Bittersweet Coffee [A 5SOS, Luke Hemmings Fanfiction]

Chapter 22: Her First Date, Part 1

“I wondered what happened when you offered yourself to someone, and they opened you, only to discover you were not the ​gift they expected and they had to smile and nod and say thank you all the same.” ― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper

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Today wasn’t the best day of Annie's life, but it was indeed a happy day. She was dressed in a sky-blue dress, which seemingly showed her curves, but nonetheless, it came out cute yet gorgeous for her. Her legs swung excitedly, the momentum enough to propel her body off the swing as her black cone heels scuff the grass beneath. She wore a toothless grin – a type of smile she rarely wore, that stretched from ear to ear as she placed her book down on her lap. Her imagination is running wild, creating new tales that carried her from faraway places faster than she can process. She was sitting on her favorite spot – the swing, which seems like Luke and Annie's official meeting place.

You may be wondering what’s happening right now. Well, nothing much, except the fact that today was Annie's first ever date in her entire lifetime. Luke texted her last night that they should go for their first date today since it was Saturday, and they have no classes. He told her that she should think of where they should go and he would follow, but the last destination would be Luke's surprise.

Annie agreed, although she debated whether or not to accept if for thirty minutes; eventually, she gave in. She can’t help but feel giddy and excited as it is her first time after all, although the thought of Kaiden still lingered on her mind. Her smile faltered a bit at the reminiscence of the past, but she immediately composed herself as she saw the figure coming from afar. She argued with herself on whether to smile or to show off her infamous pokerface, but due to Luke's long legs, she reached Annie's faster than she expected, so she did what first came to mind, which is to smile brightly.

“Hey,” Annie tried to smile as bright as she could, but it ended with an awkward smile.

He chuckled, “Hey. You ready?” Luke scratched the back of his neck – a habit that Annie noticed he usually does on awkward situations, like what is happening right now.

“Err…. Yeah. Let’s go.” She didn’t feel like chatting for a moment as she was really feeling excited, so she dismissed the conversation and told him that they should go already.

Annie wanted to mask her excitement, but she failed miserably. Luke noticed, but he didn’t tell her as he didn’t want her to get embarrassed.

Sweet, right?

He looked at her from head to toe. Not that he was judging her or something, rather he can’t help but feel like he’s with the most beautiful girl on Earth. He scanned her but stopped as soon as he saw her heels.

“Babe, are you fine with walking in those heels?” He asked and tsk-ed as he racked his head in frustration, “Aish. I should’ve brought my car.”

Annie slightly flinched at the nickname. She wasn’t used to people calling her Babe except for Harry and Kaiden before, or maybe just Harry since it’d be awkward if Kaiden called her with that nickname in the first place. “I’m fine. I’m used to wearing heels. Besides, they’re just three inches high. Nothing much.” She waved him off and continued walking.

Luke's eyebrows were knitted together, a bit frustrated by the matter, but eventually, he sighed, giving up. He didn’t want to ruin the date. Furthermore, he didn’t want to deal with a pissed Annie. Who would anyways?

Annie lead the way while Luke was obediently following her like a lost puppy. They rode a bus to the London Bridge. They didn’t really converse on the way, but it wasn’t awkward, maybe for Annie at least. Luke was a bit feeling awkward. He dated before, yes, but this one was a bit different than his previous dates. He was used to the girls throwing themselves on him. Let’s make this clear though, he was not a playboy. He was just too nice to reject girls before, although he learned how recently, with the help of his ‘5SOS’ friends.