CRYSTAL KEPT ME company as we waited for the boys to come back. She was gushing about how she was finally happy Luke and I kissed because she was - and I quote - "about to smash our heads together". I told her about how I ran here and could feel it settling in my muscles.
"Don't worry, by the time I'm done with you, you won't have to worry about that," she said, making me groan. I wanted to protest but the doors opened and I shot up on my feet, eager to talk to Luke. Ashton, Calum, and Michael filled in, but Luke wasn't there.
"He's out there. He wanted to talk to you in private," Ashton said, giving me a sweaty hug. I lightly pushed him away but still accepted the hug at a distance. I gave the other two quick hugs before peeking my head out the door, a smile forming when I saw a sweaty Luke standing there.
He held out his hand and I took it, allowing him to take me to a secluded area. Well, as secluded as it could be with people trying to clean up the venue.
"Kaley, I -"
"No, Luke. Let me talk," I told him, squeezing his hand. His eyes held a worried glint but I wasn't going to kiss him like that and disappear. "I like you. I have for a while. I've been hiding my feelings because I never thought you would want to be with me but I want this. Whatever is going to bloom between us. I'm terrified to make this leap but I trust you, more than anyone. If you tell me you'll be there to catch me when I fall, I'll believe it."
Instead of responding with words, he pressed a soft kiss to my lips, his hand caressing the back of my neck. "I'm not going anywhere. That first day I met you wasn't the first I saw you. I held the door open for you weeks before that, but you were gone before I had the chance to say anything. I went back to that coffee shop every day at that time to see if I could find you. The voice in the back of my head was telling me I would be an idiot to let you slip through my fingers and I was scared too. With how my last relationship ended, another wasn't on my mind. Not until you. And then you told me about James and I decided I would wait until you were ready. Even if it meant I got stuck in the friend zone, I'd have you in my life."
A few hot tears slipped down my cheeks and I laughed before using my sweater to wipe them away. "So you stalked me," I joked, making him roll his eyes. He brought a thumb up to my face and wiped away another tear.
"Technically yes," he admitted, his cheeks flushing when he realized it. "But that wasn't my intention."
I poked the dimple on his cheek. "I know," I softly said before pressing a kiss to his lips. "I want to try this Luke."
"I do too. When I get back from tour, I'm going to take you on the best date of your life," he promised as someone cleared their throat behind us. I turned to see Calum standing there with a smile on his face.
"Hate to break this moment, but we need to leave," he told us, making Luke nod.
"Give me a minute," he said, dismissing his friend. He looked back down at me, his eyes shining. "I hate that this happened right when I'm leaving for the tour and have to wait months, but give me that chance."
I reached up and caressed his face. "I'm going to wait for you as long as you wait for me," I softly told him, earning another kiss. It was slow and tender as if he was trying to memorize them.
"I'll wait as long as I have to," he said against my lips before pressing them to mine again.
"You should probably go," I said against his lips, neither of us wanting to completely pull away. He groaned but crashed his lips to mine for one last long kiss before he pulled away and intertwined our hands.
We got looks from people but didn't care as we walked into the room with his friends. They gave us cheesy grins. Crystal hugged Michael tightly as Luke grabbed his bag, still not letting go of my hand.
"Crystal will give you a ride home. Please tell me when you get there so I know you are okay," he pleaded, his eyes shining with worry. I gave him a bright smile.
"I will," I told him, easing some of his tension. He pressed another kiss to my lips before squeezing my hand, ignoring the teasing remarks from his friends and following the boys out of the room. He gave me one last look and smile then disappeared for the next few months.
Crystal threw her arm over my shoulder and leaned her head on mine. "It's hard saying goodbye. I haven't gotten used to it yet," she admitted, my eyebrows raising in surprise. They've been together for over two years now, but I guess seeing the one you love leave is really hard.
"Luke said you'd give me a ride home?" I asked as she grabbed her bag and handed me one. I gave her a questioning look before opening it to see it was filled with merch from the tour.
