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i don't know why but i couldn't get that girl out of my damn head. ever since i left the park the only thoughts in my head surrounded adora. my normal questions about the universe that corrupted my mind were replaced by the questions i had for adora.
my house was empty - which didn't surprise me - but what did surprise me was how cold it was. i walked to the dial on the wall that controlled the temperature of the house and saw that it was turned down all the way to sixty degrees.
"don't touch that!" my mum screeched and jumped onto my back, making me scream and push her down.
"what the h-"
"don't say bad fucking words, ben!"
"no, mum, it's luke. ben's away at college, remember?"
"hello lukey," she smiled up at me.
"what are you doing here?" i asked quietly and smoothed her tangled hair.
"the hospital let me out early, lukey. they said i'm getting better."
i smiled sadly down at her, "i'm glad."
"these are my new meds," she handed them to me, "they said to give them to you."
"where's dad?"
"sleeping. like you should be," her hands that were covered in scratches held my face gently, "you have facial hair. and your lip healed."
my tongue poked out to fiddle with my lip ring i had gotten right before her accident.
"does it look stupid?"
"of course not, you could never look stupid. you're my handsome little boy."
"i guess i am," i whispered, my voice cracking slightly.
"you have facial hair!"
"i know, mum."
she used to be a painter. she could paint on anything; houses, canvases, floors, walls, even people. the last painting job she did was on a two story house. a little boy hit the ladder on accident and she fell. ever since then she's been a little off and she's lost her short-term memory.
"i already said that, didn't i?"
i nodded, "why does the house have to be sixty degrees? it's cold."
"it reminds me of spring."
"i'm going to make it warmer, okay? i won't sleep if it's not warmer."
"you don't sleep either way, lukey."
"i-i know," i looked down at me feet before wrapping my arm under her arms, "let's get you into bed."
she sighed, "okay."
i helped her walk to her bedroom and then helped her into the bed.
"luke?" my father groggily said.
"i have mum."
"thank you," he sighed and took my mum away from me.
she kissed me goodnight before letting me go to my room. it would have been fine but she called me ben, again.
when i got to my room i quickly stripped down to just my boxers before climbing into my bed. it sucked not having a mum that was stable and could actually do the motherly things. my dad wasn't much better. the accident took a toll on him too considering his wife lost her mind.
soon my brain went back to thinking of adora. i hated this. i had only talked to her for a short period of time, why couldn't i stop thinking of her? maybe it was because of all of the questions i had yet to ask her. i wanted to know so many things about her.
like, why did she cover up her laugh? why do people make fun of her name and accent? why did she move here? what's her family like? why does she go to parks at three am instead of parties?
i hated unanswered questions; they kept me up at night. i rarely got enough sleep to function properly. i would have to wake up for school in three hours and i knew i wouldn't fall asleep until four or maybe even five. god, i needed serious help.
-
"luke? what are you doing up?" my dad asked, confusion written on his face.
"i have school," i grumbled.
"it's saturday."
"no, it's fucking monday."
"no bad words," my mother scolded, "and it's friday."
"it's saturday," my father sighed and displayed his lock screen to me.
sure enough, if read saturday november 8, 2014.
"oh, my god," i groaned.
"go back to bed. do you want your sleep medicine?"
i grabbed the bottle and swallowed more than i should along with a glass of water. my mother just grinned at me as i descended back to my room but my father looked at me with worry.
i slammed the door shut before collapsing onto my bed and closing my eyes. the medicine clouded my mind and made my whole body heavier than usual. i hated this medicine but i loved it at the same time. i hated it because i knew i was going to get addicted to how it made my body feel but i was in love with the feelings it gave me.
-
"you look like shit," my best friend stated the obvious as he walked into my room.
"it's nice to see you, too, calum," i groaned and rolled over.
"guess what," he grinned excitedly.
"what?"
"i got laid last night," he smirked.
"yeah? who was the girl who got to experience your three inches?"
"it's not three inches," he sighed, "it's three times that. but that's besides the point. i got one of the cheerleaders."
"you always get one of the cheerleaders. you're the captain of the football team."
"this cheerleader is above all of the other cheerleaders. guess which one."
i went over all of the cheerleaders i knew but my mind kept on thinking of adora. i knew she was a cheerleader; i see her in the uniform every friday before the games.
"was it the spanish girl?" i asked quietly, secretly hoping he would say no.
"adora? no, no of course not. i'm not going to do that to her since she's new and all. no new girl needs to have the rumor of her sleeping with a guy going around while she's trying to make friends," he explained.
"valerie?"
"gross, no. she was attached to jack all night."
"um, one of the jackies?"
"you suck at this," he sighed, "it was brooklyn white."
"wow. that's actually impressive."
