Amanda left the table at about 3, thanking Luke and I for being so friendly. I took a picture of her and Luke, and she even asked to get a picture with me, so Luke took that one.
"If all people could be like that around us, I'd be a very happy person." Luke sighed, fiddling with the straw on his empty drink. I nodded.
"Yeah I bet the crying and such can be a bit too much sometimes." I agreed. Luke nodded, and after a brief pause, he sighed.
"I really didn't want to hang out today and talk about fame though. I talk about it enough with interviewers and radio hosts. I actually had a really important topic in mind for today." He admitted. I lifted my eyebrows. Important topic?
"Alright, no fame talk. Ever. Got it. On to important things. So, shoot." I said. Luke suddenly seemed nervous, something he hadn't been around me for a while. Of course, this put me on edge as well, and during the pause in conversation, the air between us seemed to thicken. Just when I thought I was going to suffocate with the tension, Luke spoke.
"Do you want to get dinner with me tonight?" He asked. I almost laughed. Here I was expecting some bomb drop or something. It was only dinner.
"Yeah, of course. Where at? Hogs Breath again or is there another cafe you want to try out?" Luke pressed his hand to his forehead and dragged it down his face, and I noticed the slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. Oh. There's the bomb drop. "You meant like a date, didn't you?" I asked. Luke nodded, his eyes not leaving my face for even a second.
"Yeah, I did." He breathed, his voice sounding at once relieved and hopeful. I figured he was relieved because he had been nervous about asking the question all day. Luke had a tendency to allow even the smallest of anxieties fester until they became hard to ignore. And, for obvious reasons, he was hopeful. Because he wanted me to agree to the date.
"The answer's still the same, you know." I said. His nervous expression immediately exploded into a huge grin, and he pushed his chair back before standing up.
"Awesome!" He exclaimed, a bit too loudly. A few people glanced over, irritated looks on their faces. I let out a quiet giggle as Luke continued. "I know you rode the bus here, so I'll drive you home and pick you up at 8, alright?" He asked. I nodded, standing and tucking my book under my arm so I could pick up Luke's forgotten trash and follow him out the door of the cafe.
He didn't say anything, but Luke was like a giddy schoolboy now that we were going to go on a date. I didn't even recall him being this excited when we went on our first official date over 4 years ago. I figured it was because I was so much better at picking up on the small things he did that betrayed his true feelings. For instance, when he was uncomfortable or nervous, he'd find some way to touch his face or neck. Or how, when he was excited, his fingers would tap incessantly on whatever surface his hands happened to be on.
I watched Luke's fingers tap the steering wheel in time to the music playing from the radio, a small smile on my face. I could see him glance at me a few times, but neither of us said anything the entire ride to my apartment building. It wasn't until I was about to close the car door that a question suddenly popped into my head.
"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. What should I wear?" I leaned down into the car so I could see him as he answered. Luke paused for a moment, his eyes drifting to the top of the car, and I wondered if this was something he'd even thought about. But when his gaze dropped back down to lock with mine, I got my answer. He'd put thought into this. He was just playing it off as casual, but he'd planned everything already.
"You know that purple necklace with the butterfly you have? The one you mentioned belonged to your aunt? I know you still have it." He said. I nodded, wondering how the hell he even remembered that. I'd mentioned that fact once when I dropped it into the vent on the floor in my room at his home and had to recruit him to retrieve it. Luke smiled knowingly, as if he was proud of his memory. "Wear that. And something that matches it. Oh, and make it fancy, please."
"Okay." I agreed, already trying to mentally piece together an outfit in my head. "See you in a few hours, then." I added, smiling at him before closing the door. As I watched Luke drive away, I felt the butterflies finally kick in. I glanced at the clock on my phone and mentally did the math to calculate what time it would be in the US. 4am.
I called Kendra anyway. Though she didn't pick up, I left a message.
"So I have a date. And I know you're already squealing so loud you can't hear the rest of this message, but yeah. It's with Luke. Oh, God, I have so much to tell you about this. So text me or call or something, because you, me, and Wyatt need to have a Skype session very soon. Love ya. Bye." After hanging up, I practically sprinted to the elevator, paced as it moved ever so slowly to my floor, then did another sprint down the hallway, passing a rather confused George Mackenzie in the process. Before he could even ask what had gotten me so riled up, I flipped around and jogged a few paces backwards.
"I've got a date, George!" I laughed. He smiled, his dark eyes twinkling with amusement as he congratulated me. I thanked him, turning to unlock my door.
Getting ready took up a lot more time than I originally thought it would. I guess a good portion of that could be explained away by the mass of discarded outfits sitting on my bed, policed by a very frisky black and white feline with three legs. I'd finally decided on a white dress, as nothing else I owned made the necklace Luke wanted me to wear look very flattering. The dress was something I'd only worn once; a white chiffon material, gathered over one shoulder and with a thin black belt at the waist. It was floor-length, but I figured that wouldn't be a problem because the short heels I was wearing made it hover about a half-inch off the floor.
