hearing a soft knock at his door late at night and opening it to reveal lola in a sweater that had belonged to him at one point and her curls in the sweetest pigtails luke had ever seen, and feeling her lunging forward to wrap her arms tightly around him and pressing butterfly kisses all over his face was the closest luke had ever come to religion.
they barely slept that night, too excited to see each other again; the week that lola had been away had seemed so long and it felt like they had everything in the world to catch up on.
she re-applied his pink plasters properly, kissing every cut, every bruise that littered luke's pale skin and making him feel home again; both of them laying together on his couch with a blanket thrown over them and sex education on the tv - a show lola's parents had recommended to her that she wanted to watch with luke.
"baby?"
luke had missed hearing her soft voice call him that, and couldn't keep the smile from his face as he responded with, "yes sweetheart?".
"do you have a lot of fights next week?" lola's fingertips traced up and down his forearm as it curled tighter around her waist, sending shivers down luke's back.
"i have a few baby." he pressed a light kiss to the back of her head, waiting to let her speak again - he knew she was going somewhere with what she was saying.
"we have this like - thing - with the studio every year in mid november." lola felt her nerves twisting in her gut and internally groaned when she realised how much this was starting to sound like a promposal.
"it's like a christmas dance thing, where all the dancers go and they bring their friends and stuff - we do it in november because december is filled with preparation for the christmas showcase. and i was thinking if you wanted to come with me it might be fun?"
luke wrapped his arms even tighter around his girlfriend, finding it unbelievably cute that she would invite him - luke didn't go to his own prom, and he'd never felt like he was missing out on much, but a chance to see lola dressed up and happy was not something he would pass up easily.
"i'd love to go baby. what day is it?"
"it's next friday."
a weight plunged into luke's stomach when he realised that he did have a fight that day - and one he couldn't back out of at that.
his coach had been getting increasingly annoyed with luke's gradual withdrawal from boxing - the more time he spent with lola the less he felt like fighting - and his coach was threatening to stop booking him matches if he stopped accepting them, and when boxing was luke's only income, it was a risk he couldn't take.
but lola's tone was so hopeful and the invitation was so sweet that luke vowed then and there that whatever it took, he'd go with her.
"i'll be there sweetheart."
***
"you asked him to go to the dance with you?" bella cooed exaggeratedly and lola groaned, letting her head fall face first onto her pillow.
"please stop you make me feel like i'm back in high school-"
"i'll be sure to vote you guys prom king and queen!" bella quipped before lola could even finish speaking, a grin spreading across her face as lola whined into the pillow.
"this is bullying!" her muffled protest just made bella laugh, and she blew on her nails to dry the polish faster.
"so finally you won't have to put up with calum and ashton stepping all over your toes when you dance with them."
lola rolled onto her back, letting out a soft sigh at the coolness of the air now that her face wasn't buried in a pillow.
"can luke dance?" bella asked.
lola's eyebrows furrowed as she realised she had no idea - dancing was such a normal part of her life, she forgot that it wasn't something everyone did.
"i'm actually not sure." she shrugged. "it's not hard - you've got to be pretty light on your feet to be a boxer i guess so he's probably alright."
"i can't imagine luke dancing." bella mused. "i feel like i've seen him punch too many faces."
biting back a smile at the thought of slow dancing with her boyfriend - nate had always found an excuse to miss the event every year, so this would be the first time lola got to bring a boyfriend with her.
luke, her boyfriend who she absolutely adored - she couldn't wait.
***
luke lay on his bed, eyeing the suit that hung from his bedroom door.
after trying unsuccessfully to squeeze into the suit he found crumpled in the bottom of his drawers from when he was seventeen - to the point where the seam at the back of the blazer had completely split in half - luke let ashton drag him shopping and spent what felt like way too much on a suit.
all luke could hope for was that lola would like the suit.
his match was in half an hour and luke bit down on his lower lip; the match itself would probably be at least another half hour, then he had to go home, patch himself up, shower and leave on time to pick lola up first - there didn't feel like enough time.
he wished his coach had pushed harder for an earlier match; luke had only found out that day that he'd be fighting in the evening, possibly the most stressful piece of news he'd received in a while.
but he knew there was no point dwelling, and pulled himself off of the bed with a sigh, throwing his gym bag over his shoulder and trudging out of his house, playing his lola playlist on the way to the match and hoping it would be over quickly so he could see her soon.
***
two rounds in and luke was truly hoping he could just finish the match within the next ten minutes - his eyes had kept darting to the clock above his opponents head, which had allowed the guy to get in a few more hits than luke was used to; though fortunately none had landed on his face.
as usual, the guys was shorter and stockier than him, giving like the advantages of speed and agility, since they were both evenly matched in strength, and the match could've probably gone on for much longer if the guy wasn't beginning to burn out.
luke watched as his opponent's breaths grew shorter and sharper; the man was growing more tired by the second and wouldn't last much longer.
exactly what luke wanted.
he psyched himself up a little, taking in a deep breath before sending a swift hit to the man's jaw before bringing him down, and ending the match with an uppercut that almost sent his opponents teeth through his gums.