"i know right! she wasn't even that drunk and she knew exactly who i was."
brooklyn was one of the most popular and stubborn girls at our school. it took a lot of effort and alcohol to get into her pants so it actually was impressive that calum did it so easily.
"i'm happy for you, cal. it's nice to know that my friends can all get laid while i stay at home."
"you should come to a party with me and actually stay there. people can meet you there."
"i'm quite content with just being friends with you and michael."
"but wouldn't it be nice to actually do things with girls instead of just wanking every night?"
"no girl will ever want to do it with me. i might have gotten girls last year and the year before but now i'm invisible to everyone; no one notices me."
"you're hanging out with michael and i today, come on."
"calum," i whined.
he threw me a pair of my black skinny jeans and my favorite nirvana shirt.
"please don't make me," i begged.
"you don't have a choice."
i glared at him as i crawled out of bed.
"i won't leave until you're dressed."
"i'm going to have to change my boxers."
"it's nothing i haven't seen before."
"fine," i dropped my underwear and he instantly started shielding his face as he locked himself in my closet.
i chuckled while slipping into my clean clothes.
"are you clothed yet?" he asked, his voice muffled.
"yes," i rolled my eyes.
"you," he pushed me back with his pointer finger on my chest, "are disgusting."
"i warned you," i shrugged.
"if anyone here is three inches it's you."
"all i know is that you're definitely not nine," i shoved him lightly.
"you aren't either," he taunted.
"boys," my dad warned once he caught onto what our bantering was about.
"hello, mr. hemmings. and mrs. hemmings you look lovely today."
my mother gasped and twirled her blonde hair around her finger, "thank you calum. you're such a sweet boy."
i smiled sadly, my mum and calum had the same conversation every time he came over. he knew it made her happy and she could never remember that they had it before.
"i'll be back," i whispered and kissed her temple, "i love you."
"i love you, too, ben."
i squeezed tears out of my eyes, "i-i'm luke."
"you have facial hair!"
"come on, luke," calum said softly.
i waved at my parents before following calum out. we silently got into his car and the ride to michael's was filled with the arctic monkeys blasting through the speakers. they were one of the few bands that kept me from punching holes through the wall so calum made sure he was playing them when i was upset or hostile.
-
"how the hell did you get him out of the house?" michael grinned when he answered the door.
"i'm magic," calum smirked.
"all because you fucked brooklyn doesn't make you magic, cal," he rolled his eyes.
"who's here?" valerie asked, followed by her groaning.
"she's overly hungover," michael warned before leading us into his living living room.
"would you at least try?" adora asked valerie.
"i'm fucking hungover, dora the explorer, i can't try."
"puta," she seethed quietly.
"so, that's valerie," michael pointed to the blonde girl glaring at adora who was playing mario kart, "i think you know each other."
"we've met before," she said quietly.
"and that's adora, the new girl from spain," michael pointed.
"hey, adora," i spoke.
"michael! michael how do i pause?"
"she's never played mario kart before," he explained while helping her pause the game.
"hello," she stood up and held out her hand to me, "i think you just handshake here, yes?"
"yes," i nodded and shook your small hand, "do you not do that in spain?"
"well, yes. but we also kiss cheeks and hug. i don't know if you do that here regularly or not."
"you can still do that to me," i winked playfully.
"have you guys met before? luke's usually nervous around new girls."
sometimes i wish calum would keep his mouth shut before he goes and tells people i'm a nervous piece of shit.
"we've talked once or twice," she said coyly.
"stop flirting, it makes me sick," valerie complained and groaned.
"it's all the tequila you drank that's making you sick, puta," adora spat.
"you just called me a bitch! but in spanish!" she gasped.
"i'm sorry. i-i didn't mean to," she mumbled and covered her mouth.
"it's okay, adora, we all know you meant it," michael smirked.
"i don't want to be around her if she's going to be mad for no reason. you mexicans are always getting mad for no valid reason."
"i am not mexican," she said slowly, her fists clenching at her hips, "i am spanish because i am from spain."
"michael, take me home."
"just go into the kitchen or something. i am not wasting my gas just to take your whiny ass home," he scoffed.
"i just don't want to be with dora who only explores ways to make me annoyed."
"my name is not dora and i don't even know who dora the explorer is!" she stomped her foot.
"valerie, go to the kitchen," michael commanded, "i'll take you home later."
"fine," she stomped to the kitchen while adora sat on the couch, her arms crossed and her eyes burning holes into the ground.
i looked at calum nervously but he just shrugged and got onto the floor next to michael.
"do you want to race me?" i asked and pointed to the tv screen.
her eyes instantly brightened and she nodded vigorously. i sat next to her and grabbed a controller from the pile under the tv.
"can we play, too?" calum asked.
"only if you don't make me be a princess."
we all nodded to her request as we set the game up for four people.
adora ended up losing badly because she made us promise not to let her win.
