Part Of The Crowd // Luke Hemmings

.14

Chapter 14

There is nothing better than lying in bed all day with the person you like eating only pizza, drinking only coffee, and watching some of the best movies of all time. I swear. If you have not done this, you have not experienced one of the best gifts of life. I grab another slice of pizza as the credits for Perks Of Being A Wallflower start rolling. Luke, dressed only in sweatpants, watches me eat my pizza sloppily.

"What?" I ask, mouth full of pizza.

He laughs and shakes his head, still staring at me. "Nothing. Just don't get tomato sauce on my sheets.

Luke finally convinced me to move to his bedroom last night. I have to admit its way more comfortable than the guest room. Plus, I got to sleep with him. I lost my willpower. I admit defeat. I am a failure. I can't control myself when I'm with him.

"What if I do?" I challenge, raising my eyebrows.

He cocks his head to the side, "Then I'm going to have to punish you."

"I'd love to see you try."

He stares at me for another second before tackling me, throwing my pizza back into the box, and kissing me.

"You suck at punishment," I say, pulling away from him and heading back towards my pizza.

"That's probably because I love you too much to actually hurt you."

I pause, pizza frozen on its journey to my mouth. Luke tenses up as he realizes what he said. It's too soon. It's way too soon. It's too soon to be saying love.

"No," I whisper, tears springing into my eyes as I put the pizza back down, "You don't love me."

"I do," Luke says, looking at me, realization written on every inch of his face, "I do, Scarlett, I love you."

"You don't love me, for fucks sake," I tell him forcefully, "You don't."

"I do," He insists, taking one of my hands in his and squeezing it, "You don't have to say it back but goddammit I do."

"Then tell me why you love me," I challenge, "Give me a good reason why I should believe you."

"Because..." He trails off, his eyes moving to the wall behind me instead.

"Thought so," I say, pulling my hand away from his and moving to get off the bed.

"Because it fucking hurts every single time I leave you," He says, stopping me from moving any further. "Because your smile can light up my entire day. Because kissing you feels like home. Because I can't go a day without hearing your voice. Because everything reminds me of you. Because seeing you cry literally breaks my heart. Because just the thought of you warms my heart. Because..."

Luke grabs my hand and turns me so that I face him. "Scarlett, I love you, okay? I love every single inch of you. I love your eyes, your nose, your hair, your lips, your heart, your soul. I love how much you love dogs. I love how you're such a nerd for Harry Potter. I love the fact that your nose crinkles when you smile. I love that you are so forgiving. I love the way you treat the people around you. I love the way you stare at the ceiling for a few seconds before you actually get off the bed in the morning. I love that you love the sound of rain. I love every single thing about you. Even when you hate me, I will still love you. Because this is the first time I've ever felt this way about a person, and I love you. I would do anything to see you smile. That's how I know that I love you."

I stare at him for a long time, analysing those blue eyes of his to see if they are lying, but they look sincere.

"I'll be back," I mutter, turning around and leaving the room. I turn back around and march in when I realize that I am not wearing any pants and quickly put on my shorts before leaving once again. Luke keeps his eyes on his laptop, refusing to make eye contact with me.