Disney with 5SOS © (Ashton Irwin)

Telling Luke

"So my dad called yesterday when we were at Disneyland....and-"

I am interrupted by Liam and Calum walking over to us asking us if we're ready to start heading back down.

"You ready?" Luke asks me.

I hesitate. NO I'm not ready. LUCAS I AM TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

"Uh...yeah I guess so." I say, annoyed.

"You can finish what you were going to say when we walk." Luke says, kissing my cheek then standing up from the boulder, holding out his hands to help me up.

"Luke I need to tell you now." I say as I stand up. I continue to hold one of his hands and he says, "Oh ok. Tell me."

"I need to tell you in privacy.." I say nudging towards the rest of the group who is waiting on us.

"Oooh. Gotcha. Erm..hey guys, go on ahead. Me and Noelle will catch up with you on the trail." Luke says.

"All right. Don't get lost!" Calum says.

"Stay out of trouble you two!" Louis teases.

We say bye to them and they go on ahead of us.

"Um..let's sit back down." I say to Luke, leading him back to the boulder.

"Noelle, what's going on?" He says with a confused look on his face.

I let out a sigh and he looks at me and then back out to the view in front of us waiting for me to explain.

"Well, like I said, yesterday my dad called me when we were at Disneyland and he told me something.." I start to say.

Luke looks back at me and waits for me to continue. "Yeah, and what did he say?" Luke asks.

"Well...first can I ask you something Luke?" I ask.

"Anything." He says, concerned.

"What's the future like for us? What do you see for us in...say, the next year or so?" I ask.

"Hmm...you always ask me hard questions! You know I'm bad with words!" Luke jokes, smiling.

"No Luke, I'm serious." I say, wanting him to answer.

"Well, I see us like how we are now. A happy couple, doing fun things, travelling around and-"

I cut him off right there.

"That's just it. Luke, my parents want me to start college. As fun as it is travelling around, doing all these exciting things, I can't do that forever." I say.

Luke looks confused.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about, Noelle?" He asks.

"This summer has been the best summer I've ever had. Meeting you changed my life. Literally. I wish this summer could last forever. I wish we could travel the world together for the rest of my life like you said, but I can't. I have to get my education. I have to finish school first."

"What are you getting at?" Luke asks cautiously.

This is when my eyes start to water as I look at Luke.

"Oh Luke, I don't want to leave." I say.

Luke tries to comfort me but I know he is so confused.

"Leave? What do you mean leave?" He says, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me in for a hug and lightly rubbing my arm. I hold back the tears. I can't cry. I sit up, releasing the hug and look him straight in the eyes.

"My parents...want me to come home to start college." I say.

"What? When?" Luke asks.

"College starts in less than 2 weeks."

"2 weeks?" Luke says softly.

I nod and look down at our hands, intertwined.

Luke doesn't say anything at this point. He looks out at the view of LA in front of us.

"Lukey..." I say, wrapping my arms around his torso and holding onto him tight, burying my face into his chest. He pulls me back in for a hug and just holds me silently.

"If you're gone then...who's supposed to take care of me?" Luke says.

"What do you mean?" I say quietly, still wrapped in his arms.

"You know, who's supposed to tell me to go to bed when I should, fix my hair when it's out of place, tell me they love me, eat the other half of my pizza, hold my hand....that sort of stuff."

Hearing Luke say this makes my tears start to run down my cheek.

"Lukey...don't say that." I say sadly.

"I don't want you to go, Noelle." Luke says, holding me tighter.

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After another 10 minutes or so of talking with Luke and trying to figure things out, we decide we better catch up with the others. Luke is silent most of the hike back down. I know he is upset. I'm upset too.

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Copyright © 2014 by Ruby C.