Melody and Luke would have liked to have thought that they were going to be high school sweet hearts. Everyone that has a relationship in high school believes the same thing, why date if it's not going to be long term. They were infatuated with each other, they truly did love each other, but life is hard and things get rough.
Melody went to college, it was close to home and she visited often. She loved it, she made friends but also knew her lifelong friends were always going to be at home. Luke visited her often, mostly on the weekends since she had a lot of work to do. For a while everything was fine, they went along like nothing had changed and their bond was as strong as ever. But sometimes things fade, and the routine gets boring and it's no one's fault but there needs to be a change.
After Melody's first semester at school, and spending time together over the winter break they knew things were different. The both of them had been too scared to tell each other how they were feeling, since they still cared deeply for each other and didn't want to cause the other pain. When Melody said they needed to talk, Luke knew how the conversation was going to go, and it was okay. They were each other's first love, but they needed time apart. Melody needed to have the full college experience, yes that includes hooking up with boys at parties because she can, and Luke didn't want to take that away from her even though the thought still stung a little. Melody also didn't want to hold Luke back from going to an Arts and Music school that was miles away, because she knew how incredible he was at playing guitar and singing. They decided that it would be best to part ways, and there were no hard feelings. They would always be each other's first love and they would always be special to each other.
After a few months, Melody found a boyfriend, his name was Christian. They met at a frat party, Christian wasn't part of the frat he usually just went to see the frat boys make a fool out of themselves, he thought it was funny and so did Mel. She thought she really liked him. He was sweet, smart, funny and driven. He wanted to be a lawyer like Melody, and she thought that it was pretty cool that they both had the same goals.
Luke had heard that Melody had found a new boyfriend, and he was happy for her honestly. He was so glad that she had found someone to make her smile and laugh, and be there for her when she needed someone she knew she could confide in. Luke hadn't found that person yet, he had talked to a few girls but none of them could compare to Melody, and he knew he shouldn't compare but he couldn't help it.
A few months turned to a few years, and Melody and Christian were still dating. Melody couldn't shake the feeling in the bottom of her stomach that something wasn't right, though. She kept quiet, and just told herself that it was because she couldn't believe that her relationship was real. They had gone two and a half years without a serious fight, which Melody thought was strange, but she just deemed herself lucky. Who would want to fight with their partner. She would never admit it out loud, but she was nervous that things were going to get too serious too soon. Her friends would call her crazy if she voiced her concern, why wouldn't she want to get engaged to the man she was dating as soon as she could.
She hadn't been in touch with Luke for about a year, and from time to time she wondered how he was doing and she missed him more than she wanted to admit. As the months went by with Christian, she found herself wondering more and more about Luke. Where he was, how he was doing, if he had settled down with someone. She decided to take a trip back home, she told Christian that Autumn and Nikki had requested a girl's weekend since she had been at school with him so much, but it wasn't the truth. She hoped she would run into a particular blonde haired and blue eyed boy.
Her nerves were shot, she knew it was crazy to think that she would just run into him somewhere. He was probably away at college, and she was just being impulsive. Even so, she walked the supermarket, grabbing random things she didn't need. She walked home, and even took the long way, but still didn't see him. She went to the ice cream parlor they went to after he had asked her to be his girlfriend, she didn't expect to see him here but it was nice to visit. The last place she tried was the pizza shop he used to work at, he definitely didn't work there anymore but it was the last place she could think of without going to his house, which she definitely was not going to do. She smiled when she opened the door, because this is where it had all started. Their first kiss on the floor covered in flour and pizza sauce had started everything between them.
Her eyes glanced over the back of a lanky blonde who was standing at the counter, talking to the owner her knees almost gave out. She bumped into a table which of course slid and made quite a bit of noise. The blonde turned his attention to Melody and the expression on his face mirrored the one on hers.
"Mel?" Luke spoke, after a few minutes of silence. He couldn't believe she was here in front of him.
She nodded and rushed over to him to give him a hug, it was unbelievable that the two of them showed up in the place that they had their first kiss at the same time when they hadn't seen each other in years.
