I HAVE NO idea why I changed my outfit three times since waking up this morning. It was just two friends hanging out and watching movies - that's all. So why was I in my head about it? It was just Luke. He didn't care what I wore.
At first, I had on sweatpants and a random tee, but then thought I looked too much like a slob. But then I threw on some leggings and a tee and have been debating on which shirt to wear. To ease my mind I just settled on a random marvel shirt and my hockey hoodie.
"I'm going to see a friend and will be eating there," I told Mom when she was washing the dishes. She paused and raised an eyebrow. It wasn't like me to make friends.
"Oh? I'm assuming it's not Lucy or Camille or else you would have started with that. What's her name?" Mom asked, resuming her washing.
"His name is Luke," I told her. She dropped the plate back into the sink making the bubbles and water go everywhere. All the boys looked up from the paper they had crowded around. They were trying to prove to Gustavo that they could write their own song and it wasn't going well for them.
"Is this a friend or a friend," she asked and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. She didn't know anything so I bit my tongue.
"A friend. We've been getting coffee every day for like four months aside from the past few weeks," I explained, messing with my water bottle cap, not looking her in the eye.
"I've met him, Mama Knight. He's a really nice guy," Carlos said, making everyone look at him. He gave me a smile and a wink, purposefully ignoring them.
She shut off the water and dried her hands, looking back and forth between me and Carlos. "Does he have a job?"
"He's in a band," I mumbled, hating the interrogation. But she's my Mom and always looking out for me. Especially with what happened with my Dad.
"A band like your brother's trying to get off their feet or a band that is established?"
"They've done a few tours and are well-established in the music community," I told her as the boys started to whisper. If they even think about asking me to get them to help I'll slam their faces into a door. This is why I'm not telling her just how famous he was.
She gave me a look for a few minutes which made me uncomfortable. "Well, I want to meet him. Bring him over for dinner one night and I promise that I won't cook," she joked, making me snort with laughter. The best she can make is frozen chicken nuggets.
"I'll let him know. It'll be a bit since they're trying to finish up their third album," I explained, praying his message that he was here came through soon. His place was too far for me to walk and he refused to let me take the bus despite me telling him it would be okay.
"Is he picking you up?" She asked, watching me check my phone for the thousandth time.
"Yeah, he should be here soon."
"What does he drive?"
I paused, giving her a sheepish look. "Well, I don't know about his car but I know he drives a motorcycle."
The. Look. That. She. Gave. Me.
Mom absolutely detests motorcycles because of how easy it is for people to get into accidents. It doesn't matter how careful someone is. Before she could protest, my phone dinged letting me know he was here.
"Gotta go! Bye! Love you!" I yelled while bolting out the door. I love my mom but I am legally an adult now. I can come and go as I please.
Luke was waiting for me propped up against his bike with a wide smile. I wanted to pause and appreciate the way he looked in a leather jacket but I wanted to leave before Mom sent someone after me.
Without a word, he helped me put on the helmet and I was happy to see that he bought an extra for himself. I'd feel terrible if he wasn't wearing one. My stomach still jumped with nerves as I wrapped my arms around his body and the bike revved.
"Ready?" He called out. I squeezed him twice to let him know and we were off. The way it feels being on the back of a bike is something I don't think that I will ever get used to. It's always so fear-inducing and exhilarating at the same time.
It didn't take long for us to get to his apartment. He had to scan a key fob to just get into the garage and then another to get into the elevator.
"I like the security of this place. Where I live anyone can just waltz right in," I told him, getting a face back. "It's a place for budding stars, not those that have much of a fanbase."
"Still should have some type of security. No matter how small or big someone is, there will always be that one person who is a big fan," he explained, making me shrug.
"Our producer pays for it so we're not really complaining," I told him as it dinged on the fourteenth floor. This is a huge building.
The butterflies in my stomach had to be at a rave or something because they were going haywire. I've never been to a guy's house before without any parental supervision. It was still nerve-wracking even if we were just friends because now everyone has gotten to my head.
Luke opened the door for me to reveal a messy living room. I don't know why that relaxed me so much. This place looked lived in and not like some movie set.
"Sorry for the mess. I tried to clean for a little before I picked you up but got sucked into a last minute meeting instead," he explained as we kicked our shoes off.
