Critical || Luke Hemmings

Chapter Seven

I choked on my coffee and shook my head fast.  “No, never.  The most we’ve done is hold hands and cuddle..” I said shyly, blushing some.

“Sydney, oh my god, it’s so obvious you like him.” She squealed grabbing my hands.

“No, I don’t.” I said trying to stand my ground. 

“Oh come off it Syd, I know you well enough to know when you like someone.  What’s stopped you from doing anything?”

I bit my lip staring down at my coffee.  “I guess I just never wanted to lose our friendship, so I never wanted to press it any further.  I was content being the girl he cuddled when he was cold and held hands with during scary movies.. Now I guess I’m getting greedy.. I don’t want someone else to do that for him.” I mumbled ashamed of my own thoughts.

“You need to tell him Syd,” she sighed, squeezing my hands reassuringly.

“I can’t tell him that,” I shook my head. “It’ll ruin everything.  And Emily is so nice and she really likes him, it’s clear.”

“Let me ask you about this Emily,” she paused for a second trying to form her questions.  “How long has she been around?”

“Two weeks now.”

“Okay, how long have you been around?”  She raised her eyebrows looking at me.

“Three years..”

“Now when do you all leave for another state?” She crossed her arms

“Tomorrow night after the show.” I sighed, running my hand through my hair

“Is she coming with you?”

“I don’t know, maybe? I mean she could meet us there, who knows.” I shrugged defeated.

“All I’m saying Sydney is that you deserve what you want in this world.  They’ve been seeing each other for two weeks, do you really think that means more to him than three years of friendship with you?”

“I’d hope not..” I sighed, I knew what she was getting at.

“Then tell him.”

“Fine.”

….

Elizabeth drove us back to the venue a few hours and two cups of coffee later.  I invited her to stay with me for the show so we could hang out longer and so I wouldn’t be alone with Emily for another set by myself again.

We parked her car and headed towards the bus.  It was an hour to show time so the boys should already be in their dressing room right now.  I tugged open the door to the bus, inviting Elizabeth in so I could show her around a little.

I rounded the corner of the stairs, entering the lounge area and froze when I saw Luke and Emily in front of me.  Luke was shirtless and Emily had left plenty of marks on his neck.  My feet couldn’t seem to move as Elizabeth bumped into me, letting out a muffled sound.

Luke pulled away from Emily and quickly grabbed for his shirt.  “Syd, jesus you scared me,” he said throwing his shirt back on while Emily tried to fix her hair back into it’s original position.

“I-I figured you’d be inside..” I stuttered, trying to look away from the hickeys on his neck.

There was silence for a moment before Elizabeth spoke up.  “Well, Sydney, you were going to show me around right?” she nudged me slightly and I nodded, tearing my eyes away from the two of them.

“I should probably head inside,” Luke mumbled, grabbing Emily’s hand.

“It was good seeing you Sydney,” she smiled awkwardly at me.  I tried to force back a smile and waved as they exited the bus.

Swallowing hard, I glanced at Elizabeth who was already watching me.  “I can’t tell him anything, Lizzy,” I shook my head back and forth.  “He’s with her.  I can’t do that to him.”  A few tears fell from my eyes before I was able to wipe them away.

“It’s okay,” Elizabeth cooed, pulling me into a tight hug.  “It’s all going to be okay, I promise.”

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God damn it Sydney grow a pair.

Also if anyone wants some tunes to listen to while reading, my best friend and co-owner of the blog I run has made a nice playlist that brings out our inner Lydney feels, so feel free to check that out here: http://8tracks.com/papersimone/critical

As always, please comment, I actually love that more than anything, so yeah..