Strawberries and Cigarettes // muke

chapter one

It was a hot, yet windy day as Luke slammed the door to his mother's pick up truck shut. He looked around the big grey building irritatedly, already wanting to get out of here and to see his friends. Even the square bushes and low hanging trees picked his last nerve, since the leaves brushed through his hair and made the boring building seem even more boring and generic.

The inside was just as bland and boring as he thought, and so unbelievably quiet that the gum in his mouth just begged to be popped loudly. Though the officer maintaining the metal detector was eyeing his moving jaw with a dirty look, and the fat white sign that read, 'NO CHEWING GUM' in bright red was staring him down just as hard, he still wanted to do it. He had to do it.

He chuckled as he set his things inside of a bucket, from his phone to his watch and even his belt. It still beeped as he walked through, and the officer stopped him before he could step through like his mother had. As the officer stood in front of him, he raised his eyebrow and then popped the gum in his mouth.

"I need you to spit that gum out and take out all metal you may have on." She stated firmly and he stood up taller as he played with his lip ring. "Now, sir."

"I have a piercing on my intimates, should I take them out to?" He asked and reached for the hem of his shirt.

"Is that all?"

"I don't know, wanna check?" He teased since she was an attractive woman and the officer behind her was an attractive man. "Stop and frisk."

She scoffed at his childish behaviour before grabbing his wrist and pushing him up against the nearest wall. "I like a strong woman." He commented as she used her hands to pat him down.

"Clear." She spoke up, ignoring his unfiltered mouth. "Take your things and go."

He hummed as he took his sweet time putting everything back on, and he could feel her angry glare as he walked away. "Spit your gum out!" She called and Luke could hear her voice echo off of the bland and boring white walls of the hallway.

"Luke, can you be presentable and respectful for once in your life?" His mom snapped and he could feel his lip turn upwards into a snarl.

"I will when you decide to learn how to be a real parent." He spit and she rolled her eyes as he folded his arms behind his head.

They approached a window and Luke leaned on the counter, blowing a bubble with his gum before eyeing the woman at the computers. "Sir, we do not allow gum in here. Please spit it out."

"We're here to speak with the judge, name's Luke Hemmings." Luke spoke as his mother handed him a napkin. "I don't want it. There's probably spunk on it."

"I'm going to need you to show a little respect," the woman behind the desk scolded him as she handed him a paper. "- you are here for a reason."

"Yeah, my mom can't be a mom, can she?" Luke asked and took the slip. "What's this?"

"Your rights." She eyed him with an unamused look. "Your meeting is in J2 in fifteen minutes."

"Amazing." Luke muttered before pulling a pen out of his pocket. "Sign it." He pushed it to his mother before pulling his phone out to sit down.

"Is he always that bratty?" He overheard and leaned back against the wooden bench as he looked at his phone. "I'd slap my kid if he acted like that towards me."

Luke wanted to laugh, but he held it back since he didn't have it in him to care about the woman anymore. It's not like he'll ever see her again.

Luke looked around the hallway, his eyes stopping at the front where the officer and metal detector were. He watched as some boy threw item after item into the black bucket, but still somehow couldn't get a green light to shine and let him through. He snickered before looking down at his boots and the ugly spotted floor.

He looked at the people in front of him, where were whispering to one another and checking their watches every four seconds. He turned away when the grown man looked at him, and he heard a loud laugh bounce off the walls.

"Woah, take me to dinner first before you touch all up on me like this."

He glanced at the front again, noticing another boy was getting a pat down, but this time from the attractive male officer. He must have been clear, because in only a moment's notice, he was getting back the things he had put aside.

"What are you looking at?" He heard his mom ask as she sat down beside him, deciding to let her purse separate the two of them.

"My next boyfriend, I hope." He chuckled and then pulled on the collar of his shirt as he watched the boy and his father, or that's what Luke thought he was.

"Luke, that's inappropriate."

"Mhm." He ignored her as he met the unknown boy's eyes. Luke dropped his left eye into a wink, deciding he didn't care if the kid was gay, straight, purple, or even green. He was gonna flirt with him.

The boy's lip tilting upwards into a lopsided smirk, and he raised a finger as they approached the same woman Luke and his mother had talked to. Luke tried to see if he could see the boy's bum, but the wall was too long and left the two out of his view. Luke looked at his hands and twisted his pinky ring as he waited.

"If the judge asks, I'm a single parent and you have to take care of your baby brother." Luke's mom nudged him and he looked at her.

"Only half of that is a lie." Luke moved his shoulder from her grasp. "Travis is a literal piece of fucking shit. I don't know why you don't just leave him."

"It's complicated-"

"You're just stupid! It's not complicated at all. You're blindly in love with him, but fine. If he's more important than your kids, whatever." Luke shook his head as he rolled his eyes, turning away from his mom as she sat silently in her seat. "I take care of Austin anyways, it's not like the two of you do it."

Luke didn't even care about that delinquent looking kid who caused a ruckus anymore. He looked trashy in his busted knee jeans, black tee, and dirty looking leather jacket anyways. The piercing in his left eyebrow looked infected and his nails looked both uneven and ugly due to the chipped black paint. His hair was also a mess, and his shoes looked like they could use a good cleaning.

Did the kid know he had to be judged by a judge, and that looking like a nineteen-sixties punk revolutionist wasn't going to win him over?

Luke ignored his gazes and stares, deciding he wasn't going to talk to anyone until he was in the same room as the judge. How incredible is it that he has to take a hit because his so called 'guardians' are too invested in each other and themselves to care about anyone else? He didn't even belong here. It's not even his fault but he has to pretend and say that it is.

It's bullshit, Luke thought as he scrolled through his Instagram and ignored the boy across from him.