Dusk **UNDER CONSTRUCTION**

Chapter 18

"Uh I should probably go," I gasp, Luke, still clearly stunned, nods.

I quickly fix my hair before stumbling out of the car and into the grossly huge mansion. I hesitantly enter, knowing what's coming. "Amaia Moore! That better be you!" The loudness of my Mother's voice echoes through the house, I'm surprised the frame doesn't begin shaking.

"Hi," I reply shyly.

"Where were you last night? Don't lie, I know you weren't home," her cold calculating eyes glare into mine.

"I was at a friend's, it was storming and-"

"That's no excuse!" she cuts me off by yelling. "You come home no matter what! And what the hell do you think you're wearing," she gestures to Stella's clothes. "Ugh and your hair's a mess! You look like a hobo."

I flinch at all the yelling. "My friend lent them to me," I reply quietly, trying to not stir the pot and make her angrier.

"Well you can tell your friend they have terrible taste and you will never be dead in those clothes! I'm not having you walk around wearing that, what would the neighbour's think? What would the Tate's think? That's what you want, isn't it? To get out of the ball with Bradley Tate!" she accuses.

"No I swear-"

"I bet you didn't exercise last night did you?" Will she let me talk? "And you ate greasy, fatty garbage! How can I expect you to be my maid of honour when you look like a whale!"

That really cut deep. I'm not that fat, am I? Luke told me I should eat, so that must mean I'm not that fat.

Right?

But those comments....

But Luke said.

"Wait, maid of honour?" I ask hesitantly.

"Of course, you stupid child! How do you think it would look if I didn't include my own child in my wedding? Your brother isn't here, so you're the next best thing. The fitting for your dress is coming up and I need you at your best."

And with that, she leaves me to retreat to my room. Tears threaten to spill down my cheeks. I hate crying but I guess that's just how I break. I lay on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I just need to clear my head but my mind's going 200mph. It wasn't so much what was said per say, even though that did hurt, but more emotional exhaustion from dealing with it all.

You're stronger than her and everyone seems to realise that except for you Luke's words from earlier fill my head. What if he's only partially right? What if I am strong but that's only because of Lucy, the band... Luke?

There's a soft knock at my door. "Dinner," Thomas calls softly, most likely unsure about whether or not I'm awake. So naturally, when he quietly opens the door, I fake sleep.

I don't know how many more hours I lay there but when I finally get up, I take off Stella's clothes and replace it with my running gear. I fold up her clothes and place them in my backpack. I need to get out of this house.

I need to go to a place that feels like home.

I guess that's how I end up at Luke's door at 10pm, Stella's perfectly folded clothes in my arms like some sort of piece offering. Luke's eyes are tired and his hair messy, he's notably shirtless. Despite his obvious tiredness, he seems to know exactly what I need.

His arms open up and I almost immediately collapse in them, Stella's clothes fallen forgotten on the ground. "That bad, huh?" he asks in my ear.

"It's been worse, I'm just emotionally exhausted," I pull away and look up at his face. "I know it's a school night, but can we have our own code blue?" Luke nods.

So I guess that's how we ended up in a pillow fort in Luke's living room, watching Lilo and Stitch at midnight on a Monday night. For this particular occasion, Luke's changed into a Stitch onesie which nearly matches the colour of his eyes exactly.

Luke's arm wraps around my shoulder. "Popcorn?" he offers. Remembering my Mother's earlier words, I shake my head.

"You know, you told me earlier to do something for myself, maybe you should take your own advice. You know you know you want it," he waves the treat under my nose.

I hesitantly grab a small handful of the popcorn and begin eating. "Luke, there's something I should tell you." He looks at me expectantly. "Back when I did ballet, I developed an eating disorder. Lack of nutrients weakened my bones so much that I completely shattered my ankle which is why I can't dance, please don't let me fall back into that again," I beg.

He stares wide eyed for a few moments, I'm scared he's going to run for the hills. His face soon relaxes. "I can't promise it won't be hard or that I won't do something completely idiotic but I'll be there for you, everyone will be, we're a band. We stick together."

I throw my body on his causing him to let out a small 'oof' before wrapping his arms around me. The fort tumbles around us, causing us to burst into laughter. "Thanks, Luke." I stare at him for a few moments. "Has anyone ever told you that you're an adorable Stitch?" I mumble, pressing my face against his furry, blue chest.

A laugh rumbles thorough him. "Yep, Stella never forgets to remind me of how much of an adorable puppy I am."

Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear. "Is this going to become a common occurrence?" Stella asks form behind us.

"Stella!" I jump up. "I'm sorry if we woke you, I best be getting home."

Luke begins to get up as well. "You don't have to," he almost begs.

"Don't want to make things worse with the she-demon. Thanks for having me over. Goodnight."

I lay in bed that night feeling as if I'm on cloud nine. However, I don't wake up that way. One because I have to go on a jog and two because I had another nightmare.

­_________________

Twice.

Luke and I have kissed twice and nothing has happened.

I'm really not a patient person.

"Okay, Lucy's uploaded the busking vlog," Fiona draws me out of my thoughts the next morning at school. "Alright, for the party, we all need to dress up. Obviously," she says in a 'duh' tone. "And as well as performing what we've already got, we need something new. Maybe even creepy, can you guys do that?" She gestures to Luke and me.

"Write a hit song for a party and have it at performance standard in two weeks? No problem," Luke says sarcastically.

"Great!" Fiona exclaims.

The bell then rings and Luke and I make our way to biology. "So another song?" I ask. "When did you want to start?"

"I generally write when it comes to me," Luke says as he sits beside me. "So this is pretty stressful."

"Well good for you, you're not alone. We can do this together," I rest my hand on top of his and give what I really hope is an encouraging smile.

"You know there was something I meant to ask before Stella interrupted us last night," he sucks in a deep breath. "I actually sort of yelled at her for it then she squeezed my cheeks and called me an adorable puppy," he rambles.

"You weren't exaggerating about the puppy thing," I laugh.

"I really wasn't," he says as the teacher walks in.

"Listen," he says quickly. "We spend so much time at my house or at practice so I thought we should, you know, go out and do something," he says. "As in, just us," he clarifies. "So I guess what I'm asking is," he takes a deep breath. "Will you go out with me?" he asks. "It doesn't have to be like a date or anything but um, yeah," he rambles.

I silence him with a finger to his lips. "I'd love to."

A/N Sorry that this chapter's shorter than others! I just thought that this was the perfect spot to end