I just laughed at him. "It's okay. I don't mind at all," I said, venturing into the apartment some more. The living room was a lot bigger than I thought it was but wasn't clunky big where there was tons of space left. It was the perfect amount of space.
Luke had tons of photos hanging on his walls and I couldn't help but look at them. He had a collage of the four of them when they were young and it brought a smile to my face.
"That's our first everything as a band. When we were completed when Ashton joined, the one of us hugging was when we got the news we were getting invited to tour with One Direction, the start of our first tour, recording session, our first song, and importantly our first show. We all have one in our places," he explained, pointing at each photo when he got to it.
"Did you ever think that the YouTube channel you started would ever lead to this?" I asked as we still examined the collage.
His curls went flying as he shook his head, another stark contrast to the old photos. "No. I mean, I hoped it would but I never expected it. Sometimes I miss the simplicity of my old life but this is what I've always dreamed of and I get to do it with my best friends. There is nothing else I could ask for," he explained, giving me that bright smile I've gotten so used to.
"I'm glad you guys are a band," I told him, moving on to the family photos. It was adorable seeing all of them lined up with one another. I could tell he was the biggest Mama's boy ever and they were just downright cute.
His flat screen was hung up onto the wall with a dark couch lined up with it. There were shelves filled with movies and figures. His six guitars were on each side of the tv. I couldn't help but finger the old tattered one, a small smile twitching on my lips when I realized that it was still tuned.
"That's the first guitar I ever bought. It's the one I learned on. I saved up all summer working odd jobs to get it and once I had enough money, guess what happened?" He asked, leaning against one of the shelves.
I gave him a curious look. "I hate guessing but I'm going to say someone bought it for you as a present?"
He laughed. "Good guess but no. The price got raised by three hundred dollars. It's almost the same in Australian currency. I was devastated but my brothers pooled their money together and went out to buy it for me. I technically owe all of this to them," he said with a fond look on his face.
"That's so sweet. Kendall would never do that for us. I'm not even sure who he is anymore," I told him, fingering the strings. It was still in tune and it brought a smile to my face at the thought of him still playing it.
"I got just the thing to cheer you up," he said, walking over to the mini hallway. I followed to see what he meant. He opened the door and out came the cutest bulldog I had ever seen.
Immediately I dropped to the ground to greet the dog. She had a little pink bow on her head. I looked up at Luke with tears welling in my eyes. His face went from a happy look to a panicked one.
"This is the cutest dog I have ever seen," I told him, sniffling a bit. "I know it's random to cry but I just really love dogs."
He laughed at me, sitting down to join me in petting his puppy. I don't care how old a dog is, it's still a puppy to me. "It's okay. I know how you feel, just not so emotional," he said poking fun at me. I rolled my eyes, well as best as I could as Petunia licked the tears off of my face. "At first I thought that somehow I upset you."
I poked his cheek as his pup finally realized her owner was sitting right there. "You could never upset me if a dog is involved."
"Do you want me to order dinner now?" He asked, looking at his phone for the time. I could see he had a bunch of messages from the guys, but I didn't pry. It's not my business.
I shrugged, not really feeling hungry. "Sure. What's on the menu?"
"Chinese?"
I nodded in agreement, only going along with what he said. I probably wouldn't eat much of it anyway. We moved to the couch after the order was placed and began to search for the first movie of the night. Petunia made a home in my lap and was sleeping as I constantly stroked her fur.
We settled on a movie called The Menu with Ralph Fiennes which was supposed to be some horror comedy. We barely got a few minutes into it before Luke had to go down and get the food. When he was gone, I pulled out my phone to see that I had a few texts from the girls, my mom, and one from Michael which was odd. We really didn't talk.
MICHAEL 5:49PM | just be you mate. it'll happen when the timing is right.
The message clearly wasn't intended for me. He probably had at least a hundred contacts, but it had to be one of the boys. I just shrugged it off and clicked my phone shut when Luke walked back into the door. I didn't even bother looking at Mom's since it was probably a message about the motorcycle and not something I want to deal with right now.
Luke, the ever-trusting pet owner, spread everything on the coffee table like a buffet. "Thank you for the free food," I said, only putting a small amount of food onto my plate. Petunia didn't even look at the food and instead chewed on her bone.
"Anything for you," he quipped, starting the movie once again. These words made me freeze but I quickly relaxed. It means nothing. He would do anything for the guys as well.