"I missed you, Lucas," she mumbled into his chest. This was the most overwhelming emotion she had since they had broken up. She felt guilty that right now in Luke's arms she felt more than when she was with Christian.
Melody stepped back and took Luke's appearance in, his hair was much more floppy and curly now and his stubble had grown in nicely. He looked good, he was still tall and lanky but he had taken his lip ring out. Luke was also taking in every detail of the girl in front of him, her hair was shorter and if it was possible her lips just looked so much better than he remembered.
Luke smiled the same old toothy grin, "You look good, Mel. How's everything?"
The pair didn't realize they were still touching, Luke was lightly holding Mel's forearm and Melody had a gentle grip on his wrist. "You don't look to bad yourself," she grinned, but looked down before answering his question, "You know, same old. How've you been?"
They weren't stupid they both knew they were dancing around the question of if either of them were still dating someone else.
"Been good, working on some music. Not much else," he answered. It didn't answer Melody's question of if he was dating anyone, and she needed to know. She almost wished he was so that she would stop thinking about him so much, if he had someone else she couldn't have him. Not that she could have him now because of Christian. "Still got that boyfriend?"
Melody averted her eyes, and chewed the inside of her lip. She wanted to say she did, she knew she should say she did because after all they were still very much together. But being here in front of Luke she didn't want to even think about Christian. She chose to meet her answers in the middle, "It's complicated."
Luke grinned, "That sounds very interesting."
Melody rolled her eyes at him, and shoved his chest lightly, "What about you casanova, any special women in your life?"
Before Luke could catch himself saying it, it had already been done, "Just the one in front of me."
Melody blushed, and her heart was pounding. How could she still have feelings for him, they ended everything with a clean cut, and closure. But now here they were almost three years later looking at each other like it was their first time, and they still couldn't pull away from each other.
"We're in a pizza shop, and neither of us have ordered anything. I think it would be rude if we didn't get something," Melody smiled.
Luke's face lit up, "We should make our own pizza, we made a good team before."
Melody was already bought on the idea, "Will they even let you back there?"
"Tony still loves me, he won't mind," Luke grabbed Melody's hand and took her behind the counter where they had been years before. Melody grabbed an apron because she knew how messy it was going to get in the kitchen and she wanted to try to get the least amount of it on her clothes as she could.
"Let's not make a mess this time," Melody teased, watching Luke put down flour on the counter and grab some dough.
She could see him smirking, "No promises, Mel." She knew she would be a mess by the time they were done here. Luke rolled out the dough and Melody helped him put the sauce and cheese on it, they fought over toppings for a bit and decided one half could be pepperoni and the other half could be pineapple. Luke strongly believed the pineapple didn't belong on pizza, but Melody knew he was wrong.
Luke was grinning at her after it had been silent for a bit, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" She laughed, hiding her face in her hands.
Luke shrugged, "You just have a little flour on your cheek," he reached over and rubbed her face with his very floury hand.
Melody laughed, "I had nothing on my face until you just did that! But I think you have a little sauce right there!" She swiped her finger across his forehead and giggled at her work, "You look like Simba." They both laughed, and Luke realized that Mel was still mostly the same girl he had loved years ago.
They were both just looking at each other glad to be in each other's presence for the first time in what seemed like forever, and just as Luke was going to say something Melody's phone rang. Luke shook his head, "This seems to always happen." Melody took her phone out of her pocket, looked at the caller ID and ignored the call. Luke looked surprised, "Who was that?"
Melody shrugged her shoulders, "No one important." This was a lie, Christian had called her and he most certainly was important. "Is the pizza almost done, I'm starving."
Luke checked the pizza, "You're in luck, it's done and beautiful." Luke took their masterpiece out of the oven, and boxed it. "So, do you want to come see Liz? She'd love to see you for a bit."
Everything in Melody's head was telling her that she shouldn't go to Luke's house, it was wrong. This whole situation right now was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself when it came to him. "I'd love to see her," she would just see his mother talk a bit and eat some pizza, nothing else.
