Blonde {muke}

Chapter Four: Destinesia

a/n: hello, welcome back to this nonsense, hopefully all that have followed precariously through this journey haven't fallen off yet.... I don't want to guarantee I'm back but,,,, I'm going to try my hardest to bang out the rest of this and the rest of loose lips, so please be patient with me... I no longer follow 5sos so I know nothing happening with the band... anyway, here is chapter 4, I have no idea if I had posted this before and took it down or what, but enjoy

Destinesia:(n) when you get to where you were intending to go, but forget why you were going there in the first place.

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Tyler doesn't look impressed as Luke slumps against the wall in the back of the library, backpack already thrown to the side, discarded like a piece of yesterday's trash. He makes no move to gather his textbook and notes from his bag, and Tyler makes a noise of disapproval. "What's wrong with you?"

"Don't feel good." Luke scrubs at his eyes with the back of his hand. Chills have racked his body the whole day and he's never regretted wearing a short sleeved shirt more than today.

Four more hours and Luke can crawl into his bed and sleep off whatever illness has hit him. Probably exhaustion; it wouldn't be the first, nor last, and the symptoms were similar between the few times and now.

Tyler hums, dropping his bag to the ground and sitting down beside Luke. "Josh told me Clifford cornered you yesterday." He sounds unsure, sort of wary about bringing the topic up.

Luke shakes his head, racking his brain for the right words. Leave it to Josh to overdramatize the situation. "He asked me to come to his party." From like six feet away. Luke adds silently. "Do I have to RSVP?"

He's never been to one of Michael's Halloween parties, hadn't even been invited before. But he remembers going to birthday parties when he was young and how his mum called to say he would be there. Did the same etiquette apply here?

"No," Tyler laughs.

Luke throws his head back, neck cracking. Tyler's smile falls from his mouth quickly, eyebrows knitting. He touches Luke's cheek, rubbing over an aching spot.

"Are you okay?" He presses into the bruises and Luke sucks in a hard breath. Ben hadn't said anything, but Tyler was reacting to the marks Luke hadn't found in the bathroom mirror before and after his shower.

He wants to say no but the word catches in his throat. "I'm fine." Luke lies through his teeth and forces a smile. Tyler doesn't look fooled but he says nothing about the matter, instead rooting through his backpack and pulling out his notes.

"You're not actually going to go to Clifford's party, are you?" Tyler begins reading over his notes but Luke knows he's waiting for a reply. He doesn't have one, or at least a reasonable answer. He wants to go, but he also wants to skip class and go home; two things he probably shouldn't do.

Luke is silent and Tyler sighs. Neither boy brings up the party again during their study hall, much to Luke's relief. He's pulled to go and his mind feels cloudy when he tries to think of a reason to not. There are plenty, Luke knows, but he chooses to ignore any thought playing against the idea.

At lunch, Josh steals Luke's carrot sticks in exchange for an apple and pesters Tyler about copying his history notes. They bicker and Luke is grateful the attention isn't on him.