Starry Eyed / l.h ✔️

23

~Elysia's POV~

Just like mom had threatened, she grounded me. However, instead of grounding me for two months like she had last suggested to me, she settled for just a month instead. For my family, being grounded meant that you only left the house to go to and from school. That was the only time I could leave. Even if it wasn't to hang out with Luke, she refused to let up. After a while, I just accepted my punishment and gave up on trying to change her mind.

Monday morning, I rolled out of bed and dragged myself into the bathroom so that I could shower. After the argument my mom and Luke had gotten into, Luke had simply texted me that he was sorry and that he loved me, but we hadn't spoken anymore since then. It wasn't because neither of us wanted to, but because I knew my mom very well. If she saw me on my phone all the time right after she grounded me for being with Luke, she'd take my phone. That was the one thing she had let me keep while I was grounded, but if she knew I was speaking to him, she'd never allow me to keep it. So I told him we'd talk Monday at school, AKA today. I wasn't mad at him in the slightest and I certainly didn't want him to think that I was by just not responding to him.

After I took my shower, I put on my makeup as I usually would and then headed into my closet to get dressed. I put on a pair of black spandex shorts and then a black tank top with a straight neckline and thin spaghetti straps. Feeling like I was too exposed, I pulled on a black kimono that had a pattern on the bottom half of turquoise and orange koi fish. I pulled on a pair of black combat boots and then grabbed my backpack, leaving my hair to fall down my back as I left my room and went downstairs. Not wanting to have to talk to my mom, I quietly left the house and got into my car, beginning the drive to school. When I reached the school, I parked in my usual spot and got out of my car, seeing that Luke's was already parked beside mine, where it usually was.

I headed inside and went to my locker, switching out my textbooks that I didn't need for the ones that I did. When the bell rang, I went off to first period and began my day.

**

Surprisingly enough, I didn't see Luke until lunch time rolled around. I'd expected to see him in class or maybe even in the hallway, but I didn't. Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed because I'd thought he wasn't at school today. However, a twinge of happiness shot through me when I spotted him at the lunch table as I exited the lunch line with my tray.

I hurried my way across the cafeteria and set my tray down on the table between him and Jaxon. Before I arrived, I noticed he had a bored look on his face, his blue eyes scanning continuously across the cafeteria like he was in search of something or someone. Maybe he was even looking for me, wondering where I was. When I placed my tray beside him and he glanced up, his eyes lit up and his full lips pulled into a smile. "Lysi." He said with a tone of happiness and relief, visibly glad to see me.

As he stood up, I tilted my head back to peer up at him, his tall frame towering over me. Something about having him stand over me and be much bigger made me feel warm inside, like I was safe around him. "Hi." I smiled, placing my backpack around the back of my chair. I'd barely gotten the chance to look up at him again once I'd set my bag down before he was crushing me up against his chest in a strong hug. His actions caught not only me off guard, but everyone else at the table, especially Jaxon, who met my eyes and raised his brows at me curiously. I felt my cheeks flame hot and Jax gaped at me silently, shocked. We'd been friends for so long that he could tell when I was blushing under my makeup by the look on my face alone.

"I've missed you, kitten." He murmured into my ear, causing me to smile wider. "Really?" I whispered. "Really. I don't know how I even managed." He said playfully, my lips pulling into a little grin. "Well, I missed you too." I said back, feeling his strong arms tighten around me protectively as he placed a loving kiss on my cheek and then buried his face into my neck. "You smell good enough to eat." He mumbled to me, the odd words making me laugh. "What a line." I teased. He pinched my side. "I bet I could get you in bed with that line." He said back, completely sure of himself. I, on the other hand, doubted it. That line was stupid and boring, not sexy or arousing. Plus, it was just plain weird and overused. "Sure you could." I said sarcastically, snorting. He raised a brow at me. "Oh, you'll see, kitten. You won't even see it coming." He chuckled, placing a light kiss on my lips.

