player ♚ lrh

18 - stay

Luke told himself that he knew what he was doing.

He wished he could say the way he was feeling, and the way he didn't even hesitate before dropping everything just to go and get the girl was all very normal.

But it just wasn't; he'd never felt like this before.

Still, he tried not to dwell on it, considering he had more important things to worry about. The main one being the small girl covered only in a hoodie and shorts waiting patiently for him on the curb outside her apartment building—alone, in the dark; exactly where he didn't want her to be.

"Fucking hell, Elise," he nearly gritted when he stepped out to yank the passenger door open for her. "Didn't I tell you to wait inside?"

Cringing, she tugged her little bag further up her shoulder and sheepishly took her seat inside. "I didn't want you to have to get out,"

He sighed instead of letting out a groan, closing her door without another word and taking his own seat at the wheel. He wasn't mad, but the sight of her all alone outside, looking like that, made his muscles tense uncomfortably. Of course, he thought. She just wanted to make it easier for me.

It probably would've helped if he had said something in return, because the only thing Elise could pick up on was his frustration, and she had to assume it was because of her.

He's mad at me, she decided, tapping her fingers together in her lap. "I'm sorry,"

His eyes were on her in an instant, intense with concern and many other things he couldn't get into at the moment. When she looked at him shyly he really wanted to bite his lip, but he held back. "Don't say that," he told her firmly, trying his absolute hardest to somehow sound gentle. "I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" She asked him, hope lacing her voice.

He sighed, gripping the wheel and looking straight ahead. "No." Never.

Elise only nodded to herself in response, feeling a bit better. Even if he wasn't mad at her, he still seemed rather tense and she didn't want to make it any worse. So, she kept her lips shut and let him drive in peace, despite the many questions that sat on the top of her tongue.

Ones such as why he hadn't questioned her for calling him in the first place, or why his first reaction was to pick her up and take her with him. She wanted to know, but at the same time she didn't. Mostly she was just happy to see him—despite the odd situation—and it was obvious by the way her heart rate picked up when he first stepped out.

Luke's heart was racing a bit too, but it hardly shocked him at this point. If he was being honest, it was every time he saw her, and he was finally willing to let it happen without pushing it down or dismissing it all together.

When he snuck a small glance at her, his eyes caught on the bare skin of her legs, and the way her fists sat in her lap completely covered by the sleeves of her hoodie. There was a slight bounce to her leg that made him look away. It almost looked like she was shivering.

"You're cold," He muttered, choosing not to wait for a confirmation before he reached over to switch on her seat warmer and crank the heat up.

Elise looked up from her lap, small smile on her lips. "Thank you." She said quietly, though she wasn't really cold. She was only a little cold, but the small shiver that ran through her was merely from being in his presence and feeling his eyes on her.

He didn't say anything in response, too busy distracting himself with the road and trying not to think about the fact that he was bringing her home, with him. He hadn't really come up with a plan before he left, simply because he was far too preoccupied with getting to her as quickly as possible.