Across The Street // Luke Hemmings

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

I walked back into the living room and sat back down on the couch.

Michael and Peyton had apparently rejoined the group, with tons of snacks, as promised. They still seemed to be in their own little world, though.

Ashton, Katie, and Sam were sitting on the floor and looking at the guys' record collection. I could see from where I was sitting that they had a pretty impressive stash.

Calum, Jill, and Brooke seemed to be deep in conversation over by the band's guitars.

That left me to fend for myself.

Luke sat down on the chair next to the couch that I was sitting on.

"Sorry if I scared you a bit in the kitchen," he chuckled.

I smiled shyly. "No worries. And for the record, I think you're pretty too. Like, naturally pretty. Not like, fake pretty."

Luke laughed as he picked up on the fact that I was mocking him.

Thank God. Otherwise I would have sounded like the idiot.

"Very clever. But I should warn you, I'm pretty clever too," he said as he looked proud of himself.

"Yeah, I bet. It takes a really clever and well put together person to trip over literally nothing as they stumble out of a room," I teased.

Luke couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, but you loved it! You followed me right into that kitchen. I got you right where I want you, Chelsea."

He flashed me that crooked smile, and I felt shivers go up and down my spine. Fuck. He really does have me right where he wants me.

Then, he picked up two cups full of coke, handed one to me, and said, "cheers." As we toasted to our cleverness, we managed to spill coke all over me. Clever, right?

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Seriously, that was my bad. Um, do you want a paper towel? Do we even have paper towels? CAL, do we have paper towels?" Luke looked genuinely distraught.

Adorable.

"Luke, chill. It's fine! You're clever, remember? You'll figure something out," I said as I sat back and crossed my legs.

He smirked at me. "You got it, little darling," he said as he lifted me up and threw me over his shoulder.

"LUKE! Oh my God, I know how to walk!" I giggled as I clutched on to him.

He carried me over his shoulder all the way to his room, where he plopped me down onto his bed and walked over to his dresser.

As he shifted through his shirts, he whistled a dorky little tune. Again, adorable.

"This should do the trick!" Luke tossed me a muscle tank.

A large muscle tank that was fit for his very broad shoulders. I'm just a tiny girl. My chest would be on display.

"That's very kind of you, but I can't wear this." I said while grinning.

"What! Why not?"

I sighed. "Turn around," I told him.

He obeyed, and I took my shirt off, leaving me in only my black lace push-up bra. I took the muscle tank and put it on. Just as I suspected, it was waaay too loose. You could see everything! I might as well have just been standing there in my bra.

"Yeah, I can't wear this," I said as I was about to take it off. I wasn't expecting Luke to turn around, but sure enough, he did.

And his stare lingered.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer," I teased and laughed as he immediately turned red.

"I'm so sorry! I thought I could turn around, oh man. I'm sorry. Not a good choice for a shirt for you. That's my bad, Chels."

I froze.

Chels. That's what my dad calls me.

All of a sudden I felt like I was going to cry. I didn't realize how much I missed my mom and dad until he said that. But there was no way I was going to start crying while a guy I barely knew stared at my clearly visible boobs in my wildly inappropriate push-up bra.

Hold it together, Chelsea. You can do this. You can do this.

"No, please don't be upset. Hold on, let me get you another shirt! I can get you another one just hold on," Luke blurted out. I guess I didn't do such a great job of masking my sudden distress.

This poor kid. I was really giving him a run for his money.

I could feel the lump in my throat start to go down, and I felt like I could talk again without getting choked up.

"No, you're so sweet. It wasn't you. Just, when you called me Chels, it reminded me of my dad. He's back home, and I miss him. And my mom. I know it's stupid. But I do. I've never been away from home for longer than like, a weekend. I guess I just really miss them a lot. God, this is kind of insanely embarrassing. I'm sorry," I chuckled even though I could feel tears threatening my eyes.

"I don't know why I'm boring you with all this," I laughed nervously.

But Luke didn't laugh at me. He looked right at me and lifted my arms up.

Without breaking eye contact, he pulled the muscle tank off of me and pulled a long sleeved t-shirt on to me.

Then he took me in his arms and gave me the biggest hug I've had since I said goodbye to mom and dad at the airport.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: thanks for reading! please don't forget to comment and vote for this chapter.. thank you :)