MR. PERFECTLY FINE ; LUKE HUGHES

19

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍒 ꒱ oh, your love is sunlight.
HOZIER

LORELEI

I TRULY underestimated how hard this exam was going to be. For my chemistry lab, a class that I was unable to cry my out of, we had an exam tomorrow worth 40% of our grade. And to say I was stressed was an understatement.

I groaned softly, darting my eyes down to the late hour as the library was like a ghost town. I covered my face with the palms of my hands, placing my forehead down on my folded arms.

The barrier of sleep was weighing my shoulders down as I physically couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Studying for hours straight can do that to a person.

A cold hand pressing into my shoulder had me jumping up, startled and breathless as I whipped my head around.

"Woah." Luke jumped, too. He chuckled lightly, pulling out the chair beside me as he held something. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

I shook my head, rubbing my eyes as I began to gather my things. "No, sorry, I'm just exhausted."

"Chem lab?" Luke asked, watching me nod with confirmation. "Ah, that sucks. But, I think I have something that brighten your mood."

I cocked a brow at him, my eyes following his movements as he placed a brown paper bag on the table between us, a nervous expression on his features.

I bit my bottom lip as I reached for the bag, peering in it as I took out the book. I flipped it over, running my fingers along the cover.

The Book of Jane Austin.

"I, uh, I made it myself." Luke fiddled with his fingers, staring down at his lap. "It's just, I know how much you love her and it just reminds me of us."

I could feel my eyes brimming with tears from the sweetness of the moment. He wasn't giving me flowers, or taking me to a nice restaurant, he gathered pages of quotes from my favorite poet. And that's more than I could ever imagine.

"Oh, you hate it." Luke gawked, running his eyes over my face. "I'll burn it."

I chuckled, shaking my head as I wiped the wetness under my eyes, placing my hand over his shaking one. "Luke, I love it. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

Luke smiled softly, seeming to calm down from my reassurance. "I've been working on it for two weeks."

"Two weeks?" I furrowed my brow, trying to make sense of the timeline. "We weren't even really going out at that time."

Luke shrugged, nodding. "I know. I've always been captivated by you I guess."

Luke made me feel like I was the only girl in this universe. That no one else mattered to him the way I did.

"I guess that makes two of us, huh?" I tilted my head, a grin on my lips.

He snickered, leaning forward to grasp my chin, holding me gently with his fingers. "At least I know you're loyal, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Extremely." I wrapped my hand around his wrist. "There's no one else for me, Luke."

"Promise?" Luke raised his brows, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Promise." I nodded with confirmation.

Luke scrunched his nose, leaning back into the chair and I felt my skin grow cold from the lack of his touch. He was heat that ignited me, that kept me from crippling into ash.

"So, can I ask you a question?" Luke asked, watching me slowly nod my head. "Will you come to a date party with me?"

I rolled my lips into my mouth, cocking a brow at the curly headed boy who was shooting me puppy dog eyes. "What the hell even is that?"

"You don't know what a date party is?" Luke seemed appalled, staring at me with his jaw nearly touching the floor.

"I mean, I've heard of them. I just don't know what they entail." I hummed. I heard Ellie talk about these parties, after all, she attended one almost every weekend.

Luke flashed his white teeth at me, seeing right through me. "So, here's how it'll work." Luke paused. "You're gonna get all dressed up and so will I, then we'll go to Ann Arbor's Necto Nightclub and drink plus socialize."

None of those things peeked my interest and fought the urge to groan. But, I'd do it for Luke.

"Okay." I nodded slowly, feeling the unsure feeling tingling in my stomach.

"Hey." Luke captured my hand in his, sensing my uncertainty. "I know this is a little out of your comfort zone but I'll stick right by your side. The whole time."

I nodded again, believing him. "Yeah, okay. I'm excited."

"You're a really shitty liar, Lo." Luke tilted his head with a teasing expression, making my shove at his knee with mine.

"Forgive me for doing something nice." I shot back.

Luke picked up the homemade hook, waving it around to prove his point. "Uh, hello? Did you see this masterpiece? I've never done something like this."

"Really?" I raised my brows with a small pout. "No other girl has seen this wimpy side of Luke Hughes? Am I the first?!"

Luke tightened his jaw, shaking his head in annoyance. "I don't even wanna hear that, Lorelei. You nearly cried."

"Who said I didn't like seeing your soft side?" I smirked, biting my bottom lip. "It's ten times hotter then when you're being an arrogant asshole."

"Arrogant? Asshole?" Luke had gapped mouth, staring at me in disbelief. "I fell from the angels, baby."

I fought a laugh. "I didn't know we were lying, Lukey."

Luke stood up, suddenly. He reached down, digging his fingers into the skin of my lateral, making my jump and twist from the feeling of being tickled.

"Luke. Stop." I said through pants, laughing like a little kid as I tried to remind myself we were still in a library. "We're in public."

Luke pressed a kiss below my ear, his hands still breath my sweater. He pulled back, a devilish look on his face. "Say you're sorry."

"For what?" I played dumb, my chest heaving.

"For calling me names." Luke pressed another kiss on the other side of my neck, the burning sensation returning.

I pulled at the hair that resided on the nape of his check, earning a groan from him as I pulled him up. "I'm sorry."

Luke nodded, getting what he wanted as he now kissed my lips. "Now, let's get out of here."

kicking my feet