GOLDEN, luke hemmings

XVI: FLOWERS ARE THE WAY TO THE HEART

"What thing?" He questioned incredulously, curious as to what she was referring to. Was she requesting him to stop being so ridiculously hot? Because he was afraid that that wasn't possible.

"That thing. Where you get up close and personal and you smile and get all cute and you act like a puppy but really you're not," she told him, stating everything like it was a scientific notion. She didn't even grasp what she had just told him until he had a smirk plastered on his lips.

"You called me cute again!" He exclaimed exuberantly, feeling a sense of pride. Ava was the only person who could get this type of reaction from him, though he had yet to realize that. Usually he was even more cocky and/or grumpy, but with her, he was putty in her hands. He kissed her forehead before going running off to the bathroom. "You're so in love with me, oh my God. It's great. We're gonna get married."

"Get ready for work, you buffoon," she jeered, trying to stay serious, but ended up laughing anyway. Luke shut the bathroom door and his laughter could be heard through the shower running. As for herself, she couldn't stop smiling. She shook her head.

What was this boy doing to her?

•••

Carolyn's Flower Shoppe left Ava speechless. The plants were eye catching and well-put together, the fragrance filling the room. Though, it took several minutes to get there and Luke clocked in late due to Becca trying to talk to them about how disappointed she was, they made it.

It was a good distraction, an even more complete one since her phone was dead and she could ignore any calls from her family or any texts from Becca. It could be a perfect day.

Ava scanned everything in awe. She had always loved flowers; her favorites were pansies. Pansies were yellow with brown towards the center and ever since Ava was little, she had adored them. Her mom used to give them to her when she was only a child, before they started fighting. They were the flower that symbolized the message of love, according to Luke, who was taking it upon himself to teach her all about the flowers and their languages.

He began to talk about some of the theories behind the flowers (like the Greek tale of Narcissus) and entertained Ava by pointing out the flowers he liked best. Apparently: Luke liked the Hundred-leaved Rose because it meant sincere love and he loved Bluebells just because they were pretty. He was an absolute dork with it, and Ava had a hard time believing that this was the same boy she met on the subway with a leather jacket and unzipped pants.

It was like she was seeing a completely different side to Luke, more now that was entering his personal life bubble.

He was very complex, layered even. He was many things, but the thing he was most, was beautiful. Inside and out. That's one thing Ava was sure of. She couldn't stop staring at him as he guided her around the shoppe, even though she was surrounded by other gorgeous sights. It was almost like she only cared about him, for him. Her heart hurt from how hard it was pumping.

Ever since last night, she's been thinking about Luke (more than usual) in a whole other light. It stressed her out. She was usually abrasive and tough and bit back hard, but then this tall, lanky blonde boy waltzed into her life with no intention of walking back out—and she's putty. He was the only boy who could make her smile that big or light up in such a way that there was a sparkle in her eyes, and she hated it. (Honestly, she would've been glad, but she was still too in the middle of her What The Fuçk moment to not feel upset, because, who does Luke even think he is? Just because he's cute and funny and sweet and likes pop punk music does not mean he gets to make her feel things that she did not want to feel. The only thing that would make her situation worse was if he liked dogs—because then Ava would kill him since that last quality would make Luke absolutely perfect for her, and that was so not happening.)