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Tears of Themis

From last month to now, I’ve kinda been writing non stop. And with everything that’s been going on lately, from the situation with infold to the cancellation of Valko, everything feels like a lot to keep up with. And I think I need to step back and take a mental break to recalibrate.

But don’t worry! This is absolutely DEFINITELY not goodbye, I might post drabbles every now and then on my other blog while I continue to write always yours!

And since everything has been a lot to keep up with, I haven’t been able to set the goal for myself to publish a chapter every week or every other week. I firmly believe it’s not fair to leave you guys hanging and me constantly apologizing for not making the deadline when you are expecting and excited for the continuation of the story.

I want to be able to publish good chapters with good quality writing, and not rush for the sake of meeting a deadline I set for myself.

I hope you will look forward to when I return, (I probably won’t be gone for long lol) and for the next arc of the story that I will be diligently preparing!

And I’m very sorry if I’ve disappointed you, but I feel like this is something I have to do for the sake of myself and my readers.

Luke Pearce

Always Yours | Tears of Themis x Love and Deepspace au | series, ongoing

a/n: The synopsis is explained in the prologue!ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ

Prologue: Never Her

Chapter 1: Wanna Go Sledding?

Chapter 2: 3 Days Worth It

Chapter 3: What Do You Like?

Chapter 4: Happy Birthday Luke!

Artem Wing

You kabedon Artem | fluff, crack

Vyn Richter

nothing yet…

Marius von Hagen

Synpopsis: You celebrate Luke’s birthday together with him, basically very fluffy and cute.

Genres/Tropes: Romance, Slow Burn, Coming-of-Age, Comedy, Angst, Friends to Lovers, Possesive x Possesive

Pairings: Luke x reader (nonMc), Caleb x MC, Caleb x nonMc

a/n: kinda long, oops.

Chapter 4: Happy Birthday Luke!

Three days before Luke’s birthday, you’re wrapping the last present for him in decorative paper, securing it with tape and putting a bow on top of it.

All the presents that you got him aligned with his interests; some riddle books, a small wooden storage box, and a key necklace that goes with the box to unlock it.

You thought about getting him a camera, but all of them were expensive and you didn’t have enough to get him one.

‘I’ll just save up and maybe get him one next year. If he doesn’t get one by then already.’ You thought.

That is…if he’s still around when next year comes.

You shake your head as you will yourself to stop thinking about that, redirecting your thoughts to how you’re going to give the presents to Luke.

Should you give it to him at school? Hmmm…no, you want him to take his time when he opens his presents. Maybe after school at his house?

At that thought, it’s like a light bulb goes off in your head as you get up off the floor and run downstairs; your heart racing as you dial his home phone number, hoping that his mother will pick up and not him.

The line clicks as a kind voice comes from the other side. “Hello?”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding as you sigh in relief. “Hello Mrs. Pearce.” You say.

“Oh! Hello!” Judging from her voice, she sounds pleasantly surprised. “How are you?”

“I’m good, how about you?” You say as you return her question.

“Oh I’m well, thank you. What can I do for you?” She inquires kindly.

“Well…if you don’t mind, do you think you can help me do something together?”

Three days later, it’s Luke’s birthday, and you and Rena have been putting together a plan to surprise him.

The plan was, on the day of his birthday after school, you have to keep him busy for the rest of the day until the evening while she prepares the house and decorates the cake for the surprise. Simple, right?

And the good thing is, you already decided where you were going to take him for the rest of the evening.

The bell rings as it signals the end of the school day, the mid afternoon sun shining through the windows and bathing everything in a bright yellow glow.

Closing your eyes for a second, you bask in the warmth of it as it shines on your face, letting out a content sigh as you pack your backpack and sling it over your shoulders, on your way to find Luke.

As you exit the classroom, you’re about to walk forward when you feel a hand on your shoulder. A part of you hopes it will be Luke when you turn around, but nope. It’s Emcee.

“Hey! Caleb and I were going to go to the new cafe that opened recently, want to join us?” She asks as she smiles at you, her eyes shining with hope.

For the first time in a while, you don’t even feel yourself hesitate when she asks you this; your mind made up days ago and your resolve strong.

You wanted to spend Luke’s birthday with him.

Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Luke making his way down the corridor away from you, the sun shining on his back as it illuminates his hair in a honey glow.

You feel something almost, but not quite like desperation as his figure becomes smaller and smaller as he continues walking away from you.

“Sorry, maybe next time,” you say apologetically, shaking her hand off your shoulder lightly as you jog your way down the corridor to catch up to him, “I have to keep the birthday boy busy today!”

You’re grinning now as you sprint down the hallway, leaving Emcee there by herself with all the other students preparing to leave and go home for the day.

Your heart is full and feels as warm as the sun when you catch up to him, lightly poking him on his back as you come to walk beside him. “Happy birthday Luke!” You exclaim happily.

His features light up in surprise when he sees you, but it quickly changes into a fond smile as he looks at you, letting out a light laugh. “Thanks, but, didn’t you tell me that this morning too?”

You hum happily, “There’s no harm in saying it again though! Anyway-” you change the subject as you walk in front of him, making him stop in his footsteps.

“Today, I’m taking you out!” You announce.

His lips quirk upward in amusement. “Like, on a date, or with a sniper gun?” He jokes.

You let out a laugh at the familiar meme as you continue walking forward. “I’ll surprise you.” You say with a hint of mystery as you smile to yourself.

Luke laughs, warm and brightly as he catches up to you, his voice taking on something curious. “Wait- seriously though. Where are you taking me?”

“The arcade?” He asks to not really anyone in particular, looking around the arcade and its bright neon lights as loud, playfully energetic music plays.

“Yep.” You say as you return with a bunch of tokens. “That is, unless you want to go somewhere else. It’s your birthday after all-” You’re about to offer another suggestion before he quickly cuts you off.

“No! It’s okay, I’ve been wanting to come here a while!” He exclaims as he reassures you. “Come on, I want to go to…that one!” He doesn’t give you the chance to respond before he takes off, leaving you to quickly follow him as you smile and laugh to yourself.

‘He looks so excited.’ You think as you look at his gleaming eyes and wide smile. ‘I want to protect his smile…’

Huh? What exactly are you thinking?

You catch yourself at the thought; why exactly were you thinking? You don’t know, and honestly? You don’t, or won’t, let yourself continue that thought.

“By the way,” he suddenly says, “you look like you’ve been lugging around your backpack all day. Is it heavy? Want me to carry it for you?” He offers.

Your eyes widen in panic as you adjust your backpack on shoulders, trying to make your voice sound as nonchalant as possible. “No, it’s okay. I can carry it.”

His brow draws down as he sees the way the straps are digging into your shoulders. “Are you sure? I can-”

You cut him off, “It’s okay! Really. It’s not that heavy, it’s just I have a few more books today than usual, that’s all.” If he holds your backpack, he might become suspicious since you’ve been carrying around his presents in your bag all day.

“Oh, okay then. If you’re sure.” He says hesitantly.

So the two of you spend the next couple hours or so playing games and winning prizes, you doing your best to distract him until you get a message from his mom to come home.

But it turns out that you didn’t need to try too hard, because right now, he was currently invested in his opponent that he’s been fighting for the past 30 minutes.

The claw machine.

You’ve been holding the bowl of tokens while he plays, him taking one after another every time he failed in getting the puppy plushie he wanted. You’ve thought about offering to get it for him, but it was his birthday, and after all, you wanted him to do whatever he so pleased today.

You watch with an amused but tired smile on your face as he fails once again, the machine letting out the same cute but now annoying chime for the upteenth time. “Awww, maybe next time! Try again!”

Luke groans in frustration as he glances down at the bowl in your hands, sighing as he scratches the back of his neck.

You also let out a tired sigh as you attempt to comfort him, and maybe also try to redirect his attention somewhere else. “It’s okay Luke, why don’t we try somewhere else? We only have a few tokens left after all.” You suggest gently.

You flinch as his head that was down suddenly snaps up, his posture straightening as he looks at you.

Luke suddenly smiles at you sweetly as he gives you his best puppy eyes. “But…I really wanted to get that plushie. Do you think…you can get it for me? Please?” He asks as his lips form into a soft pout.

‘No! Please not the puppy eyes!’ You think in a panic, but find yourself unable to look anywhere else but his pleading gaze.

You internally groan as his eyes shine pleadingly, unable to refuse him. Not that you would anyway, you’ve been itching to give it a try after all.

You let out a resigned sigh, “I thought you’d never ask.” You say as you hand the bowl to him and roll up your sleeves in preparation.

Luke grins in anticipation as you take a coin out of the bowl put it into the machine. Since each coin gives you two tries, you technically have 5 more tries if you don’t get it this time.

The claw moves as you move the joystick into position above the plushie, and deeming that it’s in the right position, you press the button as the claw lowers slowly.

Your heart beats in anticipation as you and Luke gasp in excitement at the same time, the claw picking up the plushie and carrying it over to the slot.

Only for it to drop it halfway there.

“Oh come on!” You exclaim frustratedly. “It’s fine, I still have another try.” You mutter in determination as you move the joystick above the plushie again, pushing the button as it lowers once more.

You glare daggers at the claw as it picks it up again and carries it over to the slot, as if you can will it to make it to the finish line. Meanwhile, Luke lets out consecutive excited ‘oh’s!’ behind you as it drops down the slot.

