Guitar Strings and Wedding Rings ∞ Luke Hemmings

Chapter 1: First Day

Carmela’s POV

I didn’t notice how long I was staring at him until Laura snapped me out.

“Hi! You must be Luke Hemmings?” Laura beamed at him. The lad nodded with a smile as he made his way to the counter. I watched as he walked, the way he bit his lip and his eyes—they mesmerize me. He was wearing a black v neck shirt and some dark jeans. His hair was up in a quiff, and he has his lip pierced. I must say, he looks hot with it.

“Hey!” Adie whispered as she nudged my arm. My gaze trailed down to Adie and she was smirking at me. Oh god, here she goes again.

“What?”

“Quit staring at him like that. You like him, aye?” she asked whilst wiggling her eyebrows. Of course, our voices were low so Laura and this “Luke” guy couldn’t hear us.

I rolled my eyes before shaking my head. “God, Adie. No.”

“Then why are you staring at him like that?”

“Is it rude to stare? Can’t I at least stare and study his face and all?” I argued and she laughed quietly. She shook her head before going back to her paper.

“Admit it, Adie, you were staring at him like that too.” I teased as a smirk spread across my lips. Adie quickly looked up with a frown.

“Can’t I stare at cute guys even once in a while?”

I laughed and shook my head—not in disapproval, but in an amused way. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

After a few more minutes Adie and I were finished with our enrollment forms. We both got up from the seat and handed it to Laura. This “Luke” guy was next to Adie, also filling up a form. Laura studied our papers before nodding her head excitingly and she suddenly grinned.

“Okay! So you two are on guitar lessons, I see? Luke Hemmings, here, will be your guitar teacher.” Laura introduced as she nodded over at Luke’s direction. Luke looked up from his paper and smiled at us. And now since he’s meters away from me, I can clearly see his blue eyes sparkling and his adorable smile that makes you weak on the knees. When his eyes met mine, my heart suddenly started beating abnormally fast then I felt myself shaking. Like, there’s something in him that makes my insides go wild—like electricity.

“Hello ladies,” he beamed. I never knew how deep and sexy his voice was until he spoke again. “I’m glad to finally see two of my students.”

Adie smiled widely at him but my eyes were glued on his; I couldn’t take them off from his eyes. Like what I said, they were mesmerizing.

“Hi, I’m Adie and this is my best friend, Carmela.” Adie introduced and they both exchanged handshakes. I finally left my eyes from him and quickly looked down. That’s when I felt Adie nudge my arm and I quickly looked up. Luke was smiling at me, his hand held out for a handshake. My cheeks turned a light shade of pink as I completed the handshake. God, such soft hands. When I looked up at him he was still staring at me, smiling. I smiled back before letting go.

“So, I better leave now and set up my things upstairs. Excuse me ladies,” he said before nodding at Laura. Before officially leaving, he turned back at Adie and me and smiled.

“Nice meeting you, girls.”

And just like that, he was out of sight and in came a tall man, whom I assume as Adie’s uncle.

Luke’s POV

As I was making my way up to my classroom I couldn’t help but think about those two girls I’ve met. They actually both look alike. Could they be twins—fraternal, maybe? They both have curly hair and their features were almost the same. But the second girl I met, Carmela, she was a shy one. She’s not much of a speaker than Adie. From what I’ve heard from her, they were both best friends. So they couldn’t be twins. But I must say, I’m looking forward to start the class with them and meet the other students. This is my first time being a guitar tutor; all thanks to Dalton Sanford.

As I took out my guitar and tuned it up, I heard singing and banging on the other side. It sounded like someone is playing the drums. I got up and carefully placed my guitar down, careful not to break it. Guitars can be really fragile.

I followed the sound and it led me to another room. I poked my head inside and saw a curly haired lad banging on the drums. He looked about my age—younger, maybe. I’m guessing he’s the drum tutor.

I coughed to get his attention. He stopped and looked up at me. He was sweating. I went inside and decided I’d make friends while class doesn’t start.

“Hey,” I smiled. “Okay?”

“Yeah. Hey there.” He replied followed by a tired smile. I saw a bottled water and a white hand towel placed on a chair next to me. I handed him both before sitting on the chair.

“You must be the drum tutor.” I guessed and he chuckled whilst nodding.

“That’s me. I’m Ashton.” He said, holding his hand out for a handshake. I gladly took it and he smiled at me.

“I’m Luke. Guitar tutor.” I replied casually and he nodded. He stood up from the drum set and chugged down the water, leaving an empty bottle in his hand. He wiped his sweat off his face before running a hand through his messy locks. We both walked out the room and decided we’d cruise around the building.

“So Ash—may I call you Ash?” I asked and he laughed followed by a nod.

I smiled and continued on what I was saying. “How come you’re so early?”

He sighed as he looked down. “I gotta get away from our place before she wakes up.” He replied, mostly to himself. I looked up at him and stared at him in confusion.

“Who? And why?”

“My girlfriend. We were fighting last night and I don’t think we’re okay. I slept on the couch because she locked our room and she slept all alone. No worries, I mean, I’m used to both of us fighting. We fight over a lot of things. Then after a day or two, we’d make up and we’ll go back to our normal lives. It’s kinda like a cycle.” He explained.

“No offense but, aren’t you tired of all the fighting and the drama?” I asked. He let out a low chuckle before shrugging.

“I am but, I’d be nowhere without her. She’s different from all the other girls I’ve met. But as days went by, everything started to change.” He replied and I can hear the sadness and tiredness in his voice.

I sighed before patting his back encouragingly. “You two will make it through it all, I’m sure of it.”

He looked up at me and smiled. Before I did or say anything, we heard talking and laughing getting louder and louder. Students are starting to arrive. I looked back at Ashton and he was also staring at the hallway where the voices were. His eyes met mine and he raised both of his brows.

“I’ll see you later, I guess?” he said and I nodded.

“Nice meeting you, Ash.”

“The feeling is mutual, mate.” He said as he patted my back before we both went back to our designated classrooms.

When I got back in my room, I picked up my guitar and continued tuning it. I could hear Ashton from the other side making small beats and rhythms from his drums. Poor guy, stuck in a home with a girlfriend who aren’t in good terms with him. But I’m sure they’ll be fine as days would pass by.

When the guitar was perfectly tuned, I started strumming and decided I’d play a song. That’s when three girls came in talking with smiles on their faces and I noticed the two familiar ones. They stopped once they saw me.

I couldn’t help but smirk at their frozen figures. “Good morning, ladies.”

A/N: Hii :) Huge shoutout to chasingluke for making an incredible book cover. You da bomb!

And I hope you like this shitty chapter. LOL. The next chapters are on its way! Don’t forget to vote/comment!

-Ela xx