Sugar, we're going down

Six

The next rendezvous was set before Luke could catch his breath. His nerves were still frayed from his nearly-but-not-quite anxiety attack when he sent a confirmation text.

That was what they were calling it now. Rendezvous. For lack of a better word, Ashton had said. And although Luke didn't particularly like it, -- it stung every time Ashton used it --, it did seem fitting. He liked the way it rolled off his tongue. A fancy word for someone like Luke, but Ashton used big words on a daily basis.

As it turned out, their rendezvous was fancy as well, and Luke wasn't particularly happy about it. Couldn't Ashton have guessed that he was not into things like that? He had a near anxiety attack in Starbucks, who knew what would happen when he had to dine at an actual restaurant?

It was too late now though. Luke's phone vibrated in his hand, the screen illuminated with the notification of a new message.

Ashton: be there in five!! x

Luke bit his lip worriedly. He'd taken the lip ring out, afraid to be judged by fancy people, but he regretted it now. His mouth felt strange without the metal, and his tongue kept searching for something that wasn't there.

"Oh stop it, will you?" Harry's voice startled Luke. "You're going to break the damn thing if you continue like that."

Luke sighed, but allowed Harry to push his trembling fingers away from the tiny buttons of his black dress shirt. The boy was right; Luke had been fumbling with them for the past ten minutes, fruitlessly trying to button it up.

"Just try to calm down, okay?" Harry said, after buttoning his shirt and straightening his collar. Luke took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the tension in his back and the annoying buzzing trapped underneath his skin.

"Are you sure this outfit is okay? Don't you think I'll be underdressed? I mean, he's a CEO," Luke rambled. "Why on earth did I think this was a good idea? There are going to be fancy people, and fuck, I should have said no when I had the chance."

Harry shook his head at Luke, before pulling him in a hug. His body felt warm and soft against Luke's, the familiar feeling somewhat calming him down.

"You look great. Trust me," he whispered, lips pressed against his collarbone.

"I made a mistake, Harry," Luke said. His voice was small, as small is he felt in his dress shirt and grown up shoes, giving away the tears that blurred his vision. "This, this was a bad idea. I can't do this, Haz. I can't."

Harry shook his head, but he wasn't about to disagree. He wasn't exactly fond of this whole dinner plan, and neither was Luke, but Luke wasn't good at saying no, so they just had to deal with it.

"And so what if it goes wrong? You'll see what he's really made of," Harry said, pushing Luke away to look him in the eye. He hoped Luke thought he did it to get the message across, because he was only breaking the hug because he couldn't stand feeling Luke's body tremble like that. "Besides, if it's a bad night, he won't ever ask you to a fancy dinner again," he finished with a shrug.

Luke was about to protest when his phone rang, which meant Ashton was waiting outside of the dorm rooms. He whimpered, shutting his eyes tightly.

"Come on, Luke. You have to go now, okay? Trust me, you look stunning, and I bet Ashton will agree. And if it goes wrong, it's not your fault. He knows about your anxiety, so he brought it upon himself."

Harry's hands gently cupped Luke's face, guiding it to his lips for a kiss on his forehead, and Luke nodded, desperately wanting to believe his words.