gone ✧*｡ luke a.u.

21: august 3 2011

ELLIE

SUNDAY, AUGUST 3RD, 2011

The first thing Ellie was aware of when she woke up was her headache, pounding at her skull like hammer and anvil. Her mind felt foggy, and she could feel the unsteady swings of nausea just waiting to take over.

She was comfortable, though, curled up in soft satin sheets and warm beneath a thick quilt. But it wasn't her bed.

She blinked her eyes open, feeling groggy and half-dead. The room was dark, but daylight peeked out through closed blinds and beneath the door across the room. She was right: this wasn't her bedroom. It was unfamiliar. Tight fear laced through her chest.

But then she saw the guitars in the corner, and the shelf full of CDs. She saw the band posters tacked up on the wall. This was Luke's room. This was Luke's bed.

She was in Luke's bed.

The thought made it hard for her to breathe.

A second later, the door opened.

The light was sudden and sharp; Ellie rose her arm up to shield her eyes, groaning from the pain. Someone chuckled.

"Sorry. Hangover?"

"Yeah . . ." Her voice was croaky and clogged with sleep. She fell back into the pillows.

The person walked over, their hand lifting to run through their hair, and she realised it was Luke. In his other hand he held a glass. "You should probably hydrate," he muttered, sitting on the edge of the bed. "It'll help with the headache."

She sat up and accepted the glass from him. The water felt cool and soothing as it ran down her throat, a sweet relief.

"Do you remember much of what happened last night?" he asked quietly, watching her.

She swallowed more water. She hadn't put much thought to why she was in Luke's bed or the reason behind the headache, but now the thoughts all came flooding back, albeit slightly hazy: going to the party, seeing Hadley, getting drunk, the game with Calum. Calum and Luke fighting. Luke holding her hair back while she vomited, keeping her in his arms while she cried, taking her with him to his house . . .

"Yeah," she said again. "I remember." Her voice was clearer now, and her head. She realised she wasn't in her own clothes -- she was wearing an oversized Ramones shirt and grey trackpants. "Whose are these?"

He laughed under his breath. "Mine. You fell asleep in my car. But Mum dressed you, don't worry," he added quickly. "I hope that's okay . . .?" His voice trailed off into a question.

"That's fine."

He looked like he was holding back a smile or a laugh, but Ellie couldn't understand what he found so amusing. She asked him, and he grinned devilishly, his tongue between his teeth. "Apparently you played Honesty with Calum."

Ellie laughed, taking herself by surprise. That was not what she had been expecting at all. "Did he tell you the stuff he told me?"

"No, but he told me the stuff you told him." Luke looked like some cheeky little boy, ready to blackmail. "Apparently you have a daddy kink?"

Ellie's mouth dropped open. "I do not have a daddy kink."

Luke giggled to himself. "I'm just kidding," he said, "but that was brilliant. God, Ellie, you should've seen your face." He started openly laughing, and Ellie felt her cheeks flush red. She hid them in her hands.

"Shut up," she said, her voice muffled through her fingers.

"Seriously, though. He said you hardly answered anything. Just drank and asked." His smile had fallen, and he watched her closely, his eyes dark with the lack of light. "No wonder you were so drunk."