T W E N T Y N I N E
don't call me kid, don't call me baby
ALEX, REGGIE AND JULIE WERE STARING AT LUKE AS HE BOUNCED AROUND THE STUDIO WITH THE BABY ON HIS ARMS.
"So... this baby is not yours?" Julie asked, making Luke roll his eyes. Reggie proceeded to look at his fingers as he counted.
"Nah, it's impossible." Luke stare at Reggie for a few seconds in confusion. "I'm dating her sister! She tells me stuff."
"Anyways..." said the guitarist. "No, this isn't my baby. Do you think I would actually name my daughter like Alex?"
"I think it's a beautiful name," intervened Alex, making Luke scoff.
"I'm taking care of little Alex while Peyton picks up Ella from the library. Apparently, this little girl likes me more than she liked Tay and she can't really enter the library with a crying baby."
"And why are you exactly taking care of the baby for her?" Questioned Julie. "That's boyfriend stuff."
"No, it's friend stuff."
Alex approached Luke and played with the baby's hands while Julie stood in front of the guitarist.
"No. Offering to change plans when your friend is babysitting is friend stuff. Helping her on taking care of the baby is boyfriend duty."
"I'm not... the baby cried every time she picks her up. I didn't have the heart to tell her that little Alex here hates her."
"I don't hate, Peyton." Luke turned around to look at the drummer, who, when realized what he said, stood quiet, returning to play with the baby.
Luke glanced at Julie, starting to bounce again, making the baby laugh.
"She thinks the baby is me," admitted Luke, confusing the rest. "She thinks that I hate her and I'm not happy when I'm around her. Just like Alex." He looked at Alex. "Baby Alex," he clarified.
"Yeah, I got it that time."
The guitarist looked at Julie again. "How do I tell her that babies hate her?"
"How would you tell Reggie that babies hate him?"
"I would tell him that babies hate him. Just like that."
"That's how you tell Peyton."
Luke scoffed. "I'm not gonna tell her like that. It's rude. It's going to hurt her feelings." She changed the baby of sides because his arm was getting tired.
"And you don't care about my feelings?" Asked Reggie, making Luke glance at him.
"It's different. You are Reggie, she's my girlfriend... I mean," he was quick to catch the error. "My ex... my friend. My best friend! She's... She's Peyton. I don't want her to think that babies don't like her because then she won't want babies of her own."
Not even him believed that.
Ella and Peyton walked through the door, his eyes connecting with her. She looked at him with a tiny smile before directing to the band.
"Guys... We have some news." The band looked at the sisters with curiosity. "I've already informed the label and... Ella will be your manager from now on."
"What!?" The four yelled, surprising the sisters.
"That's not the reaction I was expecting," whispered Peyton.
"She's mean!" Exclaimed Alex.
"She's Cristina Yang mean!" Added Luke. "Mean but we like her for some reason."
"I actually love Cristina Yang," murmured Ella with a smile. "Oh come on! I'm going to be a good manager."
"Ella," said Reggie with a smile, "I love you. A lot. So much. But, uhm, could you please not be our manager?"
"Come on guys!" Exclaimed Peyton before gasping shortly. "I'm gonna teach her everything and she'll be a great manager. She's going to go on tour with you and she'll stay in LA next year."
"You hate us, don't you?" Questioned Julie.
"I don't hate you."
"Then why did you leave Kathryn Merteuil over here" Peyton and Ella rolled their eyes "as our manager? That for me is a sign of hate."
"Because I will be leaving to New York and I can't leave you guys without a replacement."
"And I owed her a favor."
Peyton walked towards Luke and grabbed little baby Alex. The girl looked over at Luke and then at Peyton and started to cry, making Peyton open her mouth.
"I barely even touched you!"
"You can't leave!" Exclaimed Alex, grabbing the baby and making her calm down. Peyton raised her eyebrows.
"She likes everyone but me! Am I ugly to babies or something?"
"No! What? No!" Said Luke as he stood next to Alex and the baby. "Little Alex, you should not judge by appearances. I mean... Terminator was supposed to be O.J. Simpson but they said he was too nice to play a killing machine."
"I think this little girl is too young to understand why that's wrong to assume."
"You are never to young for a good O.J. Simpson reference," chimed in Reggie and Luke nodded.
"The point is that you cannot leave me..." Luke cleared his throat as soon as he heard himself. "I mean us... you cannot leave us. I offered you to come to the tour with us."
"And I'd love to but I have to do so many stuff in New York before my year starts. I have to get a job, get roommates, get an apartment. It takes time."
