S T E L L A
"I've actually never knew about this spot."
"Well, I told I'd take you places you've never been before."
I rolled my eyes at Luke's reply, sinking back into the leather seat of Calum's car as he placed the vehicle in park.
We got caught up in a small argument after I said that I've seen everything in our small town. Luke, of course, did not believe me for a second. He quizzed me on practically every nook and cranny that our town had to offer. The only one that was unfamiliar to me was a scenic lookout that Luke was terrible at explaining. At first, I had a good feeling that I knew where he was talking about and he was just bad at navigating, but he proved me wrong.
The amount of trust I began building for Luke was scary. If he were anyone else, I would have assumed that he was driving me through this woody path to kill me or something on that level. Miles from home, it seemed odd for my fight or flight to not kick in at this point, but I knew it was because it was Luke.
Luke was bad, but he was safe. Or at least I knew he could keep me safe. Physically.
"It's not half bad, right?" Luke chuckled, unhooking his seatbelt as he sipped on his slurpee.
I nodded, taking in the sea of lights that made up the neighboring town. "It's actually really nice. How'd you find it?"
"Well, funny story actually," Luke smirked, repositioning himself against the interior car door to face me better, "it was after a race and I-"
"Oh let me guess. You were running from the police?" I laugh, taking a sip of my own drink as I faced the blonde in the same manner.
"Actually, no." Luke motioned his drink toward me in a professor-like fashion. "I was actually chasing down this one guy because he cheated. Bastard cut one of my hoses before our race and I realized it right after. He tried to lose me by driving up here but I caught him and made him cough up the money."
"How'd you make him cough it up?"
"Well I took his wallet and pushed him down the hill, let him tumble for a while."
"As one does." I nodded, internally laughing at myself for forgetting how juvenile Luke could be at times.
And you like it, my inner voice teased.
I looked out the windshield of the Pontiac, breaking my attention away from Luke before he could comment about the way I stare. It truly was a decent view, far better than most of the popular spots in town. The little look out was comforting in a way, even in the darkness, and it didn't seem far fetched to correlate that comfort with Luke being in my presence.
I could feel Luke's eyes shamelessly looming over me with his usual wordless and confident demeanor. Although I had enough courage to catch his eyes, I knew that his blue bays would only lock with my own until I was flustered enough to break the silent battle myself. So I continued to look out toward the view, taking in every twinkling light the near by city had to offer.
"How are you sitting like this with your seat belt on?" Luke snickered as I watched him lean toward me in my peripheral vision. He unbuckled the restraint, releasing it gently so it wouldn't recoil too harshly against me.
I let out a quiet laugh, looking down at my lap before stealing a small glance at the racer. I looked away right before I could catch a clearer image of his notorious smirk, continuing to gaze at the city lights.
"Why won't you look at me, Stel-la-la?" Luke cooed, a chuckle passing through his lips in the process.
Maybe it was because the way the lowlight hit his face was too good to be true, or the fact that his eyes managed to glimmer in even the darkest of settings. I knew that if I looked at Luke for a second too long, one of the many urges that I have managed to bury for the past month would effortlessly unveil itself. I also knew that this would soon turn into a moment that would have a point of no return, and I was not sure if I could afford it.
"Question is why you do you keep looking at me?" I challenged, only allowing my eyes to give him my attention as I still faced the windshield. The glass began to fog from our warm breaths, making the cozy cab of the car even smaller and more intimate.
Luke was silent, his eyes attempting to tell me something that he could not. I closed mine in the process, unable to keep up with his mind games.
"I mean, it's kinda hard not to."
While opening my eyes at his words, I could feel the faint graze of his fingertips underneath my chin, as well as my heart pounding against the inner wall of my chest.
"Well, why's that?" I question, watching his knowing smirk grow.
"Y'know, you ask a lot of questions and you never answer mine."
"Yeah. So?"
"There it is again."
I laughed, tilting my head down to look at my lap, only for Luke to raise me by my chin once more.
