After handing Luke a bundle of clothes to wear, I hide away in the washroom to squeeze into my black lace dress.
The reflection in the mirror looks back at me. I'm not too picky about what I look like tonight, but the dress is nice on my figure. I pat down a few extra crinkles, and deem myself ready. There's not even a second spent on my hair, because...who have I got to impress?
By the time I walk out, Luke is standing at my desk with his back towards me. He's looking for something, rifling through my college pamphlets and pens and binders.
I resist the urge to jump on Luke's back and wrestle my belongings out of his meaty hands. Snoopers and nosy people are my least favorite kind of humans; Especially if they try to know the details of my personal life. Even my friends don't understand that: if I haven't told you something, it means there is a reason.
Pushing the wrestling fantasy out of my mind, I march towards Luke with the intention of a lecture. But he hears me and turns around with the goofiest grin on his face.
"Did you draw this?" Luke asks in amazement, holding up a page in my (private, if I may) sketchbook. It wipes off any trace of a smile on my face. "How the hell did you find that? Put it down," I reply shortly, crossing the room in short strides and snatching the sketchbook out of his hand. Then I shove it back into my drawer without a second glance.
"I didn't know you drew," He rambles awkwardly, shifting his feet.
"I don't, anymore."
"You don't?"
"Yeah, I just....lost interest. There are other things on my mind," I say to him.
"But why? You're amazing!" He argues.
"Because...my dad taught me art. But he left me. And Ashton liked my art...but he left, too." I notice him trying to give me a sympathetic look, and return the most intimidating glare I can muster. "Like I said, I lost interest."
Luke opens his mouth a few times to say something, but closes it again. A few seconds later, he seems to gather enough to courage to mutter, "My mom left me. I know how you feel."
The room falls into awkward silence. Luke plops down on the edge of my bed, his knee nervously bobbing up and down as he tries to sneak glances at me.
"Um...." He clears his throat. "Well, yeah! You look nice."
I'm almost as desperate to change the topic, so I say a quick "Thanks. Should we go now?"
Luke nods, then holds his arm out for me to take it. We walk down the steps together as if we're a couple for the prom.
"Where are you guys going?" My mother appears with a huge grin, drying her hands off with a dish rag.
"Mom! That's not a towel!" I exclaim and snatch it out of her hands, at the same time Luke replies to her.
"A party," I hear him say. She claps her hands excitedly, forgetting about the dish rag.
"Ooh, are you her date?"
"I guess." Is Luke's answer. He blushes for the millionth time.
"Can I take a picture of you two?!" My mother giggles.
"No, mom. I'll see you later."
"But-"
"I'll see you. Later," I tell her firmly, and she seems to calm down a little when I give her a kiss on the forehead.
It takes a while, but we successfully exit the house and get in Luke's beat up Lexus.
"Sorry about my mom," I offer, when he's just started the engine.
Luke looks at me in confusion. "What is there to be sorry for?"
"Didn't you notice something...strange about her?"
Luke turns his face back to the road. "I didn't exactly pay attention. She seems like a nice person, though. I like her."
"She's got a bit of a personality disorder, something like that. But it's minor," I say carefully, searching face in the rearview mirror. His eyes meet mine in the reflection.
"Oh," he says.
"You don't care?"
Luke frowns like he smelled something foul. "She's your mom. Why would I care?"
"Well, most people treat her like a crazy person....after I tell them." Kind of like Ashton. He was never rude to her but...well, he was never that welcome, either.
"I guess I'm not like most people," Luke shrugs, his eyes back on the road as he takes a new turn.
What he said warms my heart. And I have a sudden urge to hug him, but then decide that's kind of creepy.
YOU ARE READING
Project Publicity || l.h
Fanfiction[BOOK ONE] Jade and Luke have known each other since childhood. But as they grew older, Jade became glamorous and beautiful, while Luke stayed a loser. With time, the two of them drifted apart, never to speak again. This year, everything changes. A...
