Rochester Avenue // Luke Hemmings

Chapter 8 - 'Aren't You That Ten Seconds Of Summer Guy?'

"What did Nathan do?" Jess said as I collapsed on my bed in our dorm.

"Nothing, much. He was just making a big deal out of me not telling him I was working with 5 Seconds of Summer," I explained, leaning up on one elbow.

"Oh. You didn't tell him?" she said in slight confusion.

"Nope. He met Luke who kept calling him Norman just to annoy me–" Jess snorted and I shot her a look.

"What? It's funny," she said innocently and I rolled my eyes.

"Well, Nathan shouldn't have been so mad that I didn't tell him. Then he started going on about how I never tell him anything and that he's never seen me sing and...ugh," I huffed.

"You really don't sing that much," Jess pointed out. "In front of your friends, at least. Has the band heard you sing?"

"Just Luke. But he wasn't supposed to," I said, sighing.

"You should not be so secretive about your singing," Jess commented, pointing at me. I just shrugged.

"Where's George? I'm surprised he's not here," I remarked, changing the subject. "He basically lives here."

"With Ross," Jess said distractedly as she tapped away on her phone. "They're doing pretty well together."

"Good for George. He hasn't had a proper boyfriend since Jacob."

Jess nodded, still looking at her phone, smirking every now and then. I observed her for a moment.

"What is so interesting on your phone?" I questioned, and she looked up at me, blushing slightly. "Please don't tell me you and Tristan are sexting."

Her blush deepened.

I sat up and put my head in my hands. "Oh my god. Seriously? You know what, I'm going to go somewhere. I'll leave you to your sexting." Before she could say anything I left the dorm and made my way outside.

I'd kind of used that as an excuse to get outside. Really, I couldn't stop thinking about certain things, and I just needed to clear my head. It was actually really nice out here even if it was a bit cold since it was growing late, but it was refreshing. The open space calmed me.

I paused in my walking as I had a thought. Suddenly I really wanted to go back to the studio so I could have a play around on the guitar, and since I had a key, I supposed I could. So without thinking about it more, I went to my car and drove back on the road I'd just returned on.

When I entered the building I held my head high and walked confidently to the elevators before stopping in front of them, hesitating, then taking the stairs. I made my way to the studio and halted when I heard soft music coming through the door. When I listened more closely, I grinned to myself. That was definitely Luke's voice. Now it was my turn to spy on him while he sang.

I peeped through the window and sure enough, he was sitting there with his guitar, singing a song, which sounded a lot like one of their old ones – if I remembered correctly, 'Beside You'.

"When we both wake up, underneath the same sun, time stops, I wish that I could rewind, so close but so far away..." He carried on and I quietly opened the door in order to hear better, and luckily he didn't notice since he was facing away. I waited for him to finish and when he did, I applauded. Luke turned around and I met his gaze with a grin.

"That was nice," I commented, going to sit opposite him.

"Yeah, well, it's one of my favorite songs on our old album," he told me, putting the guitar down next to him.