fifteen ; l.h.

him

"i regret this."

was what luke said as soon as noelle answered her door. she gave him a sharp look before tugging him inside her apartment where her brother, kaiden, was watching a show quite loudly.

"shut up," she rolled her eyes, leading him into the kitchen so the young boy wouldn't eavesdrop, "the only way i could see you today is if you came to me. so you're helping me babysit today."

"i hate kids," he deadpanned.

"but you don't hate me, so can you please just bear with this? just for half an hour. if you don't want to stay after that, then you're free to go."

"swear?"

"on my life."

he sighed, rubbing his forehead as he thought over her request, "half an hour. that's all you get."

"that's all i need," noelle smiled and started to walk back into the living room, luke following closely behind her, albeit reluctantly.

"who's that?" kaiden questioned the two of them as they approached him,

"kaiden, this is luke, luke this is kaiden," she gestured to each boy as she introduced them.

"it's nice to meet you," luke said as kindly as possible despite feeling extremely uncomfortable at the way the young boy was scrutinizing him.

"is this your boyfriend?"

the two teenagers stiffened and turned slightly red at his assumption.

"no! he's just-"

"we're not-"

they glanced at each other awkwardly, both of them at a loss for words. though luke personally wouldn't have minded if he was her boyfriend.

not that he'd ever admit that out loud, of course.

"that's all the answer i need," the younger boy smirked before returning to his show.

"evil," luke hissed under his breath, turning to noelle with his eyebrows raised, "this is why i hate kids."

"don't mind him," she waved her hand dismissively, still feeling flustered. "come on, let's just head to my room."

"don't do anything i wouldn't do!" kaiden's voice rang out as they walked away.

"you're 13! you shouldn't be doing anything!" his sister yelled back, running a hand through her hair before entering her room.

as soon as luke stepped through the doorway, he was immediately engulfed by her.

everything from the white painted walls to the polaroid pictures pinned to a cork board above her desk screamed 'noelle' and he felt as if he wasn't worthy of entering such a bright, happy place.

he was much too dark for her world, too damaged. and yet here he was, standing like an idiot in her doorway as she shut the door behind them with a smile, not caring how much baggage he brought along with him.

"sorry it's messy," she apologized as she tried to straighten out a few things, but he walked towards her quickly and put his hand on top of hers, causing her to freeze.

"don't," he muttered, "don't move anything. it's perfect the way it is."

her hand still underneath his, she turned her head to him, "alright. i won't move anything."

he nodded and moved his hand away, immediately wandering over to her cork board. a specific picture caught his eye, warming his insides as he examined it.