"You're doing it again." he insisted, allowing his eyes to alternate their attention to each of mine. "Now are you gonna finally answer my question?"
My mouth was left agape and my mind felt empty. With that small interaction, I knew the answer, and I had a feeling that he knew it too. I just couldn't bring myself to say it out loud.
"I don't want to say it." I sighed, biting the inside of my cheek.
"It's nothing bad, is it?" Luke teased, letting his hand fall from my chin. "Do I have something on my face?"
"No." I shook my head while stifling a laugh. "Your face looks great, don't worry."
"Then why can't you tell me, sweetheart?" he asked, quieting his voice as if he were afraid someone could hear us.
"Because if say it out loud, I'm putting it out in the universe and that means it real." I muttered with my eyes low, pulling at the ends of my sleeves while feeling more vulnerable than ever.
"And what wrong with that?" Luke quietly shifted towards me, nearly closing what ever space me had left between us.
"I don't think I'm ready for that thought to be real just yet." I whisper, my eyes peering up to see just how close Luke's face was to mine.
He silently took in my expression, as he seemed to be inching toward me with every passing moment. His hand slowly came up to my face, combing back a strand of my hair carefully behind my ear. The pads of his fingers glided against my skin in the simplest manner, yet I could instantly feel my face and my chest fill with a nervous warmth.
Briefly, Luke halted his movements, resting his hand at the curve of my jaw with his thumb stroking my cheek. Our proximity was the smallest it had ever been, as I could feel his shaky breath fan over my cheeks.
"Well I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do, but," he paused, his eyes flickering repetitive and slow from my eyes to my lips.
"But I have a feeling that I know what you're thinking, and I'd really like to make that real."
Hot. My inner voice was screaming. That was really hot.
I swallowed thickly, softly leaning my forehead against Luke's. I could feel myself physically giving in, my muscles easing from their tense state. It seemed that Luke could tell, as his hand felt more secure around my jaw while the other was placed softly onto my thigh. I watched his eyes flutter shut, as mine followed suit, allowing my avoided thoughts to turn into reality.
Luke's lips gently brushed against mine before finally incapsulating my own.
It was slow, yet heated, and seemingly effortless to have our lips moving against each other. My hands instinctively latched around the crook of his neck, brushing my nose against his while alternating our positions. His hand moved smoothly against my outer thigh, making its way up the the hem of my hoodie.
I could feel Luke's lips perk up into a small smile before proceeding to kiss me. I could not help but do the same.
But just like anything else in my life that seemed too good to be true, our kiss came to an abrupt end by a faint siren noise and flashes of red and blue lights.
"Well that was good while it lasted." Luke stifled a laugh, his tongue darting out to coat his lips as his forehead remained pressed against mine.
My face grew hot as one of my hands clasped over my mouth to muffle my embarrassed laughter, both of us looking at the police car parked behind us.
"I hate law enforcement. Can't people make out in peace anymore?" Luke muttered, capturing my lips for one last, short kiss before sitting up right and moving back to the drivers seat to roll down the window.
I remained quiet in the passenger seat, still trying to process the series of events that both happened far too quickly. It was a bizarre, foreign feeling that was hard to express.
All I knew was that I kissed Luke and I liked it.
"License and registration pl- Luke? Stella?"
As if my 2 AM adventures could not be more eventful, the officer's familiar voice made me twinge in discomfort. Behind the blinding flashlight, tilted primarily at me, Ashton crouched slightly to get a better look inside of the car.
"Long time no see, Officer Irwin." Luke greeted keenly, squinting up at Ashton.
"Hey Ashton." I mumbled.
The feeling of both of my world colliding was not something I wanted to get used, yet at this rate, it seemed like it was becoming a routine thing.
"Didn't expect to find you two here." Ashton laughed awkwardly. "I was about to write you two up for public indecency."
"Well its not like we were doing anything," I paused glancing at Luke before looking back up to Ashton, "indecent."
Luke sputtered quietly beside me, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Y-yeah I hope not." Ashton cleared his throat, scratching the side of his head.
