This Old Town ✖️Muke

Chapter 31

"wait what?" Luke gapes at her. letting his eyes travel to me. i look down not wanting to make eye contact now, he will know just how upset i am. 

"yes, we will Fly out tonight, tour starts on Monday." she says. he grins but i can tell it's a bit forced. whats wrong?

but.. he trails off. he seems to not know weather to be happy or sad. i frown confused, why isn't he ecstatic? he is getting exactly what he wanted.

"mom, can I talk to you outside?" he asks, softly walking to the door and holding it open for his mom. she looks just as confused as I know we all are right now but follows after him. i know we really shouldn't, and john looks at us in a scolding way, but the three of us sit under the open window and eavesdrop.

(Luke)

"mom. A world tour and an album?" I ask when were sitting on the bench out on the deck. she nods and grins.

"isn't that great!"

"but a world tour is 8 months," i frown. "and an album too? this is going to take an entire year" she looks at me confused. 

"i thought you would be excited?" she frowns. i sigh and rub my face with my hands. 

"i am. i just. i dont know how to just up and leave again" i try to put words to what i'm feeling. I should be ecstatic, i should be jumping for joy and packing my bags right now,but i'm not. 

"what do you mean Luke? since the day I dropped you at the airport and to the day i called you in the hospital you couldn't wait to come home. what changed?" good question. 

"i dont know, i just, mom i fell in love with this pace again. I don't know why i'm hesitant about this. i want to tour again, god knows i want to. but leaving like i did last time. cutting all ties. i cant do that again. I cant hurt them like that again" i cant hurt Michael like that again.

"Luke if you dont want to take more of a break we can postpone the tour, it's ok.-" "no!" I cut her off.

"hell no! I love touring. I love traveling the world and performing to such loving fans everywhere. But a year? there is no time for me to come back here in a year like that."

"you want to come back here?" she asks me. i nod. 

"i love it here mom, i forgot just how much i did. I really hurt them when i just up and left. we were a band too you know? and i just said fuck it and left them without telling anyone. mom his parents were killed and i was too caught up in my own life to even keep contact with him! he was left alone, we told each other everything! why didnt you tell me?" I fee the tears falling down my face in waterfalls. she frowns at me.

"Luke" she says softly, rubbing her thumb across my cheek to get rid of the tears.

"If i had told you at that point in your career it would have ruined it. you would have wanted to go home and you were just starting to get recognition, i figured that you would regret it if you left and let this all fall apart. we moved to New York for this, because it was your dream." i sigh. what am i supposed to do? i put my face in my hands.

"why dont you go say goodbye to your friends? were leaving in a few hours." she says, standing up and walking back inside.

~~~

"so you're really going?" Calum asks sadly. i nod, Michael hasn't spoken to me since my mom dropped that bomb an hour ago.

"but dont worry i'll come back i swear!" i promis them.

"like you came back last time?" Michael speaks for the first time with malice in his voice. 

"do you think i want to leave you again?" i frown at him. he shrugs, not looking up at me. 

"i'm coming back, i don't care if i have to sneak away to do it. i'm not forgetting about you again." i address all three of them. "how could i? you all helped me see how terrible i was acting. you helped me get through my drug addiction. i can never repay any of you for sticking with me when you probably should have just ignored me." 

"you are our best friend Luke, no matter how many miles away you are and how famous and cocky you are." Ashton says, smirking and nudging me. i smile at him, then look down when my phone buzzed. They finally told me two weeks ago that they actually had internet in the house. fuckers, all of them. i effectively didn't talk to any of them for a day after that.

"my mom says it's time to go.." i whisper, the tears threatening to fall again. i stand up and grab the already packed bags. 

"make sure you go say bye to Eclipse before you leave" Michael mumbles, standing up and shoving his way out the door. i sigh, running my hand through my hair.

"you know it's never going to be the same right?" Ashton says from behind me.

"what isnt?" i ask, turning around. 

"any of this, your relationship with Michael, being famous. so much has changed but only one thing has stayed the same." he says making me cock my head to the side.

"i'm coming back" i say determinedly.

"to what though, is the question. your horse will probably forget who you are and Michael will probably hate you and you will hate being here all over again, just like last time." Cal sighs.

"what do you want me to do? just give up everything i've worked for?" i ask starting to get mad. what do they expect me to do? just stay here.

"no, but you need to see reason and reality. you're going back to the life you had that made you forget about us in the first place. ya you fixed you're drug addiction but what's stopping you from doing it again as soon as you are invited to a party? what's stopping you from getting mad at a fan or a pap and getting violent? nothing. so whats stopping you from never coming back here again?" he and Cal get up to leave the room as well when i remember something he said.

"hey wait, whats the same?" i ask. he scoffs. 

"what?"

"whats the same? you said everything's different but only one thing stayed the same. what's the same?" i ask. 

"Michael's still stupidly in love with you even though he know's he shouldn't be." he says, turning and walking away, leaving me standing there in the doorway, gaping like fish. wait what?