Sneaking into my house at 2:45AM in the morning was the reason behind my weekend grounding. Mum hadn't been too impressed, despite my very much sober state.
I spent all weekend finishing assignments that half the class had yet to start. I liked to be on top of my school work, and if that meant sitting at my computer for four hours instead of swimming in the pool, then I'd do it.
Katherine hadn't been very sympathetic towards my situation. She called up on Saturday afternoon and berated me for leaving her Friday night. She demanded to know what I had done after I dropped her off, and I didn't have the energy to go through another fight so I lied and claimed I went home.
Luke hadn't contacted me all weekend, not even to respond to the message I sent him on Saturday morning, thanking him for a nice night.
All in all, I think the grounding had been worth it. After Luke and I walked up and down the beach a few times, we found a circle of both our friends. It wasn't hard to fall into a comfortable banter, especially with Luke's hand resting on my lower back.
Come Monday morning I had forgotten all about Katherine being mad at me, until she texted me fifteen minutes before school to let me know she wouldn't be picking me up.
A sigh escaped the barriers of my lips. I couldn't say I was all that surprised by Katherine's childish behaviour. This is how she dealt with most things if she didn't get her way – she'd usually just ignore you until you apologised enough times.
I glanced down at my phone and saw that I had a text from Luke fifteen minutes ago. I was confused to why Luke would text me. It's not like we weren't going to see each other shortly in maths class.
Luke: You're almighty best friend has just arrived at school without you. You're either 1) catching the bus 2) miraculously gotten your license or 3) Katherine is being petty about Friday.
Me: ding ding we have a winner for #3
I grabbed my backpack and headed down the stairs. I was about to opt for option 1 and catch the bus. My parents left early for work and I knew better than to wake Phoenix up from his slumber.
I yanked the door open, only to let out a shriek.
"Luke?" I stumbled back, my eyes widening in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
"I drove here after I sent my text. I was pretty sure that Katherine had bailed on your daily carpooling." He nodded with confidence.
"What if I was just sick?" I arched my eyebrow.
"You're Atlantis Starke." He scrunched his nose up. "You don't get sick, and if you do, you certainly don't take time off school for it."
"How would you know?" I muttered. "Didn't even respond to my text."
"I just came to save your butt from being tardy and you want to discuss how my phone was out of battery until last night?" Luke smirked. "I would've texted you but when it finally turned on at 11PM I figured you'd be asleep."
Oh. My cheeks burned with embarrassment. He had even been considerate of my sleeping patterns. I pulled my bag onto my shoulder and motioned for him to walk down the steps.
I closed the door behind me and turned to face him again, only to let out a groan. "Crap. I forgot you drove a motorbike." I whined softly.
"You got to live on the wild side, baby." Luke drawled teasingly, as he reached over the side and grabbed a black helmet with a mirror visor that covered the face.
"You're lucky I don't care about my hair." I rolled my eyes, taking the helmet from him.
He shrugged on a leather jacket and let out a quiet laugh, clearly amused with my antics. He threw his leg over the motorbike and motioned for me to join him on the back.
"If you don't hurry up this rescue mission will turn into a suicide mission with both of us getting detention." Luke smirked, his eyes boring into mine.
"Thank you for this." I said quietly, realising that I hadn't actually thanked him for his kind gesture. "I guess you're learning how to fake innocence, yeah?"
"I'm trying to fake innocence for my therapist." Luke rested his arms on the steering and placed his chin on his arms. "I'm not the type to lie or fake around my friends."
I fell silent for a moment before laughing. "Come on, this is getting too serious for us." I grinned, punching his shoulder lightly before hoping on the back of the bike.
"You've got that right." Luke laughed, grabbing my hands and wrapping them around my waist. "Hold on tight, Ari."
"Lord, please help me through this." I groaned before reluctantly sliding onto the back of Luke's bike. I inhaled slowly and I could practically feel Luke rolling his eyes.
"Goddamnit you're into the dramatics, Ari."
-x-
"Who is that on the back of Luke's bike?"
The first whisper I heard when we pulled up in front of the school led me to believe that getting a ride with Luke wasn't the best idea.
"What the hell? He didn't let me ride on his bike!"
Did Luke have his own groupies or something?
"Oh my god, he's just so dreamy."
I slide off the back of his motorbike and calmly waited by his side. I was reluctant to take off the helmet.
"Who is she?"
I felt Luke's hand on the small of my back. I think he was trying to be encouraging, but it just fuel to the fire by this point.
"I hate her already."
Luke placed his hands on either side of my helmet. He didn't say anything, but carefully pulled the helmet off my head. I ignored the dramatic gasp from the five girls standing off to the side. Seriously, why the hell were they so invested in Luke's life?
"Way to give away my identity." I joked weakly. "I was going to spend the day in that helmet until home time." Despite my teasing tone, I was seriously thinking that might've been a better idea, especially with the glares I was getting.
"Don't be stupid." Luke said kindly. "Sabrina is just bitter. You're a far better person than her." He said the last part loudly and I watched the brunette freeze.
"Who's Sabrina?"
"The one who 'hates you already'." Luke classified with a shrug. He threw his arm around my shoulder. "Let's go to roll call. I can tell you all about the girls who sleep with me."
I scrunched my nose up. "That is disgusting. I really do not want to hear about the girls you've slept with, and then proceeded to ditch."
Luke covered his heart and gasped dramatically. "I don't hump and dump girls like you seem to be implying."
"Hard to believe." I muttered under my breath. "Lesson nine; respect women."
I didn't realise Luke stopped in the middle of the hallway until I went to say something only to find him behind me. I raised my eyebrow, wondering why he had come to a stand still. We only had a few minutes before we'd be deemed as tardy.
"I don't do that to girls." Luke said, his voice low and serious. Wait, was he actually hurt by what I said?
I raised my eyebrow. "Luke, I was just jok—"
"Girls know exactly what they're getting into when they're with me. I tell every single one of them that I don't do 'dates' and relationships." Luke shook his head. He seemed to be contemplating saying more as he played with his lip piercing. "If I was such a dick head to girls then I wouldn't be risking detention to come pick you up. I wouldn't be reassuring you that those girls are nothing compared to you."
"I didn't mean anything by it." I frowned. "Sorry." I added on weakly, realising how lame I sounded but I really didn't view Luke that way.
"I've got to go to class." Luke murmured. "I'll see you later."
"Luke, wait!" I stepped towards him but he was already heading in the direction of his class. "Crap." I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.
Ring! Ring!
"Crap!"
___________
long time no speak my lovers