MR. PERFECTLY FINE ; LUKE HUGHES

12

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍒 ꒱ secrets i have held in my heart
are harder to keep than i thought
ARTIC MONKEYS^

LUKE

LORELEI WAS a lightweight and I didn't expect anything more of her. I slowed down once she began to stumble after four shots, deciding to be the responsible one out of the two of us, which was rare.

She swayed her hips in the middle of the crowd and I kept my eyes locked on her, even from across the room. I could feel my body tense once Mark began to speak to her, again.

His eyes screamed mischief as he whispered something in her ear, making her laugh and shove at him in a playful way. It was nauseating.

My hands were fists at my sides, watching him place his palm over her stomach, pulling her closer to him as he traced her jaw with his finger.

All while doing this, his gaze stayed on mine. He knew what he was doing, pushing my buttons, and I knew I'd use this against him during practice. I'd have him doing laps around the rink for it.

I slowly shook my head at him, only adding fuel to his fire as he planted a kiss to her temple. Lorelei knitted her fingers into his hair, dull brown eyes meeting mine.

Before I knew it, my feet were walking before I could process anything. I paused, shooting Mark daggers as I shoved at him.

"Seriously, Mark, fuck off." I cursed, wrapping a hand around Lorelei's wrist to pull her closer to me.

Mark darted his tongue out to lick his lips, scratching his shaven chin. "My bad, dude. She's all yours."

Lorelei struggled to keep herself up straight, using me as a balance. Her head lifted, her eyes glossed over as she stared up at me.

"Are you good?" I found myself raising my voice over the music.

Lorelei shook her head, pressing a hand against her forehead as she rocked. "Yeah, I'm fine. When is this over?"

I glanced down at the watch adorning my wrist, seeing it was just past eleven-thirty. "People will probably be here for another hour. Do you wanna leave?"

Lorelei pondered, swaying slightly. "Mhm. I'll get an uber."

I immediately shook my head, placing a hand in the small of her back to keep her steady. "I'll walk you home. Let's go."

I kept her to my side, weaving between drunken bodies that littered the frat house. I met Dylan's stare, Ellie pressing into him as I gestured down towards Lorelei.

Lorelei tucked her hair behind her ears as we stepped outside, the tight top she was wearing had been doing nothing to protect herself from the weather of Ann Arbor.

I shrugged off my jacket, placing it on her shoulders as she hummed, looking down at her feet as she watched herself walk. "Thanks."

"How are you feeling?" I asked, tucking my hands in my pockets, keeping a close eye on her as we walked on the side walk.

Lorelei shrugged. "I really want my bed. Hey, what's up with your friend?"

"What friend?" I cocked a brow.

"Mark." Lorelei chuckled, finally picking her head up as she was able to stabilize her walking. "I feel like he came up to me a lot tonight."

I scratched the back of my neck, awkwardly. "That's just Mark. I mean, you seemed to enjoy it. Does someone have a crush?"

She laughed, softy. "You've got to be joking, right? You know, Luke, I've got morals. Believe me or not."

I hummed, blowing out a breath. "Yeah? So, why do you talk to me then? I'm sure your morals don't align with mine."

Lorelei dragged her feet along the pavement, her dark hair puffy from the humidity as she kept tugging at the ends. "Because I think you're a phony, Luke. You try to play someone you're not."

I paused slightly before walking again to keep up with her, thrown for a loop, I pulled my bottom lip in.

"I don't mean it in a bad way." She spoke, seeming to take my silence in a bad manner. "I like when you're nice to me. I...I never even fucking hated you."

"Really?" I questioned with a chuckle. "Your attitude towards me begs to differ there, Sanders."

Lorelei shoved at my shoulder gently with a scoff leaving her plump lips. "I was drawn to you, I was. But, I had a boyfriend at the time and then he dumped me. I wanted to find you after we ended things but, like, the next time I saw you, you were swapping spit with Jane Cameron."

I pinched the bridge of my nose at the mention of the girl, shaking my head. "She was a handful. Hey, I'm sorry about that night. I should've backed off."

Lorelei peered towards me with a small smile, linking her arm with mine. The interaction had my heart rate picking up speed.

"He was a dick, anyways. You're much better looking." She muttered and I couldn't help but take it as a compliment.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Lorelei." I glanced down at the top of her head, feeling her bring warmth to my chilling body.

She lifted her head, chin digging into my bicep. "It's only because I'm drunk. I'll hate you tomorrow."

Even if her words had been a joke, they tugged at my heartstrings. Lorelei and I were hot and cold, two people destined to never work out, and somehow, I was falling deeper and deeper. Being around Lorelei felt like jumping into the ocean in the winter, absolutely fucking freezing but in the end, worth it. A cold plunge.

We stopped in front of her on-campus apartment, the tiny home decorated for Christmas and just by looking, I knew Lorelei had been the decorator.

"This is me." She sighed, digging in her clutch purse to fish out her house keys, swinging them around her fingers.

When she looked at me again, I sensed the sudden change between us, her. She tucked her hair behind her ears once again, darting her eyes over my face before dropping at my lips.

She leaned in slightly but my hands were quick to dart out to her shoulders, keeping her back.

"Lorelei..." I cooed, her eyes flickering with rejection as she pulled away from my grasp. "Lorelei, listen."

"No. No, no." She flushed red, waving her hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even tried to do that."

I was desperate for her to listen to me, trying to grab her but she shied away constantly.

"You're drunk, Lorelei. I don't want you to regret this." I tried to explain. In this moment, I wished I turned the shots down because I was yearning to feel her lips on my own.

"Thanks for walking me home." My voice seemed to go through one ear and out the other as she walked away from me, fumbling with her keys as she slammed the door, harshly.

Fuck.

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