Torn ||Luke Hemmings|| AU

22

Luke's POV

The doorbell rings around four in the afternoon while Jazmyn and I are discussing what movie we should watch next. We had taken a lazy day of doing absolutely nothing while Calum was at work and she had taken a sick day for her head. "I've got it." I tell her getting up from the couch. We had been cuddling in sweats under the cold of the ceiling fan and cooling system. She sits on the couch, on edge and I wonder if she fears it is her brother.

I open the door and tears swell in my eyes when I see who is standing before me. A brunette with deep dimples and a white smile who is not much shorter than myself. Ashton. I see a paler messy haired teenager with blood red hair and a cheesy smirk on his face. Michael.

"Oh god." Is all I can manage to say as they bring me into their arms. I don't want to cry in front of either of them but it feels so good to see them again.

"I smell popcorn." Michael says coming into the house. I move so Ashton can slip in and I close the door. Michael is standing by the couch with a handful of popcorn and Jazmyn is laugh, I assume it is at something he said.

"So what have you been up to these past four years?" Ashton asks eyeing the cigarettes on the counter behind me.

"Umm...late nights and avoidance of people. I made a new friend lately though." I look at Jazmyn on the couch who is paying attention to our conversation. "Ashton and Michael, this is Jazmyn...my...friend and late night partner in crime. Jazmyn this is Ashton and Michael my middle school best friends I have recently reunited with." I introduce them and Jazmyn gives them both a warm smile and a shake of the hand.

They all exchange Nice-To-Meet-You's and I go into the kitchen and make more popcorn as they make small talk.

"So,"Mikey comes into the kitchen helping himself to the contents of my fridge. "Looks like I'm not the only one who is punk rock and bad ass." He laugh lightly and I feel comfortable with him even though I haven't seen him in so long.

"Yeah. The tattoos all mean something though." I tell him taking the popcorn out of the microwave.

"That's a lot of meaning." He grabs a 7-Up out of the fridge.

"Shit." I curse and yank my hand away when I touch the steaming hot bag. "Jazmyn can you hand me the bowl?" I ask and she skips into the kitchen a smile plastered on her face.

"So how did you and Jazmyn meet?" Ashton asks.

"He almost killed me." Her tone us more serious now as she looks up at me. Ashton's eyes widen in shock at me and Michael's smirk is wiped off of his face.

"I didn't know you had asthma." I defend myself.

"You still don't smoke around people! Jesus Luke!" She exclaims a light tone behind her voice and a smile spreading across her face.

"I don't smoke anymore." I keep my voice low and level. Jazmyn raises her eyebrows and I continue. "I haven't smoked since the second week I met you." I say quietly and it feels intimate to tell her this, that she is the reason I quit.

She wraps her small arms around me and she sighs a relieved sigh as she whispers the words 'thank you'. Ashton looks surprised and Mikey just stands there smiling. I was shocked when I finally realized I had quit my stress relieving habit cold turkey for her. I had also picked up music for her again. This girl was changing me. We stand like that for a few minutes but then the moments is ruined when her phone rings.

After a few moments of standing there in the kitchen talking on the phone she silently mouths 'It's Calum." I roll my eyes and I take my friends out back to sit on the porch.

Ashton and Michael ask me how school is and they ask a lot of questions about my tattoos and what had happened the past four years. I tell them and Mikey goes on about some girl at the ice skating rink, who apparently is the best skater he has ever scene. Ashton tells me college stories and about how it is not much different than high school. Great. That's lovely.I tell him he could just drop out and the three of us could just pursue music. He laughs and says something about his parents having his ass if he did that and wasted their money.

We could do it though, we could move away from this place and maybe I could even convince Jazmyn to come with us. I'm not sure she would want to leave Calum though. We could start over and she could get away from her brother, he would never hurt her again.

"Do you like her?" Ashton asks brining me out of my thoughts.

"Who? Jazmyn? Yeah she's great." I smile, I love the way her name comes off of my tongue so smoothly.

"Do you like her?" He asks again and I tense up a little bit the palms of my hands suddenly really moist.

"..." I am silent for a moment and Michael gives me the look.

"Dude, you are beyond whipped." Michael laughs. "You gave up smoking all together because she had asthma." He shakes his head.

"It's also really bad for me." I defend my voice a few octaves too high and my foot thumping on the ground.

"Whipped." Ashton and him sing together.

"Yes!"I admit and it feels like there is this huge weight lifted off my shoulders. "I do. Okay?" I relax in my chair again as their faces wipe over with seriousness. "But she has a boyfriend and he's like perfect and not at all broken and they are living the dream. I'm not going to interfere." I tell them and I sigh exasperatedly. I want nothing more than to call her mine but she is already taken I was a few days too late for her. Even then we barely knew each other. She has made it clear that she made a mistake kissing me and she didn't mean anything else by kissing my cheek. She was with Calum.

"Luke, what are you doing tonight?" Michael asks me.

"Uh...going somewhere with you."I answer, we may not have seen each other in four years but our friendship has not been lost at all, we are at the same level we were when I left.

"Good. Grab your phone and anything you might need. We're going." He tells me and Ashton gets up.

I trust him as much as I trust myself, then again I don't trust myself a lot with certain things. I make sure I leave Jazmyn and my moms a note and we leave.