gone ✧*｡ luke a.u.

17: july 3 2011

ELLIE

THURSDAY, JULY 3RD, 2011

The nerves were the worst part, made worse by the silence. 

The bus had been too full when Ellie and Luke had climbed aboard for them to sit together, but it felt like everyone's eyes turned to stare when they both rose at the same time and disembarked at his stop. The gazes of his three friends burned into her head, and Ellie swore she could hear Anna Cast and Allie Roberts whispering heatedly at the back of the bus. 

"This way," Luke said once the had bus pulled away, leaving them on the street alone. A part of Ellie had longed for him to reach for her hand again as they started to walk, but instead they remained a foot apart. She couldn't find the words to fill the space between them.

Nerves. Terrible, impossible nerves. Ellie's thoughts warred between the unpleasant memories of the last time she had visited Luke's house and an acute awareness of his presence—his footsteps on the pavement, his height over her, the restless tapping of his fingers against his hip as he walked. 

All of her better judgment had screamed at Ellie to say no to his invitation, but she hadn't had the strength. Now, with her thoughts scrambled by his nearness, she could no longer tell whether she was grateful for her own weakness or simply angry at herself.

"I don't think Jack's home," Luke said eventually, his gaze trained on the street ahead of them, "but I think Mum is. So if she goes off at me for the detentions, just . . ." He mimed zipping his lips, and Ellie couldn't help but smile.

"You got another detention?" she asked. "What did you do?"

"I was caught texting during class." He kicked a stone as he walked and sent it flying off into some bushes nearby. "Some loser wouldn't stop messaging me."

Ellie felt heat rush to her cheeks. They had been texting back and forth frequently for a while now; he was pretty much her only escape from the relentless droning of her teachers. At least that way she could write, and rewrite, her thoughts before she sent them, and allow herself to breathe each time his name flashed up again on her phone screen.

"It's not my fault you can't focus in class," she teased lightly. Luke started laughing.

"Oh, I'm the one who can't focus in class? Is that right?" He nudged her and sent her stumbling to the side, grinning so widely her cheeks hurt. "Because you're such an angel yourself, aren't you?"

"Hey, at least I don't get caught."

"It's only because you're quiet," Luke scoffed, and Ellie rolled her eyes.

"No, you're just obvious. I'm sly. It's part of my charm, obviously. And my overwhelming awesomeness."

"Shit." Luke stopped suddenly in the middle of the path, worried. "Shit, I didn't . . ."

"What?" Ellie's grin disappeared instantly as she turned to face him, replaced by a concerned frown. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just . . ." He let out a deep breath and put a hand to his forehead. "I didn't realise your ego was bigger than fucking Kanye West's."

"Oh, shut up," Ellie groaned, but not for the first time, she couldn't help but laugh. "You honestly made me think you'd done something wrong, you twat."

"Why do you automatically assume I'm the one who's done something? What if someone stole fifty bucks off me or something? It's not always me."

"It usually is," she said, and he looked down towards her. He was holding back a smile, trying to pretend he was annoyed, but she could see the warmth in his eyes. Her stomach knotted.