"What have you done?" Luke's face was filled with fear, he hadn't taken his eyes off Gemma. She didn't know how to tell him; how could she explain that she had tried to make him jealous by going on a date with a complete idiot and he had assualted her. She had been stupid enough to get back on the motorbike with a drunken arsehole and allow him to drive her away into the dark of the night.
"Gem... Tell me" he ordered, panic in his tone.
Gemma took a deep breath; he had been completely honest with her and now it was her turn. She started from the very beginning, explaining how Oliver had been with her at the radio station and how he was desperate for a date. She explained that once she had seen the pictures of that girl in Luke's boxers she had been so angry and upset that she had agreed to go out with him. She told Luke how he took her to a biker's bar, they drank way more than they should have and then she allowed him to drive her home, but he hadn't stopped near her house. She explained that he took her to a derelict car park and how he had forced himself on her, she had tried to fight him off and he had got angry with her, smacking her across the face and knocking her to the ground. When she had finished she cast her eyes up towards Luke, who was staring at the ground; his fists clenched and his teeth gritted.
"Luke?" Gemma asked, trying to snap him back to reality. His blue eyes stared up at her; they were filled with anger and she was seriously regretting telling him.
"He fucking hit you" Luke stated, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "He fucking hit you"
"I've learned from my mistake now though, Luke. I won't be going near him again..." she said, scooching closer to him on the couch and placing her hand on to his arm. He softened his expression at her touch, reaching out and pulling her into his arms. He stroked his hand through her hair and stared down at her lip, shaking his head in disbelief.
"How could anyone hurt you?"
"I punched him first" Gemma let out a slight laugh, trying to lighten the situation.
"Good. I hope it fucking hurt him"
"Can we just forget about it now? I just want to spend some time with you before you go back..."
"That sounds good"
Luke didn't bring it up again for the whole of the afternoon, he held her and provided her with every bit of comfort she had been missing. They didn't even put a film on, they lay in the silence and was just happy to be together again. Gemma nuzzled her face into his chest, breathing in the scent of his aftershave and running her fingers up and down his forearm, appreciating the soft touch of his skin.
"I really missed you, Gem" he spoke quietly, pushing at her forehead with his nose so that she would look up at him.
"I missed you too, except when I was mad at you" she laughed.
"Well, seeing as though you was mad at me for no good reason I think you owe me..."
"Owe you what exactly?"
"A date" Luke's eyes averted from her gaze as these words left his mouth; he never had any confidence in himself. Gemma's heart was fluttering, she had waited for this moment for so long and it was great that now there was nothing holding them back. They could be together.
"Nah, I'd rather eat broken glass" she teased, unable to stop herself from smiling.
"Well, we can include some broken glass consuming in to our date if you like? Best of both worlds" Luke played along, his lips curling up into a smile.
"Then I'm in" Gemma giggled, extremely grateful to have him around.
Gemma knew Luke would have to fly back out tomorrow and it would be another two weeks until she got to see him so she wanted to make the most of every moment she got to spend with him. Luke decided he wanted to take her to the zoo for their date; they spent the whole way there bickering over whether penguins or giraffes were better. Once they arrived he dragged her across to the ice cream truck and bought them both a giant vanilla ice cream cone, but before he handed hers across he wrapped his lips around the top of her ice cream and took a huge chunk of it.
"HEY!" she slapped his arm and attempted to grab his untouched ice cream but he extended his arm upwards making it impossible for her to reach. "You stupid giant"
"I'm not a giant, you're just a smurf" Oh he looked so smug with himself for that comeback, Gemma tried to pretend she was offended but when he pulled her into a gentle headlock she couldn't help but smile. "Come on then, lets go and see the penguins" He was like an excited child, he dragged her along through the crowds, the two of them practically running. "Aren't they cute? Look at those two... It's like they're hugging! Aww, and look at that one all alone over there..."
"I get it, Luke. You think penguins are adorable. Pfft, stop banging on about them"
"Are you jealous?"
"Jealous of what? A bunch of penguins?" Gemma was jealous; she was jealous of a bunch of penguins and it was completely pathetic. She was jealous of the way he looked at them, maybe she should dress like a penguin? What the hell? Why was she even thinking about that?
"You are aren't you? Aww Gem, you're the second cutest animal on the planet, okay?" he pinched her cheeks. Gemma was about to say something witty in return but Luke pushed her back against the fencing and started to kiss her. They were kissing in public. Gemma wanted to scream with happiness! She wrapped her arms around his waist and fell into him, her lip was really hurting but she didn't want him to stop. Luke lifted her off her feet slightly and then stepped back, smiling down at her.
