MR. PERFECTLY FINE ; LUKE HUGHES

08

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍒 ꒱ who could ever leave me, darling?
but who could stay.
TAYLOR SWIFT^

LUKE

THE WALK from my last class hall to my dorm was dreadful, especially now that it was inching closer to winter, the weather only declining.

I had my hands in my pockets, trying to bring myself some warmth as Dierks Bently sang loudly in my ear and I was brought back to the warm summer days, on the boat with the two people I missed most; my brothers.

I jolted slightly as I felt an hand tug my sweatshirt, someone trying to get my attention. I turned my head, furrowing my brows as I paused my music.

"Lorelei?" I gave her a quick once over, pulling my airpod out of my ear. "Uh, yeah?"

"Sorry if I scared you." Lorelei had her lips in a flat line, biting down on her bottom lip. "I just wanted to say I got our grade back. We passed, like, with an A+."

I raised my brows, nodding along. I somehow felt like there should be no we in this, this was all her. I give credit where credit is due and Lorelei Sanders saved my ass with this.

"You pulled it off." I hummed, watching her fight a smile. "Thank you, Lorelei. Means a lot."

Lorelei nodded, darting her tongue out to graze her lips. "Yeah. Well, I just wanted to tell you. I should get going."

I pursed my lips, waiting for her to walk past me as I took in her features. Her hair was pulled back today, in a small clip that extenuated her dark hair, showing the ridges of her cheekbones and the slight blush to her cheeks.

Lorelei was beautiful and I'd be a fucking idiotic fool if I said different. But there was a night of history between us that neither of us seemed to let go of.

"Your hair looks good pulled back." I said, making her pause as she barely passed me.

She turned back around, staring at me over her shoulder slightly, dark brown eyes narrowing at me. "My hair looks good all the time. Let me know if you need some tips sometime."

I bit back a grin as I chuckled, flipping her off. There was a playful aura between us and it completely threw me for a loop. And I couldn't tell if I loved it or hated. And I wondered if this was going to last, knowing Lorelei, not likely.

I continued the long walk to my dorm, only to be greeted by Dylan sitting on his bed and eating a bag of Cheetos.

"Dude, seriously?" I shook my head, throwing my bag on the floor before flinging myself onto my bed, immediately feeling the pain in my lower back.

Hockey was a contact sport, people. That contact fucking killed. I felt it all over, in my head, legs, arms, any place on my body.

"What?" Dylan said with a mouthful of food, making me nearly gag.

I covered my face with a pillow, desperately wanting to suffocate. I wondered everyday why I chose him
to my best friend, more specifically, my roommate.

"We have a game in two hours, Dylan." I threw the pillow at him, almost making the bag fall from
his grip as he whined. "And you're eating fucking Cheetos. Coach says we should only eat protein."

Dylan glanced down at his fingers, seeing the orange residue covering them. He shrugged, licking it off. "It's cheese, Lukey. Doesn't that count?"

"It's a damn good thing you're good at hockey." I sighed, leaning up as I slid off my bed. "We gotta get to the rink. Get yourself together, yeah? Or else you're going alone."

Dylan pouted, clipping the bag closed as he tossed it with his secret stash of junk food.

"You're in a cranky mood." His palm met my shoulder, making me jerk my arm, shoving him off. "What? Did it not go good with Chloe last night?"

I scoffed at the remembrance of the blonde. Chloe was pretty, sure. But she was far from a keeper. She had gotten with half of the guys on my team and if it wasn't for her father, she'd be long gone. After her cheating scandal last year, her dad donated immense amounts of money to the programs here. Which saved her ass and only made her name more popular than it was.

"It went fine." I pinched my lips together, packing my bag with gear. "I'm just not into her like that, okay? Hop off."

Dylan was notorious for being a gossiper. If there was drama, he'd know about it. Which also made him annoyingly good at sensing a liar. He'd been my friend since the eighth grade, he's darn good at it.

"Well, I know something that will cheer up your mood." He raised his brows, smiling widely at me. "Your girlfriend is making an appearance tonight."

"What?" I knitted my brows together.

Dylan shrugged with a short chuckle. "I talked to Ellie and apparently Lorelei Sanders was very admit about making an appearance at the game tonight."

Lorelei hated hockey. Why the fuck would she wanna go? I didn't care. Maybe I did. "Really? That's nice."

Dylan shoved my shoulder slightly. "Why are you not jumping for joy? I mean, this is your shot. You've gotta invite her to the after party."

Sometimes, he was a blessing and a curse. I ran a hand through my hair with a slight shrug. "I don't know, dude. I'll see, okay? Can we just focus on winning?"

Dylan mocked me with an eye roll before slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Fine."

love love love dylan