DRUNK LUKE
Luke Hemmings is drunk.
His tolerance was shit as he rarely ever touches the stuff, but tonight, he needed it to cope. He needed it to forget.
On October seventeenth, for the past ten years, he drowns in his sorrows. He should have died, and more often than not, he wishes he had.
Luke was just a kid, he didn't know any better. But the guilt crushes him, the blame buries him, and the regret makes him feel as if he's dying inside.
He's been told not to blame himself, but how could he not? His father blamed him – fucking beat him for it. And his mother? She left him for it.
At the age of eleven, there wasn't a drop of blood on Luke's small hands. He may not have physically pulled the trigger, but as far as Luke is concerned, he is the reason his brother is dead.
After dropping his keys three times, Luke stumbles inside. Calum and Ashton shoot to their feet at Luke's inebriated state, disappointed but not surprised.
The blond's vision doubles, seeing eight people when there's only four. Ashton and Calum stand on either side of Luke, holding the boy up so he doesn't trip.
"Hey buddy, how ya feeling?" Calum looks at Luke with pure fucking pity. As a man who is always so greedy for control, seeing him without any is always a punch to the gut.
Luke smiles, so lopsided but still so perfect. "Never better." He shrugs his friend's hands off his body, then strips from his leather jacket.
Through glassy eyes, he sees Michael and Lila sitting beside one another on the couch. His stomach twists. He doesn't know why, but the sight bothers him.
Damn. Luke grows angry at himself. He didn't drink enough. He's still capable of feeling.
He walks in a straight line, okay, a zigzag line, and wedges his lanky body into the small space between Lila and Michael. He rubs his temples, exhaling and praying the room stops spinning.
"Is he... okay?" Lila's panic-struck eyes shoot from Luke to Michael to Ashton.
"Not right now. He just needs to sleep it off." Michael responds.
"Can everyone like get the fuck out?" Luke spits out the order, but it falls flat once he starts giggling. He sucks in a breath, his face turning serious. "No really, go away."
Giving Luke space is the best thing for him right now, the boys know this. They leave the room, with Lila standing up to follow. But Luke grabs her wrist, anchoring her in place.
She looks back at the boy who is working his way into her heart, and the sight breaks her.
His eyes are bluer than she's ever seen, and swimming inside them is that soul-searching look of desperation for anyone, someone to stay with him. He doesn't want to be alone tonight, hell, maybe not ever again.
"I think I want you to stay. Will you?"
It takes a large amount of pain to knock down someone who rarely ever falls. Lila can't tell if this is a moment of vulnerability or a moment of clarity for him.
"Yeah, I'll stay." She wears a soft smile as Luke scrunches his nose.
"Actually, I think we should go to my room. Carry me?" Luke stands, latching onto Lila's back. He realizes he either underestimated his height or overestimated her strength, for they go toppling to the ground within seconds.
Lila rolls onto her stomach and pushes herself up with her elbows, facing Luke with a love-sick grin. "Now in what world did that seem like it would work?"
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𝘿𝙀𝘾𝙀𝙋𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 • 𝙇𝙍𝙃
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