Perfectly Wrong || Luke Hemmings

4

"There you are," Calum says as he sidles up next to me at the snack table. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

I frown slightly as I pop a grape into my mouth. "Everything okay?"

He nods as he snatches a pretzel from the huge bowl. "If you're Michael, everything's perfect." He inclines his head toward where Tori and Michael are currently making out in a dark corner.

I smile as I sweep a strand of my hair back behind my ear. "I'm glad he got what he wanted. Michael's so much better for Tori than Theo."

Despite myself, my eyes stray from my best friend to further into the shadows where Luke and the red haired girl disappeared to. His hands slip down low on her body while her hands travel all across his. His ocean eyes are fixed on me the way they have been for quite some time now.

His words from earlier echo in my head on repeat. Oh, you're so innocent. It's adorable.

I shudder and look away.

Calum hardly even catches me staring at his friend, nudging my shoulder to get my attention. "Hey, you and Tori should come to one of our band practices. I promise they're not as boring as they sound."

Pushing aside thoughts of how Luke will be there too, I force a smile and nod. "Sounds great."

"Fantastic!" He brightens considerably as he eats another pretzel. "Here, give me your number and I'll text you the information. I'm absolutely positive Tori's down to come. Maybe she and Michael can go all around the bases after next practice."

I blink in confusion but he doesn't stop to explain what he means. Giving up on the thought, I tell him my number as he punches it into his phone.

Ashton, their drummer, walks over as Calum's putting his phone away. "Hey, I don't think I've formally introduced myself. I'm Ashton." He holds out a hand to me that I tentatively take.

"Izzy," I say in a small voice.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Izzy."

He smiles dazzlingly down at me and I feel a little heat creep onto my face. Ashton's cute in a nerdy, sweet way that I find kinda charming.

"You too," I murmur, scuffing my Converse on the floor.

Calum turns to Ashton. "It's getting late I think we should probably head out."

Casting a glance at me, he adds, "If Tori's your ride home, you can come with us, Izzy. I don't doubt that she and Michael would like some alone time tonight and besides, she looks a bit tipsy to me."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose." I nervously tug down the hem of my T-shirt.

Calum slings a friendly arm across my shoulders. "Absolutely. You might even have a little fun."

Stepping back, he addresses Ashton. "You two wanna go pull your car around while I go get Mikey and Tori?"

Without hardly staying to hear the response, he selves into the crowds, pushing through to the other side of the room where Tori and Michael are locking lips.

Ashton smiles politely at me as he leads the way to the front door, holding it open for me to walk through.

"Are you in college?" he asks as we walk down the gravel driveway to where he parked his car.

"Yeah, I go to Berkeley." I shove my hands in my pockets, not knowing what else to do with them. "Calum told me you work at KFC. How's that?"

He makes a face, scratching at the back of his neck. "It's not an ideal situation, but it could be worse so I try and make the best of it. I really just need something to give me enough money to keep going. Living with the boys has made it easier because I know they'll back me up if I'm in real trouble."

I smile at him in the darkness. "It's nice to have friends you know you can trust."

Ashton nods as he whips out his car keys and unlocks the vehicle. It's an older model of an Accord and I wonder how we're all going to fit in it.

"You get your choice of seats," the drummer tells me with a small smile as he slides behind the wheel.

After a moment of pretending to think about it, I hop into the passenger's seat.

Ashton grins as he backs out of his parking spot and pulls around the loop driveway in front of the house. "Nice choice."

Just as I'm about to ask him something else to alleviate the growing silence, the door bursts open and Calum and Tori and Michael pour out of the house. They slide into the backseat, Tori taking the middle so she can squeeze up against Michael.

"This is going to be a long ride," Calum mutters as they proceed to resume making out.

I laugh, but it quickly turns into a frown when I realize that someone is missing.

"Isn't Luke coming with us?" I feel my face heat up a bit at his name, remembering how it felt to have his lips on mine. No one knows that we even kissed, that it was my first kiss and I'm still wondering what it even meant.

Calum shakes his head back and forth, inching away from Tori as she twists all the way around to kiss Michael at a better angle. "No. He's still with that red haired chick. He'll find his way home one way or another."

Ashton pulls out of the driveway onto the main road, deftly switching lanes. I subtly watch him out of the corner of my eye. There's no doubt about it, he's definitely good-looking. His curly brown hair falls over his forehead as his hazel eyes watch the road in front of him intently.

Realizing that I've been staring far too long, I blush, dropping my gaze to my lap.

"Jesus Christ, can't you act like normal human beings for one minute?" Calum shifts uncomfortably in the backseat, scowling.

Michael flips him off while continuing to kiss my best friend.

I snicker and Ashton laughs quietly under his breath next to me.

"Fuck you too," Calum mutters as he presses himself up against the door.