MR. PERFECTLY FINE ; LUKE HUGHES

03

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍒 ꒱  are we still friends? can we be friends?
TYLER THE CREATOR ^

LORELEI

I HATE Luke Hughes. I hate his pale skin tone and the way his cheeks got rosy when he began to get hot. I hate I hate his gleaming green eyes that are dull but adventurous. I hate his wild curly hair that he always runs a hand through. I hate everything about him.

I pressed the tip of my pen against my bottom lip, pulling it down slightly as I attempted to concentrate. Being in the library was a safe space for me, the back corner, tucked away and away from socialization.

That was until the scent of fresh mint invaded both my scent and my space as Luke plopped down in the seat across from me.

"Great." I muttered, peering up towards him as he extended his legs in a man spread, signaling he had no intention of leaving any time soon. "What? You stalking me now?"

"Ha." He laughed, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you forget we're partners, Sanders? I have much better people to stalk than you."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Okay. How'd you know I was in the library anyways?"

"Your roommate talks. A lot." Luke emphasized his last two words, raising his brows. "I didn't know Ellie had a mouth on her."

Fucking Ellie. I hummed with no response, darting my eyes back down to my notebook that consisted of mainly bored doodles from class.

"I guess you're eager to get this done, huh?" I asked, opening a new tab on my computer before typing in Jane Austen.

"Aren't you?" Luke redirected the question back to me. "It's no surprise that we don't get along. The quicker we get this done, the less time we spend together."

That might've been the best thing he's said in all five minutes of him being here. "Finally something we agree on." I nodded before clearing my throat. "Can you see from there?"

"I've got pretty good vision." Luke shrugged before getting up and moving to the seat beside me, now fully trapping me between him and the wall. "So, now what?"

"We have to discuss her work. Didn't you pay attention?" I scoffed, searching through my bag for my copy of Sense and Sensibility.

Luke watched my every move, eyeing the thick book carefully, knitting his brows together at the colorful marked tabs sticking out from the pages.

"You really are a geek." Luke humored himself, "You're carrying that around?"

"Seriously?" I faced him. "You're taking an english class, dickhead. Does the captain of the hockey team live a double life?" My fake shock made him scowl.

Luke mocked me slightly. "Shut up." He took the book from me, using his fingers to glide open to each marked page, flipping through with curiosity. "What do half of these mean?"

I shrugged, peering closer to look, our arms rubbing together had me pulling away quickly, scanning his face as he had no reaction.

"Uh..." I blinked, parting my lips. "They're just my favorite quotes."

"Mhm." Luke hummed, biting down on his bottom
lip. "Right. So, what are you? A hopeless romantic? 'Cause that is adorable."

I didn't know how much longer I could tolerate the curly headed boy. "No, Luke. I'm not. It's just words."

"Right." Luke shut the book, pushing it closer to me. "So, should we just make a slide of all of her quotes? Or, sorry, words?"

I felt my knuckles go white as I squeezed my hand into a fist, debating driving it into the center of his stupidly good looking face.

"Sure. That works." I agreed, opening a slide on my computer before sharing it with him. "Have you read anything of hers?"

"Pride and Prejudice. I saw the movie." Luke pursued his lips. "That counts, doesn't it? I'm not much of a reader."

I swore I was beginning to get wrinkles across my forehead from how much I pulled my brows together. "Sure. Sure."

Luke leaned over, forcefully making me move my hands to my lap in order for him to take over. I watched carefully as he typed in the four letter name;Emma.

He scrolled until he got to the part he wanted, highlighting the words before sitting back down in his chair, wearing a pride smile.

"Then I examined my own heart. And there you were. Never, I fear, to be removed." I read it aloud, cocking my head over to face him, utterly impressed. "Wow."

"Shocker?" Luke chuckled. "Well, I did the first quote."

The security guards boots alerted the both of us, drawing us from our work as he stood in front of us, nodding his head towards the library times hanging. "Sorry, kids. Library is closing."

I grabbed my belongings, tucking them back into my bag as I glanced out of the window, seeing how dark it had grown in Ann Arbor. Shit. I might've been twenty but I was still scared shitless of the dark, more specifically, walking back to my dorm in the dark.

Luke hadn't uttered a word as we began to descend down the flight of stairs surrounded by bookshelves, leading directly out to the exit, just in front of the campus parking garage.

When we finally stepped outside into the chilling weather, I hugged myself.

"Where are you parked?" Luke finally broke the silence, clutching his car keys as I could see his breath.

I parted my lips, thankful it had been dark because my cheeks flushed a red with embarrassment. "Oh, I don't have one. Well, not here."

"Oh." Luke said. I waited for the remark or poke at me but it never came. "Is your ride coming?"

"No." I chuckled awkwardly, shifting on my heels. "I was just going to walk. It's not the far from my dorm anyways."

Luke narrowed his eyes at me, his lean figure tense. "You're walking back to your dorm? I know for a fact your dorm is ten minutes away from here on foot. Are you insane?"

I shivered. I was unsure if it was because of the weather or the way he was sizing me up at this given moment. No, Lorelei. You will not fall victim to the Hughes effect.

"It's fine." I waved my hand. "It's not that bad."

"I'll give you a ride." Luke stated. It hadn't sounded like a question. More of a demand.

I tucked my dark hair behind my ears, shaking my head. "No. No. It's fine, I can walk. I'll see you sometime later."

I tried to walk away from him but his grip latched onto my elbow, pulling me back and directing me towards the parking garage. At least I tried to stand my ground.

i'd get into his car with no hesitation.