KATIE SAT IN the passage seat since Crystal told her she could control the music. I was squished between Lucy and Jo as my sister switched on a pop station.
"So, I'm assuming this post is about you," Jo said, handing me her phone. On the screen was an Instagram post from Calum. It was Luke sitting in front of the screen from last night, guitar in hand smiling broadly at the camera.
calumhood; you literally sang for three hours straight and you're singing to your unofficial girlfriend more?!?! get off the camera you simp so the rest of us can sleep.
You couldn't see my face in the photo but that didn't stop the flood of positive and negative comments. I snorted when one prayed I'd be better than his last.
"I really should make an account," I commented as Jo reached over and began to show me more photos that have been posted over the time Luke and I have been talking. None had my face in it, but the captions from the guys were teasing.
"You should. Luke indirectly comments about you all the time on his post," she explained.
Crystal piped up from the front. "Show her the first one."
Lucy gasped in her seat. "I almost forgot about that one. You'll love it," she said, pulling her phone out to find it. "I took a screenshot because I've been meaning to show it to you but I keep forgetting."
lukehemmings; think i just met the girl i want to spend the rest of my life with.
My heart leaped out of my chest when I saw the date. It was the first day we talked. The photo was him with a faraway look in his eye since he was so photogenic.
I handed her back the phone before pulling mine out and downloading the app. I'm caving into the peer pressure of social media. Jo and Lucy helped me come up with a username with my name. We settled on kaleknight since it was the only thing available.
By the time we figured that out, we already picked up the food and made it to Crystal's house. This is why I didn't have social media in the first place. Too much work.
After putting all of our stuff down and dishing out the food, we took a look at my sister's dress - careful not to get food on it. It was an okay dress and I could tell she didn't want to go to the dance in that.
Without a word, Crystal rushed out of the room. A few minutes later she came back with an armful of dresses. "These are some from when I first started modeling. They might fit you," she explained, picking up her food again.
Katie hesitated before going through the pile. She found one she really liked but it was just a bit too big for her. But there was a silver one that shimmered in the light. It came to her mid-thigh and had straps that made her feel comfortable since they weren't extremely thin.
"You look amazing," I told her with a smile. She gave me an unsure look and before she could try to protest we pulled her into the bathroom. Jo put a towel over her shoulders and I sat on the counter ready to do whatever they told me.
Crystal and Jo were focusing on the makeup while Lucy was going to do her hair. I plugged the curler in and watched as they asked her a million questions to make sure she was comfortable with what they were doing.
"So do you have a date?" I asked, earning a look. Crystal chastised her since she had to fix the eyeliner.
"No. I'm going to hang out with a few friends that I've made," she admitted, a blush tinting her cheeks.
I narrowed my eyes. "Did someone ask you?" I questioned, knowing I was right.
"Yeah, I said no," she admitted, a sad look in her eyes.
Jo gasped. "Why'd you say no?" She asked, a small sigh coming from Katie. My little sister hesitated for a moment.
"He kind of reminds me of James."
Shivers crawled up my spine as everyone tossed a glance my way. "How so?" I asked, my voice even.
She shrugged, narrowly missing the hot curling iron Lucy had dangerously close to the towel. "He's very full of himself, but yet charming. Although he actually has a brain on him," she explained, a dreamy look in her eyes. Is that the way I look when I talk about Luke?
I took a deep breath. "The thing about James was that he wanted to keep us hidden. There was no room to talk when it came to that. It's in their actions and how they treat you," I softly told her, trying not to overwhelm her. This is all new and all of the relationships that she has seen have been disastrous.
"Look how Luke treats your sister," Lucy added, my eyes flicking to her. "He sings to her every night. He calls when he says he's going to. He checks in on her all the time. He'll do anything to make sure she's happy. He'll -"
"I think she gets the point," I cut her off, my cheeks heating. I knew he did all of that but to have someone list it all out makes me happy. All the girls snickered at me.
"And they're not even dating yet," Jo added, making me kick her in the shoulder.
"But what if he treats others badly? Not that he does but I'm so confused," Katie asked, closing her eyes when Crystal told her to.
"That's up to you," Jo told her. "But you have to make sure you are comfortable knowing that he'll treat others horribly. It might make you uneasy and that's not a good thing either."
"Done!" Crystal exclaimed, cutting off the rest of the conversation. Katie would just keep asking questions and never go to the dance if we didn't cut it.
She looked beautiful. "Let me take a picture for Mom," I said before taking more than one. She wanted one with all of us because if we didn't insist she wouldn't go.
We took a selfie before Crystal and I ushered her into the car. The rest were going to watch a movie while we were gone. The closer we got to the school Katie visibly got tenser.
"Katie, relax. You'll have fun," I told her, looking back at her in the middle mirror.
"I know. I'm just nervous I guess," she mumbled, moving a strand of hair.
"You don't have to be. Just go in there and have fun with your friends," Crystal said, giving her a bright smile. That seemed to ease my sister a bit.
Crystal pulled the car next to the curb and Karie got out. I rolled my window down to remind her to message Nom, but a boy stepped forward with a pink daisy in his hand - Katie's favorite flower.