The moment the first bite of General Tso's chicken hit my tongue, something exploded inside of me. Until now, I wasn't hungry but now I was starving. It was like a dam had broken and I had to watch how fast I inhaled my food.
I had a muffin for breakfast today. I shouldn't be this hungry. It made my stomach upset, but I pushed through as best as I could. It took me the entire movie to work through one plate and Luke had eaten two.
I piled more food on my plate as he picked a random romance movie. Well, piled was the wrong term, I put more small amounts on it. I could see his concerned look on the reflection of the tv when it went dark for a moment and it made it hard to swallow.
It wasn't like I purposely forgot to eat today, the hunger was just never there.
"What's your ideal date?" He blurted out as the characters began talking about the date they were going to go on.
I didn't miss a beat in responding, it's something I've always thought about. "A nice romantic dinner that had been made by him and not some takeout. Even if he's a crap cook I'd rather they make the effort. And, don't judge, after we're done eating, we would slow dance to Edwin McCain's song I'll Be. I saw that in a movie when I was younger and it just stuck," I explained, throwing him a smile.
He was already looking at me with a spark in his eye. "You've thought about that a lot huh?"
I couldn't stop my smile. "Yeah, I have. It's stupid and cliche but to me, it's the effort that would be put into all of it. Not that I'm ever expecting it to happen," I explained to him, thinking about how much it would all mean to me.
"No one ever tried to do that for you?" He asked and I couldn't help but laugh.
"The boys back in Minnesota only cared about two things; hockey and football. It's the only time they would go all out for something. The best date I went on was a date to McDonald's where I didn't have to do half with someone," I told him before putting food down my throat gracefully.
"You've never been on a real date," he commented, looking back at the screen. The main female character was finding out something that could ruin the entire relationship. It wasn't a bad movie, but not something I would watch again.
"Not really, no. I'll get there one day and hopefully it'll be with someone who thinks that I am worth the effort."
Luke mumbled something under his breath but I couldn't catch it. I wanted to ask but it seemed like I wasn't supposed to hear it.
His phone began to vibrate loudly on the table and he looked at me for permission. It was a facetime call and it showed an adorable little girl with one of his brothers (I recognized him from an online photo).
"Sorry to bother you, but she won't take her nap unless she hears her Uncle Luke sing. And not a recorded one either," his brother said, pointing the camera back at an adorably grumpy little girl. I almost started crying again with how cute she is.
"It's alright, just give me a minute," he said, putting the camera in position. "Does the little lady have a request?" He asked once he sat back down on the couch with his old acoustic in his lap.
"Beside you!"
I never liked the acoustic versions before. They always sounded weird to me without the rest of the instruments. But sitting here, right now, with Petunia on my lap listening to Luke sing one of my favorite songs by them changed my entire opinion.
His voice was clearer without all the extra background. He sounded like an angel with his soft voice. It could make me fall asleep anytime. I would love to fall asleep to that. I was able to appreciate his voice more this way and I never wanted him to stop singing. This is the first time since I got rejected that I wanted to draw.
I wanted to capture every moment of this and knew I would the moment I got home.
By the time he finished the last part of the song, the little girl was passed out. His brother whispered a thank you before hanging up the phone.
"That was awesome," I gushed after he put his guitar away.
"She loves it when I do that for her. I'd do anything for my niece," he explained, heat rising on his cheeks. I had no clue why he was embarrassed, it was awesome.
"It's a good quality to have Luke," I said. "By the way, my Mom wants to meet you. She has this thing where she likes to meet our friends."
He gave me a crooked smile. "I'd love to meet your Mom. When, by chance?"
"Whenever you're not busy with the album. I'm just worried because the boys will be there and I don't need them messing with you," I expressed, moving leftover rice around with my fork.
He grabbed my hands and gently held them. It was my turn to blush as his thumb moved back and forth on my skin. "No matter what they do, it won't change my opinion about you. Nothing could," he said in the softest tone ever.
My heart jumped out of my chest and heat rushed through my body. There was just something about him that changed everything and I was terrified of what it meant for me.
When I got home later that night after watching three more movies, the first thing I did was sit on the couch and begin to draw. I didn't mean to but I fell asleep with my sketchbook wide open to a page filled with tiny portraits of Lukes's face.