Platonic||L.H (AU)

the birthday party

Her hair is curled, landing just a smidge past her shoulders. She's got her favorite set of pearls on around her neck, and little studs for earrings to match. And her makeup is taken a more dramatic turn for the evening, even though she used mostly neutral colors.

Rose thought she looked nice, but she was worried that  nice wouldn't suit a sorority girl's birthday party.

Just as she was about to run to her closet and scavenge for something else, a loud knock sounded at her door and told her that she was too late to change. Rose eagerly skips up to her door, grabbing her bag and the birthday present for Chloe that she had to wrap for Luke since he can't wrap worth a flip.

Rose won't lie, it didn't feel the best wrapping up lingerie for a girl who despises her, knowing that the lingerie was bought by her best friend.

The thought of Chloe wearing that in front of Luke made her stomach turn. Any image with Luke doing things with another girl made her uncomfortable, it's definitely something she could go without.

Rose throws open her door to her room with a forced smile that Luke notices immediately. He knows parties aren't her things and she's been worried to death about it being Chloe's party, but he's done his best at trying to reassure her that everything will be fine.

He just doesn't see how Chloe treats Rose because he's too blinded by all of Chloe's beauty— and her big boobs.

"Hey, rose petal," he says with a genuine smile, happy to see his best friend, and even happier that she's going to a party with him.

He's been trying to get her at one for years, but Rose was always insistent on never wanting to go to them.

Perhaps if she had gone to a few before, Luke wouldn't have hooked up with some of the girls he had been with because he would've been focused on Rose. And perhaps if she had gone to them before, Rose would've gotten tipsy and realized her feelings for Luke sooner.

But I guess we'll never know.

Luke scans over Rose's outfit, smiling deeper at her when he sees what she's picked out.

She's wearing one of his favorite dresses she has.

It's certainly not like anything else that'll be worn at the party tonight. But Rose wasn't like anyone that'll be at the party. Rose isn't like anyone Luke has ever met, and it'll always stay that way.

It'd be almost strange if Rose wore something else that made her blend in with the crowd, and Luke definitely wouldn't like that.

He likes that she sticks out in a crowd to him, but she'd do that anyways no matter what she had on.

"Is this okay? I wasn't sure what to wear— I can go change real quick if you think-"

"You look pretty, Rose," Luke says and cuts of Rose mid-ramble, "you always do."

Rose's cheeks pink up to match the flowers on her dress, Luke's called her pretty a handful of times, but this is the first time Rose got butterflies from it.

She felt them sprout up and take flight deep in her core, her eyes widened at the feeling.

This isn't supposed to happen, not with Luke.

Rose swallowed down her thoughts and pushed them to deal with at a later time. She can't focus on that right now, she's about to be going to his girlfriend's birthday party for God's sake.

"You don't look so bad yourself, rockstar," Rose added and gently poked at his side as she stepped out into the hall with him.

Luke had his hair nice and done, not in the usual sporadic curls he wakes up with. He had a white tee on under a black jacket, a silver chain dangling from his neck.