alumni ➢ luke hemmings [DISCONTINUED]

1.0 ➢ A Bad Boy's Layers.

"Yeah, no," I say, almost snorting, and Chloe gives me an amused look, "I've already had enough of him glaring at me every chance that he gets when I come in here. I'd honestly rather fail this year than ask Luke Hemmings for any sort of help,"

"Yikes. You sound just like him," the smallest hint of a smirk tugs on her lips, and I narrow my eyes, "Stubborn and silly."

"Since when has he ever sounded silly?" I ask. If anything, Luke has two moods and two moods only; stoicism, and anger. Fortunately enough for me, I've only ever seen his angry side twice.

"I don't know. But all tough, bad boys have a layer," Chloe states, and I cock my head to the side to indicate that I have no idea what she's talking about, "The first layer. That's the one with all the emotion and rage and stuff. When you peel that back, you get to the second,"

"What are you, a psychologist?"

She laughs lightly, "I wish. They wouldn't let me take the course because I didn't get the right grades," then Chloe shakes her head, as if to get back into the conversation, "Anyway! Second layer. That's your holy grail,"

"I didn't ask for this," I raise an eyebrow.

"No good girl ever does,"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Chloe is currently mimicking the very bad plot to some fiction piece I've unknowingly been cast a part of. But she sounds genuine; determined, almost, to give me this new information, so I disregard it.

"I'm just telling you what I think! From my observations, and stuff," she says smartly, "But yeah. Your holy grail, you got that?"

"My what?"

"Every bad boy has a holy grail," she tells me, as if I'm foolish for being oblivious as to what exactly a 'holy grail' is, "It's where he's mean, but a different type of mean. Mean to everybody but you. He might not acknowledge you, might not even send a smile your way most of the time- but there's this, like, sense of comfort to be found."

She's lost me. Chloe's lost me in the sea of words she just used and she knows it, for she rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.

"Forget it,"

"Alright, so holy grail. What next?" I'm not entirely sure I want to know, but I don't want Chloe to think that I'm uninterested, either. Although I'd much rather be doing something productive with my time rather than this; listening to the main person I've befriended on campus clammer on and on about a guy I want nothing more than to forget.

I'm sure Luke isn't that bad, bar the first layer and a bit of the second. He probably has a soft spot for other things, like money and his cars and his mother (my own instilled the thought of respect for the woman who birthed you to be life's main priority) and simple things that might seem 'simple' in Luke Hemmings' eyes but complicated in mine. World domination, for example. I wouldn't be too surprised if that's something he's planning- when it comes to a guy like him, you can never be too sure.

It's just some people's soft spots are harder to find than others. And after hearing what I've heard about what Luke's done and the type of people he hangs out with, I don't really want to poke and prod too much in fear of finding out something I'll regret.