Cadences [cake au] ✔

// seven //

Chapter 7

Luke's POV

I just didn't see how such an innocent looking guy could be so... so mean. It was the complete opposite to me – people thought I was horrible and had a bad personality because of my external appearance, but in fact I was a really nice guy who wanted nothing more than to be friends, maybe more, with the seemingly impossible piano playing beauty.

Unable to see the concert to the end, I stepped outside back into the vaguely warm street and headed for the bus stop.

Back on campus, I decided to check up on Michael and went back to my dorm. As expected, he had resumed the gaming position on his bed with his laptop propped up on a few books on his pillow.

"Mikey? Playing again?"

"Shush!! You're distracting me you hoe," he replied hastily, before the only sound that could be heard was the clicking on his controller and a few disgruntled sounds every now and again. I went to my bed and sat down with a hearty sigh, thoughts of what I could do circling my mind frantically.

I was about to take a nap when my phone vibrated in my pocket, making me jolt upwards and groan as I checked the screen to see that Jack was calling. So he finally decided to call, huh?

"Hi Jack," I murmured. Michael shot me a look which I wilfully ignored.

"Luke! My man, you doing anything?"

"What do you want, Jack?"

"Hey, let's not forget it was you who broke up with me, yeah?"

I scoffed. "What do you want?" I repeated.

"Nothing really, just wondered if you're up for drinks tonight?"

After being disheartened by Calum, I agreed. There wasn't anything better I could think of and anyway, he wasn't exactly going to try anything on me, right?

Wrong.

I met him at a local bar at six and the first thing he did was come up close, attempting to greet me with a kiss.

"Hey, get off!" I said angrily, pushing him away. "Jesus Jack, we're not together anymore!"

He was wearing a low neck tank which exposed his Jack Skellington tattoo that I'd watched him get two years ago, and suddenly I was taken back to the times we'd spent together. "C'mon Luke, take me back. Sorry that I called you dumb for going to uni. And sorry for leaving the band." His hand travelled down to meet mine and he pulled me over to his seat which was outside on a high table facing the outdoor bar.

"It's been a whole month Jack, and you haven't contacted me once."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry, okay? So, how about, we have a couple drinks then crash at mine? Like the good old times?"

A smile forced its way into my lips and I nodded. Hanging out with Jack only ever resulted in one thing – sex – and seeing how my luck with Calum had been pretty shit as of late, I thought a bit of sex wouldn't do any damage. Maybe it would've been therapeutic!

I ordered a beer and he chuckled. "Damn Luke, you still a lightweight?"

"You know me. Hey, can we smoke out here?"

"Yeah probs."

"Thank god," I breathed, getting a cigarette out and lighting it, putting it in my mouth and breathing in the soothing fumes. "You want a drag?"

"Go on then," he said, taking the cigarette from me and sharing the experience. I knew smoking was bad for me but sometimes I just needed an escape and music couldn't always offer that to me. Sure, I loved music – both playing it and listening to it, but when the pain got too much it was useless.