When June Summers (who, ironically, was born in December) was eight years old, she prayed for a prince in shining armor to appear at her doorstep and sweep her off of her feet.
Instead of a handsome man, she got a Luke Hemmings.
From the moment he had peeked around his mother's legs, June had been obsessed with the blue-eyed, blonde-haired little boy.
It wasn't entirely because he offered to play Barbies with her, which, at the time, was detrimental to an eight-year-old boy's social life. Nor was it because Luke would occasionally skip dinner when his mom made lasagna so he could bring her his portion because he knew how much June loved his mother's lasagna. That stopped after his mother realized what he was doing and patted her boy on the head, telling him to just invite her over the next time.
Quite possibly, though, it was the way he would sneak over to her house in the middle of the night when there was a thunderstorm and hold her until she fell asleep.
It was the way that he always knew what she needed, no matter when or where the pair was.
Luke and June were inseparable from the moment their mothers had introduced them.
But as it goes with many close friends, feelings became tangled up in their once simple friendship.
At thirteen, June noticed Luke but Luke only noticed video games and sports.
At fifteen, Luke made friends with a couple of other boys, Calum, Michael, and Ashton. They, alongside Luke, discovered their place in the world making music.
June got over her crush as soon as she met seventeen year old Ashton Irwin.
But, of course, that was when Luke realized that seeing June brighten up as he walked into a room made lions roar in his stomach (butterflies were too tame for what he felt).
Luke held onto those feelings even though he knew June did not feel the same way. He didn't think they'd ever stop but he would take a friendship with her over nothing. He listened to her go on and on about Ashton and how cute his giggle was and how she found his jorts endearing.
But there was a point where Luke couldn't stand it anymore.
"June," he interrupted sternly, "stop talking about him."
June stopped abruptly, sitting up from her position on the bed next to Luke.
"Sorry, was I talking about him too much? Geez, you should've stopped me earlier," she said, brushing a strand of light brown hair out of her blushing face. "I know he'd never look at me like that but--"
"I like you."
"--maybe you could set us up?"
The two friends froze, staring at each other with wide-eyes.
"What?" They asked this at the same time, both of their faces paling as the seconds ticked by.
"You go first," Luke said, trying to salvage what was left of his dignity.
June shook her head profusely. "I really think you should go first."
They awkwardly argued for a couple more moments before they (June) decided Luke would go first.
"Uh, well, you see," Luke stuttered. He'd never been this nervous before, not even before he had to do a presentation on the human anatomy last semester.
"Luke, get on with it," June urged him.
"June-bug," he sighed, grabbing her hand. "You know I love you, right? And that I'd never do anything to ruin our friendship?"
June nodded, her eyebrows furrowed. She could sense his anxiety, so she rubbed circles onto the back of his hand as a way to calm him down.
"Okay, well, I like you, June. I really like you. I like-like you."
June was sure her jaw was on the ground. Her thirteen year old self was screaming. But now, she didn't know how to feel. She used to have a crush on him, so why couldn't she just continue from there?
Luke wanted to die. Holy shit, she was taking much too long to respond. His cheeks were enflamed and he buried his face in his hands, groaning. "I'm sorry, Junie, I shouldn't have said anything--"
June cut him off by pushing his hands off of his face and kissing him right on the lips.
Luke didn't dare move for if this was a dream he wouldn't want to wake up.
June pulled away, looking at a speechless Luke. "Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah, just--what about Ashton?"
"Who?" June asked him with a smile full of laughter before she leaned over and kissed him again.
Luke and June were happy. They practically glowed when they were together.
Their relationship didn't change much, they only became more intimate and their sleepovers were banned by their mothers (who were possibly more excited than the couple themselves).
"I totally saw this coming," said a dirty blonde Michael.
Calum nodded along. "I think Luke started drooling every time she walked in the room."
Ashton made an odd face. "Really? I never noticed."
Calum nudged him in the arm. "That's because June payed more attention to you than Luke when she was with us."
Laughing, Michael agreed. "Luke was always so pissed at the end of the night."
The aforementioned boy only grunted, threw his empty plastic cup at the others, and tightened his arm around his girlfriend.
Life happens, though, and only a year after they had gotten together did Luke and his band get signed to a record label and get told he had to move to London.
Through tears, June told him he had to go follow his dream. She told him not to worry, that he'd never be lonely. She was always there for him no matter what. She told him that he'd be just fine.
So Luke held her the entire night before he had to leave.
"I love you, Junie, so much," he murmured into her hair, pulling her tighter to his chest.
June felt her eyes burning as she buried her face in his neck, breathing in the strong smell of soap, cologne and Luke.
"I love you, too, Lukey."
Reluctantly, the pair fell asleep knowing that in the morning they would have to part.
Morning came too soon, and Luke got out of bed quietly as to not wake the sleeping beauty next to him. He brushed the hair out of her eyes and smiled to himself. He leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. Luke was about the move away from her side when her eyes shot open and she grabbed his wrist.
"Where do you think you're going?" June pulled the tall boy back down on the bed, causing him to land on top of her. She clung to him like a koala.
"Baby," he groaned, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling his head into her neck. "You know I have to go."
June sighed, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Did you think I was letting you go to the airport alone?"
Luke rolled onto his side so he was no longer on top of her. He cupped her face, "I just don't want this to be goodbye."
She closed her eyes, basking in his morning embrace for what seemed to be the last time. "It's not a goodbye. It's a see you later."
Luke laughed weakly. "You're so cheesy."
June felt his finger prod at her side, causing her to squirm away from him.
"No, come back," he whined. He pulled her back against him and squeezed her tightly. "We've gotta get up," he told her after they just stayed there for a couple of minutes.
June groaned, forcing down the lump in her throat.
Luke peppered kisses all over her face as he straddled her. He got out of his unmade bed, pulling her up as he went.
The ride to the airport was making June more anxious with every passing minute. Luke had forced her into his lap although she argued that it was dangerous and the boys would glance at the couple every so often with sad looks on their faces.
June melted into Luke's warmth as she hugged him for the last time. They were standing outside of security and the other boys had already said their goodbyes to their families and had gone ahead.
"Just be good 'til I get I get back," Luke whispered to her, pressing his lips to hers.
June couldn't even laugh. She was afraid that if she made a sound, she would just start crying. June didn't want to cry anymore. She wanted to be happy that her boyfriend was going to live out his dreams, she just wished he could do it closer.
She held his head in her hands, pulling his forehead against hers. "I love you, Luke Hemmings. Don't you forget about me when you become a popstar."
"Rockstar," Luke corrected. "I could never forget about you, Junie. I love you too much."
With one last parting kiss, Luke grabbed the handle of his suitcase and walked towards the rest of the boys. He looked back over his shoulder and shot June a cheeky smile.
She shook her head, a small smile on her face. June bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling in order to hold back the tears.
She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and a head lean against hers.
"We'll be alright," Luke's mother, Liz, said, "He'll be alright."
hey guys so this is gonna be a short story, probably around 10 chapters. i have about 5 done, so it'll be complete before long!
also, it's based off of the album and not just the song!
i just really got in the feels when i listened to it like who hurt them (90% sure it was azlyrics, rip luke)
enjoy!