But does she deserve the hate of a thousand fangirls? I don't think she does." I explained.
"Its more like a million fangirls." Luke said. I frowned, pushing away from him.
"Luke," I complained, drawing out his name slightly. "I'm serious about this." I got maybe six steps into my room before he wrapped his arms around me, stopping my movements.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Bad joke." He apologized, testing his chin on the top of my head. "I'm just trying to lighten your mood. You can't go to a wedding all frowney-faced." He explained.
"I know, but it's just-"
"No. Nope, no buts." He interrupted, spinning me around to face him. I looked up at him. He was looking down at me with a determined expression. "You and I are going to this wedding, and we are going to have a lot of fun celebrating with a good friend. We can talk about your mum tomorrow, okay?"
I nodded. "Okay." I agreed, taking a deep breath before putting a smile on my face. Luke smiled back at me.
"Good." He said, his voice sounding satisfied. I let out a short laugh.
"Yeah, good. But we're going to miss the wedding if you don't get your tie on and tie your shoes." I pointed out. Luke lifted his eyebrows at me.
"You don't even have your bridesmaid dress on. What, you walking down the aisle in jeans and a tank top?" He retorted.
"We are all getting ready with Katie, so I'm as ready as I need to be right now." I defended. "What's your excuse?" Luke paused and pondered for a moment.
"My girlfriend was going through emotional stress and needed me." I rolled my eyes, giving him a half smile.
"Fair enough, I guess. Now go get ready, you dork."
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Goodness, I'm sorry for the lack of updating. That being said, we only have 2 more chapters until the epilogue! Whoa man, does time fly!
Also, thank any of you who signed the petition for NMU. It means a lot to me that you care, even if you don't know anyone who that particular policy is effecting.
As always, I love you all to bits, and I will see you next time!
P.S. Just because there is an epilogue for this story doesn't mean there isn't a third book! =))
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Forgiven // l.h. // Book 2 in Bully Series
Fanfiction"We're like the stupidest people ever." "Yeah, we kinda are."
