alumni ➢ luke hemmings [DISCONTINUED]

1.1 ➢ Handle.

Apparently, Luke doesn't like hot chocolate. Or girls with 'S' in their name.

I groan, sinking further down in my seat as the entirety of the noise in the background behind me fills with his deep voice. I haven't been listening- I haven't bothered enough to tune in- but I can't help but pay the slightest bit of attention just this once.

I should leave. Stand up and sling my bag over my shoulder and stalk out of the coffee shop like I always do, with him staring after me with a small smirk on his face because he knows I can barely stand us being in the same room. It's not that I hate him, and I don't think that it's because he hates me- it's just that having Luke around puts me on edge, and I wish I could say why but I can't.

I've noticed that there's a few things he does that he knows ticks me off, little gestures that have me irritated for a short while until he can think of what to do next. When he brushes past me on the way to the restroom and knocks a book or two off of my table, for example. Or when he acts like I'm not there when I'm helping Sadie clear up and ask him if he's finished his cup. They're not the biggest problems in my life, of course not; it's just irritating that they're there.

And this, hearing him mutter on and on and on about how girls with the letter 'S' in their name are 'practically crazy' and 'undeniably trouble', counts as one of those problems.

It's funny, because at first I was convinced that he was only saying it to get to his cousin. Her name is Sadie, after all. But then the comments became a little more spiteful, and a lot more silent, awkward glances my way began to get sent, and now I'm not so sure.

There's a document on my laptop screen and it's not empty, exactly; it's an essay prompt. But I'm far from the field of concentration when all I can hear is the most stuck-up twenty-something year old in the whole of Manhattan complaining about something that applies to me.

"They're fuckin' insane,"

I try not to groan again, not wanting to give away the fact that I'm listening and am very much bothered.

Sadie, however, isn't so kind, and she scoffs.

"Yeah, well, lads with 'L' in their name are just assholes. It's a fact,"

"You're not wrong."

"Hm,"

If this is Luke's idea of lighthearted conversation, then I fear for what he considers as serious. The man's face is nothing but hard, even when talking about careless topics such as this.

"What girl have you fucked whose name starts with an 'S', anyway?" Sadie grimaces. She's probably the most uncomfortable right now- I doubt that finding out about her cousin's active sex life is the most enjoyable thing- but it's the only ever time Luke isn't so snappy.

Serious, yes; stoic, definitely; but his usual grumpy tone isn't present. If I were her, I'd probably try my hardest to stall the conversation for as long as I can too.

"I haven't,"

"Yeah, right."

"I'm being serious," he sits up a little. They're talking in hushed voices, but the coffee shop is so deserted that I can hear everything. "I've never,"

"Not your type?"

"Sure."

"You're a mess."

Closing my laptop, I take my phone out, hoping to god that Michael's somewhere on campus not too far away from me; Calum, too. Because of initiation preparations and the odd event or two they have to help host, we haven't been seeing each other around lately, and I'm determined to change that.