» à deux // luke hemmings « [editing]

Prologue

let the flames begin - paramore

[Luke]

“They agreed.” Ashton’s voice echoed through the empty hallway, causing Michael to jump in surprise. We all turned around to see him leaving the dreaded room, his hair in a mess as if he has been pulling on it the entire time he was in there.

I raised my eyebrows up. “Seriously?”

Ashton nodded, exhaling slowly. “Yeah, I can’t believe it, either.”

“Are you sure they said yes?” Calum asked, a shocked expression evident on his face.

“Yes,” Ashton rolled his eyes a little. “It was pretty hard, but it worked.”

“Crap, we’re going on tour with them.” Michael muttered under his breath, realization hitting him.

I watched Calum give him a small pat on the back, saying, “I think you’ll be able to keep your little crush on her for a few months.”

Michael has grown a liking towards one of the members of the band Flames, particularly Alice Craig, the lead singer. I have personally witnessed Michael develop crushes on many other people before, but never have I, or the rest of my band mates, seen him like someone so bad to the point of passing out the first time we met her.

“She’s never going to like me when she sees me everyday.” Michael whined, pouting at Ashton and I.

“Why not?” I knitted my brows together in confusion, not entirely understanding where he was coming from. The person who you’ve had a crush on for months agreed to going on a tour with you—how is this a bad thing again?

“What if she gets annoyed?” He asked and rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “She’ll get tired of seeing me everyday.”

“Nah,” Ashton waved a hand. “She’s Alice. She never gets annoyed.”

Calum looked at me quickly, and I knew exactly what he was about to say. His voice came out quiet, but loud enough for us to hear. “Are you okay with this, Luke?”

“Yeah,” I lied through my teeth, letting out a shaky breath. When Calum kept his worried stare at me, I sent him a forced smile in assurance, hoping he wouldn’t see through it. 

“How about you?” Calum’s eyes shifted from me to Ashton, who stood beside me.

He shrugged, letting out a sigh. “I’ll be fine. I’m not sure about Ivey, though.”

As if on cue, Ivey stormed out of the room at the end of the hallway with Alice following behind her like a lost puppy.

Ivey was in her usual all-black outfit from head to toe: shoes, jeans, shirt, and a beanie to top it off with her dyed blonde hair standing out, while Alice wore a plain blue shirt and a pair of jeans as dark as Ivey’s outfit all together.

“Ives, wait.” Alice called out. She briefly noticed our presence and sent us an apologetic smile before running after her band mate with hopelessness evident in her eyes. 

“Don’t call me that.” Ivey snapped. Her voice was low and quiet, almost sounding deadly. She started walking faster to the end of the hall where the exit was.

I frowned when she didn’t glance at me, but seeing her again was enough.

“You’re being really stubborn, Ivey.” Alice said calmly, finally catching up with her.

“I need a stick.” Ivey said, turning around to finally face Alice. “I’ll be back in a while.”

Alice exhaled slowly. “Fine. Just one, okay?” She pleaded, giving a look of worry and desperation.