the bucket list | lrh

16 - knee socks

Valentine was fast asleep when Luke finally shifted a little to face her fully. With her little hand still interlocked with his, he moved to get even closer to the girl who was unconscious and extremely at peace.

He figured she'd push him away when he went to hold her hand, but she found her way into a dream instead. He didn't even comprehend that she had fallen asleep until he finally got the courage to look in her direction, ready to be yelled at for being so foolish.

But Luke wasn't as tired as her, and he couldn't get to sleep as effortlessly as she had managed to. So he laid awake in hopes that she wouldn't open her eyes to see him staring right back already.

See, Luke was horribly confused by all that had happened in one short night. Valentine had somehow gone from Adeline's little sister to someone he was holding hands with. It didn't make much sense to him, and he didn't know how to deal with it. So he just stared. He looked so deeply at her features in hopes for some kind of indicator. He was dying to know why she had become someone he cared so much for in such a short amount of time. He was desperate for some sort of assurance.

Alas, none of his questions had any clear answers that he could find. But he just thought if he looked a little longer, or thought a little harder, then maybe some sort of clarity would arise.

Though he was so conflicted, Luke knew one thing well. He knew that he had enjoyed his time with Valentine way more than he expected to, and he knew that he was a little too excited to complete the next task on the list. That being to road trip to California together. He knew how wrong it was of him to sit and daydream of Adeline's sister in such a way, but he could hardly help himself from caving into the fantasies.

He was really starting to take a liking to Scout's youngest daughter, and that he could no longer deny—to himself or anyone else who had their eyes peeled for the signs.

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Upon fluttering her gently rested eyes open for the first time in the morning, Valentine found herself consumed by her abnormal surroundings. Not only was she alone in a hotel room with Luke, but she had her head rested on his chest, hands still tangled together from the night before. She remembered him doing it, she just hadn't expected him to keep the position all night through.

The girls eyes darted over to the curtains, helplessly fighting back the sunlight from illuminating the room. Valentine wished it would provide more light though, because the darkness was all too conflicting to her. She could easily doze back into sleep, but that would mean acknowledging her current position—and staying that way.

Valentine couldn't stand the idea that such a thing had happened with Luke Hemmings of all people, but what really got to her was that she liked it. Not a single part of her wanted to move, and that tore her apart inside.

It bothered her so much—in fact—that she slowly removed herself from the boys grip, slipping away from him and back towards the edge of the bed where she had previously hidden the night before.

Her hopes to be able to get to sleep again were crushed when the boy shifted around a little, and she figured that he had woken up despite saying nothing.

Luke had been pretending to sleep since he felt her move the slightest bit under him. Truthfully, he hardly slept at all. Sure he dozed off for a few hours here and there, but most of the night was spent in a torturous mindset in which he couldn't bring himself to move the girl. When she moved her head to lean against him like a pillow, he nearly had a heart attack. In fact, he was almost certain that the noise from his increased heartbeat would wake her, but she remained fast asleep through the entire night. With the exception of just then of course, which he couldn't really consider to still be a moonlit hour.