"Of course, Luke asked me to get you that. Since technically you did see the concert," she explained as we left the room. It had a hoodie and a shirt in it. My two favorite things to get at a concert.
"It was amazing. I've never been so energized by seeing people on a stage," I told her, holding the bag tightly.
She nodded. "I love watching them live. It's almost like they're different people. It's a side I don't get to see much, but I like who Michael is when he isn't on stage."
Her car was in the back secluded from where the fans parked. I don't know why I expected it to be anywhere else. "I understand what you mean," I said, plopping the bag at my feet. It was nice of Luke to think of me, but it had me wondering if he was going to give her it to give to me even if I didn't come.
"I'm glad you two finally talked about your feelings. It was almost painful to watch the two of you pin for one another," she commented, making me roll my eyes at her.
"Was it that obvious?"
"Completely," she answered without hesitation. Heat crept up my neck, but I tried pushing it away.
I tucked a curl behind my ear. "Well we're not officially together yet, but it's a start. I almost turned around but Michael saw me. My fear almost ruined it for me."
"Luke is a good guy," Crystal mentioned as I plugged my address into the GPS. "He won't hurt you. Not like your ex."
I had told her some of what James did to me but not the full thing. Just enough that she could understand why I am the way I am. The test she can get when we're closer friends, which will be very soon.
"I know."
Crystal dropped me off but wouldn't let me leave the car until we made plans to start exercising. She insisted that we start tomorrow and begrudgingly I agreed. I have to start it at some point.
The moment I walked into the door Logan's shoulders sagged in relief. Lucy was seated at the table next to Camille with a knowing look.
"You scared the hell out of me, Kaley!" Logan exclaimed, attracting everyone's attention. Mom had a mug in her hands and hid a smile behind it. First off, how did she and Lucy find out so fast? "What was so important that you jumped headfirst into traffic."
"So how was the kiss?" Lucy loudly asked, making me flush red. James's head snapped towards me, his eyes narrowing as if he was trying to figure something out.
"How'd you find out?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, ignoring the boys who were gaping at me.
"Calum sent me a photo," she said, holding her phone out to me. I took it and smiled at the photo of Luke and me kissing. It was adorable. He must have snuck up on us to take it because it was our side profile.
"Send that to me?" I asked, sitting down next to her. Mom was in front of me and I was sandwiched between Lucy and Camille who wouldn't look at me. I frowned at that wondering why she's had a problem with me lately.
"I'm glad you finally admitted your feelings about that boy. You should see the way your eyes light up when you talk about him," Mom commented, a teasing smile on her lips. I rolled my eyes, knowing I probably looked like a tomato at this point.
"You have a boyfriend?" Kendall questioned in disbelief. For some reason, this reminded me Luke asked me to let him know when I got home. I wrote him a quick text and saved the photo from Lucy. I thought about it for half a second and set it as my wallpaper.
"Well, not yet technically. He wants to take me out on a date first when he gets back from tour," I explained, fiddling with a piece of paper I found on the table. I wonder how small I could fold this.
James snorted and I flinched involuntarily. Kendall looked between us suspiciously, making me gulp. Today has been a great day and the last thing I need is to blow up.
Lucy grabbed my knee and squeezed, the tension in the air suffocating.
"Alright, what is it?" Kendall said, our attention turned to him. "What is it that everyone but me seems to know?"
I paled, but no one said anything. My twin was getting frustrated, but it wasn't something that could be delicately brought up. Especially with the world tour just around the corner.
"Kaley and James dated."
I snapped my head to Camille and looked at her in horror. She had an equally horrified look on her face as she realized what she said. Kendall slowly rose to his feet. My phone began to vibrate on the table, flicking my eyes down, I saw Luke was trying to facetime me. I fumbled with my phone to mute it.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Kendall barked, flicking his glare between James and me. He got up holding his hands up and backing away from Kendall.
"You dated my sister behind my back? What the fuck happened to her being just like a sister to you?" he snapped taking a step forward, a look of realization washing over his face. "I've been making fun of her with you. How could you let me say all of those things knowing it was my twin," he snarled.