"Katie," she turned with wide eyes. "I know you said you didn't want to come to the dance with me but I figured I would ask one more time and if you do not want to after this then I promise that I will leave you alone and -"
"Dean!" She cut him off before he lost all of his breath because dang I don't think he was going to take one. "I would love to go to the dance with you."
I nudged Crystal as a wide grin spread on the kid's face. "Here let me take some photos," I said as I got out of the car. I took a few of them standing next to each other and some very cute ones of him putting the daisy behind her ear.
She's acting embarrassed that I'm insisting on these photos but she'll thank me later.
"Remember to call mom when it's over. I love you," I told her, pulling her into a hug. She squeezed me back.
"I love you too."
I flicked my gaze over to Dean. "If she comes home crying -"
"I promise you she won't," he sincerely said, holding his hand out to her. She took it and went inside without another look at me.
Just as we pulled away, my phone dinged. My eyebrows knitted together because why the heck would James be messaging me? It was a link to Twitter and when it opened my heart dropped. Crystal slammed on the brakes when she caught sight of it.
"That's not right," she gasped, only starting to move because cars were honking at her. I was so numb and couldn't stop staring at the photo of Luke kissing someone else.
Crystal was ranting about how she was going to murder him and how this was so out of character for him, but I just kept examining the photo. Something about it didn't seem right and the fact that James sent it to me didn't settle well either.
I jumped when his name flashed on my screen but I let it ring. This wasn't something I wanted to talk about with Crystal right here. He kept calling until we made it back to her house, throwing in a few frantic text messages.
"I'll let the girls know. Take your time," she softly said before getting out of the car. I got out too just as Luke tried calling again.
This time I answered.
"Kaley!" He sounded relieved that I picked up. My heart was hammering, trying to figure out where this was going to go. "I'm assuming you saw the photo?"
His voice dropped low and I could hear a slight tremble in his voice. He knew he screwed whatever this was up.
"Yeah," I answered shortly, trying to keep any emotion out of my voice. He wasn't James. He wouldn't hurt me on purpose like this. there had to be an explanation.
"She came up to me and kissed me. It took me off guard and I froze which is why I didn't pull away right away but once my brain caught up with what was happening I did," he rambled, my heart feeling heavy. "I'm so sorry."
The first tear fell. "I know," I told him, pacing back and forth, my thumb between my teeth.
"Can you say anything else?"
"Like what Luke?" I asked, noticing the girls watching me through a window. "I'm upset. There's not much more to it."
"I don't know why you're so upset, it's not like we're actually dating."
I could feel his instant regret, but that didn't take away the fact that it happened. I sucked in a deep breath, the prickling numbness starting to cover my body.
"Kaley I -"
I cut off his frantic talking. "You're right, Luke. We're not dating. You can kiss whoever you want." He tried cutting me off but I spoke over him. "No. I'm done talking about this. If you still feel this way after your tour then we can talk then."
"The end of the tour?" I bit my tongue after hearing how high-pitched his voice was. He clearly regretted it and it made me want to take everything back. But I wasn't fighting for people anymore. If he wanted to make this work, then I needed to see it.
"Yeah. This is something that needs to be done face-to-face. If you're going to break my heart, I would at least like it to be done in the proper way," I told him, my tongue feeling like lead. It was begging me to stop talking, but I couldn't.
"Wait, Kaley -"
"Goodbye, Luke."
I hung up on his frantic protests, taking a moment to calm myself. Why couldn't one thing go right for once? I swallowed the lump and took a deep breath. It was going to be hell waiting until the end of the tour to talk it over - if he even wants to do that by then.
The girls were waiting for me at the door. Crystal shoved a cup into my hands. "You look like you need this."
I didn't have to sniff it to know it was alcohol. "Michael texted me. He said Luke fucked up big time. What happened?" She asked after a moment of me just staring into the cup.
I took a long sip of the drink, wincing at the burning sensation before answering. I told them all about the conversation as Crystal prepared more drinks for all of us.
"I don't know. He had a point. We aren't together but he made it clear he wanted to be. I really had no reason to get upset," I said, twirling what was left of my third cup. I could definitely feel it start to set in by now.
Lucy reached over and slapped the back button of my head. "Shut up. You know for a fact you had every reason to be upset. Even if the girl took him by surprise and he didn't actually kiss her back," she said as I rubbed the back of my head grumbling.
"I know Luke. He is probably frustrated that it happened in general and panicking because he doesn't want to lose you. His snapping wasn't meant for you, but that still doesn't give him a pass either," Crystal said as I downed the last of my drink, wincing. I would never get used to the taste no matter what she mixed it with. "If he tries to make it up to you, don't block him out entirely. You have every right to be upset, but would leaving him entirely be completely worth it?"
"No."
No one was surprised at how quickly I responded. Crystal said nothing as she handed me another drink.
"Do you want to forget about it tonight?" Lucy asked, earning a nod from me as I sipped on my drink. She threw a look at Crystal. "She'll need harder stuff."
"Oh, I got just what she needs," my new friend said with a wicked grin. I had no idea what it meant, but at least I won't have to think about anything for the rest of the night.