Close As Strangers | Sequel to Beside You

Catching up with Luke

*Luke's p.o.v*
It's been 6 months since Alyssa left, and God, has it been difficult. I felt like ripping my hair out every time I remember that I couldn't kiss her, I couldn't hug her, I couldn't run my fingers through her hair, I couldn't fall asleep with her in my arms and wake up the next morning to her beautiful face. It hurts me now, just thinking about it.

We tried, of course, to have a long distance relationship. But timezones and her job and the band got in the way, and we decided to break up, two months after she'd left. It killed me. I cried, and I cried and I completely trashed my bedroom, again and again and again, throwing my belongings across the room, feeling the urge to break something. Sure, it was a mutual decision to take a break, but that doesn't mean that I suddenly just lost all my feelings for her. All I wanted was to be able to hold her tight, and protect her, and taste the mint, the lipgloss and the malteasers that always lingered on her lips, the things I associated with her.

I was hurting, of course I was, but the boys helped me through it, Ashton especially. He understood what I was going through; I knew it was hard for him to be separated from his twin sister, so soon after finding out about her. I missed everything about her: her laugh, her sense of humour, her hair, her smile, her eyes... Especially her eyes. I missed the way she managed to always cheer me up, the way she could tell something was up by the look on my face, the way she made me a better person, the way how she finally made me feel I was at home. Because home isn't always four walls. Sometimes it's two eyes and a heartbeat.

I used my sadness and my hurt and threw myself into songwriting. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote, and soon I had a lump forming on my middle finger from gripping the pen so tightly, and the tips of my fingers were rough and calloused from the guitar strings. I wrote about 12 songs I think, just in that first month after we broke up, and I think some of them might be on our second album, or at least played on the tour.

Oh, hey, there's something I forgot to mention. Me and the boys, we're going on tour. And not just around Australia. The entire world, our very own headline tour, and I couldn't be more excited. I had glanced through the tour dates when our manager, Debbie had given them to us, noticing that we were playing two nights in Milan. I desperately hoped that I might be able to see her when we go, but I have no idea where she's living, let alone if she wants to see me. I sure as hell hoped that she did, because I missed her like crazy.

"Yo, Luke, you ready for practise, man?" Ashton yelled through the house.
"Sure, I'll meet you out there," I replied, jumping off the couch and hurrying out to practise. All the boys were already in there, sitting on the beat up sofa, or the floor or the large PA's, tuning their guitars, or doing vocal warm ups.
"Luke, we were thinking we could maybe run over one of your new songs today, if that's cool with you?" Michael asked, scratching his neck. He knew that it was a sensitive subject for me, since all my songs revolved around Alyssa, but I didn't just write these songs for fun. I wanted people to hear them.
"Sure, that sounds cool," I replied, offering a small smile to my band mates, which they all returned. I missed Alyssa sitting on the speaker and watching our band practise, but I shook my head, and got lost in the music

Runaways, we're the long lost children
Running to the edge of the world
Everybody wants to throw us away
Broken boy meets broken girl
You said you tried it all before
And it only makes it worse
Oh but this time, maybe this time
Two wrongs make it right

We'll safety pin, the pieces of our broken hearts back together
Patching up all the holes until we both feel much better
Deleted things I'm feeling bad, so now I'll say the things I never sent
We'll safety pin, the pieces of our broken hearts back together

Throwing rocks at your broken window
Only you can cure my sickness
Raise ourselves and a middle finger
I can say they all think we're twisted
Once I got a little taste
Now I'm addicted to your fix
Oh yeah this time, maybe this time
Two wrongs make it right

We'll safety pin, the pieces of our broken hearts back together
Patching up all the holes until we both feel much better
Deleted things I'm feeling bad, so now I'll say the things I never sent
We'll safety pin, the pieces of our broken hearts back together

No more waiting, we can save us from falling
No more waiting, we can save us from falling
No more waiting, we can save us from falling
No more waiting, we can save us from falling
No more waiting, we can save us from falling
This time, maybe this time

We'll safety pin, the pieces of our broken hearts back together
Patching up all the holes until we both feel much better
Deleted things I'm feeling bad, so now I'll say the things I never sent
We'll safety pin, the pieces of our broken hearts back together

No more waiting, we can save us from falling
No more waiting, we can save us from falling
No more waiting, we can save us from falling
No more waiting, we can save us from falling

I wrote that song about Alyssa, because I thought that if I got to see her, then we'd be able to fix our broken hearts, and save us from falling into the sadness of being apart from each other.

I had to see her in Milan. I just had to.

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A/N

Just thought I'd throw Safety Pin in there, because I like that song, ahah

Chicken grease peace nipples
Lots of dat love
Zoe xx