short skirts ➳ l.h.

t w e n t y

t w e n t y :

"Lottie, where are the cups?" Aunt Maddie asks me as I finish placing the silverware by the plates and bowls.

"In the cabinet to the right of the microwave." I say, pointing in no distinct direction.

"Thanks." She says as she pulls out three, placing them on the table before going to the fridge and pulling out a two liter of Diet Coke that hadn't been opened yet, setting it next to the plastic bags.

"Lottie, can I talk to you for a moment please?" Luke calls for me from the hallway, his hand on the wall, leaning to his left.

"Yeah, give me a second." I say, giving Aunt Maddie a smile before walking over to where Luke was, only just barely out of Aunt Maddie's line of sight.

"I know what to do." He says, "If you're serious about us."

"What?" I ask, not stating whether I've made up my mind yet or not.

"I know that it's your senior year, and you're almost done with classes, but you're smart, and I know that you can handle yourself. What if I pulled you out of school and got you a private tutor, and homeschooled you?" He says, completely serious.

I laugh, almost choking on my spit, since when would that ever be an option.

"You can't be serious Luke." I say with a smile and an arched eyebrow, "That would raise so many questions. People actually like me and would miss me if I left."

"I know that it would be hard, but it would only be for a couple of months. I'll find a really smart tutor, pay good money, you'll be fine. Ashton won't be able to touch you."

"You do know that he knows where we live right?"

"Oh, that's what I forgot." He says, his eyes brightening, "What's your opinion on California?"

"We are not moving to California." I say, crossing my arms, "Homeschool is enough, moving though, I will die."

"Okay, we don't have to move, but I'm serious about the homeschool. I don't like the way the boys look at you, or any of your friends besides Danielle and Calum, or your teachers, who lie when I ask for a reason why you got a bad grade."

"Whoa, Luke, chill." I say with a sigh, "Did this just come to you? Maybe you need some time to think about it."

"I feel like five minutes in the bathroom was enough time. I've made up my mind." He states, "You'll be homeschooled once the semester ends."

"I thought my opinion was valued when it came to these kinds of things Luke, I'm pretty sure that I don't want to be homeschooled."

"But there's a little part of you that wants to try it out right?" He says, his smile growing.

I frown.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. The first two weeks of the next semester we try homeschool and if you can't stand it, I'll put you back in your private school to finish out the year."

"Luke, that like a month away. I have exams in like two weeks."

"So do we have a deal? One more month with your boyfriend and then you come home to Daddy. I'll make sure that you get the rest of your high school education. Everything will be fine. We'll be able to spend more time together, especially since it's just you and me now. We need to stick together, you and I. We need each other."

He pulls me into a hug, burying his face into my neck.

I hug him back tightly, my throat tightening at the mention of being alone, without my mom. I wonder what would happened if she knew what Luke and I did.

"Now let's go eat some Chinese with your favorite Aunt." Luke perks up, placing his hands on my cheeks, letting the pads of his thumbs rub underneath my eyes, wiping off the moisture.

I smile and follow him into the kitchen where Aunt Maddie is sitting in her chair smirking down at her phone.

Because it's Aunt Maddie, you learn from experience. I do not want to know what she's looking at. I learned the hard way never to ask, because you never know what she's looking at.

"Now let's eat." Luke says, causing Aunt Maddie to put her phone away.

"Lets." Aunt Maddie says.

But I see Luke out of the corner of my eyes, smiling.

He got what he wanted.

Me.

(A/N)

So you guys went full out with the fighting tips lol. He and I aren't actually going to fight, he's a friend and we were joking (he reads this lol)

Sorry for the shitty updates, it's been a really shitty week. Ya know?