Bittersweet Coffee [A 5SOS, Luke Hemmings Fanfiction]

Chapter 24: Her Boyfriend

"Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could." – Barbara de Angelis

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Two months have passed and Annie and Luke's relationship grew, although Annie thinks that her feelings haven’t grown that much for the latter – well for her at least. Luke has been going all the way for her. He has been her guardian angel – more like a servant – mainly because he did all the things he could do and could think of for her, which kind of irritated her to be honest.

She didn’t want to be treated as a damsel in distress nor a princess. Other than that, she couldn’t deny that her heart somehow flutters with his simple gestures.

She had rather grew more comfortable with hanging out with Luke, and she enjoys the continuous dates the latter has been giving her. She hadn’t used her usual pokerface for a while as well, with most of her university mates eyeing her more often because of her new aura – much to Luke's dismay. On the other hand, she has been thinking of Kaiden from time to time, but it rarely happens though when she's with Luke. You could say that she hasn't completely move on from Kaiden, but Luke has been helping though, and she was grateful for that.

She had always wanted to take her mind off of the tall guy, and through his 'boyfriend', it was possible.

The couple was sitting at a table in Starbucks. Luke phoned her a while ago since he was itchy to get out of his house. He also told Annie that he has to tell her something important. Annie agreed since they didn’t really have some classes today; rather their next class would be two days from now. Annie was a bit anxious though since he sounded a bit serious on the phone, which contradicts to his true nature and personality since he has always been fun and cheerful whenever they’re together.

Annie sipped her cappuccino and took a glance at the boy in front of her as she placed it down. She admits that she missed the taste of coffee; but that’s none of her main concerns at the moment. She looked at Luke with an anxious, yet curious face, as she was really nervous to what he has to say. The latter wasn’t unfazed with her nervousness though.

He was rather staring at her; nothing more, nothing less, and it was kind of making Annie feel uncomfortable.

“Is everything fine?” Annie said, breaking the silence.

Luke didn’t reply though. He continued to stare at her for a few more seconds before sighing and taking a sip from his own cappuccino. He sighed once again before staring directly into her eyes.

“My parents told me that we have to go to New York for two weeks,” he blurted out, still staring into her eyes.

Annie's eyebrow twitched; not because she was irritated at what he said. She was rather confused as to why he was bothered by that, “so?”

Luke pouted. He reached his hand out to place on top of Annie's and sighed exasperatedly, “But it’s for two weeks! Two weeks! I won’t see you for two weeks! Won’t you miss me?” He continued to whine, his hand still on top of hers.

Annie chuckled from his childishness, “You big baby. It’s only for two weeks yet you’re acting as if we won’t see each other for years. Plus, it’s your parents’ decision. You have to abide by them,” she pointed out.

Luke's pout deepened, and he was frowning now. He took his hand away from hers and crossed his arms on his chest, scoffing. “Pssh. So you won’t miss me, huh? So much for drama.”

Annie laughed out loud before reaching her own hand to take his. She was glad that the table wasn’t that wide – that’s why she reached his hand out with ease. She rubbed soothing circles on his palm before chuckling again. “Stop acting like a kid, will you? You’re in college yet you’re still like a baby,” she playfully rolled her eyes, making his frown deeper that before. He lightly planned on taking his hand away when she tightened his grip and continued soothing his palm, “and of course I’ll miss you. I mean, I’ll miss your blonder hair, you big baby,” she cooed, still teasing him.

This time, his frown was replaced with none other than a deep pout. “I’m not a baby! How many times do I have to say that?!”

Annie laughed before finishing her cappuccino. After that little confession he made with her on the park, she had started to joke around with him. Moreover, they grew closer than ever with those constant dates Luke has been dragging her from time to time. She didn’t really mind though as he really learned a lot from him. She enjoyed going to crowded places as well, unlike before when she couldn’t really take rowdy and crowded places like London and such.

After finished their drinks, they decided to take a walk then go to the park afterwards. Annie was a bit weirded out since normally, they would stroll for a long time and shop for some snapbacks and clothes or whatever, but this time, they were just taking a walk then go to the park. It was a bit unusual for her to be honest, but she didn’t really mind it that much. As long as she’s with him, she’s fine with everything, she thought.

After the date, they hailed a taxi and headed to the park right away. Annie took a short five-minute nap on the way. Her head was settled on Luke's shoulder with his arms encircled on her. Luke lightly nudged her as they arrived.  He paid for the taxi and guided the half-asleep Annie out of the taxi. They immediately settled on their favourite spot - which is the swing. They didn’t really talked after that. They just sat on it and stayed quiet.

“I’m going to miss you,” Luke said sincerely, taking a hold of Annie's hand as they swung on their seats.

Annie lightly smiled before tightening her hold on his hand for reassurance. “I’m going to miss you too.” She took a glance at him only to see that he was looking at her as well. They smiled at each other before looking ahead.

A few minutes passed again before Luke removed his hold and settled in front of Annie, with her still sitting on the swing. Her eyes widened as he kneeled in front of her, his hands settled on her which were placed on top of her legs.

He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Her eyes widened at first, but they closed as soon as soon as his lips moved on hers. The kiss turned more passionate in each second that passed. She soon felt his tongue gliding on her lips so she gasped, only to find his tongue entering her mouth. The feeling was a bit new for her, but she liked it though. The kiss was full of passion and… love. She never felt that much love from someone as strong as this one other than her parents or even Mike – even much more, and she truly liked it.

She placed one of her hands on the back of his neck, bringing him closer. Luke moaned on the kiss, and Annie internally questioned why. She was new at this field, but she highly thinks that it’s because of what she did that’s why she moaned, which made her a bit embarrassed if you ask her. His moan was sexy though, she thought.

A few seconds later, Luke was the first one to pull away. Annie blushed from what just happened whereas Luke just smiled at her sheepishly, but the pink tint on his cheeks said otherwise.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” Luke grinned before wearing a proud grin as he rubbed the back of his neck. This caused Annie to blush a deep shade of red. He stared at her deeply in the eyes again before saying, “I love you so so so much,” before hugging her tightly.

Annie kept silent as he hugged her swallowing a lump on her throat before mumbling a soft, “I love you too.” It wasn’t because she didn’t love him. No. She was sincere – or so she thinks, but she wasn’t really that keen into those words, hence the swallowing lump part. She could tell that Luke was grinning from ear to ear though at what she said.

Luke sent her to their house, saying a few words with the over-protective brother, kissing Annie goodbye – despite Mike's protests of skinship, and left their apartment.