FIFTH HALF ― luke hemmings ✓

#8

"Talk fast, romance. Won't last, I'm okay with that."

Ashton muttered silently while Calum strummed some good bass lines, followed by Mikey creating a somewhat complete tune of the song Ash created just last night. He called it, Lyric Vomit. Wherein the words came pouring down, not stopping until he passed out on my sofa. That resulted in a song made out of vodka's and word vomits.

"I don't have anything good after that, but I got the others covered." He says as he racks his brains for more vomit, which wouldn't happen anytime sooner as it seemed he poured his all from the way he said the lyrics he had out loud.

"Burn." Luke muttered and the boys considered the words. Adding words that could rhyme or at least make sense.

"Burn, crash, romance." I say while looking straight at the boy which I could only get such... lyrics upon gawking at him. I could say he get me inspired, but he got me so furious at the same time.

"I'll take what I can get from you." He added next as he stared right into me and there, folks, were sexual tension heightened at warning levels.

Ashton cleared his throat and clapped his hands, my eyes darting away from those silvery blues and on to Ash's excited ones. "And that's it! We successfully now have four songs—let's get more, please. Thank you." He checked his notebook like a teacher checking homework, tearing it away from the notebook and on to the dashboard where we clip our finished lyrics and try working on it at the end of the week for tune finalizing.

Someone clearing their throat made our turn away once again from what we're doing and it was Luke, now sitting up straight. And if there's one thing I know about that look, that would either piss me off or he had some bad news to tell. "Um guys?" Calum was the only one who refused to look but he still acknowledged him. I guess they still have issues they're too stubborn to fix. "Cassie's dropping by tomorrow." I didn't look away, I guess I'm too immune with the pain to still even address it, and I'm currently on the process of moving away from the thing that happened over a year ago.

But the rest of the boys didn't seem to fancy the idea as they look straight at Luke, then to me, and then back to Luke, insinuating if he's serious. "And?" Calum asked in monotone.

"I just need you guys to be... nice to her." I almost scoffed in disbelief but I stop myself, knowing it wouldn't do any good.

"When are we even not nice to her?" Mikey muttered with a smile on his face, but soon faded when Ashton gave him a subtle look.

"Mikey's right. When are we not?" I added, looking straight into Luke's eyes as if challenging him, even pulling up the best smile I could before finally looking away. "Just don't tell her to be too early, we're not the morning people type." I kid, trying to lighten everything up considering the fact that the boys know about my downfall and threading carefully through it as if I'm a fragile being.

I mean, I am. But they didn't have to be so careful. I'm a big girl, I could handle shit life throws at me. Unlike before...

Flashback.

"Lacey Davis! We know you're in there. You can't keep changing doorknobs forever!" Ashton threatened from outside my apartment as I could hear few muffled noises of attempts to pin my doorknob down—and Mikey reconsidering that idea for he knew it must have already cost me a fortune to change it for already three times. "Lacey, tell us what the hell happened." I could hear Ashton's frustrations behind the door as I sat at the sofa, covered in blankets and only ever time I get up was to shower or use the bathroom.

The only time I have the sense to move at all.

"Lace, hey. We brought a lot of your favorites." Mikey tried luring me out but I just couldn't... I refuse to stand up from here, I refuse to even talk to anyone else. Because every time I try to open my mouth, no other words would come out and I'd eventually bawl my eyes out.

"Lacey." One particular gravelly voice spoke from the outside and it abruptly cause me to sit up straight and I could—if it's even possible, feel my heart ache so much I'm almost out of breath. "Let us in. Please." That voice used to soothe me before. But hearing it now only made me cry even more, to the point of there's no tears left on my eye and I could only sit here, sobbing silently.

"Hey, you know what? We'll leave the food here. Get it, alright? We know you haven't been eating for days. Ash isn't there to cook for your ass." Calum tried to joke around and heard a few curses along the way. "I'm sorry, it's just... we're really worried about you. We haven't seen you for an entire week."

I let a few moments pass and when I didn't hear any footsteps anymore, I stood up and covered myself with a blanket, heading straight to the door to at least get what they bought for me. Knowing that the boys exerted much efforts just to make me feel okay albeit not knowing what really happened to me.

I opened the door and saw at the foot of the doorstep a few bag of ready-made foods, I was about to grab them when I saw a figure sitting right next to my doorstep, looking straight at me with the same weary eyes that I have. It took me a full minute before I hastily closed the door—but not until he stopped it with his combat boot. "Lacey, talk to me." I scoffed, shoving the door close but it wouldn't just budge. "Lacey, please!" He pleaded as he pushed the door open with a little amount of force, accepting that my futile attempts of exerting the small energy I have left wouldn't suffice.

As soon as I stopped fighting against it, I took a step back and he carried all the goods to the kitchen, placing it on the counter and looking at me with a face I knew all too well. "Get out of my fucking apartment, Luke." He flinched with the way I cursed but I couldn't care less.

He hurt me so much... And every time I see those baby blues, it stung in my chest. Like bullets shooting straight at it until it couldn't function no more. "Lacey, let me explain–"

"About what?! About kissing me that night on the garden? About not letting me know that you and my other best friend," I spat out like venom and didn't had the courage to continue, still not believing the fact that the two people I trusted the most could... betray me like this. "What was your end game, Luke? Is it fuck the strings until it cuts itself out?" He took a step forward but I was alert to take a step back. "Don't."

"Lacey, I didn't mean for all this to happen."

I huff, "Yeah? You didn't mean to take advantage of what I feel for you? I'm sure you fucking know all about it right from the start. I'm sure Cassie made it known to you that I'm head over heels for my best friend—and then what? Date her behind my back? Behind our back?!" Tears are already forming on my eyes but I couldn't let him see me like this. Like I'm... weak. "I would've accepted the fact that you dated her if you didn't go and kiss me like you wanted me to be part of your life, Lucas."

"I—I didn't know you like me like that." He covered his face, as if it's news flash that I'm utterly in love with him, and turned to me with the same face I didn't wanna be weak for. "Lace, I didn't know."

"Well, now you do. So get the fuck out of my apartment and don't show your face anymore."

End of Flashback.