ten years. [lrh]

four.

11 years ago.

Amanda stood in front of the mirror, trying not to explode.

It was Luke's 17th birthday and he was playing his 25th gig at The Phoenix Breath, a bar close to their school. He had gone far with his band, from playing in front of only twelve people who showed up at their first gig, to having an audience of over 300 fans. The old bar they used to play at would always be packed. Now, they had booked a slightly bigger venue, and rough 600 tickets were brought. It was going to be a big night.

So of course, Amanda's makeup just wouldn't... work. Her foundation, that looked so good when the lady at the shop trialled it on her cheek, had suddenly turned into the most cake-y substance she had ever used. Nothing was wrong with it, she checked.

She wanted to look good for her boyfriend. She never dressed special for him, and today was the perfect opportunity to. It would be a change to do something nicer with her appearance.

'Why can't you just cooperate!' She huffed, shooting daggers at her reflection in the mirror. 'Just once. Once, goddamn it.'

A knock sounded downstairs, and Amanda cursed. He was already here, and she wasn't ready.

She heard the key turn in the lock. He must've used the spare one under the mat. She quickly pulled on a top, listening to his footsteps.

'Mandy? I'm coming in.' She saw the door open, revealing a fresh-faced Luke, dressed in a white tee and an unbuttoned shirt.

His eyes widened at the sight of her, and he tried to suppress a laugh, blowing up his cheeks and making noises in his throat.

'It's not funny!' Amanda complained, throwing a makeup brush at his face. 'This is a big day!'

'One of your eyelashes are falling off.' Luke grinned, stepping closer and pulling the falsie from her eyelid. She frowned, slapping his hand from her face.

'I don't do this often, okay? Shut up.'

'Why are you even doing it?' Luke asked, composing himself and jumping onto her bed, leaning against the head board and looking at her.

Luke (unlike Amanda) had cleaned up extremely well. He had styled his hair exactly how he always did it then, in a carefully constructed quiff. He always went through hairstyle phases, and Amanda liked that one.

'You were never the makeup type of person.' He continued, clicking his heels over the side of the bed.

'Yeah, well-' Amanda turned around, facing the mirror again as she tried to reattach the lash. 'It's your birthday! I thought I'd do something different for you. I could look,' She hesitated, trying to find the right word without sounding stupid. '- prettier?'

'I've never complained about your face, 'manda.' Luke said, rolling off the mattress and walking towards her. He took her hands in his and guided them out, placing a kiss on her outstretched arm. Amanda sighed. He never complained on the outside. But who knew what was going on in his head?

'If you're not comfortable with it, baby, don't do it. I fell in love with your features; don't hide them.'

'I'm not hiding them!' Amanda exclaimed. 'I'm just- enhancing them.'

Luke rolled his eyes, rubbing his thumb over hers. 'Honey, you're not very good at makeup.'

Amanda scrunched her eyebrows together, before letting out a little giggle. 'No, I'm not.'

'I've written love songs about your face just the way it is, okay?' Luke reached behind her for the cotton ball and makeup remover. She watched him wipe the messed foundation off her face, falling in love all over again with the blue of his eyes.

'Come on.' He whispered when he finished. 'The boys are at the venue already. Finish getting dressed, I'll be downstairs.'

'Luke!' Amanda whined, tugging at her hair. 'There are a lot of girls coming tonight. And they're gonna be hot. And you're the frontman. How am I supposed to compete with that?'

Luke shook his head, walking towards the door and leaning against the frame. 'You've already won, dumbass. I won't be looking at anyone but you, in the front row.'

Amanda gave a small smile, blushing at his remark. Luke nodded, satisfied with her small reaction, and began to close the door behind him. Before shutting it, he poked his head back into the room, a sly smirk spread on his face.

'And if you're really concerned, I'll show you exactly how hot you are tonight, alright?'

He winked, disappearing behind the door again and leaving Amanda stunned. Listening to his footsteps drop through the hallway outside, she heard a faint, 'Happy fucking Birthday to me.'

Heat enveloped Amanda's cheeks as she listened to him sing down the stairs. She took one final look in the mirror, and decided against embellishing herself. She was enough already. Slipping on her dress and fixing her hair, Amanda met Luke at the foot of the staircase, placing a small kiss on his nose.

'Do I look any older?' Luke asked as he struggled to look for his keys. Amanda clicked her tongue, shrugging. He found them, and they made their way to her driveway, where Luke's worn out Honda waited for them.

She had almost forgotten Luke's present.

——————-

oKAY DO YALL KINDA GET THIS NOW???
to sort out any confooshun, basically each flashback chapter is connected to the present time chapter before and after it :) it'll be more obvious after a while but hi i hope you're enjoying this! i love writing cliche stuff so no hate ok? ok!

thank you for the comments, i love reading them xx

— epihphany