“Yes!” You and Luke exclaim at the same time as you get the plushie from the opening below.

You hand it over to him with a proud smile on your face, but pause when you see the way he’s looking at you.

He has a big grin on his face as he looks at you with a combination of awe and adoration, his eyes shining like coral gems in the sunlight. “Wow,” he breathes, “you’re amazing! You were able to get it in only two tries!”

Your pride swells at his praise as your cheeks flush slightly from embarrassment. “Hehe, well, I’m something of a claw machine master myself.” You chuckle proudly.

Luke lets out a laugh as his eyes fill with mirth. “Yep, you’re the best.” He says softly as he takes the plushie from you, your fingers brushing against each other when he takes it.

Your heart jumps at the contact, a tingling feeling left in its wake as the both of you quickly retract your hands, your cheeks becoming even more red than before.

Luke clears his throat as his face turns bright red, looking anywhere but you as he mumbles, “S-sorry.”

“Uhhh, don’t worry! I-it’s fine.” You stutter as your phone vibrates, giving you an excuse to turn away from him as you hide your burning face.

Luke stretches as he lets out a sigh. “Are you ready to go home now? I’m getting hungry.” He says, trying to change the subject; his stomach growling as if to emphasize the fact.

You put your phone back in your pocket as you turn to him with a smile. “S-sure, let’s go.”

Perfect timing, because you just got a message from his mom telling you that everything was prepared and ready for when you brought him home.

The sun has set behind the horizon by the time you get home, the view akin to an artist that brushed burnt orange and petal pink against a clear, evening blue sky.

As you approach his front door, you stand a few feet behind him as he knocks on the door before turning around to face you. “Aren’t you going to go home too?” He asks curiously.

“Yeah, I just make sure that you get inside safely.” You lie, giving him a big smile.

You don’t know if it’s because of the cold, but his cheeks suddenly turn a bright shade of pink as his eyes widen in surprise.

He looks down as he mutters sheepishly, “Heh, if this is how you treat me on my birthday, then I wish it was my birthday everyday.”

Now it’s your turn to blush at his sudden confession, clearing your throat before you speak. “It doesn’t have to be your birthday for me to do this. If you want, I can walk you home everyday. But, isn’t that the same as walking home everyday together?” You suddenly ask.

“Uhhh, w-well,” he stutters, “yeah, it is. Umm, just forget what I said! Thank you for taking me out!” His words come out in a rush as he grabs to door handle.

‘Man, why is this so awkward?’ You groan to yourself, but you don’t have time to dwell on it before the door opens.

All you hear is a gasp of shock from Luke and a, ‘surprise!’ from Rena as he walks through the door, you following close behind him with a big grin on your face.

The entryway is decorated with a banner that has big letters on it that says, ‘Happy Birthday Luke!’ with confetti scattered on the floor. Walking further in when you go to the living room, the lights are turned off, and the current source of light is coming from the little golden fairy lights that decorate the pillow fort that Rena made; different fluffy pillows and blankets under the white sheet that makes the ‘roof.’ A Christmas tree sits in the corner of the living room, the decorative lights on it the same colour as the fairy lights, bathing everything in the living room in a warm glow.

The ceiling has decorative paper stars that hang from it, stars that you and Rena made together the other day when Luke was at his martial arts class. The presents that she wrapped for him are to the right of the opening of fort, covered in decorative paper as well.

Luke looks around in awe with a big smile on his face, his eyes filling with childlike glee as he look at you and his mother. “Wait- did the two of you plan this? Wow! This- this is amazing!”

Rena comes to put a gentle hand on his shoulder, her smile mirroring the happiness in her gaze. “Actually, it was her idea, and I just helped her execute it.” She says as she winks at you.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, you try to brush off all the credit that she gives you. “Pshhh nooo, you helped me too. It wasn’t just me, you were the one that came up with the idea of paper stars.”

Luke lets out a happy laugh. “Thank you both!”

“Now then,” Rena suddenly says, clapping her hands together, “let’s eat, shall we? Then we can have cake!”

You already asked your parents if you could have dinner by his house to celebrate his birthday with him, so they already now that you’re here.

After dinner, you carry the cake over to the coffee table in the living room, setting it down in front of Luke as his eyes light up.

Lemon cake is what he asked for, and no, not lemon pound cake, but an actual cake with lemon curd and frosting.

Your mouth waters at the sight of it, it looked so delectable and beautifully decorated, you couldn’t help but admire it yourself.

Rena comes back with a lighter, lighting the one and six on top of the cake, the orange flames illuminating the cake in a warm orange glow.

She begins clapping her hands with a fond smile as she sings happy birthday to him, you joining in hesitantly as you also begin clapping your hands to her rhythm.

“Now, make a wish.” You say as you smile at him.

Luke grins, his coral eyes shining like marbles as they reflect the flames, making them look even more like evening summer sunsets, leaving you temporarily hypnotized by them.

But you soon snap out of your trance when he closes his eyes, clasping his hands together as he makes a wish.

He reopens his eyes with a smile as he blows the candles out in one blow, you and Rena clapping as you cheer. “Yay! Happy birthday Luke!” You both say at the same time.

He lets out a laugh as warm as the candles he just blew out. “Thank you!”

His mom cuts the cake for the three of you, putting them on plates as you take a slice.

The first bite you take is like fireworks exploding in your mouth; the lemon cake delectably moist with the perfect crumb, the lemon curd has the perfect blend of tanginess and sweetness, and the buttercream frosting ties it all together in the perfect bite.

Your eyes are blown wide as you chew, letting out an almost strangled sound as you swallow. “Wow, Mrs. Pearce…this is amazing!”

She laughs at your reaction, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiles. “Please, you’re too kind.”

“Mom’s cakes are seriously the best! She’s amazing at baking!” Luke exclaims, demolishing the last bite of cake on his plate. “Thanks Mom!” He says with a big toothy grin.

Her eyes soften, her voice taking on something fond. “You’re welcome honey.” She says, grabbing a napkin to wipe the frosting that he got on the corner of his mouth.

“Now then,” she suddenly says, grabbing two plates before standing up, “I’ll take these to the sink, and then we can open presents.”

“Oh, I’ll help you.” You say, grabbing the third plate and following her. “We’ll be back!” You call back at Luke as he nods.

As she washes the dishes and you dry, she suddenly says something that you weren’t expecting.

“Thank you for coming here, it’s nice to have a third person to celebrate with. It hasn’t been like this since his father passed away.” She says, her voice carrying a hint of sorrow.

That makes you pause, unsure what to say. It wasn’t that you didn’t wonder where his father was, you just didn’t want to ask in case it made him uncomfortable. After all, you didn’t think you were that close yet to talk about family matters.

And even now, you didn’t really want to push and question how he passed away, just in case it was still a sensitive topic. “It’s no problem, I’m glad to be here.” You say, trying your best to sound sincere and not awkward at all.

Suddenly, she laughs. “Please, it’s okay. No need to be so stiff.” She reassures kindly.

You lower your head sheepishly, your cheeks turning slightly pink. “Sorry.” You mutter.

“Ah, none of that.” She says, wiping her hands on the cloth to dry them as she pats you on your back, “Come on, let’s not keep Luke waiting any longer.”

You nod as you make your way to the living room where Luke is, his head perking up from his phone as you enter.

“Presents time~!” She sing songs as she sits down on the sofa.

You go to your backpack that’s sitting on the sofa, taking out the three presents that you’ve been lugging around all day.

Luke smiles knowingly as you place them by the ones his mom wrapped by the fort, glancing at him as you place them down.

“No wonder you didn’t want me to carry your backpack for you, you knew I might be suspicious if I felt the weight of it.” He smirks, his voice filled with amusement.

“At least I succeeded in keeping it a secret from you.” You say, sitting on the floor by the fort.

He chuckles, looking at the presents in front of him, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “Now…whose should I open first? Hmm…” He hums as he picks up the ones his mother wrapped. “I’ll open Mom’s first, then yours. That way, I can build up anticipation.” He says as he smiles at you, making your pulse skip a beat.

What he got from his mom was socks, some mystery novels, and a fuzzy sweater.

“Thanks Mom!” He grins, getting up from the floor to give her a hug.

“You’re welcome.” She says, patting his back as he makes his way back to his spot on the floor.

“Alright! Your turn!” He exclaims excitedly as he opens the first present, letting out a gasp as his eyes light up. “Wow! Riddle books!”

He opens the next present, the small wooden storage box that you wrapped. “Oooo, this is nice. I can put all the antique stuff I find in here.”

And finally, the small box with the key necklace. He holds it up to the light as his face takes on something slightly confused, but before you can explain it to him, he quickly catches on with a gasp. “Wait- is this for the key hole in the box?” He asks, turning to you as if to confirm.

You nod. “Yeah, and you can wear it around your neck too.”

He lips slowly stretch into a grin as he suddenly wraps his arms around you, catching you off guard.

You’re enveloped by the warmth of his body and the solid hold he has on you; your nose tucked between the crook of his neck and shoulder as you inhale his scent, laundry detergent and something sweet like…lemon.

Your face goes up in flames as you hesitantly wrap your own arms around him, flinching when he suddenly whispers by your ear.