"luke hemmings everybody!" the ref grabbed luke's hand, holding it aloft in victory; turning with surprise when luke almost immediately pulled away, already half out the ring, his mind consumed with thoughts of lola and what colour her dress might be - so much so that when he heard someone should "hey!" he didn't even hesitate to turn around.
it was his opponent, and before luke could even open his mouth he felt a sudden eruption of pain right in the centre of his face, followed by the warm, wet feeling of blood trickling down his lips.
"get him out the ring, get him out!" luke could heat his coach yelling, he could hear someone being dragged out the ring but all he could do was reach up to try and stop the bleeding.
"let me look at it." his coach batted his hands out the way, and luke watched with a sickly feeling in his stomach as a look of concern began to grow in the older man's eyes.
"what?" his voice was thick and there was a metallic taste in his mouth.
his coach just shook his head, swearing under his breath before answering.
"he broke your fucking nose."
luke's heart dropped into his stomach.
the numbness that had started in his nose spread all the way down to his fingertips, and his stomach began to twist in knots.
i'm going to have to go to hospital and then i'm going to be late and lola's going to be so disappointed -
"hey! luke!" he snapped back into the moment at the sound of his coach's voice above all the others. "you got someone coming to get you who can take you to get fixed up?"
dazed and feeling like he might throw up, luke nodded, knowing that at that moment, ashton would be waiting outside, probably already in his suit, waiting to take luke back to his apartment so he could shower and change and get there on time for his girlfriend.
except now, he was definitely going to be late.
he could feel himself being ushered upstairs, the whole way his coach reminding him relentlessly that he couldn't tell the hospital the truth about what happened; that he had to make up a lie like last time and the times before that to protect the only way he had of making money.
luke knew all this already, and just nodded blindly as he was shoved out into the sunset and his eyes met ashton's.
"fucking hell luke, what happened?" he unlocked the car quickly, tutting at luke until the blonde boy rolled his eyes and pulled his seatbelt across his lap with his free hand; the other still both holding his nose in place and trying to keep as much blood in his body as he could.
"we just need to get it set fast, i still need to get changed-"
"luke man, forget the dance for a minute - your nose is fucking falling off your face we need to get you to the hospital-"
"my nose is fine-"
"your nose is broken-"
"my phone is in my bag, can i use yours?" ashton huffed as he sped along the quiet suburban roads, reminding luke was his passcode was and watching from the corner of his eye as luke scrolled through his contacts until he reached lola's name.
she picked up her phone, continuing to add blush to the tip of her nose as she did.
"ash?"
"hi baby."
lola's brows furrowed at the sound of luke's voice - something didn't sound right at all.
"luke? did you lose your phone?"
"no sweetheart, my bag is in the backseat-"
"are you okay? you don't sound right." lola felt bad for interrupting but she was too worried not to, especially when she couldn't even begin to place exactly what was wrong with luke; she just knew something was.
luke hesitated, biting down on his lower lip, an overwhelming feeling of guilt washing over him.
"my nose is broken."
"broken? fuck baby are you okay?" lola gripped her phone even tighter, standing up from her dressing table and beginning to root around for her car keys.
"i'm okay, i'm just going to get it set at the hospital, so i'm going to be late baby, i'm so sorry-"
"luke don't worry about being late." lola found her car keys, stumbling to the front door to try and put her shoes on with only one hand. "i'll come and meet you at the hospital okay?"
luke shook his head adamantly before realising she couldn't see him, eliciting a snort of laughter from ashton.
"no baby, you keep getting ready and i'll be there as soon as my nose is set."
"but luke-"
"i'll be there." he promised, with a conviction that brought a soft smile to lola's face.
"are you sure?"
"keep getting ready and ash and i will meet you there as soon as we can, okay sweetheart."
"be safe?"
"always."
both of them hesitated a second before opening their mouths; unable to see the other with the same words on the tip of their tongue, too scared to speak and too involved to hang up - that was, until ashton nudged luke to let him know they'd arrived at the hospital.
they walked through the glass doors, luke's hand still holding his nose and his heart sinking at just how full the room looked.
"fuck." he whispered. "ash this is going to take ages."
ashton scrunched his nose in determination, marching up to the front desk; on a mission to reunite his best friends who happened to be painfully in love with each other.
"hi - my friend broke his nose and we really need to get it set as soon as possible."
the nurse behind the desk looked up, her eyes immediately landing on luke's bloody hand in the middle of his face, and nodded quickly.
