caught☽ luke | ✓

Twenty Six | Official

"I'm sure it is. How could anyone throw away your art?"

"Easily, Luke." Audrey smiled then put her empty plate in the sink.

"Oh shit, today's Monday isn't it?" Luke asked.

"What? I thought it was Sunday?"

"Nope, it's definitely Monday. We should probably get dressed. We're already like two hours late."

Audrey followed Luke upstairs back into his room and immediately took off the shirt that Luke gave her to put on her actual shirt. However, before she could put it on, Luke placed his hands on her hips and kissed her until they both fell back onto the bed. Luke took the opportunity to let his hands roam to other places and deepened the kiss.

"Luke-" she said between kisses. "We should-really-get ready-for-"

"I don't wanna," Luke whispered, then continued kissing down from her lips to her neck.

"I don't want to either but I don't want you to get in trouble," she told him.

Luke kissed her on the lips again, then smirked. "Okay babe."

They got dressed, then finally made their way to Luke's car. Once inside, Luke drove to the school that Audrey hadn't been to in over two months. They walked side by side into the large building and entered the office, where they were greeted by no one other than Nancy.

"Audrey! You're back!" she stood up from her chair and hurried over to Audrey, immediately giving her a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Good to see you too!" Audrey smiled at one of the only friends she'd made at this school. "How is everything? Is your mother in law still living with you?"

"Everything is great! My husband finally decided to put her in a nursing home, and ever since I've quit smoking again."

"That's great, Nancy," Audrey laughed, knowing how much she hated her mother in law.

"I hope you're here to enroll again," Nancy told her.

"Actually, I'm just here to pick up a few things, but I'm thinking about it."

"Well that's good. Now, Mr. Hemmings, why are you so late today?"

"Overslept," Luke replied.

Nancy held out a late slip for Luke, who took it and mumbled a quiet thank you.

"See ya later, Nancy," Audrey said, then followed Luke down the hall. "What class do you have?"

"Literature. Are you gonna be okay on your own?"

"I'll call you if I need you." Audrey smiled, then kissed Luke on the cheek before heading their separate ways.

Audrey walked down the hall towards her old art class and knocked on the door. After a few moments, Mrs. Pomphret finally opened the door and smiled upon seeing Audrey.

"Audrey, you're back. Are you here for good or just stopping by?" she asked.

"Actually, I wanted to know if you still have any of my art?"

"Every single one. They're much too beautiful to throw away. Here, they're in a box in the back," she told her, heading towards the back of the classroom.

Audrey followed the woman, eager to see all of the art she had made throughout the year. She opened the box, seeing that everything was in there. Her paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and even just her tiny doodles of flowers.

"Have you put any thought into going to an art school?" Mrs. Pomphret asked.

"Not really. College seems way too expensive for me to even consider, and becoming a struggling artist isn't exactly my forte," Audrey told her.

"Audrey, in all my years I have never seen someone who excelled at all principles of art. If you are going to go into a line of work for anything, I highly suggest being an art teacher. Teachers may not make that much money, but at the right school, you'd have it made. Think about it," the teacher told her, which made her smile.

"Thank you, Mrs. Pomphret. I will think about it."

"And also, please graduate high school. You are such a smart girl, I'd hate to see someone as smart as you have to struggle through life because of something so small."

Audrey knew that she was right, but she didn't want to admit it. Instead, she picked up her box and dropped it off in the office.

"So," Nancy began. "You and Luke, huh?"

"How'd you know?" Audrey asked, somewhat surprised.

"Well, I know a hickey when I see one, and the chemistry between you two is something that I can't ignore," Nancy told her.

Audrey blushed, embarrassed to be told that she had a hickey on her neck that she didn't even know about.

"Now, are you dating?"

Audrey stopped for a moment and realized that this whole time, her and Luke had never officially been boyfriend and girlfriend. They'd never really considered it.

"Uh, not really. We should be, but neither of us really bothered to ask each other," Audrey explained.

"Well, that's something that you two should talk about, now isn't it?"

"Yes, I guess it is," Audrey said, but she had no idea how to talk about something like that.

"And get your butt enrolled, if you don't graduate, I swear I'll start smoking again."