Safety Net {l.r.h}

50) She Looks So Perfect

LUKE HEMMINGS

"Alright, so can someone please tell me why Ellie threatened me over text saying if I didn't get my ass to the pizza parlor in thirty minutes that she'd invert my ribcage?" Michael questioned, his eyes reading Ellie's text word-for-word before peering above his phone screen at the girl sitting next to me in our usual booth at the parlor. Cal, Ash, and Dayna were already here and obviously Michael was late.

Everyone snickered at his question as Ellie pulls out the notebook, she had been writing in. Flipping to the correct page, in big lettering reads: She Looks So Perfect. "We found our next song, and I think it's going to be a perfect foundation to build on as far as your career goes. Like if it gets released-"

Michael cuts the girl off, "aw, look at you being all manager-like." Ellie's blue eyes snap up to him as she visibly tenses.

"What's the big deal about being their manager? Wouldn't that be fun as fuck?" Dayna asked the girl, staring at her with wide eyes. "I mean you're pretty much a groupie anyways, what's more with the manager title?" It was kind of ironic considering she was bouncing between two of my friends, but anyways.

Ellie gasped at her words, smacking her in the shoulder, "for the last time, I'm not a groupie!"

I smirked, throwing my arm over her shoulder and leaning down to her level, "what happened an hour ago says otherwise." Her cheeks redden at my words, and Michael gasps as he pointed an accusing finger at the two of us.

"I heard that!"

I rolled my eyes, "won't be the last time either."

"Anyways," Ellie emphasizes, flattening her palms on the notebook. "The line that's going to be apart of the chorus is she looks so perfect standing there in my American Apparel underwear. If we can figure out lyrics based around that, we'll have the song written in no time."

Calum stared between the two of us with a smirk, his chin resting in his palm as his elbow was planted against the table. "So, this is about your guys' sex life?"

"No," I lie, not wanting to get into that conversation again.

Ashton's giggle causes my eyes to flick to him, "but you're the only one who wears American Apparel out of us four, so obviously it is." Fuck him for being a smartass.

"Guys, come on, we need lyrics," Ellie says, trying to avert our attention back to the song.

"Can I help?" Dayna asks, leaning forward on her elbows, "I have some ideas."

I rolled my eyes, "right. Let's hear them then."

Ellie nudges my side with her elbow, "be nice." Dayna flicks her middle finger in my direction and smiles bitterly.

"Well, think of it like you're staring at someone after the two of you just got done having some bomb ass sex," she starts off causing everyone except me to snicker since I took a sip of my drink. "What's your first thought?"

"If her friends are any better," Michael blurts out. This causes me to snort with laughter, my drink spraying out of my mouth. The rest of the guys begin laughing as well, but Dayna and Ellie don't look impressed one bit.

"You guys are fucking pigs," Ellie mutters, shaking her head while scribbling on the corner of the notebook page. God, did I ever say how much I loved when she cussed?

"Aw, sweet baby Ellie, did I make you upset?" Michael presses on, reaching across the table towards her, but she just smacks his hand away.

Her eyebrows furrow in frustration, "yes because I'm trying to help you write this. Now be serious."

Michael rolls his eyes, slumping back against the booth in defeat. I watch as the boys all fall silent to think. I impatiently tap my fingers on the table, wanting to blurt out my feelings but hold back due to the presence of my friends. I'd immediately start rambling about how much I'd be fine with doing it for the rest of my life with the same girl as that's all I've been able to think about lately. I haven't even looked at another girl the same way since I realized I had feelings for Ellie. Well, there was that time that I hooked up with a girl and imagined it was her, but that was a low for me. Maybe I could say my feelings in a cool way.

"I'm so down," I say after a few minutes of silence. Everyone's heads snap to me and I slouch back against the seat, subconsciously tightening my hold on the girl beside me.

"Whoa," Calum breathes out, eyebrows raising. "I know now that I'm so down," he puts together quickly, and this immediately gets everyone excited. Ellie writes down the words on the page and scans over the lines a few times.

"She looks so perfect standing there in my American Apparel underwear and I know now that I'm so down," she reads before looking around at everyone. "Sound good?"

"Fuck yes it does," Michael answers, sitting up. "What's some old classic love? Like that hardcore, cheesy shit where you get their name tatted inside a heart?"

Ellie gasps excitedly, scribbling down some words, "like the cute vintage relationships you see in the movies, right?"

"That's the one," he nods.

I read over the words she has written on the page and tilt my head to see it better. Watching Ellie get excited over this physically makes my heart ache because it's my favorite passion. Having the girl of my dreams intermix with my dream career by helping us write songs sounds too good to be true.

Lipstick, name, tattoo, heart, art, mixtape, skinny jeans?

My eyebrows furrow as I try to figure out where she's going with this until I connect a few dots. "Lipstick stains," I mumble next to her, "that's in movies, right? Like she leaves her lipstick stain." Though it's in the movies, I can still think of the first time we kissed and the way her lipstick was smudged in the most perfect way.

"Oh, yeah," she says quietly before writing a few more words. "You know, this is a lot like poetry. But not. I don't know- nevermind, that sounds stupid." Her hand continuously works to perfect the lines for the song as she speaks, and I can't help but find it adorable.

I smile at her rambling, leaning in to press my lips against her temple, "no it doesn't."

"Holy shit, bitch, when did you know how to write songs?" Dayna questions, snatching the notebook from Ellie's grasp and reading it. "Your lipstick stain is a work of art, I got your name tattooed in an arrow heart, and I know now that I'm so down."

The guys and I all stare at my girl with wide eyes and pride.

Ashton's the first one to speak, "well guys, I think we got ourselves a cheesy, hardcore, classic, vintage love song."

Michael then butts in, completely ruining the moment, "definitely the wrong order, but yeah."

A/N: AHHHHHH it's chapter 50 alreadyyyy, but there's way more to come. 

Also, thank you guys for 1.47k reads! It means so much to me. Also, I had the #2 spot for the tag "hemmings" but all the stories moved so now I'm #4, but that's still fine with me because it's out of like 1,000+ stories. 

I love you all sm and thanks for reading !  xx