player ♚ lrh

24 - fuck it

"They were all there?"

Luke nodded, reluctantly. The condensation seeped from his untouched whiskey glass, staining his hand with a chill he hardly even registered, leaving him to wonder, yet again, why he poured himself a drink in the first place.

He did that a lot, recently, going so far as to have the drink in hand, but never quite gaining the courage to lift it past his lips. He didn't know why.

Drinking didn't appeal to him the way it had before, when he was younger. Luke used to get so drunk he would lose himself, if only for a short period of time. He liked it that way, until a short time dragged into a long time, and suddenly Luke didn't know who he was anymore.

There were only bad memories he associated with drinking. One memory, in particular, always came to mind, and it stopped him every time he felt like tossing one back. It was the kind of memory that shifted in perception over the years—something that used to upset him, but now only left him angry.

It's the one where he lost his friends. One blackout. Day and night. Over in an instant.

So, Luke didn't really drink anymore. Simple as that; despite how consistently the boy told himself it wasn't because of them, that it couldn't have affected him all that much because he just didn't care. He hardly cared about anything, let alone anyone.

He wasn't sure how true that was anymore. How could it be, when there was a little girl on his mind who'd begun to be a higher priority of his than himself? It was unheard of for Luke, even he knew that.

"Even Sidney," The boy muttered, distracted, caught in his own spiraling thoughts.

This surprised Ashton. His friend's entire story had him baffled out of his mind. "No shit? She's still coming around?"

Luke nodded again, only half-invested in their conversation as he toyed with the glass in his hand some more. "Fucking annoying as ever."

"God damn," Ashton leaned back against the leather in Luke's club room, laughing to himself in disbelief. "Sorry I missed the reunion."

"Wasn't much," he scoffed.

"Let me guess," Ashton mused. "They weren't exactly jumping-for-joy when you walked in?"

"What do you think?"

"I think I missed all the drama, is what I think," the other boy grinned.

Luke could already feel himself pulling away from the conversation entirely. He was hardly in the mood for this. "My bad," he said flatly, face blank. "Next time I'll fucking record it for you."

"It's the least you could do."

Ashton wasn't trying to piss Luke off, even though he could tell his friend was just one comment away from dragging him out by the collar and slamming the door in his face. It certainly wouldn't be the first time.

However, he was trying to snap the sulking boy out of his mood. Something had clearly upset him, something he'd failed to mention about the hostile interaction he'd had recently, and Ashton could tell it was weighing on him.

He wouldn't ask outright, but Ashton knew Luke well enough to figure something was up, far beyond the boy's general moodiness. He could tell by the glass in his hand, untouched and brimming with memories—the same ones Ashton was just as familiar with.

"Fuck off."

"I will," Ashton raised a brow. "After you tell me more."

Luke sighed in annoyance, head drifting back against the leather. "I don't want to." He told him honestly.