“Thank you.” He says softly, his voice like gentle ripples over water as he pulls away slightly, his own cheeks tinged a shade of pink as he avoids your gaze, suddenly shy.

“You’re…welcome.” You mumble, his shyness making you even more nervous for some reason.

“My, my.”

Remembering that his mother is in the living room with you, the two of you quickly pull away from each other as if you got burnt by something hot. At least…that’s how you felt.

My, my indeed. You’re not catching feelings are you?

‘Shut up!’ You think, your mind already a flustered mess, and all from a simple hug.

“Don’t mind me at all, please continue.” His mother says teasingly as she watches you with her arm on her knee as her hand cups her face, chuckling at how the two of you are the same shade of scarlet.

“Mom!” Luke hisses, embarrassed.

She laughs out loud, clearly amused by the spectacle in front of her eyes.

Meanwhile, you sit there in embarrassed silence as you internally groan to yourself, wishing the ground will swallow you whole right now.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stop teasing. It’s movie time now!”

What movie were you watching you ask?

Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone.

You liked this movie series, and the first movie really vibed with the current season.

You were huddled under the pillow fort with snacks and fluffy blankets and pillows, the fairy lights draped over the sheet making it feel almost magical. It was a cozy experience, an experience that would be forever engrained into your memory

By the time the movie ended, it was after nine o’clock and time to go home.

You bid goodnight to Rena, and Luke offered to walk you home, saying that it was dark and not safe to walk home by yourself at night; even though your house wasn’t that far away.

No matter how many times you told him it was okay, he still insisted, and it would be rude if you kept rejecting him, no?

Now, you were walking side by side, albeit slowly, as if neither of you wanted this day to end just yet.

It was amazing really, how much fun you were able to have whenever Luke was by your side. You were convinced he had some good luck charm about him, because how was it that it seemed only good things happened when you were with him?

From everything that happened to arcade to now, it all made you feel very happy. Was it normal to feel this much happiness? Especially that hug. That hug was still fresh in your memory, making your heart race whenever you think about it.

The two of you mostly just bumped each other’s sides playfully, or would put a hand on each other’s shoulder. But that hug was the closest the two of you had ever been, and you were still a bit surprised from it really, making you question if that really even happened at all. The way his body felt so warm against yours was real though, too real, and the way his arms were wrapped around you made you feel so safe and secure…

“Thank you for today.” Luke suddenly says, making you snap out of your thoughts.

You mentally hit yourself for thinking stuff like that while he’s still next to you, grateful that he can’t see the flush creeping up your neck because of the dark. “Oh, you’re welcome.” You say.

Luke looks up at the starry, clear night sky as he continues walking forward. “And for the presents. I’ll really cherish it.” He says, suddenly stopping to look at you sincerely.

You hold eye contact with him for no more than three seconds before looking away, your heart beating erratically in your chest. He doesn’t know what he does to you whenever he looks at you like that, does he? “I’m glad you like it.” You mutter.

“Well, looks like we’re here.” He sighs almost disappointedly as you stop in front of your house. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?” He asks as he smiles at you warmly.

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” You reply, giving him a small smile of your own.

You stare at each other, your hesitance clear in the way you don’t go in right away, and the way he seems hesitant to leave. But eventually, you slowly make your way up the steps of your house, turning around after knocking when he calls your name.

He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly before raising his hand to wave at you, his cheeks flushing as he gives you a shy smile. “Goodnight.”

Seeing how he’s all shy and blushy makes you feel giddy for some reason, giving him a grin before the door opens. “Goodnight.” You say, looking at him one last time before you go through your door, shutting it as it locks with a click.

However, Luke still doesn’t leave right away as he stands there, watching the golden light in your window turn on behind the shut blinds, illuminating the sidewalk in a slightly golden glow.

As the light from your window reflects in his coral eyes, the only way to describe the way he looks is yearning. As if there’s a piece of him that he’s been searching for and missing, and he’s finally found it.

Reluctantly, he turns around and he makes his way back home as his figure becomes smaller and smaller, the moonlight illuminating his back as he disappears into the dark night.

a/n: Thank you for reading! 🥰 Also, I just thought I would say this again just in case, but the next chapter will be the end of winter arc, not this one. It would have been too long to include everything I wanted to happen, so the next chapter will be it!(⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎)

The chapter that I’m currently writing will be too long for it to be the end of the winter arc, but the next chapter after this one will be.

But chapter 4 will be the end of the winter arc, so I’m excited for that! And I hope you guys are too! We’ll FINALLY be able to get into the spring/summer arc! Whooo!!!🥳

Again, I’m very sorry for keeping you guys waiting, but I hope I will be able to post it later on in the week or by this Sunday!

I’m starting to notice a pattern here, and I don’ think I’m liking it….

Artem Wing is a man of many things. Responsible, efficient, composed. But there’s one person who always somehow makes him lose his composure completely.

You.

And right now, he doesn’t even know how he ended up in this situation.

He’s against the wall while you’re standing close to him, your arm stretching up to put your hand on the wall by his head as you look up at him.

The warmth radiating off of your body is enough to send him into a spiral, heat flushing up from his neck to his ears as he looks down at you.

You tilt your head to the side quizzically as you look up at him, your brows drawing down in concentration. “Hmmm…no. This won’t work. I’m not intimidating enough.” You mutter, taking your hand off the wall as you back away from him.

“I’ll be back okay? Don’t move!” You call back at him as you go to retrieve something.

When you’re out of sight, Artem lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, putting his hands on his hips as he takes deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

When you come back, you’re holding a stool, putting it in front of him as you stand on top of it.

“Yes, this is better.” You say, smiling. Now that you’re on top of the stool, you have an inch or two of height over him.

Artem clears his throat as he looks up at you, blushing. “What exactly is this that you’re doing?” He mutters.

“It’s called a kabedon. In anime or manga, the male lead does this to female lead whenever he feels jealous or possessive. Or simply because he just wants to fluster her.” You explain.

“So-” You begin as you lean forward and place your forearm on the wall, staring into his eyes intensely, “Artem, who was that woman you were talking to at the office?” You whisper teasingly with a hint of possessiveness.

Artem’s eyes are blown wide as his lips part slightly, his ears turning pink. “I was? Or…are you talking about Celestine?” He avoids your gaze as he looks to the side.

Seeing the way he blushes as he avoids your intense gaze only spurs you on even more, your lips quirking up into a smirk as you put your hand underneath his chin, turning his head to face you.

“Why are you looking away, hm? Are you nervous Artem?” You tease.

He sputters slightly as his face turns red. “W-why are you even doing this?” His fists are clenched so tightly at his sides they’re turning almost white.

You laugh as you pull away from, and for a second, he thinks you’re finally going to give him some breathing room, but nope. Not this time.

Before he can react, you’re leaning forward to place a quick kiss on his lips as you cling to his neck, your feet leaving the stool as you dangle from him. “I’m just teasing. It was fun seeing you get flustered.”

His arms quickly come to wrap around your waist to prevent you from falling, leaning off of the wall as you wrap your legs around his torso.

“Be careful. You could have fallen.” He scolds lightly, his hands coming to hold underneath your legs to support you.

“It’s okay, even if I did, I know you will catch me.” You say as you nuzzle into his neck.

Artem sighs as he feels his entire body go hot, his pulse beating erratically as he carries you.

Yeah…he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to this.

Synopsis: When you arrive home, Luke makes good on what he said when he told you you’d spend all your time together, because now, you’re always together. If somebody asked you when do you see each other other than in school, the better question should be when do you not see each other? Because one of you definitely won’t be seen without the other. And as November passes and December comes around, you need to figure out what you’re going to get for his birthday, except…you have no idea what he likes.

Genre(s)/Tropes: Romance, Slow Burn, Coming-of-Age, Comedy, Angst, Friends to Lovers, Possesive x Possesive

Pairings: Luke x reader (nonMC), Caleb x Mc, Caleb x nonMC (not a main ship)

Chapter 3: What Do You Like?

2:00 P.M.

You make your way up the stairs with your backpack and suitcase, opening the door to your room as you set everything down on the floor.

You flop onto your bed with a groan, relishing in the feeling of being back home and in the comfort of your own bed. You felt like you could fall asleep right now if you wanted to, which you will eventually; you were planning on taking a nap so you can be extra recharged for tomorrow. After all, you do have to go back to school.

You open your eyes when you feel your phone buzz, lifting it up to your face to see what it is.

Luke: Mom and I just got back home, wbu?

Your lips tilt upward when you see that the message is from Luke, quickly typing back a reply.

You: We just got back too, I’m about to take a nap.(_ _).｡o○

Luke: Wow! We think so alike! I was about to take nap too.

ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ

You: Lol really? Well, goodnight then, I hope you have a good nap!(=￣ ρ￣=) ..zzZZ

Luke: Lmao goodnight, or good afternoon? And I will, you too!

As you change into your pajamas and tuck yourself into bed, you can’t help but feel excited for tomorrow. You have someone you’re looking forward to seeing, after all.

Later when you wake up, you catch up a bit on studying and eat dinner. After you take a shower, watch show with your sister and brush your teeth, you begin to get ready for bed.

You turn on the lamp on your nightstand, the golden yellow light casting everything in your room in a warm and cozy glow. You’re plugging your phone in to charge when you get another text from Luke.

Luke: Wanna take the bus to school tomorrow together?