"this is hard," she whined.
"it takes practice," i assured her.
"i just want to be all of your culos," she pouted.
"culos?" we all questioned.
"i don't know the word," she sighed, "my parents didn't let me learn swear words in english."
"do you mean 'asses'?" michael tried.
"is that your..." she trailed off and pointed to my seat.
"yes," he laughed.
"then, yes, asses."
"you'll get there, i promise," calum smiled up at her.
she pouted. i gave her a few pointers before starting the next race.
"you're getting better," i smiled when she didn't come in last place.
she just groaned and rested her head on my shoulder in despair. i tensed slightly and unfortunately she noticed.
"sorry," she whispered.
"no, you're okay, put it back," i forced her head back onto my shoulder which made her giggle.
"hey," valerie said quietly. adora's smile dropped and she instantly straightened her body out.
"can we do the mushroom one?" she asked.
"actually, we need to talk."
"not right now," she sighed.
"just tell me why you're mad."
"your boyfriend is an ass and you are acting like him," her attention remained on the tv as she said this so she didn't see valerie's eyes harden.
"excuse me?"
"i don't want to talk."
"fine," she huffed, "have fun exploring these geeky boys, dora. i'm going to go talk to my other friends who actually do more than drink and play video games," she scoffed and walked out.
"wow, she insulted all of us at once. she must be pissed," calum snorted.
"my name isn't dora," she mumbled.
"you okay?" michael asked worriedly.
"who is this 'dora the explorer' and why does everyone call me that?"
"lucky for you i babysit my niece and she loves dora the explorer," michael exited out of the wii and went to normal tv. he went through the recordings until he came across dora's show.
"this is a cartoon," she furrowed her eyebrows, "people think i'm a cartoon?"
"it's just because your name is similar to dora," calum explained, "you probably don't have this in spain because she teaches little english speaking children to speak spanish."
adora shrugged, "i think we actually have it but she teaches english. i've just never watched or heard of it."
"i can count to ten because of her," i said and she giggled.
"i'm going to go make some food. any suggestions?" calum asked while standing to his feet.
"do you have nachos?" she asked quietly, "like, none of that fake cheese mierda on top of stale chips."
"mierda?" he questioned.
"'shit'," i translated.
"you remembered?" she giggled.
i nodded and smiled.
"i have chips and salsa," michael reported to her.
"is it mild?"
"probably."
"all you white people think water is spicy," she sighed sadly.
michael scoffed and rolled his eyes while she giggled at him. she was so giggly and it was so cute.
"oh, my mamá is calling. i should go home now," she stood up, "i will see you at school, yeah?"
we all nodded and waved at her as she left the house.
-
it was now monday and i was walking up to the brick building that was my school. i kept on uncomfortably messing with my khakis and tie around my neck that they required us to wear.
"oh, fuck this," i cursed while yanking the tie off.
as i walked up to the school i made eye contact with adora. i sent her a small smirk while she widely smiled back. she was with valerie. val was talking like everything was fine while she glared at the ground. valerie glanced back at me before facing adora again.
as i passed the pair of girls i heard some of the conversation.
"he's not messed up, val. he's just shy."
"no one likes luke hemmings and he doesn't like anyone else. he's a dork, anyway. you could do better."
"all i did was make eye contact with him! and so what if he's a dork? he's on the football team, isn't he? jack is on the team, too."
"luke doesn't ever play. he just subs for the goalie," i saw valerie's blue eyes roll dramatically.
"just because he doesn't run with your group of populars doesn't mean he's inferior to you. he's a person, not the dirt that you walk on," adora scoffed before strutting away.
i almost made eye contact with her again but i didn't want her to see the hurt in my eyes so i turned around and ran towards calum instead.
"i need more playing time," i told him.
he was the captain of the team and my best friend so i knew he would play me.
"i love you but you can't play until you start coming to practice and actually trying. the coach already wants you off the team and he's going to kick you off soon. i can't convince him to let you stay on for much longer, luke."
"fine, i'll come to practice."
"why the sudden interest? i thought you only joined so you had an excuse to run off to the park without your parents getting suspicious."
"valerie is a bitch and i need to show her that i don't suck at football and that i'm not inferior to her," i growled.
"since when have you cared about what the school thinks of you?"
"people change."
"you just want a girl to notice you."
of course he was able to figure out exactly what it was. i mean, i've been his friend for seven years. he's gotten good at seeing right through me.
"that's not it," i rolled my eyes and walked away.
"is she hot?"
"go to class, calum," i shouted over my shoulder and disappeared into the crowd of kids going into the school.
-
a/n: aye second chapter.
if you didn't figure it out already this is going to go back and forth from adora's pov to luke's bc i really like writing from both character's pov's.