Chapter 16

19.2K 334 202
                                    

(Luke's POV)



I wake up around 10am. Taylor is still sleeping cuddled into my arms. I lightly kiss her forehead and untangle myself from her.



From: Luke

Hey, can we meet up? I need to talk to you.



To: Luke

Sure :) meet me at the empire café at 10:30



Quietly, I slip on my shirt from last night and walk downstairs. I make it to the door before a cough tells me I'm caught.



"Where are you going?" Calum asks me from the living room



"To uh take a walk" I lie



"Bullshit, Luke. Where are you going?"



"Fine, I'm going to talk to Emily. I wanna sort out this mess with her and Taylor"



"Luke, mate, I don't know if that's such a good idea. Emily is trouble and I wouldn't trust being with her alone."



"I'll be fine, Cal. For all we know this can be one big misunderstanding."



Calum gives me a warning look but says nothing more. I take it as surrender and walk out the door. I think of Calum's warning on my walk to meet Emily. Yeah Emily seems like she may be trouble, but she may not be. Either way, Taylor isn't gonna be happy with me. But I'm doing this for her. I don't want her to have enemies this summer. She deserves to have a good summer.



I try to remind myself I'm doing a good thing and I step into the café and hear the entering bell ring. Emily sees me walking in and waves me down to the booth she's sitting in.



"Hey" I greet her as I slide into the booth across from her.



"Hey, what did you want to meet me for?" Emily smiles at me



"To talk about Taylor" Emily's smile falters for a second, but it returns so quickly I could've imagined it



"What about Taylor?"



"What's going on between you two?"



"She's just overreacting. She's being silly. I sincerely thought she wanted Brian back. I was only doing a friend a favor"



"Why would you think she wants Brian back?"



"Well, Taylor's single, Brian's single. They were so cute together! Besides, she said you two were just friends so I thought it was fair game" Emily says and my heart drops



"Taylor said that?" I stare at Emily in disbelief and she continues smiling



"Yeah, the other day at the beach"



Just friends? I mean, I know we're not official or dating or anything but I definitely wouldn't consider us just friends. Last night was definitely not something just friends do.



"Luke?" Emily waves a hand in my face, bringing me back into reality.



"Yeah, hi sorry"



"Are you okay?" Emily reaches out and grabs my hand



"Just peachy" I force a smile



"What's wrong?"



"Nothing is wrong"



"I know something's bothering you. And I know what it is. But, don't fret Lucas. I have a solution" Emily grins at me and I perk up, extremely interested



"I'm listening"



"You're upset about Taylor sending you to the friendzone, which, by the way, I cannot for the life of me understand. But, we can get back at her."



"How?"



"By making her jealous. We can fake date! Be all coupley when she's around. Show her what she's missing"



I lean back and think about Emily's proposition. Would making Taylor jealous even work? Would she even get jealous? My phone vibrates on the table; I check the screen and see I have a text.



From: Taylor

I woke up to an empty bed :( I'm lonely and lazy come back upstairs



To: Taylor

I'm out. I'll be home soon.



Just friends my ass. If she thinks she can make out with me and text me all cutesy and then tell people we're "just friends" then maybe Emily is right. I've told Taylor countless times how I feel about her and I thought she felt the same way but obviously I was wrong.



"I'm in"



_~_



(Taylor's POV)



From: Luke

I'm out. I'll be home soon.



Out? What does he mean "out?" Where did he go? He seems mad at me. Did I do something wrong? It's just a text, it's hard to decipher emotion through a text message; I'm overreacting. I lay back down, overthinking Luke's text until Luke himself enters the room.



"Hey, where did you disappear to?" I sit up, smiling at Luke.



"I went to the Empire Café." Luke replies curtly and walks straight to his closet without making eye contact. Okay...



"Alone? I would've come if you woke me up. You know how much I love pancakes"



"Can you leave the room? I need to change."



"Okay? Are you okay? You seem mad"



"I'm just fine, friend."



Friend? What the hell is going on? Rolling my eyes, I throw the covers off me and step out of the bed. I stand at the doorway, staring at Luke. His back is to me, staring at his closet. I walk out of the room and I doubt he even noticed.