You: Sure, but wait. Do u live close by or something? How else will we be getting on the same bus?

Luke: !?(･_･;?

Luke: Oh sorry, my bad. I never told you lol, I live on the same street as you. I’m just around the corner.

(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

You: You do??? Well that’s convenient, we can meet by the bus stop that’s close to here!

Luke: Yeah! I guess I’ll see u tomorrow then? Good night!

You: Good night! Sleep well.

You put your phone back on the nightstand and tuck your blanket up to your chin, still in slight surprise from the messages.

You didn’t know that he lived on the same street as you, in fact, he was just around the corner. It was a pleasant surprise actually, it meant that you didn’t need to go far if you wanted to see him in person.

With that in mind, you smile to yourself as you switch the light off on your lamp, welcoming the warmth and comfort of your bed as you’re whisked off into the land of dreams.

The sky is covered in grey clouds with the promise of snow as you make your way to the bus stop, your scarf wrapped snugly around your neck and up to your chin to shield you from the cold.

Your footsteps falter slightly when you see Caleb and Emcee standing there, and even more so when you see the way he’s looking at her while she talks and gestures animatedly.

The only way one can describe his expression is adoring, the wind blowing his bangs over his eyes to obscure the way he was looking at her; as if she was the one that hung the stars up in the sky herself.

As you slowly make your way towards them, you can’t help but wonder, has he ever looked at you like that? Probably not. After all, you were just a friend to him; his good, loyal friend. And you knew that won’t ever change, no matter how much you liked or cared for him.

Because you made that promise to him yourself, right?

Emcee notices you first, turning around to give you bright smile. “Well well well, look who’s awake! Any longer and you might not make the bus.” She teases you as the corner of her mouth quirks up into a smirk.

You let out a humourless laugh at her teasing. You weren’t really in the mood for this, especially at this time of the morning. The both of them knew that you weren’t a morning person since you were younger, but alas, you still have priorities. “Ha ha ha, very funny. You know I never miss the bus.”

You look up and accidentally make eye contact with Caleb, the warmth in his eyes gone and replaced by something more hesitant and cautious.

Ah, that’s right. The two of you didn’t really talk since that argument you had regarding Luke in the mountains. He didn’t say anything to you, and you were too sensitive at the time to approach him to talk about your dispute. But your mind was clearer now, and even though it would be uncomfortable to talk to him about it, you wanted to clear things between the two of you so your awkwardness won’t make the people around you uncomfortable.

“Morning Caleb.” You greet him casually and lightly as you smile at him.

Seeing how you weren’t in a bitter mood anymore, he visibly relaxes a bit, offering you a small smile of his own. “Morning.”

You look down both sides of the sidewalk in hopes of seeing Luke walking down, but unfortunately, he isn’t here yet.

‘Maybe he’s still sleeping,’ you think.

Beside you, Emcee suddenly groans, throwing her head back dramatically. “I just remembered that we have a test in a few days! Darn it, I didn’t even study yet!”

Caleb tsks in disappointment next to her, a sign that he was about to give her a scolding. “You didn’t study yet? And how many times have I told you to when you were busy playing games with your friends?”

“Hey! I was busy before! I wasn’t just playing games, and after that we went away! It’s not my fault.” She retorts angrily.

You sigh, tilting your head to the side to escape the noise of her yelling. “Hey hey, calm down all right? We still have a few days before the test, you can still make it.” You reassure her.

Honestly, you knew that if she actually paid attention in class and did her homework instead of procrastinating, she wouldn’t be struggling as much as she was now. However, it wasn’t your place to say that, and you didn’t want to voice your opinion in case she got mad at you. After all, it was your role to keep the peace in the group.

Just when you feel like your head might combust from their arguing, you catch a figure skidding around the corner of the street and running down the sidewalk towards you.

Your face visibly lights up when you see Luke, a big smile that you can’t control spreading across your face when he comes to a stop in front of you.

His hands are on his knees as he pants, his breath coming out in white puffs of air as he catches his breath. “I-I made it,” he huffs a couple more times, “good morning.” He smiles sheepishly up at you as he pants. “Sorry, I accidentally overslept.”

You shake your head as you reassure him. “It’s okay, you made it right on time. The bus will be here soon.”

“Really? Oh good, that’s a relief.” He sighs in relief as he straightens up, but pauses when he catches Caleb and Emcee’s eye.

He shifts a little where he’s standing, bringing his hand to the back of his neck as if he’s about to scratch it, but catches himself and lets it flop back down by his side. “Um- good morning.” He presses his lips together in a polite smile, but it only makes him look stiff and awkward as his cheeks puff out slightly.

‘Kinda cute…’ you think as you look up at him. But realization dawns on you as you slowly turn your head to the side in shock so nobody can see your expression, your mouth agape as your eyes widen like saucers. ‘Wait- WHAT DID I JUST THINK?!’

“Morning.” Caleb answers cooly, his face devoid of any expression.

“Morning Luke!” Emcee says cheerfully.

Luke nods stiffly, but relaxes a bit as he turns to you, cocking his head to the side in curiosity as he looks at your face. “Are you okay? Your face is a little red, are you cold?”

“I-I’m okay,” You stutter slightly, sniffling to pretend the reason why your cheeks are red is because of the cold, “just a little chilly.”

“Well, hopefully the bus comes soon so we can get out of the cold. Especially because…your legs are exposed.” He mutters as he looks down at your legs. But his cheeks turn pink as he looks to the side, clearing his throat as if he just got caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing.

But you don’t think much of it as you think, ‘oh, that’s right,’ as you look down at your uniform.

While your skirt hits a little bit above your knee, Emcee’s hits higher because she has longer legs.

‘Damn all these people and their long spider legs. I wish mine were longer.’ You think bitterly as you try not to stare, instead focusing on looking down the road. Thankfully, you see the bus making its way down the street as it comes to a stop in front of you, the doors opening as you all file in one by one.

You take a seat by the window as Luke settles down beside you, and out of the corner of your eye, you see Caleb pause slightly before taking the seat behind the two of you next to Emcee.

Suddenly, Luke turns to face you, the sudden shift making you look away from the window and at him.

“By the way, did you study for the test as yet?” He asks you.

You nod. “I did, did you?”

He nods. “Yup! I wanted to make sure I was prepared for the test, so I studied a lot before we left for vacation.”

Behind you, you hear Caleb scoff to himself slightly. But it seems you were the only one who heard, because Luke doesn’t react at all; unless he couldn’t care less and decided to just keep talking.

“Oh!” He exclaims as his smile brightens. “The trip was so much fun wasn’t it? The mountains were so beautiful!”

At his mention of the trip, the…mostly wonderful memories that were created there come back to you like a warm blanket wrapped around your body. You feel yourself smile as you recall the fun times that you had there. “It was, wasn’t it? Especially the sunsets! The sunsets were so pretty!”

While you’re happily talking with Luke, Caleb is quietly judging from behind. The way you were smiling and even talking excitedly…he hasn’t seen you like that in a while. When was the last time you were like that with him and Emcee?

But he soon snaps out of his thoughts, because Emcee starts talking to him. His eyes regaining their warmth as he smiles at her, paying attention to every word that leaves her lips.

After all, nothing matters more to you than your pipsqueak…right?

Time skip to lunch break, you’re about to go and get your food when Caleb suddenly grabs you by your forearm and pulls you into an empty classroom.

You let out a yelp at the sudden shift, momentarily stunned as Caleb shuts the door and turns to you.

You stare up at him wide-eyed as your mouth hangs open in surprise. “What the heck?” You yelp, pointing a finger at him disbelievingly, “what are you doing here? Aren’t you in an entirely different grade?”

Caleb sighs tiredly, raking a hand through his hair as his amethyst eyes settle on you.

Your heart jumps at the way his piercing gaze is looking right at you, as if he’s trying to burn a hole into your head to let all the thoughts spill out onto the cold floor.

‘But wait…aren’t I alone in this room with him?’

Ooooo what if he brought us here on purpose~

‘Stop being delusional.’

Your stomach does a weird flip at the thought, but you will your racing heart to settle down as Caleb starts speaking to you.

“I know, I’m just here to talk to you quickly. It’s about…” he trails off, hesitance clear in his tone as his eyes wander around the room. He clears his throat before he continues speaking. “Our fight. In the mountains.”

You knew it. You knew this was coming, that’s why you prepared beforehand what you would say to him when either of you brought it up. But before you get to open your mouth to speak, Caleb speaks first.

“I’m sorry,” He begins, “for what I said. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” He looks up into your eyes apologetically as he comes closer to you.

“And I didn’t mean to hurt you. If I did…I’m sorry.” He quietly says the last part as he hangs his head down in shame.

You don’t say anything at first as you let the silence stretch on, doing your best to gather your thoughts together before responding. “It’s okay. I…I’m also sorry…about the way I responded to you.” You say reluctantly. As much you hated saying sorry and didn’t necessarily think there was anything you needed to be sorry for, you still said for the sake of peace. Just in case.

Caleb looks up, his eyes shining with hope as his posture relaxes, letting out a huff as he smiles. “You don’t need to be sorry. It was my fault, so I will make it up to you. Remember how I said I would get you whatever you wanted? I’ll also use that as an apology gift to you.”

Oh, that’s right. Caleb promised that he would get whatever you wanted in exchange for giving Emcee those fairy lights.

