Cadences [cake au] ✔

// twenty-two //

Cute lil drama free chapter for you 😘💖

Chapter 22

Luke's POV

Life appeared to go back to normal when we returned to university. The first few days were a bit odd, as Calum had a ton of work to catch up on, but we both managed to spend plenty of time with each other.

We went to the recording studio a bit more often, and recorded a few more rough songs that I'd written and that he'd contributed to. He showed me his little lyric book and my eyes gleamed and glistened as they scanned over the beautiful poetic lyrics he'd written over the years, having been influenced by the likes of David Bowie and Coldplay.

The university had also given back his dormitory so instead of being disturbed by our kitten gamer friend, we could cuddle and kiss in peace, as well as have plenty of space. It was pretty much as if we were living together in a small apartment, and that made my heart swell so much that I seemed to be constantly smiling.

Which was actually kinda weird, considering I was so used to being sad and empty and reliant on malicious sticks of nicotine to keep me sane. It was true – I smoked much less now because I had no need to anymore. There were strands of my four year addiction still left in me but I doubted it would take long for them to disappear.

"Let's go somewhere today," I suggested, leaping up from the bed we'd just been sharing. "We don't have any classes in the morning or afternoon, do we?"

He blinked several times and nodded, rubbing his eyes and cheeks. "But where?" he croaked.

A smile crept across my face and I replied, "How about a skateboard tour of Sydney?"

~

"No, no, no, I'm gonna fall!!"

I doubled over in laughter, having to stop and wait for Calum the snail to hurry the fuck up. He'd hardly moved one metre on the black skateboard Ashton had lent him, and yet he'd been scared shitless. "C'mon dude, it's really not that scary!" I hollered, leaning on the railing separating me from the water.

When he finally caught up, he sure had a lot to say. "Luke, you can't do this to me – you make me skate on a foreign object without any elbow pads or gloves or anything, and expect me to go as fast as you on my first try, but I'm really bad at physical activity and I'm only not falling over because I'm being extremely careful-"

I stopped his words by pressing my lips against his, and although my eyes were shut, I knew his were wide open in surprise. I heard his skateboard drop next to him down onto the concrete, continuing to deepen the kiss and put my hand on his waist.

Once he'd calmed down, I pulled away and opened my eyes again, seeing him in a red hot state with reddening cheeks and a pout so cute I could've died.

"Don't just kiss me randomly," he whispered, interlocking his index fingers in yet again, a cute fashion. I put my arm around his shoulder and rubbed my snake bites on his cheek.

"Aw you're so cute. Okay I'll tell you what – let's get a drink, then I'll teach you some basic skills; does that sound okay?"

He did a small nod and I grinned, picking up both our skateboards and scanning the street for any sign of a pub, restaurant or café. There tended to be a lot down this part of Sydney so it wasn't long before we were sat inside in the warmth, rubbing our hands over mugs of hot coffee.

It wasn't winter yet but it was certainly colder than usual. I'd made the mistake of only wearing a white band tee, whereas Calum had come dressed for the weather ina cute bobble beanie that fit snugly over his head. 

"Have you always been able to skateboard?" Calum questioned, taking a sip of his drink and almost burning his tongue. I chuckled before replying.

"Yeah, my brothers taught me even before I could ride a bike," I stated, suddenly trying to search on my arm for a scar I'd earned from doing it. "Here," I said, pointing at the thick dark line down the inside of my upper left arm. "I got this when I was eight – I was having a race with Ben and I crashed into a rubbish pile that had metal scrap in it. This was the worst cut – I had to get stitches!"

He gawped at the massive scar whilst I smiled adoringly at him. "That's huge... did it hurt?"

I put the scar away and leant my elbows back on the table between us. "Yeah, but I don't remember the pain now. It's weird how that happens. I do remember waiting in the hospital for about two hours with a bleeding arm though..."

Twenty minutes later, all the coffee was in our stomachs and we headed back out into the open for some skateboard lessons. I first taught him how to stand on it, then how to propel himself off the ground, then how to keep going steadily. For probably the first time, I understood the satisfaction of teaching – watching him develop his skateboarding skills was such a beautiful thing. I wanted to keep that feeling in a bottle forever so I could wear it around my neck.

Soon we were speeding down the coastline, laughing and chattering as we watched the waves lap against the Opera House, the birds fly in circles around our heads and the children who observed in amazement at the fabulous skateboarding duo in front of their very own eyes. One was heavily tattooed, the other was untainted, but did that matter? Of course not.

It was the most fun I'd had in a very long time. We hadn't had to spend a ton of money to enjoy ourselves – just two boys, two skateboards and a communal love was enough. When it was about to get dark, we found a little restaurant hidden away in a rather dodgy alleyway, but it turned out to be the best little restaurant that was ever hidden away in a rather dodgy alleyway.

The restaurant exterior had mood-setting fairy lights hanging from a wooden pagoda and numerous plants filling up corners. We ordered a sharing platter and fed each other like some weird, cheesy couple, before going on a gentle walk along the water.

"You know, I'm so glad I met you," Calum mentioned, linking our hands together as we walked. "You turned my life around."

I smirked at him. "No Cal, you turned your life around. I simply guided you."

"I-I mean it, Luke. You've done so much for me and I've done nothing for you... it's not even your birthday yet. I don't know what I can do to make it up to you."

He sounded so goddamn precious. "Baby you don't have to do anything, your existence has already made a massive impact on my life."

He cocked a brow, clearly not aware of his hidden powers. "How?"

I looked up at the clear sky, each star shining in its own right. "Right from the very first day we met in that music room outside on the hill by the ponds and trees... my life had already begun to change. I can still hear that piece you played distinctly in my head – the uncountable number of notes, the deep sound you produced, the worried expression on your face when you saw me."

"What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say, is... well, I guess it's that you have a power within to allure people. We become fascinated by your skill, your personality, your confidence-"

"What confidence! I'm not confident, not really!"

My lips curved up into a special sort of smile. "You're way more confident than I'll ever be."

"Why?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Because you're Calum Hood, and I'm Luke Hemmings. We're complete opposites and that's why we're attracted to each other. I'm attracted to your real confidence, and you're attracted to my fake confidence."

He shook his head and furrowed his brows. "That's not true."

"Well, what are you attracted to then?"

"You."

***

*giggles* hope you liked that 😁 I really wanted a cute chilled chapter after all that stuff with his mum. Soon we'll see the reappearance of Jack Barakat................................ ;)

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Kimmy xx