𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓, luke patterson

twelve

So then he just proceeded to sneak in at night through her window. Her mom knew about it, but she didn't say anything because he would always be out by midnight or 1 am.

And then he would appear for breakfast, so it was kinda like a sleepover, but not the entire night.

Since then, there has been ten times Luke has actually spent the night at Peyton's. All of those times after fights with his mom.

But he wouldn't tell her. He would just sneak in and ask for a pillow and a blanket, and she would give them to him, no explanation needed. He knew she knew, that's why he didn't feel the need to tell her. He would just fall asleep on the seat under the window.

He drove away from his thoughts when he felt Peyton moving, slowly waking up.

"There she is!" He exclaimed in a whisper, making her turn around. "How are you doing, Sleeping Beauty?"

"Tired. We should head out." Luke nodded, both standing up with each other's help. "Wanna have dinner with us?"

"How could I say no to a meal with the Swan ladies?" Asked Luke as both climbed down the ladder and he grabbed his guitar. Both got out of Julie's garage and walked towards Luke truck. "What are we eating?"

"I don't know, probably take out."

"Gilmore style, I like it," he said making her smile. "How did the guys leave?"

"Probably Julie gave them a ride," assumed Peyton as he left his guitar on the backseat and both got in the truck, closing the doors. "Can't believe we both fell asleep."

"Me neither," he admitted, starting the truck and driving away from the Molina's house, letting the 90s rock music coming from the stereo fill the car. "Hey, can I stay over tonight?"

She commonly didn't ask questions about Luke's reasons to crash over at her house, but she felt curious.

"Sure... Why?" He sighed.

"The application for the NYU Department of Music and Performing Arts arrived this morning... and my mom didn't even know I was thinking about it."

"I thought you didn't want to go to college." He exhaled.

"It's... complicated. She wants me to get into Berkeley." Peyton opened her eyes.

"Well that's huge. And their music program is also good. And it's closer to home," she pointed the good things.

"And it's also 2.8 thousand miles from you," he said and regretted it immediately. He closed his eyes, clinching his teeth and slowly parking in front of her house.

He shouldn't have said that.

"What?" She asked in a whisper. There was no turning back.

"You are going to New York," he said finally, looking at her. "I tried to have the best grades and the best SATs score so I could get into NYU's Music Department and be closer... to you," the last he said under his breath, making her heart skip a bit.

"Luke... if you go to Berkeley, you'd be closer to your mom. To... to the band." He chuckled.

"I didn't think of the band."

"Luke, you have to stay in California. I haven't even gotten into the Academy of Art. And yeah, it is we're I want to go, but I can stay in LA too—"

"No, Tay—"

"There's a lot of excellent art schools in California," she continued. "It is too early to be rejecting opportunities."

Luke slowly turned around to look at her. God, how much he liked her.