Around The World For A Kiss

Chapter 1

Luke sat at the dinner table that night, staring down at his food, consisting of steamed broccoli, steak in gravy with mushrooms, and topped off with cauliflower. He wasn't hungry at all, despite having not eaten anything since lunchtime, and merely poked the expertly cooked food around on his plate, mixing the different sauces as he did. This had become rather common recently, and occasionally he wouldn't want breakfast either. 

His parents sat opposite him, having become rather used to Luke's loss of appetite and quiet moods.

"How was school?" Luke's father asked, trying to start up a conversation with Luke who had appeared to be gradually retreating into a depressed shell more and more by the day.

Luke looked up, forcing a smile which he hoped was good enough to convince his parents that he was happy. "It was good!" He put up a happy facade, stabbing his fork into a bit of steak which his parents had cut up for him, and putting the piece in his mouth.

"Luke, are you sure it was okay? You're acting strange." Luke's father pointed out, making the child feel a bit sick for a second. He didn't want to eat any more but made himself eat another bite.

"It's fine! I'm fine!" Luke tried to make himself happy.

"Are you sure? You can tell us." His father continued to try and get information out of Luke. His mood and gradual trickle changing his personality was a bit concerning.

"I..." Luke said, his voice barely above a whisper. He could hardly make his voice any louder.

"You?" Luke's father continued to press him for information.

Luke stood up, trying to make his point clearer and louder. He wanted to tell his parents this but he couldn't say the real reason why he desired it.

"I WANT-" Luke's voice started out as an angered yell, all his angered emotions and aggravated frustration being exerted out in his voice. His parent's eyes widened in shock and Luke felt a stabbing guilt.

"...to go home..." Luke's voice fell to a murmur, sinking down into his chair again. He held his hands together and stared down at the table.

He sat down, his parents still and in utter silence.

"...to London." His voice was barely a whisper. He stared down at his plate, eyes on his food. His parents exchanged glances before his mother smiled at Luke.

"We'll go tomorrow!" She said in a joyful tone. Luke suddenly felt a sudden drastic change inside him, depression's grunge wiped from his mind and he felt his true personality shine through once more, a concentrated beam. The empty feeling from his stomach disappeared as he leapt to his feet.

"Really?! I'll go pack! I'll go pack and grab everything and-"

"Luke, we're kidding." His mother's smile turned slightly awkward, and her words caused the depressed grunge to retake the reins of the child's personality, slowly strangling the life and joy out of him.

"O-Oh." Luke froze, his voice returning to quiet and his eyes losing their sparkle. He bit his lip, eyes beginning to burn. His hands curled into fists, anger polluting his thoughts. He wanted to go home so badly, he'd do anything. 

Luke put his foot down and screamed in rage, looking rather pathetic. He kicked the chair and stormed off to his room, tears already streaming down his cheeks. He slammed the door behind him while his parents remained in shock.

Luke stared around his room, kicking the wall and collapsing onto his bed, bundling up his pillow in his arms and sobbing into it. His room was dark except for a night light in the corner which he had secretly, which he had felt himself needing since he moved, despite not having been scared of the dark before.

He wanted to go back to the professor. He got letters from him every now and then, but he wanted to hear his voice, he wanted to hold his hand. He wanted to be embraced warmly and kissed. He'd wished for it long before he moved, and he felt awful for not saying three small words as he left. He wanted to say "I love you".

He had been and was still deeply in love with him.

"P-Professah..." Luke felt his tears cease slightly. He sat up, hugging his pillow to his chest and giving it a quick kiss, trying to convince himself one day he'd one day see Layton again and get a kiss. He wanted it more than anything in the world.

Luke got up on shaky feet from his bed, going to his desk and picking up an empty sheet of paper. He kept the letters Layton sent him in a cardboard box, and he sometimes looked through them when he was feeling down. At the moment he felt saddened if he reached a hand towards the box, so he decided to write a letter to him instead.

Luke clicked a pen, beginning to write. He wasn't sure what to say, he sent a letter yesterday. He wrote at the top of the letter, "Dear Professor", before trying to think of what to write. He wasn't sure what to do, what to write. He gave up fairly quickly and wrote "I LOVE YOU" in large letters, feeling his emotion pour out in every pen stroke. He doodled a small heart as well.

He didn't feel satisfied with it. Ink strokes couldn't convey months of pent up and bottled up emotion, no matter what he tried. Luke bit his lip, sniffling and rubbing his eyes which were still wet with aggravated tears.

Luke heard a knock on his bedroom door which caught his attention easily.

"Luke? Honey? Can I come in?" His mother's concerned voice came behind the door, before knocking once more. Luke didn't feel the tiniest bit comforted, only spite. He ignored her, and heard the professor's voice echoing in his head on how ungentlemanly it was. He winced at the memory and tried to hold in further tears, before his mother left the door, deciding he needed some time to himself.

"I-I'm gonna r-run home..." Luke whispered to himself, quickly making his decision. He wasn't happy in the US and just wanted to go home. There was nothing here for him.

Luke crawled under his bed, pulling out a bag and started to get a few essential things that he thought he would need...