Luke lead her out of the shop, but not before leaving some money behind to pay for the pizza and a little extra to have let the two of them make it themselves. They talked the whole way to his house, and once they got to the door Melody felt herself get a bit nervous, but when Luke smiled at her and opened the door she relaxed.
"Mum, I have something to show you," Luke called. Liz was probably in her room and Luke couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she saw Melody. The two heard footsteps coming from down the hall and Melody could barely contain the smile on her face.
"What's going-" Liz had caught sight of Melody and threw a hand over her mouth, "Oh come here!" She beamed, rushing over to give Melody a hug. Liz held her at arms length, "Have you been good? Oh I hope you've been good. Luke hasn't talked about you for a while, I've missed you!"
"I've been great, a little busy, but pretty good," Melody explained.
Liz motioned to the kitchen table, "Oh sit! Come sit, tell me how you've been."
The three of them talked like it was old times. It felt like nothing had changed, that they were just a bit older, but it felt like Melody and Luke had never been apart. But everything had changed, and things were much more complicated than Melody was letting on, and she felt guilty but the feeling she was experiencing with Luke right now was enough to distract her.
"I'll let you two talk then, you must have a lot of catching up to do," Liz left with a smile, and it was just Luke and Melody again.
Melody looked around the house, "Everything really looks the same, I don't know why I thought it would be different."
Luke laughed, "The only room that looks different is mine."
Melody wanted to pick her words carefully because now they were entering dangerous territory but she was curious, "Show me?"
Luke drew a breath, before standing up and leading the girl to his room where they had been so many times before. The minute she stepped through the door frame he knew he was going to lose it, and he had been trying to keep himself composed since he saw her. They had reached the end of the hallway where his room was and he rubbed his temples before turning to face her, "Is this a good idea, Melody? I don't know-"
Melody reached for the doorknob, "I just want to see what's changed, Lucas." She walked into the room that felt familiar but was much different now. He used to have one or two All Time Low posters hanging up, and he left his guitars in the closet but now there were guitars on the walls and posters absolutely everywhere. Luke was still standing by the doorway just watching her, until she looked over at him. "You're not going to come into your own room?"
Luke couldn't say no to her not right now so of course he made his way across the room, making sure the door was almost closed but not quite. "It's different, huh?"
Melody smiled, "I like it, you're taste in music has grown up with you. But your sheets are still the same." She looked at his bed, the first time they hung out alone was here in his room on his bed while he broke up with Ally. Now it seemed so stupid that he had to call and break up with her because he was a completely different person.
Luke grabbed her forearm, which Melody wasn't surprised by, "What are we doing right now Mel? I'm going crazy, I'm trying to keep my distance but I don't know if you want me to. Can you clue me in on what it's complicated means, because this is killing me."
Melody sighed because she knew it was going to come to this. She didn't know what she was going to do because this was so rushed and she was being impulsive. She didn't know if it was just a fluke that she felt this way now or if it was going to continue. She couldn't stay in a relationship with Christian if she felt like this about Luke, because she had never felt like this about him.
"It's complicated because I'm here with you. I left because I couldn't stop thinking about you and I lied and said I was going home to see Autumn and Nikki. I feel so guilty because what I'm feeling right now is better than anything I've felt in the past two and a half years with him, and I've only been with you for two hours. I thought I just needed to come here and see you and get closure, I wanted you to be in a relationship so that would be the end of it. But I was so happy when you weren't and I don't know what to do because I thought I was happy but today is just proving me wrong," Melody spilled her feelings, and she hoped Luke wouldn't hate her for any of it. He was silent for a minute and the anxiety bubbling inside of Melody was rising by the second. She needed him to say something.
"Do you love him?"
Melody shook her head, "I don't think I've ever loved anyone but you."
Luke rubbed a hand over his face, he knew the sensible thing here was to tell her to figure out her feelings and not make any impulsive decisions now, but God he wanted her and he'd be damned if he let her walk out of his house still with someone she didn't love. "What do you want to do about this Mel? It's up to you."
