player ♚ lrh

36 - macy

Luke was 14 when he met Calum.

They didn't get along at first, admittedly, though that was to be expected. Luke had always had trouble making friends, not that he bothered much with the effort. He often felt like he was better off without them.

His mother used to tell him that it wasn't true. He needed to take his time, she'd say. All it takes is one.

Perhaps she was right. Though in the long run, Luke had started to wish he'd never gotten close to his 'best mates' in the first place. It sure would've saved him some pain, for Calum had been his first real friend, but with Calum came Michael and with Michael came Cole, and so on.

Ashton was the last to be befriended by Luke. Ironic, for he was also the last to stay.

"Ew. This place is gross,"

Luke rolled his eyes, his 19 year old self just as blunt, shooting an irritated glance toward Cole. "Why did you bring her?" He muttered.

"Don't be a dick," the other boy nudged him, wrapping an arm around the oblivious girl's shoulders.

It wasn't the first time he'd met Sidney. That had been many years ago, when Luke was in his junior year of high school and he had the misfortune of meeting the new girl. He was destined to dislike her, for she was the epitome of a teacher's pet and Luke had been dubbed a troubled kid since before he could remember.

He wasn't a bad kid, persay, but his teachers liked to throw around labels and those labels often stuck.

Luke couldn't explain it but she just irked him. Perhaps it was the way she almost always smacked a stick of gum obnoxiously between her lips, or maybe it was just her demeanor. He wasn't sure, but something about her from the start had him positive she would be a headache and a half.

Come to find years later, he'd been absolutely correct.

"He's got a point, though," Michael muttered under his breath, trailing behind the other boys.

Cole, who had yet to find any flaw in Sidney, shushed them both. He was aware that she wasn't well-liked amongst them, but it didn't stop him from making an admirable effort to integrate her. They were his best friends, after all.

"I kinda like this place," Ashton announced then, gazing around at the unfamiliar building before them. He sent Luke a small nod of approval, with his signature grin. "I think it'll be perfect,"

Luke didn't thank him but the corner of his mouth did lift slightly. For as much shit as the young boy gave Ashton, he had to admit that it felt good to always have someone on his side.

He often wondered how far his loyalty would go, though he never imagined it would show at the expense of Calum's.

"It's like...dirty," Sidney scrunched her face up in disgust, the tip of her shoe gliding over a thin layer of dust across the ground.

Once more, Luke rolled his eyes. For Cole's sake, he was trying his hardest to hide his distaste but it was difficult when the girl wouldn't cease complaining about a place no one—certainly not Luke—had asked her to be. "It's not supposed to be pretty," he scoffed lightly.

Sidney shrugged. "What's it supposed to be?"

"A secret."

Luke walked away then, distancing himself from the group as he took his time looking around. He could already feel himself growing irritated and he hardly wanted it to escalate.

The place was good; not great. Condition-wise, it certainly wasn't perfect, but that didn't matter much to him. He wasn't looking for beauty, he was looking for an escape.