Both Sides of the Story [cake au.]

thirteen

a/n: this chapter is a lil different bc it's focusing a bit more on Luke!

The following Monday really wasn't Luke's day. He got late in the morning so he ended up getting the girls to school late. He avoided Calum the best he could as he dropped them off, assuming that it would stop him from thinking about the brunet, but he was wrong. His drive to work was filled only with thoughts of Calum, no matter how loud he turned up the Less Than Jake album playing on the stereo.

And when he did get to work at around 9am, he realised he didn't have a customer until 11, leaving him with three hours to work on other tattoos - and to think of Calum.

He liked Calum so much, probably more than he should at this point. He had this uncanny habit of falling way too quick for cute people who smiled at him and said the right things.

"Morning," Mikey greeted as he walked through the front door, causing Luke to jump in surprise. "Damn dude, you good?"

"Yeah." Luke shrugged, settling back down in the high desk chair and continuing his drawing. "Just thinking about him."

"How did last night go?" Mikey asked sincerely, making his way to the desk to look at what Luke was doing.

Luke snorted. "How do you think?" he retorted sarcastically.

"You're not crying and you're at work. It went better than you must've expected."

"Shut up," Luke grumbled, swivelling the chair so he could keep facing Mikey while he worked on something or the other around the back rooms. "I told him about Chloe."

"You did?" Mikey was surprised, once again.

"Yeah. I just thought it would be easier to..." he sighed. "I dunno. Easier to explain to Calum what he's getting himself into."

"Yeah, I guess..." Mikey trailed off, ruffling his fading lilac hair before getting back to work.

Mikey had a customer coming in a few, so Luke knew he had to be quick. "I'm just- I just hope that maybe this time I'll get it right. You're lucky, you know?"

"How so?" Mikey asked, although he probably already knew the answer. Luke had told him this one too many times.

"I- I just want love. I want to be held at night, to go out on dates and walks, to be able to trust someone and love them and just be with them. I want love without strings, without the pressure of sex, without any of that." Luke sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "You, at least, don't have to worry about that, because you could basically pass off as a regular, non-asexual person."

"I mean, I guess?" Mikey made a face. "Not really though, but I guess I am lucky. Luckier than you, if I say so myself."

Luke chuckled, his hands beginning to absently fiddle with objects on the desk. "Yeah, you are. I just, I just thought that maybe Calum could be that person for me. I don't know, maybe I'll never find that person."

"Luke, the fact that Calum actually did some research of his own and came to me with questions about all this shows that you're not giving him enough credit," Mikey pointed out. "Maybe he could be that person."

"What if it turns out like Chloe?" Luke countered. "I mean, she thought she could handle it. She thought she wouldn't miss sex or whatever it is people like about it. God, I thought she'd be content with the girls, I gave her everything I promised myself I wouldn't give anyone, and she still left." Luke's throat was being an inconsiderate bastard, and was constricting on him at a really bad time. "I can't go through that again, Mikey. I can't. Emotionally and mentally, I won't be able to deal with it. I- I- I need to take care of myself, I need to be here for my girls. If I end up the way I was when she left, I won't be able to recover from it, I won't be able to take care of my girls."

During the time Luke was speaking, Mikey had dropped what he was doing and had made his way over to where Luke was sitting. He wrapped his arms around his best friend, allowing him to burrow his face into his shoulder and let out the pent up fears deep inside him.

"I just want a chance at being in love, at living happily ever after without feeling like something's going to tear me away from it."

"Luke, listen to me," Mikey murmured, rubbing up and down the blond's back. "What happened with Chloe is not gonna happen again. I'll make sure of it, yeah? And you will find someone. You'll find someone who won't give a damn, who'd willingly give up sex just to be with you. Maybe Calum is that person, or maybe he isn't. But remember, he's just one person. One person out of all the possibly people you could meet. If it works out, of course that would be amazing, but if it doesn't, it's not because of you. It's because it's just not meant to be."

Luke held his friend tightly, willing himself not to cry. He shut his eyes tight before saying, "No one has ever wanted to give up sex for me. I really doubt that's ever gonna happen."

Mikey sighed, giving Luke a squeeze before pulling away. "You will find someone, Luke. Have faith in your destiny, would ya?"

Luke just nodded, sniffling a bit. "Yeah. Sorry for being mopey, Mikey."

Mikey smiled kindly, albeit sadly, at the defeated man slumped in the chair in front of him. "You can't help how you feel, Luke. Don't ever apologise for how you feel."

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Picking up the girls at the end of the day was something Luke was dreading. Of course he wanted to see them, but he didn't want to see Calum. Calum, who had left without giving him a final verdict. Calum, who hadn't called since two nights ago. Calum, who was driving him insane.

He nervously walked up the hall to Charlotte's class, fixing the button on his shirtsleeve. He always picked up Charlotte first, for some reason. There wasn't really an explanation for it, other than the fact that Charlotte's room was just closer to the entrance.

Luke took a deep breath, stepping into the doorway. Charlotte immediately perked up upon seeing him, and hurried to get her stuff. Calum was talking to another parent, so hopefully he could leave before Calum noticed him there...

"Hi, Luke." Or maybe not.

"Hi," Luke murmured shyly, giving Calum a tight-lipped smile. "I hope Charlotte was alright in class today?"

"Uh, yeah. Charlotte's lovely." Calum seemed a little thrown off by Luke's conversation topic. "Um, but while we're on the subject, the end of the first semester is coming up and I have to schedule meetings with all the parents. Does next Thursday at 6:30pm sound okay?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Call me if that doesn't work, okay?" Calum's brown eyes dropped to Luke's hands, which were nervously fiddling with the buttons on his sleeves, before they met his blue ones.

"Yeah, I will. Thank you. Bye, Calum..."

"Bye Calum!" Charlotte called out, before running out of the classroom to go get her sister.

Luke gave Calum a tiny smile before turning and following his daughter down the hall, trying not to think about how awkward their interaction had been.