It seemed as though he was taking in what was right in front of him. I couldn't blame him, as the blonde man, who was drunk in his department's jail cell, was parked in a car with the girl he asked out for coffee just a couple of weeks ago in the early hours of the morning.
I would be scratching my head, too.
"Well, you two enjoy the rest of your night." Ashton queued, nodding his head at his own words with a discouraged look on his face.
"Ashton, I-" I began, only to be cut off by the officer.
"Don't sweat it, Stella." Ashton shook off my words, a small but ingenuine smile planted on his face.
I let out breath of defeat, knowing that I hurt the feelings of one of the nicest men I knew.
As he was about to make his way back to his police car, Ashton stopped briefly and backed up to speak once more.
"Forgot to mention, you guys need to park somewhere else. Other cops might come around, since Make Out Point is pretty popular around this hour."
With that, Ashton walked back to his vehicle and drove off, leaving me staring blankly at Luke with my jaw slacked open.
You've got to be kidding me.
"Make Out Point, huh?" I repeated quietly, shaking my head.
Luke looked regretful, shaking his head as he took one of hands into his.
"Stel, I didn't bring you here with that intention. Seriously, I-"
"Can you take just me home?" I interrupted while peeling my hand out of his, stuffing them into the pocket of my hoodie.
"Stella, please. It's really not like that, it was never like that." Luke pleaded, leaning forward in attempt to capture my eyes. "Stella, look at me."
I shook my head once more. There was a part of me that wanted to believe that he brought me here with simple, friendly intentions. However, there was a much larger part of me that was lead to believe that it was anything but an innocent midnight adventure. My first kiss with Luke no longer seemed like a natural, spontaneous connection.
It felt tainted and deliberate.
Being naive was something I feared the most and that was exactly the way that I felt. Foolish enough to think that Luke was more than what he was made out to, I was naive enough to think I brought out something better in him.
"The last thing I would ever want to do is to take advantage of you, Stella." Luke stated quietly. "I would never put you in that position, ever."
"Well it seems like its your words against the facts, and I'm trusting my facts." I muttered, glancing at him momentarily before looking out the passenger window.
"Facts? What facts?" Luke looked puzzled. "Stella-"
"Let's just say I know you aren't the town angel." I replied bluntly, turning my head to see his expression.
"Wow. Using my reputation against me now, huh?" Luke huffed. "Sure, I did a lot of stupid things when I was younger, but I never did anything like that and I surely would never do that now."
My bitterness was hard to ignore, as I was consumed with confusion and, in a way, betrayal. It was a lot of information and events to process at once, and all I wanted in that moment was to be in my bed, away from everyone.
The only way I knew I could deal with Luke rationally would be to sleep on it.
"Just take me home, Luke, please?" I sighed, looking out the windshield to see the dusk glow of morning sun trying to peak over the horizon. "We can talk about this later."
"Or we could talk about this now and watch the sun rise." Luke encouraged, attempting to catch my gaze once more. "I can tell you everything. I can-"
"I really don't want to talk about this right now. I want to go home." I whispered. "Calum is going to be up for work soon and I don't want him to catch us."
Although I knew Calum was the least of Luke's worries, it seemed to be enough reason to give up on his testimony.
Luke silently started the car, shifting the gear into reverse and pulling out of the scenic lookout without another word.
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omfg what did i jus write, i hAtE mYsElfFffFf
Q: when someone asks you what are the names of all the 5sos member, what order do you normally say?
i saw this question on instagram and mine is usually luke, calum, michael, and ashton
i hope y'all understand why i put luke's pov for the last chap, bc i want y'all to know he's really a softy for our girl stella :,)))
i still have finals that are comin up in the next few weeks but i know that i'll be updating more since im home and procrastinate the shit out of my finals so be ready for that
also, thank you guys so much for 1.2K!!! this is honestly the fastest i have ever gained reads for any of my books and you guys have me literally SOBBING from all your comments and support. you make this author lady vv happy (:
i love you i love you i love youuuu
xo