MR. PERFECTLY FINE ; LUKE HUGHES

21

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍒 ꒱  would you lie with me and just forget the world?
SNOW PATROL ^

LUKE

I WOULDN'T say I was a massive follower of rules, and I didn't know if what we were doing was counting as trespassing.

"Luke." Lorelei muttered, the hesitation making her body tense as she pulled away from me, looking around. "You're gonna get in so much trouble if someone sees us!"

"Sh." I placed a finger over my mouth, nodding my head to the right as I dragged her into the pitch black arena.

Yost Arena was like a second home to me, knowing the walls and ins and outs of this place like the back of my hand. Hockey was the most important thing to me, Lorelei was even more important to me. Why not combine two of my favorite things in my favorite place?

Unfortunately, it was past eleven and the arena was supposed to be empty. It was, other than Lorelei and I sneaking our way in.

"Luke, this is stupid." Lorelei insisted, moving into my side as she trembled. "And I'm scared of the dark. Let's just go back home."

I rubbed her shoulder as I leaned down in my bag, pulling out the large flashlight that shined across the arena, blinding us both momentarily.

"Better?" I teased, shooting her a wink as I continued to lead us until we stopped at the entrance onto the ice. "C'mon. You can't go on the ice without skates."

Lorelei glanced down at her sneakers then back at the ice skates I was holding like they were some sort of weapon. She cocked a brow before sighing with defeat and plopping down on the bench.

I watched her untie her shoes, tossing the to the side as she slipped her feet into the skates, struggling to tie them up.

"Watch out." I chuckled, holding her foot with cautiousness, knowing how sharp the blade had been. I tied them with ease, leaving them tight enough to keep her foot sturdy.

I stepped foot onto the ice first, turning around and holding out my hands for her to take. She shook slightly as she stood, nearly collapsing into me as I slowly made my way out onto the ice.

She held me for support, not even trying to maneuver much on her own as her hands clawed into my biceps.
The flashlights were set up on either side of the boards, creating just the right amount of light.

Lorelei shook her head, leveling out as she now held my hands. At least we were making progress.

"Nice and easy, Lo." I hummed, dragging us backwards as I tried to let her do most of the work. "We might have one of the walkers."

Lorelei chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Absolutely not. I think I'd rather eat shit."

"Just think of it like wearing high heels." I shrugged, attempting to make a connection between the two.

Lorelei furrowed her brows, rolling her bottom
lip into her mouth. "Not only do I rarely wear heels, but they do not compare in anyway, Lukey."

"Oh, whatever." I rolled my eyes with a scoff. "I just can't believe I'm actually beating you at something."

"You're not beating me at anything, Luke." Lorelei fired back. "You're just being my helping hand if you must."

I riled her up before taking my hands away, leaving them at my sides. Lorelei was so caught up in arguing with me, she hadn't realized she'd been skating without any help.

"Look around, Lo." There was good distance between us now.

Lorelei widened her eyes as she looked down at her feet, getting a rhythm that she'd gotten comfortable with as she began to skate around.

"I'm doing it." She muttered in disbelief, excited eyes darting up to meet mine as a large grin spread across her lips. "Do you see this?"

I smiled at the brunette, in that moment, I wasn't focused on seeing her skate, I was wondering how I got so damn lucky.

"I'm so proud." I moved back towards her, my hands falling to her hips as we skated into center ice. We stopped, keeping ourselves upright as we just stared at one another.

"Can I...can I tell you something?" Lorelei's demeanor changed, a sudden gloominess falling between us.

It made my breath hitch as nerves began to bubble in my stomach. I nodded slowly. "You can tell me anything, Lorelei."

"Do you remember how everyone used to talk about how I hated hockey because it involved you?" She started slowly, crossing her hands over her stomach. It was a stupid rumor. I nodded again. "It wasn't true. That's not why I hated it."

"Why do you?" I swallowed, her soft eyes beginning to gloss over.

Lorelei sniffled, exhaling deeply as she cleared her throat. "My dad was a big hockey fan. Like, he played growing up and stuff but he was never good enough to make it into the big league."

Her dad. Lorelei had never mentioned her father, her mother here and there but never her father.

"He was going to see a Minnesota Wild game. He was driving almost thirteen hours to see them." She paused, blinking a numberless amount of times. "He was killed by a drunk driver."

I could feel my heart begin to shatter for her. I placed my hands on either side of her cheeks, feeling the dampness of her tears beneath that pads of my thumbs.

"I grew up feeling that, like, if hockey never existed he'd still be here." Lorelei cracked out a sob. "And, so, I hated everything to do with it. But you, Luke, you changed everything."

I brought my lips down to her forehead before pulling her into my chest as she broke down. She held my sweatshirt tightly, her muffled cries echoing.

"I'm so sorry, baby." I apologized, rubbing my palm over the top of her head while the other drifted up and down her back. "I'm sorry."

I don't know how long we stayed like that until she pulled back, taking her sweater to wipe her face.

"I've never told anyone that. Not even Ellie." Lorelei admitted, her eyes coated with red.

"I'm glad you told me." I nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'm here for you, always."

trauma dump!
i love lorelei sm