You look off to the side in thought as you think about what you want; quickly coming to a conclusion as you snap your fingers and face him with a sweet smile, interlacing your hands behind your back.

“I want strawberry milk tea. With boba. But-!” You quickly interject as he’s about to open his mouth. “You can’t use that as an excuse for saying you already got me a birthday present.”

He chuckles, his eyes filled with something close to mirth. But you don’t get to study his expression properly before he turns around and makes his way towards the door. “Of course of course. Don’t worry. And I’ll get you your tea after school so you don’t have to chug it down before lunch is over. Come one, we should go now.”

However, you don’t immediately follow him, feeling like this conversation isn’t properly over. After all, you haven’t even addressed the elephant in the room yet.

A wall was built between you and Caleb. A wall built to protect the peace and stability of your friendship, a wall built to protect the feelings you don’t want the other to see from overflowing. This wall was built years ago when you first made that promise to him, the promise that sealed your fate from the moment you said those two words.

However, this wasn’t about you, no. This was about the person who made you believe in sincerity again, the person who made you believe there were good, genuine people out there. And as his friend, you would be damned if you let people say whatever they wanted about him.

So it didn’t matter how anxious or nervous you felt about speaking up, you had to address this now before it festers into something bigger.

You swallow the lump in throat and take a deep breath as you speak in a firm, but gentle voice. “Caleb. Luke isn’t a bad person.”

His hand pauses on the door handle, and for a few seconds, he doesn’t move. The feeling was akin to watching a bomb being held above the room, and at any moment, it might drop if you weren’t careful with what you said.

And just as you began to regret opening your mouth, he lets out a huff, slowly turning around as he faces you with his head down.

“You…like him a lot, don’t you?” His voice comes out soft, but his words feel like a thousand needles being pricked into your skin.

His question caught you a little off guard, your thoughts swirling around the word, ‘like.’

“W-what? I-I mean, of course I do, he’s my friend.” You stammer, surprised by his sudden accusation.

You shuffle in your place when he suddenly looks up, his piercing gaze looking pointedly at you. “Friend? He’s your friend now?” He scoffs, looking off to the side as he clenches his jaw.

His attitude was starting to make you feel anxious, and when you’re anxious, sometimes you start to scratch at your skin. But instead of doing that, you fist your hands in your skirt to fight the urge to claw at yourself.

“Caleb…I don’t get why you’re acting this way.” You mumble anxiously, fiddling with the hem of your skirt as you avoid his intense gaze.

He’s just jealous

He rakes a hand through his hair again as he sighs in defeat, his arms flopping down by his sides. “Sorry, I-I just…I’m just trying to protect you.”

He feels like you’re replacing him

“I know, and I appreciate it, really. But you don’t need to worry, Luke is a good person.” You reassure firmly, your brows drawn down in concern by his attitude.

Caleb just nods solemnly, giving you a small smile as he turns towards the door again and he looks back at you, nodding his head as a sign for you to follow him.

You jog after him as you two make your way down the corridor side by side, on your way to finally get lunch.

And didn’t know then, but this? This was the beginning of an entirely different wall being built between you two, a wall that neither of you may be able to cross over.

By the time you make it back to the cafeteria, Luke has already finished his lunch by half, and Emcee is sitting across from him. She’s talking to him about something enthusiastically, but he only seems to be half listening, only giving the occasional polite nod and hum of acknowledgment.

But when he looks up and sees you with your food tray, his eyes and smile brighten as he calls and waves at you. “Come sit over here! Next to me.”

You walk over as he scoots down the bench, setting your tray down and taking a seat next to him.

Caleb also comes over and takes a seat next to Emcee as she looks up. “Hey, what took the two of you so long? Did you get in trouble with the teacher or something?” She asks teasingly.

Caleb chuckles as he ruffles her hair, which causes her swat at his hand in annoyance. “Hey! Caleb!”

“Don’t be silly pipsqueak, you know she never gets in trouble. We were just discussing something, that’s all.” He says casually, looking up to give you a smile.

He really needs to stop smiling at you, because he has no idea what it does to you whenever he does.

You just blink at him as your cheeks turn slightly pink, then give all your attention to the food in front of you, not paying any mind to what people would think about you stuffing your face in big bites. You’ve been starving since this morning, after all.

The only time that you do look up is tell Luke this, “The food is actually really good today, it doesn’t taste like slop,” before going back to eating.

He let’s out a laugh, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he speaks. “Yeah, it is isn’t it? Especially the stew, the stew isn’t bad today.”

You just nod in agreement as you continue eating, finishing the last bits of food on your tray.

Caleb looks on coldly as Luke continues to look at you fondly. However, what he doesn’t notice is way Emcee is also looking at the way you two interact…

After school, Luke told you he has to stay behind because he was assigned cleanup duty, and that he would complete it as soon as possible so you can go home together.

You both agreed to meet at the tea shop Caleb was going to take you to get your tea, and you would go home together from there.

Now, you’re holding your strawberry milk tea outside as you stare at Caleb nonchalantly. “You guys are meeting up with friends? Okay.” ‘Just abandon me here.’ You think.

“Ummm, do you want to come? The three of us could go together.” He offered, not noticing your inner displeasure.

As nice as the idea was, you told Luke you would meet him here, and you weren’t about to back out on your word. “It’s okay, I told Luke I would meet him here before we left school. You two can go ahead, he’ll be here soon.” You reassure as you sip your boba.

“Oh…you’re waiting for him? I know! Why don’t we wait for him and then we can all go toge-” She suggests but doesn’t get to finish as Caleb puts a hand on her back.

“Come on pipsqueak, she said it’s okay. Let’s go.” He guides her away with his hand before looking back to flash you a charming smile. “You’ll be okay waiting, right?”

“Yes yes, go along now.” You say as you use your hand in a shoo gesture like a grandmother.

You watch as they make their way down the street, sighing before going back inside the shop to escape the cold.

Allllll byyyy myyyy seeeEelf

Don’t wanna be, alllll byyyy myyyy self, anymore

You take a seat by the window and put your backpack on the chair next to you as you sip on your boba.

You look around the shop, taking in the cutesy interior and bright pastel colours of the place. The shop doesn’t only sell different kinds of tea, but different kinds of cute styled pastries and cakes as well.

You’re so absorbed in looking at the interior and food, you almost don’t notice the tall figure standing right by the window.

You jump in your seat when you see that it’s Luke looking in right at you, a mischievous glint in his eye and a bright smile on his face.

You start laughing as your pulse calms down from the scare, Luke coming into the shop also laughing.

“You should’ve seen your face! Your eyes went as wide as saucers!” He falls into another fit of laughter, so bright and contagious, it’s impossible not to laugh along with him.

The laughter dies down as Luke takes a seat across from you, but pauses as if realizing something. “Wait- are you here alone? Where did your other friends go?” He inquires as he looks around, as if trying to find them.

You pick up your cup and swirl it around, watching the ice and boba swirl around like a tornado. When you speak, your voice comes out indifferent, “They went to hang out with their friends at the arcade or something. They didn’t explicitly tell me where they were going.”

When he doesn’t say anything, you glance up, but pause you see the look on his face.

His usual warm coral eyes have turned seething and slightly dull, a deep frown set on face as he works his jaw. “And they left you here alone? Didn’t they at least offer to take you with them?” He hissed.

You blink at him, confused. Why did he seem so upset? “Well, Caleb did offer. But…I don’t know any of their friends, so it would be uncomfortable and awkward for me if I went with them.”

You observe his face as you finish speaking, taking in the way he clenches his jaw and takes slow, controlled breaths.

But suddenly, he flashes you a warm smile, as if he wasn’t even upset in the first place. “You know what? I think I’ll get a drink too, and then if you want, we can take the bus and let it drop us off a little farther from home, then we can walk the rest of the way. Only if you want to of course!” He offers brightly as his eyes shine with warmth, any trace of anger gone like clouds when the sun comes out.

Though you were still slightly confused by his sudden change in attitude, you can’t help but give him a small smile of your own, the warmth of his smile radiating into your heart. “Yeah, I like the sound of that. Let’s do it!”

After Luke gets his tea, you two take the bus and let it drop you off just a little farther from home.

Now, you’re walking side by side as you both sip on your tea, the sky above you still grey and gloomy as it was earlier in the morning.

“Hey.” Luke suddenly says thoughtfully.

“Hm?” You hum as you look up at him.

He lets out an amused chuckle, as if he just realized something funny. “Isn’t it funny how we’re drinking cold tea even though it’s freezing outside?”

You let out a small laugh of your own at the simplicity and absurdity of it. “Pfft honestly? I drink cold drinks all the time in winter.”

Luke’s mouth falls open in shock as he look at you. “No way, are you serious? How?!”

You can’t help but laugh at the shock induced look on his face, almost choking on your tea in the process as you let out a cough. “I don’t know, I just do I guess. I honestly don’t know myself.”

As you continue to walk forward, a sudden thought comes to you that makes you want to ask Luke something. “Hey Luke, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?” He inquires.

“Do you…have any other friends?” You ask hesitantly, but realize that the way you worded it probably sounded bad. “N-not that I think you don’t have other friends! That’s not what I meant…” You trail off, hoping he doesn’t take offense to your question.