"fill these forms out and i'll grab you an ice pack for your nose sir."
they sat in the corner of the room, with ashton writing for luke as the blonde boy's hand was now covered in his own blood.
"you know my birthday?"
"dude. i know everyone's birthday."
"here you go sir." luke thanked the nurse as she passed him an ice pack, the coldness starting to numb the pain that has crept into his nose.
"we'll have a doctor with you as soon as possible, but as you can see..." she trailed off, gesturing at the crowded waiting room with an apologetic expression on her face.
luke just nodded, frustrated with himself for not seeing the punch coming and avoiding it, but he wasn't about to take it out on the nurse. it wasn't her fault.
"that's okay. thank you."
***
lola had been at the dance for half an hour.
luke was still waiting to have his nose set, and it seemed like the room was fuller than when he'd first arrived.
"why so glum, chum?" bella slid into the seat facing lola, poking her friend's shoulder as she did.
"i'm just worried about luke." lola said, her fingers toying anxiously with the hem of the table cloth.
bella reached forward and took lola's hand, holding it in her lap.
"he'll be fine. he promised to meet you here and he will, he'd never let you down like that. ashton's with him and they're big boys, they can take care of themselves."
lola's lips pulled into a smile at her best friend's reassurance and squeezed her hand in thanks.
"now." bella said decisively. "you look stunning and this dress is too nice to be hidden away behind a table. come and dance with me until your boyfriend gets here."
"you don't want to dance with your boyfriend?" lola asked.
bella hesitated and nodded over at michael and calum on the dance floor, dressed in suits and dancing like each limb had a mind of its own.
"okay yeah, point taken." lola giggled. "let's dance."
***
"luke your hair looks fine hurry up-"
"it's still wet!"
"it'll dry in the car, do you want to dance with your girlfriend tonight?" ashton stomped his foot, standing in the doorway of luke's apartment and watching his friend pull his black docs on.
"do you think it'll matter that they're not dress shoes?"
"luke i'm wearing vans, don't worry so much." ashton rolled his eyes, dragging his friend out of the apartment and practically shoving him into the passenger seat.
luke pulled down the sun visor and flipped open the small mirror, cringing at the sight of the dressing on his nose.
"fuck it's so obvious." he groaned.
ashton rolled his eyes for the millionth time, pulling out into the road.
"luke shut up lola won't care about that - she just wants to see you."
luke couldn't subdue the smile that crept onto his face at the thought of seeing lola. it had been a long day and all luke really wanted to do was curl up in her arms and fall asleep in her bed.
the venue was already to formal looking that it made luke's stomach twist.
they'd rented out the town hall, and the pillars alone were enough to make luke feel inadequate, but the inside really made him feel like the shit on someone's shoe.
the carpets were a deep, deep red, and there was a white, tiled dance floor in the centre of a small ring of tables, each decorated with an off white table cloth and champagne flutes.
the ceilings were high, and in the centre hung the most ornate chandelier that luke had ever seen - not that he'd seen many - casting a soft glow on the crowds that scattered the room.
luke's eyes immediately scanned everywhere for lola, making his way through the elegantly dressed couples until his gaze landed on his girlfriend.
her hair was in the natural curls he'd grown to love so much, thrown up casually with a few loose ringlets falling down the nape of her neck. he couldn't see her face but he could see the few freckles that decorated her back thanks to the low cut of her dress, held up the thin straps of red tulle that were tied in a bow around her neck.
she was dancing with bella, and seemed so happy that luke almost didn't want to interrupt - but the choice was taken from him when bella caught his eye and grinned, grabbing lola's hand and twirling her around so she noticed luke.
the overhead lights illuminated the highlight on the tip of her nose and caught the honey tones in her eyes, their warmth going straight to luke's heart as her lips pulled into a loving smile.
"there you are." she breathed out, closing the distance between them and coming to the edge of the dance floor to reach up and cup luke's face oh so gently as she surveyed the dressing on his nose.
"how is it?" she asked softly, brushing her thumb lightly over the bandages.
"it's okay." luke whispered, bringing his arms up to wrap them around her waist and pull her even closer. "you look angelic baby."
lola's smile stretched miles wider, and she stood on her tip toes to press a gentle kiss to luke's lips.
"you look amazing." she said. "come dance with me baby?"
luke hesitated with her hand in his, staying rooted to the edge of the dance floor.
"i'm not going to be good."
lola just smiled back at him, tugging him onto the glossy tiles.
"i'll teach you."
it's been a FUCKING WHILE
writing is giving me so much happiness and even though i can't do it at the rate i used to i have LOVED coming back to this i missed luke and lola lmao
and i've missed you guys!!! i'm so sorry i took so long and i really hope this chapter doesn't disappoint those of you waiting for an update
let me know what you'd like to see happen with luke and lola AND if you have any hopes for the upcoming michael fic let me know!
stay safe & love always