:: T W E N T Y T H R E E ::
"Look at those two," Jane whispered in awe to John as her eyes settled on the sight in front of her when they entered the living room.
Luke and Ellie were sprawled across the floor with empty Doritos packets beside them. Luke's hand was thrown around Ellie's waist and Ellie was curled up into his chest, her knees tucked in front of her. Light snores were escaping Luke's parted lips, both of their chests moving in rhythm as they breathed.
"Only Luke would be gentleman enough to sleep with a girl without doing anything," John said proudly as he watched them with a smile.
"Definitely," Jane agreed with a smile. "Might as well go fix up dinner," she said as she patted John's arm before hanging her coat on the rack and heading into the kitchen.
John looked at the two, who were sleeping peacefully, one last time in approval before following his wife into the kitchen to help her with dinner.
-
Luke groaned, slowly untangling himself from Ellie, careful not to wake her up, as he opened his eyes groggily, the light making his eyes burn. He placed his hand hastily across his face to block the light. He stayed there lying still before taking his hand away and letting his eyes adjust to the light. Looking to his left, he saw Ellie still sound asleep so he placed a kiss on her temple before slowly standing up.
He headed into the kitchen to get some water after picking up the Doritos packets that were littering on the floor. Disposing them in the dustbin, he waved at Jane and John who stopped their cooking to look up and smile at Luke when he entered the kitchen.
"Hello, my dear," Jane said kindly as she continued chopping the vegetables. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine Mrs. Hawthorn," Luke responded politely with a smile as he filled up a glass with water from the crystal jug. He took a sip and continued, "How are you? And how are you Mr. Hawthorn?" to which they both responded saying they were doing fine.
"Your prom is next week, am I right?" Jane asked.
"Next week?" Luke's eyes widened. "Is it November already?" Luke asked flabbergasted.
"Yes, sweetie," Jane chuckled softly.
"And our results will be coming out on the fifteenth of December!" Luke continued as he slowly began to realize the days. "I didn't ask El to prom!" He exclaimed, a look of shock on his face as he looked from Jane to John and back.
"Calm down, honey," Jane said as she placed the knife on the chopping board and wiping her hands on the cloth next to her before walking over to Luke and patting his shoulders.
Over the past few months, she had become a mother to Luke. Someone he could talk to. Especially when it came to talking about Ellie. Jane had always watched over him and made sure he wasn't left out at any dinners or celebrations. She was happy that Luke loved her daughter in a way no other teenagers do. She was also glad that Luke got along very well with Jake, Ellie's brother.
"The past few days weren't the brightest were they? So you can ask Elaine to prom today," She said looking at John who nodded in agreement.
"Okay," Luke said as relief washed over him. "I'll ask her today."
"Ask who what today?" Ellie asked as she walked into the kitchen with her hair sticking out oddly.
"I – uh – I," Luke stuttered and Jane turned him around with a grin on her face and pushed him towards Ellie.
"Actually," Jane said. "Change of plans. Luke follow me," she commanded before walking out the back door with a confused Luke following her.
Ellie shrugged, confused at her mother's sudden outburst, and got herself a glass of orange juice.
"What just happened? What are they up to, dad?" She asked, leaning against the counter as she sipped her orange juice.
"Your mother is one hell of a woman," Her father chuckled with an amused look on his face.
Ellie giggled in agreement.
-
"Okay," Jane said with a pair of pruning shears in her hand. "Elaine loves these red roses." She pointed at the colorful roses in the flower bed of her garden.
"So what I suggest is," she explained to Luke who looked confused as to why she was explaining about flowers out of the blue. "Since you don't have time to make an elaborate gesture, why don't you give her a single red rose and ask her to prom? Elaine was never big on grand things so this'll make her very happy."
Luke nodded with a wide smile. "That's perfect!" he said and Jane clipped a rose, careful not to prick herself from the thorns, and handed it to Luke after removing the thorns.
"Thank you!" Luke exclaimed before hugging Jane and walking back inside, almost skipping the way to Ellie. He hid the rose behind him and stood in front of her with a comical smile on his face.
"Hi," he said as he nervously bit on his bottom lip, tugging at his lip ring.
"Hi," Ellie said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
Luke looked at Jane and John for help and they nodded and gave him a thumbs up. By now Ellie was greatly confused and her smirk dropped, her lips turning into a pout.
"What's happening, you guys?" She asked frustrated.
Jake who had joined them was laughing to himself and only stopped when Ellie sent a glare his way.
Luke got down on one knee so fast that Ellie almost jumped thinking he had fainted.
"El," Luke said softly as he slowly brought the rose from behind him and raising it up to her. "Will you go to prom with me?"
Ellie gasped and brought her hand up to her lips in shock. He was bound to ask her since she was his girlfriend but she couldn't help the butterfly war in her tummy. "Yes! Of course I'll go to prom with you!" She said as she slowly took the rose.
Luke got up with the biggest smile on his face that brightened up his face and Ellie had the same look on her face as well. Staring into each other's eyes, they were oblivious to their surroundings. As cliché as it may sound, it felt as if they were alone and nothing could ever tear them apart.
"We're here you know?" Jake smirked as he watched his sister and Luke staring at each other as if they hadn't seen each other in years.
Ellie tore her eyes away from Luke and poked her tongue out at her brother who did the same before everyone broke out in laughter.
"Mom," Ellie said with a pointed look. "Thank you," she mouthed.
Jane nodded and mouthed, "Your welcome," before saying, "Okay Jake, John, let's get the table ready for dinner. And Luke, you're staying," She said in a 'no buts' tone.
Luke chuckled before nodding and everyone left the kitchen leaving him and Ellie alone.
"You're just the cutest, most dorkiest boyfriend ever you know?" Ellie asked with an amused smile.
"And you're just the cutest, most nerdiest girlfriend ever," Luke said, kissing Ellie's nose.
Ellie scrunched up her nose and said, "Together we're the craziest, most stupidest couple ever."
"I can't say no to that," Luke laughed. "Now let's go help them set everything up," he said as he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the dining room.
***
A/N: HELLO EVERYONE! HOW ARE MY LOVELY READERS DOING? ^-^
Hope you all like this chapter! :D If you do please do drop a vote and a comment and I'll love you forever!
Dedicated to the awesome @Beautifully-mixed whose support means the world to me! Check out her work and you won't regret it!
Q: What are your favorite movies? Any suggestions?
P.S - I won't be updating next week because of exams but I will update the week after :)
- Pooji