gone ✧*｡ luke a.u.

26: august 5 2011

LUKE

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5TH, 2011

It was quiet in Luke's bedroom, that type of quiet that can only be found in the early morning, like the world was holding its breath. The light that seeped in through the slits of his blinds was dim and blue-grey. It made his eyelids feel heavy; the patterns he traced across Ellie's sides with his fingers had become lazy and slow.

She was lying flat on her stomach, hunched over a pad of A5 paper with her bottom lip between her teeth as she concentrated. He didn't know how long he had been there watching her, but somehow the way she drew was fascinating enough that he could hardly look away.

The boys would probably be pissed at him for creeping away with her, when he was supposed to be down there practicing with the band. Luke anticipated that. But he couldn't bring himself to pull away from her side and leave.

The way she drew held some sort of magic, Luke had decided. Not magic in the sense of wizards and witches, but in that it held a type of power and artistic resonance that luke couldn't remember ever seeing in anyplace as common as his bedroom. Each line had an intention, each stroke meant something; it was all so purposeful. And even though Ellie hated mornings -- she had told him as much when she climbed into his car at seven in the morning, the shadows under her eyes dark with sleeplessness, and her hair still damp and dark from her shower -- she was pouring her whole self into this.

All Luke could do was watch in awe.

There was a clang and a crash from downstairs, and then a series of badly-timed drumbeats. Ellie laughed softly. "You should probably be down there," she murmured, not taking her eyes off her notebook. "Sounds like they're struggling."

"I'm pretty happy up here," he said, coming in closer to her to press his face into the crook of her neck.

She giggled, trying to shake him off. "Your breath tickles."

"Mm, does it?" he teased, and blew a stream of air across the back of her neck, smirking as goosebumps rose on her skin. Laughing, she rolled away from him, forcing his arms to fall away from their position around her.

He pouted. "Come back."

She pouted back. "I'm pretty happy over here."

"Ellie."

"Luke."

He let out a fake growl of frustration, then reached forward and tackled her around the waist, so they fell onto the floor together. She was laughing again, and he loved the sound -- she didn't laugh like that enough, without any sadness or fear of judgement.

Then he kissed her, first her neck then her lips. He loved that feeling even more.

She gasped against his mouth before her body melted into his, one hand running through his hair and the other on his chest. She let him roll them over, without their lips detaching, so he was on top, propped on his elbows.

His hands were on her waist, sliding underneath her back, and the heat of her body almost rid him of the morning's harsh cold. She felt so goddamn fragile beneath him, like if he made one wrong move she would shatter into a million pieces, and be carried off by the wind. He worried, not for the first time, that she was too thin, that she wasn't eating enough. The fear of it made him hold her tighter.

Luke wasn't sure if this meant he was allowed to kiss her whenever he wanted. He wasn't sure if they were friends or a thing or more. He had no idea what she wanted. But this was damn well good enough for now.

"Luke," she whispered against his mouth. "Luke, stop."

He frowned and pulled back a few inches -- though not enough that he would have to let go of her. She felt too good for that. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she laughed quietly, shaking her head. "Everything's fine."

"Then what is it?" He kissed her collarbone. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, her eyes bright, "but I think your mum wants you. She's at your door."

"Oh," he said, rolling off her. His cheeks felt hot with embarrassment. "Shit. Just, uh -- one sec, okay?" Ellie nodded, smiling softly as Luke stood and hurried out, closing the door behind him so his mum wouldn't see the girl on his floor with tousled hair and swollen lips.

"Sorry, mum," Luke said sheepishly when he saw Liz, leaning against the wall opposite his bedroom door. "What is it?"

It took a minute for her to form a response. Worry and confusion laced themselves into a knot in Luke's throat. Liz seemed half-dead, like a zombie.

Eventually, she said, "Come with me, Luke." She didn't wait to see if he would follow; she just left, walking away with her arms limp at her sides. Something was very, very wrong.

Liz walked to the dining room, sat down at the table and folded her hands tightly in front of her. Her face was sickly pale, and she looked old; wrinkles he hadn't noticed before made lines across her face, like loud announcements of her creeping age.

"Mum?" he said tentatively. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm -- I'm kind of in shock," she said quietly, reaching up to rub a hand over her face. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to say this. Please sit, I don't think I can do it with you standing like that."

Wordlessly, he complied. The rest of the house was eerily silent; there wasn't even any noise coming from the garage, where he'd left the boys, and there was no sign of his dad or either of his brothers. "Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Andy and Ben are on their way to the hospital already," Liz explained quietly. She wouldn't meet Luke in the eye; he noticed how white her knuckles were because of how tightly she gripped her own hands. "I told your friends, too. They've all left already."

"Mum," Luke said slowly, shaking his head. "I don't understand."

"Luke . . ." Liz's face crumpled, and she fought for a minute to regain her composure, keep her breath steady. Luke felt like he was choking. "Jack's in hospital. He overdosed."

~:~

sorry this is short but there was lellie so yay?!?

idk if anyone saw the post on my profile but yes updates may take a bit longer due to personal issues ok never fear tho i won't stop the story