Melody bit her lip, and ran her hand through her hair, "I have to break up with him, Luke. It's not fair to him or you or me."
"Call him."
"Call him?" Melody repeated, "I can't end a two year relationship over the phone, can I?"
Luke placed his hands on Melody's face, "Please call him, I need you."
Melody nodded, "Okay," she grabbed her phone and dialed his number. As the phone was ringing she kept reminding herself this was the best for everyone, she needed to do this.
"Bathroom, real quick, I'll be right back," Luke whispered pointing to the door. Melody nodded, she knew he just didn't want to hear what was going to happen between her and Christian and she was okay with that.
Luke bumped into his Mum in the hallway and she was holding a small box in her hand, that she quickly gave to Luke. "Don't you dare let her get away this time, Luke." He looked at the box in his hands and nodded, he wouldn't make anymore mistakes when it came to her.
When he made his way back into his room, Melody was off the phone, and his heart was beating a mile a minute. "Are you okay?" He asked, she wasn't crying and she didn't really seem to be that upset.
"He knew," she answered, Luke was confused for a second how could he know that she was with him right now? "He knew I didn't love him, he knew it was you. He told me that if I didn't end up with you he'd pity me."
"Are you okay, Mel?" Luke asked again, he couldn't figure out how she was feeling.
She nodded, and he felt himself relax, "I don't know how I've been this blind all along to what was going on. After all this time it's still you, and it's always going to be you."
Luke wiped his palms off on his jeans before dropping to one knee and getting the box his Mum had given him out of his pocket, Melody looked shocked, "What are the odds that we would run into each other at the pizza shop we had our first kiss at? You didn't know I'd be home, and I wasn't expecting on seeing you but I felt like I needed to be there. I don't necessarily believe in fate or anything, but I believe in soul mates and no matter what happens between them they'll always find their way back. We found our way back, and I don't want to have to go through it again, I can't let you go this time because for me it's always going to be you too. I love you Melody, and I'm always going to love you, so would you please marry me?"
Melody had tears streaming down her face, and earlier today she didn't think she could see herself getting serious with anyone anytime soon, but now this felt so right. There was never going to be anyone other than Luke, and why should she waste her time when she knew that what they had between them was something they could have forever. Luke was shaking and still waiting for an answer, and when Melody kissed him and said yes against his lips he knew he was the luckiest man on Earth. He broke their kiss to slip the ring on her finger, and it was perfect.
"Where'd you get the ring?" She asked, "Did you have this whole thing planned out? You must have been stalking me this whole time," Melody teased.
Luke nodded, "You caught me I actually had cameras set up everywhere you were so I knew what was happening at every moment of your life. As for the ring my Mum gave it to me."
Melody hadn't stopped smiling, but now it was even larger, "I love it. We have to tell everyone! They're going to be incredibly confused."
"I think that adds to the appeal of it all," he grinned, "but we can tell everyone later because I want my fiancé all to myself right now."
Melody giggled while Luke was placing kisses all over her face, "I love you."
Luke pecked her lips one more time, before remembering something they always used to say to each other, "Now you're really going to be the death of me."
ENDDDDDDDDDD FOR REAL
I TOLD Y'ALL AN EPILOGUE WAS COMING SO HERE IT IS NOW YOU KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE MARRIED AND LIVE LONG HAPPY LIVES TOGETHER PROBABLY WITH CHILDREN AND DOGS AND IF I WROTE THAT PART IN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE 8000 WORDS SO I'M JUST DECIDING TO TELL YOU HERE!!!!!
Honestly thank you for reading this and I really hope that you liked this ending and I hope it tied up loose ends for you, but I love it honestly. I'm so glad everyone has really liked this book and everyone has given me such nice feedback it means so much. I know I sucked with updating towards the end but I was really unmotivated because of school and all that, but I finally got around to writing this because you guys deserved it! Thank you again for being awesome people and liking my writing (-:
Also if any of you are stydia shippers and believe they are the worlds most fanfuckintastic couple i just started a stydia book so if you want to take a look that'd be cool!
-Amanda