"Imagine how cool you'll be at college if you say you spend your summer touring with a rock band," added Luke, grabbing the baby off Alex's hands and holding her. Little Alex placed her little hands on Luke's face and that made Luke chuckle. "You'll be cool in two seconds."
"I don't know," she whispered.
"Besides, we'll hit New York a month before you enter school. You can stay there while— Alex I'm trying to have a conversation over here and I can focus if your hands are all over my face," interrupted Luke as he tried to swipe off Alex's hands, but the girl was determined to keep them there. "You are making this so hard!"
"To continue Luke's point," jumped Alex, making Peyton raise her eyebrows. "Please don't leave us with this Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction."
"That's an awesome reference, where did you learn that?" Asked Luke as he played with the baby's fingers.
"Uhm, you." Luke nodded before looking at Peyton.
"Look, we love Ella. She's those kind of villains that we love anyways. Like Winona Ryder in Heathers. But you are an excellent manager, and we'd love to have you join us on tour. Please?"
Peyton stared at him for a few seconds.
He was asking too much.
"I'm sorry." She grabbed baby Alex off Luke's hands and walked away of the studio, leaving her ex boyfriend and best friend without knowing what to do.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Peyton was trying to draw something. Anything really.
It was already dark and she didn't even notice when the sun set up. She was focus on the blank piece of paper laying in front of her.
She tried to put music, but nothing was helping. Her shoulders were aching because of being in that depressed position for hours.
"Hey," she heard.
Peyton turned around to look at the window, where Luke was sitting on. He had one leg outside and the other pressed against his chest, with his cheek on his knee and his arms wrapped around it, just looking at her. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah..." she lied. "What are you doing here?"
"Came here to check on you, since you went full speed earlier, leaving the studio." She chuckled a little, before looking at the Peyton. "Where's Alex?"
"With Ella and my mom. They apparently got her to calm down and now I'm not aloud closer than five feet from her." Luke nodded. "Why do you care if I'm alright?"
"That's a silly question, Tay, of course I care about you."
"That's not something so believable right now," she murmured, but he heard her. He stepped inside of the room, taking his shoes off and sitting next to her.
"Peyton, I care about you."
"I don't believe that."
"No, Peyton, I do, I care," he said, because he did care. "Peyton..."
"If you'd cared you wouldn't have left me."
"I didn't leave you, I'm right here."
"No, Luke, you left me..." He licked his lip before looking at the ground. "I think it's time to have that fight we've been pushing aside."
"I don't want to fight with you," he whispered softly, looking at her again. "I can't fight with you."
"Why did you break up with me?"
"I already told you—"
"No! I don't believe that «I'm not fine» crap." He was looking at her in silence. "A relationship is about partners, we are partners in this, we communicate, we are a team, we both made a compromise. If you aren't fine, we fix it together. If you aren't fine you reach for my help. Because I care about you, Luke, and I would never want to see you hurting. And if you cared about me the way I care about you, you should've known that pushing me away was going to hurt me."
"Peyton... I care about you, more than I've cared about anyone. I've always put you first. For everything. I've let you win on everything, I've been trying to make you happy since I remember, and sometimes I tend to put my own happiness aside. You are the reason I didn't skip middle school and went to high school. I couldn't leave you."
"Luke..."
"I'm not happier, Peyton. Being apart from you hasn't made me happier. I'm miserable, but I know that when you leave, I won't be as miserable as I was going to be if we kept holding on to the inevitable. Peyton... Why did you think I offered you to come on tour with me? I can't leave you, I don't have the strength enough. That's the problem."
"It's not a problem, Luke."
"Yes, it is, Peyton, because for you I'd ruin myself... I love you, so much... but I need to move on."
Peyton placed her hands on his cheeks, making him gasp softly.
"Tay..."
"Please..."
"It will hurt later..."
"Then we'll worry about it in the future."
Luke placed his hands on her hair before slowly leaning in, shortening the distance between them, crashing his lips on hers.
The girl stepped closer to him, sitting on his lap as she caressed his cheeks and placed one had on his neck.
"Tay," he whispered against her mouth.
"Please stay... I miss you..."
Their eyes connected before they closed them again. Luke kissed her softly, then placed his mouth on top of her neck, leaving small kissed there.
Peyton finally knew what to draw.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
When Luke closed the fridge door and saw Ella standing there, he got so scared he jumped.
"Shit," he looked at her, "am I having a deja vu right now?"
"We've definitely experienced this before." The guy nodded. "What are you doing in my kitchen at one in the morning?"
"I got hungry," he replied, grabbing the box of Pop Tarts and walking towards the toaster, placing them in there.
