The Jerks Next Door || Ashton Irwin [5 Seconds Of Summer]

Chapter 31 | Changes and Spontaneity

Kate POV

I opened the door after I heard a knock. "Hey, Rob! What's up?"

He smiled. "I have so much to tell you!"

I was taken aback. "Oh, uh, okay. Come in, then."

After he had made himself very comfortable in my apartment, he turned to me with an ecstatic grin. "Guess what?"

"Um..." I tried to come up with something witty, but he cut me off.

"Don't hurt yourself too much."

After I had rolled my eyes at him very dramatically, he continued. "Okay okay, so a certain boy band member is basically in love with you."

I nearly spat out the water that I was drinking. "What! Luke doesn't like me! What gave you that crazy idea?"

He looked at me knowingly. "Who said I was talking about Luke?"

I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water. How could I let him manipulate me like that? I was smarter than that. "Well, you know what, they're not even a boy band so this entire conversation has been inaccurate," I pointed out immaturely.

"Alright," he concluded, ignoring my last sentence and getting up. "I'll be going now. I've got the answer to my question."

"Really?" I said, feeling extremely confronted. "And what was that?"

"You like Luke. I mean, jeez, could it not be more obvious? And it's kind of hurting my feelings how secretive you're trying to be about it. I mean, I really thought we had something going on here."

**********

The next time I had opened my door, I was tired and cranky. "Can you not leave me alone, Rob? I'm not very happy with you right now." My eyes widened as I saw it wasn't Rob, but Luke. "Uh, hey, what are you doing here?" I suddenly felt very under-dressed in just my robe and sweatpants, compared to Luke who was wearing his designer-celebrity clothes.

"Um..." he suddenly didn't look very confident. "So uh, I talked to Robby and basically -"

"No no no no." This couldn't be happening. Please tell me this wasn't happening. Ugh this was so humiliating.

He smiled crookedly. "Yeah."

"I'm going to murder that boy." I didn't even know what to do from here. How do you act when the guy you like knows you like him? "Uh, come in, I guess." I scratched the back of my neck nervously.

I closed the door behind him and he sat down on my couch, making himself comfortable.

I slowly lowered myself down onto the love seat. "What exactly did Rob, uh...tell you?"

He laughed nervously at the ground then looked up at me from underneath his eyelashes. My breath caught in my throat.

"I think you already know what he told me, Kaitlyn," he teased.

I started laughing right then and there, my head falling into my hands. "My name - is - not - Kaitlyn!" I said in between giggles. "Why are you so caught up on that?" He started laughing along with that loud laugh of his, that huge smile plastered onto his face. After we were done laughing and I had wiped away my nonexistent tears, he got up from the couch and came to sit on the love seat with me, crossing his legs (criss-cross applesauce, I thought childishly) and facing me. I mirrored him.

He had a goofy smile on his face, but he didn't seem like he was conscious of what was going on around him, so to speak. He was looking out into space, somewhere next to my ear. "Luke? You alright?"