"Where's Luke?" Calum asks me as I enter the living room



"Upstairs changing" I reply



"And you didn't wanna stay for the show?" Michael smirks at me



"I wasn't invited" I roll my eyes and sit down next to Michael whose smug look has been replaced by one of confusion.



"He kicked me out of the room" I moan. "He's been acting so weird ever since he came back from breakfast"



Calum gasps but tries to cover it up with a cough. I look at him and his eyes are wide, and I know he knows something.



"What do you know, Calum?"



"Nothing. I know nothing!"



"Cal, tell me right now. What happened?"



"He went to the Empire Café to meet Emily. But-"



"E-Emily? He met with Emily?" I cut Calum off, stuttering.



"Yes but, only to try to fix things between you and her. He seemed pissed and a little hurt when he came back. I don't know what happened at their meeting. He walked straight passed me without saying a word" Calum explains. I sit back in silence, taking in what Calum just told me.



What could have Emily possibly said to Luke to make him so mad at me? My mind wanders off, listing all the possibilities but the sound of the doorbell stops me.



"I got it" Luke races down the stairs and to the door to open it for the mystery guest. He returns with his arm slung around their shoulder and my heart stops.



"Good morning, guys!" Emily smiles. Luke leads her to the small couch across from me. He sits down and Emily cuddles up into him, her eyes never leaving mine on her way down. The room falls silent. I scan Luke's face for any sign that will tell me what's going on but he won't look at me. His eyes wander the room and seem to be avoiding me.



"Movie?" Ashton suggests, breaking the silence. I guess people agree because a movie begins playing on the TV screen a few minutes later but I zone out. My mind is completely absent to what is going on in the present, only able to focus on what I could have done to make him not like me anymore and leave me for Emily.

About halfway through the movie Michael accidentally nudges my shoulder while trying to catch popcorn in his mouth, snapping me back to reality. I try to pay attention to the movie, hoping it can distract me from my overthinking. People Like Us in on, which I'm grateful for because it's an awesome movie. I hear Emily giggle and I sneak a glance at her. Luke makes eye contact with me before turning his head to kiss Emily.



My mouth literally drops and I feel tears pooling in my eyes. I blink rapidly, trying to fight the tears from spilling. Overwhelmed, I stand up from my seat, deciding it's probably best if I leave.



"Uh I'm gonna head out" I say and head for the door. I bend down to put on my shoes and I feel a hand on my shoulder.



"Taylor, wait" Luke says from behind me. I turn around to face him, biting down on the inside of my cheek, as images of him and Emily kissing in front of me play over and over like a filmstrip.



"Are you okay?" worry is present in Luke's eyes and I almost snap at him for such a dumb question. Well, you know. I just saw the guy I really like who, I thought liked me, kiss a girl I absolutely despise. So, best day ever!



"I'm fine. Just tired." I answer shortly



Luke opens his mouth to speak but I turn away and walk out the door before he can. I sit on the porch step, head in hands, and start to cry. The door opens moments later and I shoot up from my position. I pray silently that it's Luke telling me this was all some sick joke but it was only Amanda.



Amanda sits down next to me and pulls me into a hug. I hug her back and sob into her shoulder.



"Wha-at d-did I d-do wr-rong?" I choke in between sobs



Amanda doesn't reply, she simply rubs my back in soothing circles. I'm thankful for her silence, I know she doesn't have an answer and a bullshit one isn't going to help.





Eventually, I stop crying and we walk back to my house. We grab tubs of ice cream and sit in my living room, watching movies and talking. Just like the previous summers before any of this drama. Before I met 5 Seconds of Summer. Before Luke Hemmings took my heart and stepped on it.

____________________________________________________

hello :) some drama in this chapter yeah? damn emily ruining everything.

what do you guys think of what happened in this chapter? what do you want to happen for Luke and Taylor in the future? any predictions?

almost 3k reads guys that's insane thank you all so much for reading i love you all :)

i'm not leaving vote/comment requirements because its dumb BUT i would really love it if you guys could comment any opinions/comments on this chapter or on the story in general

and vote on this chapter if you liked it! it means so much to me to get your feedback i love seeing it all it makes me feel good hahah

follow me on twitter- @snowmanluke

until next time!!!

Destined || Luke HemmingsWhere stories live. Discover now