"Ok, makes sense. Now... what are you doing in my house at one in the morning?" She asked again, making Luke chuckle.
"Nothing..."
"Liar liar pants of fire."
"On," he corrected.
"Huh?"
He turned around to look at her.
"Pants on fire." She tossed aside the comment. "What do you want, Cordelia?" Ella chuckled at the nickname.
"I want to know what are you doing here?"
"I've been in your house a million times."
"Not in the middle of the night after you broke up with my sister." He raised his eyebrows. "Are you guys back together?"
"No," he answered, taking out the Pop Tarts and placing them on the plate.
"Ok... then what are you doing here? Wait a second..." He looked at her as he took a bite of the Pop Tart. "No, you guys didn't."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Break up sex..." He almost choked. "That confirms it."
"I'm leaving now."
"To your house or to my sister's room." He looked at her before walking upstairs. "You disgusting male."
"Shut up," he mouthed before he reached the top floor, walking into Peyton's room with his plate of Pop Tarts.
He closed the door behind him and made his way up the desk, leaving the dish there before looking towards Peyton, who was peacefully sleeping on the bed.
Luke grabbed his phone, checking his messages.
Alex had sent him an snapchat of him at the zoo, which was equally random and adorable. Reggie had texted him some song ideas and Julie, on the other hand, was asking him if he was at the garage.
You
omw
Julie
hurry up where tf r u
You
had to check some errands at hogwarts
don't worry in the morning I'll be there
Julie
that's not reassuring Patterson
You
go to sleep
Luke locked his phone before leaving it next to the now empty plate. He took off his shirt and slowly got into the bed again, looking at Peyton as she slept.
The long conversation they had to have still remained in the air. Both would do anything to avoid it, avoid the inevitable. But sadly it's impossible. Sadly it's impossible to reach an agreement.
He tried to reach under Peyton's bed with his arm until he found what he was looking for. The brochure he left there so many moons ago.
NYU Music Program.
Would it be that bad to go there next year? After the tour?
Would it be that bad to see her everyday?
It would be amazing.
But if it was only him in this decision. The band was involved, his parents were involved, everyone was involved.
He needed to stay.
But he wanted to be with her.
The breakup may have sounded stupid, yet it had made him more clear about his feelings.
He wanted to be happy, and he was happy making music. Didn't matter if he was making it on his bandmate's garage or in a big classroom in New York. He wanted to make music.
He wanted to do what he most love in the world, and he wanted it to be next to the person he most loves in the world.
So as he draw fingers with his index finger on Peyton's back he started to think.
Did he make the right choice by asking her time? Did he not?
And if he didn't... how did he fix it?
POP CULTURE REFERENCES GUIDE
"She's Cristina Yang mean!"
Cristina Yang is a character from the medical drama series Grey's Anatomy (2005—present). She was portrayed by Sandra Oh for 10 seasons of the show. Cristina is driven, hyper-intelligent, and ambitious. She knows that she's got the ability to become the best doctor at Seattle Grace, and she's not afraid to show off her talents.
"Then why did you leave Kathryn Merteuil over here"
Kathryn Merteuil is a fictional character who appears in Cruel Intentions and Cruel Intentions 2, portrayed by actresses Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amy Adams, respectively and being their first villainous role overall.
"I mean... Terminator was supposed to be O.J. Simpson but they said he was too nice to play a killing machine"
The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose son will one day become a savior against machines in a post-apocalyptic future.
Orenthal James "O.J."Simpson (born July 9, 1947) is an American former football running back, broadcaster, actor, advertising spokesman, and convicted felon. Once a popular figure with the U.S. public, he is now best known for being tried for the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted of the murders in criminal court, but was later found responsible for both deaths in a civil trial.
"Please don't leave us with this Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction."
Glenn Close is an American actress and producer. She has been nominated seven times for Academy Awards, holding the record for the most nominations without a win for an actress.
Fatal Attraction is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne from a screenplay written by James Dearden. Starring Glenn Close, Michael Douglas and Anne Archer, the film centers on a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman who refuses to allow it to end and becomes obsessed with him. Glenn plays Alex Forrest, the main antagonist.
"Look, we love Ella. She's those kind of villains that we love anyways. Like Winona Ryder in Heathers."
Heathers is a 1989 American black comedy teen film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann. Winona Ryder plays Veronica Sawyer, who is part of the most popular clique in the Westerburg High school, the Heathers, and was tricked into killing the popular kids by the mysterious Jason Dean.
"What do you want, Cordelia?"
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was portrayed by Charisma Carpenter and is often described as the mean popular girl.