choices ✨ || 5sos • lrh [COMPLETED]

1.0 drunk

With a long and dragged sigh, he pushed himself up. Feeling like falling straight back down again. It'd been a long night and another long one would come up. He then ran a hand through his sticky hair, thinking about going right into the shower. Sweat beads visible on his skin due to the hot weather in LA. Making his way through the close room. The corners of his eyes catching something though.
It was something blue, sticking out of one of the pockets of his suitase. Not sure what it could be in his still half-asleep state, he strolled up to it and picked it up. Inspecting it from all sides. Needing a few seconds to be finally able reading the title in the dim light. Written with golden letters all over the blue cover.
"The Great Gatsby."
Reading it out loud, he got instantly reminded again. The piece of paper used as a bookmark visible in the lower corner, marking the first chapters he'd already read through.
Thalia. The first thought in his mind in that moment. The first thought in his mind every morning and every night. His lips curling up to a smile, before they turned back into a frown.
A little over a week had passed since he'd last seen her. Since he'd last held her in his arms.
His thumb moved slowly over the smooth cover with the two big blue eyes and red lips on it. Opening it, he came across the first page. Covered with her hand writing.

'For the one and only Luke,
who's probably more attached to Leo than me. But hides that pretty well.
Happy birthday ♡

- Tally xx'

He smiled to himself. Her laugh still echoing in his memories. And all of the sudden he felt miserably. Lost. Even empty.
He needed to forget. To forget about her smile. To forget about her eyes. To forget about her. Especially on a day like this.
He was about to place it right back then when noticing the little red stamp with the book's origin in the corner. A breath getting caught in his throat.
And in that moment, he made a decision. Choosing probably the dumbest, but also easiest way to forget about someone you loved: getting drunk.
Till all memories of her, the way she looked at him and New Orleans got lost between alcohol, loud music and the hundreds of people who'd attend his birthday party tonight. 

Till it all went away. Along with the numbing pain inside him.

»»» 

6th August

Thessaloniki

Summer in Greece was a weird thing. August wasn't as bad as July, but still bad. The hotness of the cities being unbearable. Some would think the sea would provide them with some kind of coolness. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. The warm air felt like a heavy weight on people's bodies.

On that warm -what else- afternoon, Tally was seated on the carpet in her cousins Vicky and Rina's room. Cropping celebrities out of magazines. Their mums having been nagging about them doing absolutely nothing all day long. Which was kinda true.
In there defence, it was really hard to move when it was so warm. So with nothing left to do, they were just hoping Vicky wouldn't kill them for cutting out stuff from her magazines.
The old mags spread all over the floor. Along with their packed bags for the mountain trip that everyone would attend the next day. Even Vicky, although there'd be no wifi far and wide.
Kind of a miracle. To be honest, Tally was secretly really excited about her coming with them. Missing the times the two older cousins would spend together. Before growing up and social media interfered with their communication.

"Where're you gonna put the collage anyway?"
Rina cocked a brow at her question.
Noticing the phone in the younger girl's hands, she sighed. "Seriously now?"
"I just checked a text, geez," she rolled her eyes, putting the device down. Spinning on her desk chair, the strawberry blond looked around in her room. It wasn't the easiest question to answer to be honest. Her sister not wanting any posters on the wall anymore after taking off all her old ones a few years ago. Brooding over where to put the finished collage they were planning on making with the snippets.
"Maybe here, right over my desk?" Rina suggested then, pointing up at the space occupied by some photo frames.
"Aren't those Vicky's though?" Tally pointed out.
"Oh right," she groaned, "She'd kill me if I replaced one of hers."
"She's gonna kill you anyway when seeing the magazines and collage. So it doesn't matter." Tally shrugged, suppressing the little grin which was trying to make its way on her lips. Not staying unnoticed by Rina.
Frustrated for not being allowed to hang her beloved posters, she huffed into the palm of her hand.Resting her chin on it. "I want it though. It's also my room. I don't care that she decided being 'too old' for this stuff." A frown on her lips.
Tally put the scissors away and glanced up at the few remained posters in the corner of Rina's bed.
Admiring the collection, her eyes fell on one particular one then. The one she was always intuitively avoiding. Right at the top, the one of four guys. Four friends.Admitted, it was an older one. Enough to bring back memories though.
With a sigh, she averted her eyes from it once more, looking down.