sixteen.

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It was when my mind started to clutter with a mix of anxiety and overthinking that I felt the need to run. The pain in my legs and fight for breath distracted from whatever took residence in my conscious at the given moment. I'd spent the past couple of nights thinking about my conversation with Michael and the enigma that was Luke Hemmings. My curiosity was overwhelming and the need to dig up his secrets wrapped around me like the tendriled vines which squeezed trees I was racing past.

I stopped to rest by a mossy rock which sat off of the trail. A chorus of birds filled the air as I looked up at the tangled branches above me. The woods behind campus weren't frequented by locals nor college students and was a place I often found myself when consumed by racing thoughts. It was a rare moment of solice and I was able to be completely emersed in an alternate reality; one which didn't come with so many complications.

My moment of peace, however, was shattered by the violent vibrating of the phone in my pocket. I was surprised to see Luke's name flash across the screen and slowly answered.

"Luke?" I asked, having not heard from him since the strange night that came to an abrupt halt a few days ago. I contemplated asking him if everything was okay, but decided against it. As much as I wanted to squeeze out information from him, I couldn't bring myself to be so nosey.

"Are you busy?" His voice was tired and I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I should have checked up on him after all.

"Not really, why? Is everything okay?" A squirrel bounded up a nearby tree and disappeared into the leaves.

"Everything's fine, I just kind of need a distraction." He paused momentarily. "Where are you?"

"In the stadium woods." I answered while twirling the string of my hoodie around a finger. "Did you want to join? I was just going for a run."

"Yeah, that'd be great. I'll see you in a bit." The phone clicked off before I could even tell him exactly where I was. The same nerves and anticipation that swirled around in my stomach whenever I was about to see Luke made their presence known without hesitation. So much for relaxation. I decided to make my way back to the entrance in order to meet up with him and avoid a game of hide and seek.

After waiting a few moments, Luke appeared in a red cotton tee with hands stuffed into the pockets of his crisp jeans. It was odd seeing him in the setting of tendreled branches and the smell of earth. He appeared to be out of place as he stood on dead leaves littering the trail. His blue eyes flicked around wearily.

"Hey," I said as I stood from my spot on a fallen log. I brushed off the wet dirt and bark which had surely become impressioned in my black jogging pants.

"Sorry to ruin your run," Luke responded. I noticed the dark bags under his eyes and unkempt hair. Why did every little detail about this boy cause my intrigue and fascination to grow? Why did I want to know why he appeared so exhausted? I was in college for fucks sake; everyone was exhausted. It had to be the fact Luke never seemed to expose anything about himself or his life. Everything was surface level, he gave off the impression of a flirt without a care in the world. But that couldn't be true. How could someone wrapped in mystery and battling 'demons' be carefree?

"Oh no, you're fine." I quickly reassured him. "Never apologize for ruining someone's run, chances are they wanted it to be ruined."

This got a tiny smile out of him. He opened his mouth to say something, but once again my phone started to vibrate. This time it was Ashton's name on my screen.

"Where the fuck are you?" He asked before I could even get a word out. I racked my brain for what he was talking about and finally realization dawned on me. Shit. I was suppose to help Ashton move into the bigger bedroom of his apartment considering his roommate was forced to go back home after multiple DUIs.

"Ash, I am so sorry; I totally forgot." I apologized.

"No shit. Can you be here in ten minutes?" Ashton sounded stressed and I could only guess it was something more than me not showing up to help him move.

"I can try." Before I could say anything else, Ashton hung up.

"You good?" Luke asked after the conversation ended. I looked up at him slowly, not wanting to leave but knowing I would.

"Yeah, I'm sorry but I think I have to go," I said reluctantly. "I promised Ash I'd help him move today."

"Don't worry about it, me calling was pretty last minute." His expression gave no sign of how he felt; no disappointment or anything else for that matter.

Before I could give a second thought, I blurted out. "Did you want to tag along?"

Luke looked surprised as he raised a single eyebrow. "You don't think Ashton would mind?"

"Why would he? Moving is a bitch and I'm sure he'd love all the help he could get."

"If you insist." He straightened himself out. "Not sure if this is what I signed up for when I called you, but beggars can't be choosers, right?"

**

"Do you ever think your friendship with Ash is a bit... codependent?"

I was once again in the passenger seat of Luke's car. His question was an odd one that broke the silence which had surrounded us. I wondered what had caused him to ask it, though not surprised by the implication itself. There were many who found Ashton and I's friendship an odd one; even I was impressed that we'd remained so close through everything that had happened.

"What do you mean?" I asked out of necessity.

"I don't know, I guess it just seems like you guys are always together." His eyes remained fixed straight ahead with one hand on the wheel. "Not going to lie, it took me awhile to figure out the two of you weren't dating."

'What tipped you off? The fact he instantly tried to set me up with you when we first met?"

"Well, no. I didn't really pick up on that, unfortunately." A hint of joking could be detected in his voice, my cheeks warming slightly. "It was probably at the bar when you started lusting after Michael."

"Oh." Was all I said in return. I couldn't help but wonder if my feelings for Michael were just as obvious to him as they evidently were to everyone else. Although, I'm sure us having a conversation about his friend when we were left alone wasn't exactly a giveaway.

"But seriously. The two of you seemed attached at the hip, has that not caused any problems? I can't imagine it's been easy on your dating life." He began tapping on the steering wheel lightly, my eyes instantly going to the rings on his slender fingers.

"Well, it's not that difficult when there isn't a dating life to speak of." I flicked a piece of lint of off my pants.

"Fair enough." Luke looked over at me briefly. "Sorry for asking, I guess I've never had someone in my life like that before and I'm just curious."

"You're go-" The music playing through the speakers broke off my sentence. "Is this Cigarettes After Sex?"

"You know them?" Luke asked in surprise.

"Fuck yeah I know them, I went to their concert last summer in Charlotte." I was speaking fast, something I often did when an area of interest was being discussed. "Ash and the rest of my friends say it's too depressing and kills the vibes."

"But what if depression is the vibe?" Luke responded, reaching over and turning up the volume. I decided to leave it at that as we were almost to Ashton's and I didn't quite know how to respond. We pulled into the parking lot of Ash's rundown apartment complex, Luke killing the engine just as the verse being sung was finished.

My attention's on you,
Even if it's not what you need

**

not me putting my music taste into my stories oops.

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