"I hope that's okay?... I've just been wanting to do that for so long"
The flash of a camera averted their attention, immediately and they clapped eyes on a couple of girls taking photographs of them. They then ran across to Luke, clearly having no respect for their privacy or the fact they were obviously on a date. Gemma rolled her eyes as one of the girls shoved her out of the way and thrust a notepad in Luke's face, begging for an autograph. Was it always going to be like this? The only way they were ever going to get time alone was if they hid away indoors.
"I thought you guys were playing in Melbourne tonight?" one of the girls asked, shooting a quick glance in Gemma's direction. Oh if looks could kill.
"No, it's tomorrow..." Luke answered, "Girls, is it okay if I take a couple of pictures with you and then get back to Gemma? Haven't seen her for a while and just wanna spend some time with her."
They weren't really happy about it but they agreed, not wanting to get on the wrong side of their idol. Gemma stood at the side lines, proud that he had stood up for her... When the girls walked off she couldn't help but smile over at him, suddenly feeling incredibly shy. Luke took hold of her hands and leaned down to kiss her; he was so gentle and passionate, it made her weak.
"Now where were we? Ahh yes, penguins!"
"Oh for fucks sake" Gemma giggled. This was perfect.
-
The two of them spent the rest of the day strolling around the zoo, Luke felt the need to give random facts about each animal whenever they stopped outside an enclosure and even though Gemma didn't really care, she found it endearing. A couple of fans stopped them throughout the day, all desperate to know whether they were a couple or not but the truth was, they didn't even know themselves. After all the trouble and obstacles they had been through to get where they were now, they didn't want to screw things up again so that meant taking things slow. It was 6pm when they left the zoo, they had been the last ones in there and decided to walk home because the sun was still shining and they were really enjoying each other's company. Their fingers were laced together and every now and again they would bump into each other, due to the fact they were walking so close.
"I can't believe you flew back to see me, Luke" Gemma spoke.
"I had to see you"
"I'm really glad that you came. I wish you didn't have to go back so soon"
"Come with me then? You're not going back to the radio station so you have a spare week, right?" Luke suggested, perking up at the idea. It wasn't as simple as that; she didn't have the money and she had to do something about her own career, she couldn't spend her entire life following Luke around the world and spongeing from his earnings.
"I can't, Luke. I have to find-" Oh shit, there was Oliver. Standing outside a bar, smoking a cigarette and staring directly at her. She tried to get back on track with what she was saying; she tried not to let him get to her but Luke followed her gaze, directly towards Oliver and a look of realisation spread across his face.
"That's him isn't it?" he asked, pointing over at him; making it clear to Oliver that they were talking about him. Gemma pulled his arm back down to his side, panicking.
"No, it's not..."
"You're lying" he frowned, moving his arm away from her grip and storming across towards him. Gemma chased after him, pleading for him to stop but he just wouldn't listen, his fists were clenched and she had never seen him this angry before. Oliver started laughing as they got closer, flicking his cigarette onto the ground and standing upright, awaiting Luke's arrival.
"Oh, and who's this punk, Gem?" Oliver asked, a smug grin on his face. Luke didn't even bother with a reply; he slammed him against the wall, gripping onto his shirt and pressing his forehead against Oliver's.
"LUKE STOP IT!" Gemma begged, trying to pull him away. He pushed her back, too angry to listen to anything she had to say.
"Yeah Luke, listen to her before you get hurt" Oliver warned, managing to pull Luke's hands away from him. Gemma was stood on the side lines, feeling helpless. Luke didn't give him the chance to say anything else, he wrapped his fingers around Oliver's neck and threw him to the ground, jumping on top of him and thrusting his fist into his face again and again.
"You ever lay another fucking hand on her and I swear to god, I will kill you!" he spat, pushing Oliver's head into the dirt.
"Luke, come on! Stop!" Gemma jumped in, grabbing hold of his face in an attempt to calm him down. Maybe if he looked at her it would calm him down... Oliver jolted his head into Luke's face, causing him to fall backwards.
"NO! STOP IT!" Gemma cried out as Oliver turned the tables around on Luke and slammed a fist into his face. She found herself clinging on to Oliver's neck, cutting off his circulation with every last bit of strength she could find. Luke managed to get himself back on his feet and as Oliver pryed Gemma off of him and slammed her to the ground, Luke threw another punch; this time knocking Oliver out cold as his head hit the floor. Neither of them moved; they stared down at Oliver's lifeless body.
"What have you done?" Gemma whispered, too scared to check if he even had a pulse. Luke's face softened, fear filled his eyes and he started to shake, the realisation of what had just happened finally sinking in. Before he could say anything the sound of police sirens echoed throughout the air, getting closer and closer. Gemma glanced over towards the bar; people were peering through the windows and had obviously seen everything. Someone had called the police...