"Kendall," I started but stopped when I saw his death glare. Afraid, I grabbed Lucy's hand.
"You are just as guilty, so shut up," he snapped at me, making me flinch. Mom's mouth dropped open to say something, but she didn't get a word out before Kendall's fist flew at James.
It hit him right in the eye and Logan and Carlos jumped on him to pull him back. The three of us girls screamed and I grabbed Katie to get her away from the commotion. She held onto me, her head burying into my shoulder, afraid to see the guys like this.
As Kendall stormed by I tried reaching for him. "Kendall, let me -" he cut me off by shoving me out of the way. I fell backward and hit my elbow harshly on something. A cry of pain came from my lips as the front door slammed shut.
Everyone rushed over to help me up. "Roll up your sleeve, Carlos get an ice pack," Logan instructed.
"You know, if this breaks up the band at least you'll make an amazing doctor," I joked through gritted teeth. He rolled his eyes at me but still had a small smile. I hissed when he pulled my sleeve up to show my elbow red and angry. It would leave a nasty bruise.
James stood there in the middle of the living room, looking at me with an unreadable look on his face. There was a brief pause before he stormed out of the apartment too. Like my brother, no one bothered to go after him.
"Honestly, I'm not surprised the two of you dated. He always had a lingering eye for you," Logan commented, making me hiss as he gently pressed the ice pack to my elbow.
"He's the one who kissed me and started it all. I begged him to tell Kendall. He didn't listen, so that's half the reason I broke up with him," I stated through gritted teeth as Logan tried to bend my elbow. A cry left my lips making him drip my arm instantly and press the ice pack to it once more.
"And the other half?" He asked as Mom sat down at the table with her head in her hands. A frown crossed my lips because I hated seeing her so stressed.
"Me," Lucy meekly answered. Logan snapped his gaze to her before looking back at me, his mouth forming an 'O' shape.
He cleared his throat. "You deserve better than James. He may be my best friend, but he's never had the best reputation when it comes to girls. I'm a bit surprised he managed to snatch you into his web. This Luke guy, I hope he treats you right," Logan said with a half-hearted smile.
He gave up his doctor's dream for this and now it all might go up in flames because of James. A heavy sigh left my lips since I knew that this had to be fixed somehow.
Without saying anything, I got up and left the apartment ignoring their protests.
My brother was where I expected him to be. The park near our apartment building was technically owned by it. He was laying in a patch of grass, the one that he and his ex-girlfriend spent a lot of time laying in and dreaming of their lives together. That is until she packed up and moved to Norway for three years.
"Kendall," I softly said, making him flinch.
"Go away."
"Let me explain," I tried again, jumping back a little when he got up in a flash. It scared me how fast he did that.
He shoved a finger in my face. "No. I don't want to hear anything. I don't care how it started or who started it. You two broke the most important rule and now everything we worked for might go down the drain because you had to be one of James's affairs," he spat, making me flinch. He made it sound so dirty when he put it like that.
"Kendall it was nothing like that," I began again only to be cut off by his palm hitting my cheek. I lightly touched it, shocked that my brother would do that.
"All of this over James?" I whispered, as his rage began to drain out of his eyes and horror crept into them. "I know I screwed up but you, there are no words to deserve who you've turned out to be. At least I'm trying to explain myself. To tell you it was his idea to keep it a secret even though I begged him every day to tell you. To tell you that I had to watch him willingly flirt with other girls to keep up his stupid image. To know that I was being messed with the entire time and not want to admit it. To have watched him fall in love with Lucy and realize there was never any room in his heart for me," I told him, hot tests spilling down my cheeks. "I know I screwed up, Kendall. I'd tried to make it right since the first week of him and I dating, but it was always him who never wanted to admit it. I'm sorry you hate me so much that I'm not your sister anymore. Have fun with your band," I told him, turning on my heel and rushing off without saying another word.
He didn't even try to stop me and I think that hurt the most.