“It’s okay! Don’t worry.” He reassures kindly, then continues thoughtfully, “Hmmm…all the people I know are more like acquaintances than friends to me, but I sometimes hang out with a couple of the guys from the basketball team.”

“Oh.” You mutter.

“Ah! Not you though! You’re my friend, not an acquaintance!” He reassures quickly, his eyes filled with panic as he misinterprets your ‘oh.’

You chuckle. “Don’t worry Luke, I didn’t misunderstand.”

He lets out a slight sigh of relief. “That’s good, I just wanted to make sure.”

Then he asks a question you were both expecting and not expecting at the same time, “What about you? Do…you have any other friends than those two?”

You hesitate, but reply calmly to his question, “Other than you, no. I don’t.”

Past memories resurface like thorns as you talk him. “Back when we were younger, it was just the three of us. But they got other friends as we all got older.”

It was only to be expected, after all, they were both outgoing and approachable people. You remember how back then, when you asked them if they wanted to hang out, they would tell you they had plans with their other friends. You didn’t mind, really, but as it began to happen more often, you just assumed they found their friends more fun than you.

You don’t blame them, after all, you didn’t think you were the most fun person to hang around with. But the thought always brought a pang of jealousy and loneliness in your chest. You would think, if only you were more outgoing, if only you had more to say, maybe it wouldn’t be like this.

As if sensing your self deprecating thoughts, Luke puts a gentle hand on your shoulder, effectively snapping you out of your dark thoughts.

You look up into summer sunset eyes, the warmth of them somehow always able to bring peace to your troubled heart.

Luke gives you a gentle smile, his voice as soft as pure silk. “You have me now, alright? You don’t need to feel alone anymore.”

It’s strange, really. The way he talks to you sometimes makes you feel as if he’s witnessed everything you’ve went through. But then again, that was the thing about Luke, whenever you were with him, your negative thoughts always seemed to vanish into the air. Talking and being with him was just…easy.

You nod and give him a small but grateful smile, hoping it can convey everything you were feeling at the moment in your heart.

Luke reciprocates your smile, and with a warm and gentle hand around your shoulders, he guides you home as soft snowflakes begin to fall from the cloud covered sky.

As the weeks pass by, you and Luke continue to spend more time together. You eat together all the time at lunch, help each other study, do your homework together, and go home together at the end of the day too. You text each other random memes, and say goodnight before going to sleep.

And now that the end of November is fast approaching, you’re trying to figure out what you will get him for his birthday. You vaguely remember him mentioning that his birthday is on the fifth of next month, but the thing is…you don’t know what to get him.

So today was the day you were going to ask him what he wants and likes, and figure something out from there.

You’re now studying together in the kitchen table of his house as you sit across from him with your hands clasped together in front of you, your face one of absolute seriousness.

“What do I like?” He asks as he blinks at you.

You nod firmly, “Yeah, and what do you want for your birthday?”

Luke puts his pencil down as sips the hot chocolate his mother left on the table for the both of you, his face taking on something thoughtful.

“Hmmmm….what I like? Oh!” He mutters the first part before looking up suddenly, “I like riddles! And mysteries! Oh, and photography too!”

Seeing the way his eyes light up like a young boy when he tells you what he likes makes you chuckle. “Riddles and mysteries? I like mysteries too, but I’m not that great at riddles.”

He gasps, “You like them too? That’s great! And if you want, I can teach you how to solve different riddles, and we can do them together!” He offers enthusiastically as his eyes shine with hope, the idea of having a partner to do these things with making him ecstatic.

You don’t have it in you to refuse him from the way he was looking at you. Not that you would reject him anyway, you also liked the idea of doing these things with him. “Yeah! I like the sound of that!” You agree.

“Great! We can be like Sherlock and Watson! I’m Sherlock, and you’re my Watson!” His smile is bright and unrestrained, and warm enough to melt the snow and ice off the coldest of days.

You nod in agreement, your smile just as big as his.

And so, that’s how Sherlock and his loyal Watson was born. And they didn’t know then, but they would do anything for each other, and follow each other to the ends of the earth if they had to.

taglist: @orbitraiden @chauchirem @sickleddreamer @thirstblogforaparchedgirl @wonderfulcookiepantry

Synopsis: You and Luke bond more as you spend the next couple days together, though, in the back your mind you’re wondering if you’re opening your heart to someone new too easily. Doubts begin to creep in as you wonder if the reason why he approached you in the first place was because he pitied the fact that your friends, in a way, ‘abandoned’ you. What makes it worse, is that Caleb’s not so good opinions about him make some of your greatest fears resurface. However, you slowly come to realize that not all people are like that, and that there are truly sincere people out there.

Genre(s)/Tropes: Romance, Slow Burn, Coming-of-age, Comedy, Angst, Friends to Lovers, Possessive x Possessive (kinda)

Pairings: Luke x reader (nonMC), Caleb x MC, Caleb x nonMC (background ship, mostly used for angst)

cw: couple use of swear words, Caleb is kind of an ass, reader is doing her best to guard her heart but is failing miserably at keeping Luke at arms length lmao, reader deals with anxiety.

Chapter 2: 3 Days worth it

Day 2 (first full day)

You wake to the feeling of being surrounded by warmth, the weight of your body sunken into the soft mattress as the thick duvet is pulled up to your chin. Your eyes are still half shut, bleary and heavy with sleep as you shift from your side to your back, letting out a soft groan.

You lift your arm to reach for your phone on the nightstand, letting out a wince of pain as you feel an ache go from your shoulder to your arm. Your mind is still foggy from sleep, your thoughts bouncing around as you feel the ache in your legs too, trying to recall why you would feel this way in the first place.

Memories surge over you like a tidal wave as you remember everything that happened yesterday. From scouting the hills alone, meeting and sledding with Luke, losing track of time as the both of you had fun until the sun set, to Caleb and Emcee eventually finding you as you all made the trek back to the resort together. The flurries that once fell in soft flakes turned into a slight blizzard, as if the clouds opened up a trapdoor and emptied all of the frost onto the already snow covered earth. The heavy downfall slightly obscured your vision, but you all made it back safely nonetheless.

You check the time on your phone, 8:30. ‘Crap! Breakfast ends in one hour!’

You panic as you fling the blankets off, your skin greeted immediately by the chilly air; teeth chattering as you pad your way to the bathroom. You quickly use the bathroom, brush your teeth, wash your face and do your skincare before you’re running back to your room to get changed and fix your hair.

You’re about to open the door to leave when you see someone sitting on the sofa out of the corner of your eye.

“Well, hello hello~” A sing-song lilt enters your sisters voice as she gets up from where she’s sitting and walks over to you.

You stare at her slack jawed. “Wait- you’re still here? I thought you went down already, how long were you here for?”

“Hmmmm,” she hums, thinking contemplatively, “I woke up around 30 minutes ago, when I woke up, Mom and Dad just started heading out the door. They asked me if I wanted to go with them, but I told them I would wait until you got up to go down with you.” She finishes with a nod.

“Oh. Okay.” You mumble. “But you should have woken me up, that way we wouldn’t have to rush.” Warmth spreads throughout your body, you feel touched that she would wait for you, really.

“Aish, don’t worry about it,” she reassures as she opens the door, the two of you exiting and making your way to the elevator. “You fell asleep while we were talking last night. I was a little surprised really, when you stopped responding to me. I guess you were really tired from playing yesterday huh?” Her lips quirked into a teasing smile. “You didn’t even finish telling me everything that happened with the boy.”

You feel your cheeks flush slightly from embarrassment as you enter the elavator. “Well, he also said that we should hang out together again.” You say as nonchalantly as possible, trying to ignore the way you feel your heart flutter at the memory; his coral eyes looking at you so eagerly, and the way his smile was so bright.

“Oooooo~” A smirk formed on her face as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down at you, nudging you playfully with her elbow.

You couldn’t help the small smile that tilted your lips upward at her teasing. “Stop, it’s not like that, we just met. Besides-”

You don’t get to finish your sentence as the elevator dings and the doors open. Externally, you freeze, internally, a red blare alarm goes off as your emotions scramble around.

‘Ahhh, shit.’

“Oh?” Luke’s face lights up with a surprise, his lips slowly stretching into a smile of recognition. “Oh hey! Good morning!”

You give a small smile and mutter a, ‘good morning’ back as you feel your face go up in flames from anxiety; your heart erratically beating in your chest.

He enters the elevator with a woman behind him, probably- oh crap, is that his mother?

She’s a petite but tall woman, with honey brown hair the same colour as Luke’s, and kind, deep brown eyes. Her face is equally kind as she smiles warmly at you, calming the anxiety in your heart a little bit.

“Is this by any chance…the girl you were talking about Luke?” She whispers to him, her eyes and smile taking on something slightly teasing.

“Yeah, this is her.” He turns around to smile at you, his eyes suddenly wandering to look behind you as he tilts his head curiously.

“Oh! Are you with your sister?” His mother asks the question Luke was most likely wondering.

At the mention of her, you feel yourself visibly relax, a reminder to yourself that you weren’t alone in the elevator with someone you just met yesterday, who was also with his mother. “Yes, this is my older sister.” You say, turning to her.

“Nice to meet the both of you, my name is Rena.” She says, smiling at the both of you.

The both of you smile and nod your head at her politely as the doors open to the first floor. The four of you exit the elevator as you make your way to breakfast area, all the while your sister is side eyeing you with a shit eating grin.