The rest of the time was spent on slathering good smelling lotion all over my body, shaving my legs despite the fact that nobody would be seeing them anyways, and doing my makeup and hair. My hair didn't take all that long. I put it up in a high 'messy' bun, though it looked more curled and put together than your average messy bun. It actually took a while to get it to look like I wanted it and to get the side strands I'd left free to compliment my face and not stick out every which way. I'd done my makeup a bit as well, glowering at the small pimple that had shown up on my chin the night before and willing it to go away as I covered it up with concealer. I chose a shimmery purple for my eyeshadow, as I didn't have any other purple on save for the necklace. It made the dainty charm pop, and I loved it. Just as I was finishing applying perfume, I heard a knock on the door. My eyes widened in horror as I glanced over the tornado-wrecked state my studio apartment was in.
"One moment!" I called before rushing to hide everything as quickly as I could. I shoved the pile of clothes off the other side of my bed, and they took the cat with them in a flurry of paws and surprised yelps. I winced, muttering a quiet sorry to my pet before turning and straightening out my dress. I crossed the room, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly before opening the door.
Now, I had seen Luke wear plenty of different outfits. From ripped skinny jeans and some band shirt to khaki pants and a button up (he was so mad that day, his mom made him wear it for the choir concert that evening), I'd seen him in it all. Hell, I'd even seen him in various stages of undress, cleanliness, and sweat. However, despite seeing all that, there was still one outfit I had yet to see my tall, blond-haired friend in. And that was a suit.
But damn, did I need to see it more often.
Luke was wearing a black suit, and I could see the light purple shirt and striped tie beneath the jacket, knowing he'd made me wear my necklace purely so we'd match. I suppose both of us were momentarily stunned by each other's outfit, because there was a lengthy pause before a single word was uttered.
"Wow, you look beautiful." Luke breathed. I finally brought my gaze up to his face, feeling a slight blush tinge my cheeks.
"Thank you. You too, ah, well, handsome. You are." I physically cringed at how tongue tied I was, but Luke only chuckled.
"You ready to go?" He asked. I nodded, this time choosing not to use words lest they betray me like they just did. He grinned and held out an arm. "Well, then let's go."
////////
OHMYGODICANT.
Okay so I suppose I live in a world of extremes where you will either get an update in like 7 years or 1 day. But this is the next chapter!
I CAN'T. Literally I'm dying right now because of this chapter. You'd think that, as the author, I would be able to prepare myself for the feels that come with these things, but that is simply not true. I swear I freak out while I'm writing things just like you freak out while reading. And I know you're freaking out right now.
BECAUSE.
THEY'RE.
ON.
A. DATE.
Yes, you read right. A date. And Luke is in a suit. UGH. I want to be Daeyna right now so badly.
Anyways, on another note, I have a question. Do any of you readers who happen to live in Michigan like All Time Low / Sleeping With Sirens? Because they're coming close by me in November on tour and since none of my friends have the same music taste, they won't go with me. :( I just don't wanna go along (though I totally will if I have to).
Also, here are some highlights from the 1 Year Celebration so far:
Both kennedymalley98 and Malicious_Mal think that the saddest part in the books was when Dae compared Luke to her mother at the end of chapter 28 of Bully,
PenguinsWithProbs says that the best part was the airport kiss shared between Luke and Dae in chapter 24 of Bully.
Do you agree with them? Let me know what you think by going to the link in the last chapter and filling in your own answers!
Now on to some questions I've been asked!
1) Favorite 1D / 5SOS Member
Is it cheating to say I love them all? Though I think if I had to pick, I'd say Niall from 1D and Luke from 5SOS. Idk, man. I've always been a Luke girl. But, as I always tell my friends, that doesn't mean I'd say no if any other guys from either band showed up on my doorstep with flowers and reservations to a fancy restaurant.
2) What do you love about writing?
Oh gosh do I love this question! I love the freedom writing gives me. I know this particular book is fairly straight forward and normal as far as plotline goes, but just take a look at When We Go or even some of the other stories I've got planned for the future. I have so many ideas for crazy stories, whether they be fantasy-based or even just plain ol' romance like this, and it's so fun being able to describe what I see and have others react to it in such positive ways like you all did with this story. It's so wonderful. Also, I like the sound of the keyboard on my laptop, so that's a bonus haha.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter as well as these end notes! Love you all to bits and I will see you next time!!!!!
Short, tiny rant update;
Alright, guys. This is the last time I'm going to say this because I'm tired of seeing negativity in the comments on the story. If you don't like the way something is, then fine. But don't comment about it. It's unnecessary. Change the outfit in your mind or whatever, bit I don't need to hear about it, alright? It just makes me feel shitty that you don't like what I chose to describe, like I did something wrong. And that's not how an author should feel about her own book. So if you're gonna be negative, please keep it to yourself.