Pieces of us Both // Luke Hemmings

Chapter 2

"Oh my god." I whisper as I feel the colour drain from my face.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! Oh my god you look terrified! I promise won't hurt you! My name's - " he gushes before I cut him off.

 "Luke Hemmings." I finish. My voice soft but stable, much to my satisfaction.

"You know who I am?" he questions, genuinely surprised.

"Of course I do, I don't live under a rock."

"Right...sorry...I wasn't...ummm...what's you're name?"

"Trouble." I replied, a smile tugging at my lips. "Just kidding, I'm Ellie."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you." He replied through his laughter.

"You too. But I have to ask...why you are out at this time of night, by yourself?"

"You're concerned about me being out by myself? What about you!"

"I asked you first." I answer.

"Fine. I can't exactly go out during the day without being recognized because...you know...so this is the only chance that I get to feel like a normal person who can roam the streets without being attacked by screaming girls."

"I see what you're saying, I guess, but I think that you could find yourself being attacked by a lot worse than screaming girls at this time of night." I point out.

"Which brings as back to why you are here..."

"Well..." I begin as I take a seat on the edge of the side walk, my feet resting on the road. Luke sits on the grass just beside the footpath, crossing his legs. The gesture makes him look young and innocent, and for a moment I forget that I am talking to the lead singer of one of the world's biggest bands.

"Like you, I am avoiding someone." I start slowly.

"Who?" He asks, confusion obvious is his question.

"Myself." I state simply.

"I don't get it..." He confesses, looking up from the grass that he had been playing with and instead at me.

"No, you wouldn't. I didn't expect you to. Rich and famous boy band members generally don't 'get' what it feels like to be me." My voice raises as I stand to my feet, looking down at him. "You wouldn't know what feels like to feel worthless and not good enough. And there comes a time when you realize that it is nothing but naive to hope that one day things will change, and everything will get better, because you know it won't." I don't even realize that I'm crying until I feel a warm tear slide down my cold cheek. "Hope is the only thing that can keep you going and when that is gone, you have nothing. And that's why I'm out here. Why I come out here every night. Because when I am out here, the goosebumps on my skin and the smoky night air, and the sounds of insects and bats, distract me from my thoughts, from myself." I finish with a sigh.

As I spoke, Luke didn't move once. I watched as his eyes shone in the moonlight, but remained fixated on me the whole time. As I contemplate leaving him here and wakling home, he stands up and places his right hand on my left shoulder. I flinch at his touch, but he desn't quaver.

"For starters, I am not nearly as rich as you probably think I am. Fame and fortune don't always go hand in hand these days unfortunately. Secondly, 5 Seconds of Summer is most definitely not a boy band and thus I am not a boy band member, simply a member of a band. A very cool one." His expression and tone are dead serious and I can't help but smile, a small giggle even escaping my lips against my will. With a cautious smile he continues. "And I think you may be surprised as to just how much I know about pain. But I don't want to talk about me. How can I even try to understand what you're going through when you haven't even told me what it is?"