the bucket list | lrh

31 - we kissed

"Are you tired?" The brunette asked, sounding genuinely concerned for the blonde who had developed darkened circles under his eyes.

"Little bit," he smiled back. He certainly was tired, but not tired enough to slow them down.

"I can drive if you want to take a nap," she suggested, sitting up in her seat to demonstrate how she would sit had she been the one driving. She extended her arms to mimic Luke's steering. After swerving it around a few imaginary times, Luke let out a thick chuckle, eyes still focused on the road ahead of him.

"If you're going to be swerving like that, you're not driving my moms car," Luke joked, not really meaning anything by the comment. Valentine saw the wit a little differently though, and she couldn't seem to stop laughing at it.

"It's not like you didn't literally rear end a delivery truck and then didn't call your mom!" She wheezed out between breathless laughs. Luke followed her shortly after, losing himself in the girls sense of humor. He was really starting to get to know her, in ways he hadn't before. He had literally kissed her a little over twenty four hours ago, and they hadn't even spoken since they'd woken up the following morning. He couldn't get out of his mind with all of the restless thinking going on, and he nearly swerved into the other lane while paying attention to the girl.

"Okay," she sat up, really this time.

"Pull over here," she grabbed the wheel, noting how drained Luke looked.

"I'm driving, alright?" She turned her head as Luke wordlessly pulled over where she had asked. He couldn't possibly tell her no, not with that hopeful glint in her eye. Not to mention the fact that he was indeed incredibly exhausted.

"Mmhm," he hummed, watching as she climbed out of the passenger seat. He had been in such a daze that time seemed to slip past him, and before he knew it—the girl was knocking on his window impatiently.

"Come on," she urged him, pulling his arm slightly to get him up and out of his seat. "Sorry," he mumbled, placing his hand over hers where it fell against his chest after he stood.

"Just sleepy," he shrugged, though with absolute certainty he was lying. He was so damn entertained by her, he couldn't even think straight. He could blame it on the lack of sleep, and maybe some of that would be valid. But at the end of the day, he was a sick puppy around her all the time, regardless the situation or day.

Once he had rounded his car to take a seat on the passenger side, Valentine got comfortable behind the wheel. She had never driven anything besides Adeline's Jeep, and her fathers two seater. Both were much larger than Liz Hemmings' minivan, and Valentine felt a little out of her element.

"Here," Luke leaned over once he got settled. He clicked a button that Valentine didn't really see, because she was too focused on how quickly he could get so close to her. His head wasn't far from her shoulder, and she felt the heat from his figure. Before she had the chance to get breathless and distracted, Luke removed his presence at once. Valentine noted the way the windshield wipers had turned on, and as if on cue, so did earth's urge to rain. Light sprinkling burdened the girl as she slowly pulled back into the road, keeping an eye out for passing cars.

"You have your license on you?" Luke asked, watching her timid movements. She definitely looked like an anxious driver to him, but he didn't want to assume too much. The girl was full of surprises, after all.

"License?" Valentine quickly shot her eyes towards the blonde who held a horrified expression, and back to the road in a matter of seconds.

"I'm kidding, I have my license in my backpack," she grinned, reveling in the low groan Luke emitted involuntary, some sign of relief or something.

"Thank god," Luke huffed, leaning back against his headrest. With the knowledge that the girl could actually drive legally, he let himself relax his previously tensed muscles.

"Hey Luke?" The girl called out, keeping her eyes trained ahead, but mind wandering now that she was in the hot seat and couldn't go on her phone for means of entertainment.

"Mmhm?" He hummed in response, despite being half asleep. He would never want to blatantly ignore her, so he gave his best go at staying awake while she spoke.

While the rain drizzled down on the window, Valentine felt like she was living inside of a sweet love song. One she could name, even. The comfort of her position and company felt so peaceful to her, and she leaned into the moment as she drove down an empty road that seemed to go on for miles and miles.

"We kissed," she whispered, childlike in the way that she was terrified of Luke's reaction to the simple statement. Though it should've been an easy piece of information for the two to agree on, Luke's heart sunk at the mention of it.

"Yeah, we did," he breathed out heavily, eyes closed and reclined in his seat.

"How does that make me feel?" She asked, voice small as ever. She wasn't quite sure what had come over her, but she wanted to ask all of her questions while she had the courage. "You? I can't tell you how to feel," Luke responded quickly, not giving it a second thought. He would never want Valentine to feel like she had to kiss him. Admittedly, the submission on her part had his heart fluttering, but that doesn't mean he'd ever want to push her to the point of controlling her.

"I mean... like... well, I know that. But I value your opinion as a significant peer. How do you think I should feel?" She asked, honesty spilling out of every hole on her body. She felt extremely vulnerable mumbling the words she usually wouldn't let slip out, but she didn't want to leave her questions unanswered.

"I'm not sure... are you asking how I hope you feel?" Luke asked, catching on to what she was getting at. Once realizing that he had been overthinking it, he spoke again before she had the chance to confirm his question.

"I hope you feel relieved. Because I feel relieved. It was something I'd been wanting to do for some time, but it never felt right. I felt very relieved to kiss you, and I'd hoped you'd feel the same," Luke explained, finally opening his eyes and sitting up a little to get a better view of her.

"I do... I feel relieved," she agreed quickly, not really needing to give it a second thought after being told so. She hadn't expected so much honesty from the blonde, and she certainly didn't know how to react. "You don't have to agree with me, Valentine," he pleaded with her, feeling guilty that she so easily complied with his wishes. It seemed that Valentine was only ever impressionable, or a force to be reckoned with—and there was no in between. He was still learning how to speak to her correctly, and he was still taking notes on her soul. He wasn't quite there yet, but he was trying.

This just so happened to be a time that Valentine was coming off as naive, though Luke would never use that word to describe her himself. He'd go for a more subtle approach, something along the lines of she shouldn't agree with everything I say so easily, she trusts me too much.

"I'm not just agreeing with you," she responded, turning to him at a red light. He looked drained of energy, but he was still so worried about hurting her, he looked so vulnerable all the same in her eyes.

"How do you feel, Valentine?"

"I do feel relieved, actually. I think... I'm scared of the way it makes me feel," she explained, a little shrug thrown on as the boy gazed deeply into her slightly panicked eyes.

"Do you like it?" Luke asked, as simply as he possibly could have. Though the question was as easy as two plus two, Valentine choked up on her answer regardless.

"I do."