You sigh as you think to yourself, ‘this is gonna be a longgg day.’

You don’t even know how it happened, but you shouldn’t say you were surprised. Right now, you were walking in the small town here in the mountains, the ground beneath your feet covered in snow and ice.

Little shops lined up along the streets, luminous Christmas lights lighting up all different kinds of items in the display windows; from toys and dolls, skis and ski gear, clothes and winter jackets, different decorative cakes, candied fruit and desserts; and they even had a store that selled home decor.

The air is crisp with the smell of hot chocolate and what you can guess as different kinds of soup; a row of restaurants along the strip puff out smoke from the snow covered roofs, offering hot food and warmth to those who need a break from skiing or sightseeing.

The reason why you were here in the first place, was because your parents and Josephine met Luke and his mother at breakfast. It all started with small chatter, which then turned into you all eating at the same table, which then turned into discussing plans to head into the town together.

And yeah…that’s you ended up here.

Emcee skips up next to you as she loops her arm through yours. “Let’s go check out the toy shop! I saw that they also sell decorations too!” Her smile and eyes are giddy as she looks at you.

You feel someone come over to your other side to loop their arm through yours, looking over to see your sister, a hint of challenge in her eyes. “I think we should go check out the clothes store, I saw that they have some cute pieces in there. What do you say?” She challenges, looking at you.

“No! Let’s go check out the toy shop first!” Emcee argues adamantly as she tugs on your arm.

“Nuh-uh, I think we should go check out the clothes first.” Your sister refuses to give you up, also tugging on your other arm.

You feel the corner of your mouth lift up in amusement. “Ladies ladies, please! You can all have your turn!” You announced jokingly. “Let’s do one thing at a time, okay?”

“I know,” Caleb suddenly says, coming up behind you to put a hand on both of you and Emcee’s heads, “why don’t we go to the toy shop first, and figure out the rest after, hm?” He concludes with a charming smile.

Your sister quirks an eyebrow at him, clearly not impressed by his problem solving. “Well, I’m gonna go check out the clothes with Mom and Dad,”then she turns to you, “you coming?”

“Uhhhhh…” you hesitate, looking between the two parties. “I think…I’ll go with them. I want to check out the decorations.”

“All right then.” She shrugs. “But can always come over if you don’t see anything, it’s just across after all.”

You nod. “Okay.”

You watch her walk off, sighing as you turn on your heel to catch up to Caleb and Emcee who already started making their way to the store.

A bell dings on top of the door as you open it, your senses immediately enveloped by the different kinds of scents. The store smells like wood and nutmeg with hints of vanilla, everything clean and polished except for the wet boot marks from people coming in and out. It turns out that the store not only sells toys, but different arts and crafts kits, candles, decorative fairy lights, and even keychains.

You look around in awe, making a beeline for the fairy lights as soon as you set your eyes on them. You’ve been wanting to get some to put in your room, but there weren’t any good ones that you saw back home. “Twenty bucks? That’s not a bad price considering the length of it.” You muttered to yourself.

“Are those fairy lights?”

You turn around to see Emcee coming up to you, Caleb following close behind her. Her face lights up as she sees them, taking them off the shelf to look at them. “Wow! I’ve been meaning to get some for my room too!”

Caleb takes them out her hands to look at it. “Huh, it’s not a bad price. Want me to get it for you pipsqueak?”

You pause, feeling like a rock was hovering above your head and it was about to crush you at any moment.

“Oh but..” she hesitates, looking at you as if she’s bracing herself for disappointment, “weren’t you going to get them?”

Caleb looks over at you as if he just acknowledged your presence. “Oh? Were you going to get them?”

You hesitate. “Um, I-”

“How about this,” he cuts you off abruptly, making you snap your mouth shut from whatever you were going to say, “when we get back home, I’ll get you something you really like, whatever you want.”

The rock comes down and crushes you like a squashed tomato.

He really only cares about her, doesn’t he? What about our feelings?

“…whatever I want?”

“Yep, whatever you want.”

“…fine, but no takebacks.” It’s best not to complicate this situation by saying you wanted them too, and it’s not as if this hasn’t happened before.

How many times have we given her something we wanted? Thisreallyisn’tfair

“Really?! But-” she begins, but you don’t let her finish.

“It’s okay.” You pressed, giving her a reassuring smile. “Really, just take them.” You don’t wait for her to respond as you leave that section and go to the candles, an attempt to make it seem like you found something more interesting.

You don’t even look at the names of the candles as you idly pick them up and smell them, your jaw clenching and unclenching as you try to calm yourself down. ‘It’s just fairy lights. It’s an object, it’s not as if it’s a person…never mind.’

As you’re taking deep breaths to calm yourself, you don’t even realize someone is beside you until a candle comes in front of your face.

You startle slightly as your eyes widen, looking up to see Luke holding out a candle to you; his eyes searching and his brow furrowed slightly as he looks at you. But he quickly masks his expression with a smile as he nudges the candle towards you. “This one smells like hot chocolate! Take a sniff!”

You blink at him rapidly as you carefully lean forward, sniffing the candle. “Mm, yeah, it smells nice…” You mumble, turning to look at the shelf of candles so he doesn’t see your face.

Luke pauses, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly before he puts the candle back on the shelf and picks up another one, sniffing it. “Oooh! Cinnamon buns!” Again, he holds it out to you for you to smell it too.

You hesitate. Why is he doing this? Did he…see how you were upset earlier, so he’s trying to cheer you up? You look up at him, your brow furrowed with suspicion.

There’s a hint of awkwardness in his eyes, and he’s smiling brightly as if he’s trying to project it onto you. Your eyes soften as you swallow, hard. For some reason, his sudden presence brought a small sense of calm to you, like warm sunlight that illuminates every single snowflake on the ground after a heavy snowstorm.

You lean forward. “That one smells really nice.” You say softly, hoping he doesn’t hear the way your voice quivers slightly. Pulling back and reaching to get a different candle from the shelf, you bring it to your nose as your senses are filled with something pepperminty and sweet. “Mm…candy cane.” You hold the candle out for him to smell.

He leans forward sniff it. “Mmmm!” He closes his eyes shut as he sighs blissfully. “Candy cane with hot chocolate…I could use some of that right now.”

You can’t help but let out a soft laugh at his reaction, putting it back and getting another candle. “This one smells like…pine?” Your nose scrunches up at the scent.

“Does it? Let me smell.” He gently grabs your wrist to guide the candle to his nose, but he sniffs it a little too aggressively as he begins to cough.

“Woah- are you okay?” Your mouth quirks upward in amusement as he sneezes.

“I’m,” he coughs again, “okay, don’t worry.” He coughs a couple more times as he clears his throat, his watering eyes shining from choking on the scent.

Your pulse quickens as you realize that he’s still holding onto your wrist, the warmth of his hand somehow seeping through your jacket and warming you up from head to toe. But you don’t say anything. You don’t know what to say without making things awkward anyway.

It’s only after Luke finishes catching his breath that he realizes that he’s still holding onto you. “Sorry!” He snatches his hand back as if he got physically burned by something hot, a rosy hue beginning to bloom across his cheeks. “I didn’t realize that I…” He trails off as he uses the same hand to scratch the back of his neck again, a nervous tick of his probably.

“It’s okay.” Your mutter as you turn away from him and put the candle back on the shelf, using your cold hands to cool down your now warm cheeks.

The silence stretches on as your eyes dart anywhere but his eyes, pretending to look around the store as you try to calm your pulse down.

Luke breaks the silence first though. “Hey…you know, I saw a place that sells different kinds of skewers a couple stores over. Are you hungry? Wanna go get some?”

You finally turn around to glance up at him. “But…didn’t we just eat breakfast?” Actually, you didn’t eat much at breakfast because you felt nauseous from anxiety.

“Yeah but, I’m still kinda hungry. Can you blame me? I’m still growing.” His lips form into a soft pout as he stares at you with pleading eyes.

You raise an eyebrow as you stare at him, but close your eyes as you let out a sigh. “Fine.” You relent, caving in to his needs. “I’m kinda hungry too after all.”

You spend the rest of the day shopping and trying new food, your mood and heart warm despite the biting chill in the air, your earlier resentment long forgotten as you laugh and joke around with Luke and your sister.

The sky is clear from the gray clouds earlier, and has fully darkened by the time you eat dinner and make your way back to the resort; the moon illuminating every hidden shadow on the street as the stars twinkle brightly.

Your steps are light with something akin to glee as you stare up at the moon, contentment filling your heart as you walk back. Tomorrow is your last day here, which means you will also be trying skiing for the first time. You smile as you feel excitement bubble up in your chest, and can’t help but think that you were right. This trip was definitely worthwhile.

However, you fail to notice the piercing gaze behind you as you walk and talk with Luke, his back the target of Caleb’s smouldering glare.

His jaw clenches as he sees you laugh at something he said, your eyes shining with mirth as you look up at him. He scoffs out a huff, wondering why he feels so bitter whenever he sees you with him.

Kind of ironic, is it not?

Day 3 (last full day)

As you look down the skiing hill, you can’t help but wonder what will happen if you lose your balance and hit your head. ‘No no no, none of that. Positive thoughts! Remember?’ You think to yourself as you swallow nervously.