That was when someone broke the silence that had settled over the table.

"Okay, whoa, what the hell?" Jaxon cut in in confusion, not understanding what was happening. "The fuck is going on? When did you two get so buddy buddy?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. We stayed quiet because, to be honest, I couldn't answer that with a timeframe. It felt like forever ago that I'd been a bit judgmental towards him, but now I loved him in a way that made it hard for me to even remember a time where I hadn't loved him. It wasn't that it hurt me. It was that it felt like I'd been in love with him for forever, but we'd only known one another for a couple months now.

When neither of us responded, Jaxon sent me an alarmed look. "Oh, fuck. Don't tell me he took your virginity." He gasped, earning a slight glare from me. Now everyone knows that I'm a virgin, great. "You two fuck buddies or something now? What's going on?" Ashton asked us, genuinely curious. I just stared at them all, shocked. "No, I didn't have sex with her. Her virginity is most definitely still intact." Luke assured Jaxon suddenly, deciding to answer him. Then, he turned to Ash. "And no, we're not fuck buddies." He said simply. They stared at us. "Then what's going on here?" Calum asked, looking between Luke and I.

Luke took a glance down at me and he smiled widely. "She's my girlfriend." He answered bluntly, looking ecstatic at the sound of his own words. "And I love her so much. She makes me happy." He said softly. My heart melted.

If everybody was surprised before, they were losing their damn minds now. "Love?" Jaxon squawked out in shock. "Shit!" He grinned widely and stood up, clapping Luke on the back. "About damn time you get a girl who's good for you." He smiled.

Then, Jaxon's smile vanished and he quickly leaned in towards Luke to begin a talk with him, one that I couldn't hear. After he finished speaking, he sat down and our lunch period resumed as usual. However, I prefer making my own. "What'd he say to you?" I asked Luke and walked ahead of him. He bit his lip should and blushes. "I... He was just being protective. Said he'd kick my ass if I ever hurt you." He explained, earning a soft giggle. "Nor that is even dream of that. I'd be a moron to let you go." He teased, placing another kiss on my nose. "I love you too." I said softly, knowing that was his way of saying home wand ohbwaes.

"Now," He hummed, sitting in the chair beside me. "Let's get to talking about the incident on Friday." He suggested, raising a brow in hope. "Yeah." I sighed, nodding in agreement.

"I'm sorry." He said after a moment, sighing deeply. "I didn't mean to talk to her like that and make it worse, but I wasn't going to just....stand there and have to watch and listen to her belittling you. I'm so sorry." He sighed. My lips pulled into a smile. "Hey, stop. Don't apologize. It's completely fine. I liked it. Most people are intimidated. "I insisted softly, brushing a curl from his face. "Elysia?" He asked softly, furrowing his brows. I gave him a smile and nodded, waiting for him to say what he needed to. "Did she end up grounding you?" He asked, curious. I shivered and nodded, feeling very cold. "Yeah. Only for a month." I said optimistically.

"Shit." He muttered, shaking his head. "What does that mean?" He asked softly, frowning. I sighed deeply and popped a french fry into my mouth. "Mom doesn't want me leaving the house for anything except school. Otherwise, I'm stuck in the house until I'm ungrounded." I explained, watching as his face dropped in disappointment. "I can't even see you outside of school?" He frowned, upset at the news. I sighed and sent him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Luke. She'd kill me if I left to talk to you for even a second." I frowned, peering up at him. Lightly, he shook his head. "Don't be sorry, please. I had a big hand in this." He said simply.

"Can we still text and call each other?" He asked curiously, a little hope in his eyes that made my heart race. "Yes." I confirmed, causing him to relax and blow out a breath of relief. "Shit, thank fuck." He chuckled, earning a soft laugh from me. "You'd better be expecting a call from me every damn night, then." He hummed, beginning to eat bits of his food as well. I grinned at him as I grabbed my chocolate milk and opened the container.

"I'll hold you to that."