Long Way Home (5SOS)

Chapter Six

Summer

Luke follows me as I step upstairs, and onto my floor.

"Wow, you've got a lot of space." He admits as I turn around. I smile shyly and tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. He grins back, then strides behind me.

I watch him climb up to my loft, and make a low whistling sound.

Slowly I join him where he stands.

"You play a lot, too?" He asks, noticing my large amount of instruments strewn all over the space. I nod, smiling.

"Do you sing too?"

"Well, umm, kinda. I mean, Aspen-"

"I don't care about Aspen right now, I want to hear about you." He waves a hand. What he says makes me blush.

"Yeah... I sing sometimes."

"Are you good?" He persists. I shrug. I've always been kind of passive..

"I have no idea." I mumble. He puts his fingers under my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"Can you show me?" He questions, raising his eyebrows.

"No." I blurt out immediately. I only ever sing in front of my family, and even then I'm pretty shy about it.

"Please?" He begs, grasping my hand. His fingers slide between mine, and my face tinges pink for the second time in 15 minutes.

"Uh-okay." I stutter. How many times do I stutter in front of this boy? Too many to count, that's for sure.

I step towards my guitar, when an extension cord appears in front of my foot. Right away I stumble, squeezing my eyes shut preparing for impact.

It never comes. Instead, I feel a pair of strong arms around me, and before I know it, I'm upright again.

"Now, back to walking." Luke chuckles. I don't meet his eyes, instead I grab my string instrument and settle on the floor cross-legged.

"What do you want me to sing?" I ask. He looks puzzled for a second, and then he seems to remember something. He takes a paper out of his pocket and unfolds it, then hands it to me. I give him a questioning look.

"I wrote it.... I was kind of hoping you could sing, so maybe you could duet with me." He admits sheepishly. The idea that he was thinking about me warms my heart, and I quickly agree.

I stare at the somewhat neat handwriting and furrow my eyebrows, taking in the guitar notes. When I've gone through the whole song, I look up to Luke. I raise my eyebrows to see if he's ready. When he nods, I take a deep breath. Then I play the opening notes, trying to strum strong. The first verse begins with me, and I take one last deep breath, before:

I don't even like you

Why'd you want to go and make me feel this way

I don't understand what's happened

I keep saying things I never say.

Then, it's Luke's turn.

I can feel you watching even when you're nowhere to be seen.

I can feel you touching even when you're far away from me.

By now, my breath has hitched in my throat at his beautiful voice. Why did he want to hear me sing, when it's obvious I pale in comparison? His voice brings butterflies to my stomach.

Tell me where you're hiding your voodoo doll

'Cause I can't control myself.

I don't wanna stay, I wanna run away