You feel an arm around your shoulder as you look up, Caleb looking down at you with a comforting smile. “Are you nervous?” He asks, a slightly teasing lilt entering his tone.

“A l-little, yeah.” You stutter, looking down the (to you) steep hill again.

As if reading your thoughts, he lets out a chuckle. “The hill isn’t that big, don’t worry. It’s definitely not as big as what those Olympic athletes ski down.”

That does little to quell your nerves, however.

“Hey.” He says softly, causing you to glance up at him reluctantly. You loved and hated when he used that tone with you, because it always made your heart do a stupid little flip in your chest whenever he talked to you like that.

“Don’t worry, alright? I’ll help guide you through it the entire time.” His amethyst eyes shine in the sun as the wind blows his ashy brown hair, his attempt at comforting you only making your heart beat faster, not from anxiety this time.

You nod, because you don’t trust your voice to answer him right now.

“Great! But, safety first.” He states as he puts a helmet on your head, clipping the buckle underneath your chin.

“What about Emcee?” You ask as he adjusts the helmet to make it more comfortable for you.

“She’s alright. I taught her everything yesterday, so she knows the basics and precautions. Pulling?” He inquires.

“No.”

“Good, let’s go now.” He says as he hands you a pair of goggles.

Caleb guides you through it the entire time like he said he would, never once letting you out of his sight. You slipped a couple times, but by the third time you went down the hill, you were a lot more stable. It was fun, you realized, and not as scary as you thought it would be.

On your way back up, Caleb suddenly brings up something you weren’t expecting. “Y’know, you’ve been spending a lot of your time with that Luke kid. Is he that fun to be with?” He says it casually and lightly, but he doesn’t look at you when you turn to face him.

“Why? Are you curious about him?” You tease. “I think he’s really nice.”

He scoffs out slightly. “Really nice, huh? I was just wondering, because you never know…he might not be all that nice as you think he is.”

Where in the world is this conversation going? You don’t know why, but his seemingly casual remark pissed you off a little. “Then, what are you trying to say? That…Luke is a bad person? Did you see him do something that made you think that?” You argued.

“I’m just saying,” he snaps, finally turning his head to look you in the eyes with a look of annoyance, though not directed at you, “to be careful. You never really know a person. What if he’s actually a trickster? What if he’s just getting close to you now and forgets about you as soon as we get back home?”

That makes you pause, the argumentative words you were about to refute back at him dying on your tongue.

The past couple almost blissful days turned into cracked glass in your memory. What if he…does forget you? What if he just sees you as his temporary activity buddy? And after all of this is over, will you go back to just passing each other in the corridors without looking or greeting each other? Even though you knew to an extent what Caleb was saying was sound reasoning, you would like to think that he was genuinely a nice guy. But it’s also like he said, you never really know a person…

Caleb doesn’t know, but what he said reawakened deep rooted fears that you thought you overcame. People who you met that called you their friend, only to find out that they only kept you around them because you were, ‘useful.’ They either wanted to be your ‘friend’ because you actually paid attention in class, which meant they could copy your notes and ask for your help only when it was convenient for them, or they saw how you were friends with Caleb who was quite popular in school, and wanted to use you to put in a good word for them.

Whether it be guys because they thought he was cool, or girls who had a crush on him; the memory of their fake smiles and sweet words towards you made you feel sick in your stomach. The familiar, ugly claws of bitterness and resentment begin to wrap your heart up in a vice grip, wounds and scars that haven’t fully healed beginning to rip back open, bleeding crimson onto the pristine white snow.

Don’t let him plant a seed of doubt in your mind.

But what if it is like that?

You wonder what kind of expression you’re making right now, because Caleb’s face immediately washes over with regret as his voice softens, so much different from the harsh tone he used with you earlier.

“Hey hey, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to snap, I just…I want you to be careful.” He reaches out to gently put a hand on your arm.

You’re grateful that you reached the top of the hill, because it gives you an excuse to pull away from him.

He calls after you as you storm off, the swarming thoughts in your mind starting to become too much for you. Right now, you need quiet.

You turn sharply on your heel to face him, your jaw clenched and your brow furrowed. “I know. I’ll be careful Caleb, so don’t worry about me, alright?” You hiss through gritted teeth.

You don’t wait for him to respond before you stalk off, leaving him there by himself in the icy wind as cold as your heart.

Whatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatifwhatif

Your mind is a frenzy as you shut your eyes tightly, as if that will shut out all the negative ‘what if’s’ that are swirling around in your thoughts.

You groan as you get up from where you’re sitting under a tree, staggering forward almost zombie like.

What if he does forget us?

You need to find your mom.

What if these past few days meant more to us than it did to him?

You need to find your dad.

We never really learn our lesson, do we?

You need to find your sister.

What if Caleb is right-

“Hey!”

You look up when you hear someone calling your name, your half lidded eyes coming into focus as you see someone running towards you in the distance.

Luke comes to a stop in front of you, his face and voice full of excitement. “I saw a really good steep hill! If we sled down it, we’ll definitely go flying!”

You swallow the lump of emotion in your throat when you see him, your shoulders hunched as you look down at the ground. When speak, your voice comes out small.

“Luke…can I ask you something?”

Taking in your hunched shoulders and the way your voice comes out small and slightly hoarse, his brow furrows in concern.

“Hey, are you okay?” He reaches out to put a hand on your shoulder, but pauses and thinks better of it, letting it flop back down by his side. “Are you tired? Or, are you hurt? N-no wait,” he stammers, his words jumbled together in fast sentences, “you wanted to ask me something? What is it?”

You shuffle your feet in the snow, refusing to look up at him. “Have you been having fun these past couple days?” You mumble.

Luke’s brows draw down in confusion, when he speaks, his words come out incredulously. “Of course I have been, haven’t you?”

You nod, still not looking up at him. “Then when we go back…will we…” your voice shakes slightly, and you clear your throat in an attempt to steady it, “still talk to each other?”

The silence is so loud you can hear your own shallow breathing, and it makes you wonder if Luke can hear it too. When he doesn’t say anything, you panic, quickly trying to do damage control to save face and not make things awkward for him. But before you can say anything, he lets out a surprised laugh.

“Of course we will silly, what makes you think we won’t?” His eyes have softened at the edges, and he’s looking at you with a mixture of surprise and confusion.

You swallow, you can’t show him how vulnerable you feel right now. Vulnerability is dangerous, especially when it comes to being so with someone you just met. “I was just…wondering that’s all.”

He studies you quietly, his eyes searching. You weren’t looking at him, which meant you either didn’t want him to see the look on your face, or you simply just couldn’t.

Why would you ask that? Were you…worried about something? He didn’t want to push you to tell him what was wrong, after all, he didn’t want to want to overwhelm you more than you looked right now. But he still felt like he should say something to reassure you.

“We’ll exchange numbers so we can be in contact with each other all the time.” He starts, his voice cautious but gentle.

“We’ll walk or take the bus to school together, and if we don’t, I’ll come find you. At lunch, we’ll eat together and judge how bad the cafeteria food is. We’ll study together and help each other improve our grades, we’ll tell each other bad jokes and laugh until we can’t breathe. And at the end of a long day, we’ll go home together side by side.”

It’s the way he looks so sincere while he says this with so much conviction that makes you look up at him; your throat burning and your eyes glassy from unshed tears. His words felt like wrapping a warm blanket around your wounded feelings, bringing warmth and comfort to your burdened heart.

Hearing his words and seeing his expressions made you realize something. You can’t judge someone based off of just one opinion, and you can’t let said opinion dictate whether you should think that way too.

Yes, to an extent Caleb’s reasoning was sound, but that doesn’t mean you should let the way he sees Luke affect your perception of him. You had to remind yourself that you were your own person with different thoughts and feelings too.

Even though you were still cautious when it came to meeting new people and letting them into your heart, you dared to let yourself hope that Luke was different from the rest.

So with that in mind, you say something that you hope you won’t regret in the future. “Then,” you croak out, taking a deep breath as you say your next words carefully, “doesn’t that technically mean that…we’re friends?”

His brows that were drawn down shoot up, his face morphing into one of pure happiness as he grins at you, bright and unrestrained. “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying! It’s just,” he pauses, rubbing the back of neck sheepishly as he looks away from you, “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to or…” he trails off, his words turning into a nervous mumble.

It takes you second to process what he said at the end before it dawns on you. “Huh? No! I-I mean…I would like to be friends with you.” You quickly reassure, not wanting him to misunderstand.

His brief earlier nervousness vanishes like mist in the wind, replaced by his usual bright smile. “Great! It’s settled then, we’re officially friends now! Now then,” he extends a hand to you, a playful glint entering his eye, “are you ready to go down that hill partner?”

Your lips can’t help but quirk up into a smile as you take his hand, letting him guide you. He’s saying something about the hill and the speed of which you will be able to go down, but you’re not really paying attention to what he’s saying. Because for the first time, you feel something you haven’t felt in a while, at least not like this.

Pure, untainted hope.

tag(s): @thirstblogforaparchedgirl

a/n: sorry this is kinda long lol, but this is the end of the ski trip era, so now we’re moving on!💃 Also, sorry if this is kinda unrealistic and annoying lol. I’m still trying to work on my writing skills.😅

I’m working on the pacing and the emotional aspects of it, so it might be released either a couple days from now or next Sunday.