#luke;

luke was having a hard time accepting the fact that he’d have to go back to sharing her with other guys once they got back to campus. he was more convinced now that she didn’t see him the way she saw other guys, which at the very least was a good thing. but at the end of the day, she still hooked up with them and not him. all within reason, if nothing was ever gonna happen between them. he wasn’t pleased with her picking out a tie for his brother but it wasn’t worth being upset over enough to keep her from going to the party just because she thought he was mad at her. danny and her mom called him up to rat on her not wanting to go and eventually he made his way over over in his suit, with his tie loosely hanging around his neck. as he made his way inside, he greeted her mom who was on her way out, looking relieved, as did danny who looked more amused than anything but glad they could finally head out. “oh don’t you look handsome!” her mom exclaimed, cupping his cheek. “you make sure she shows up there, even if you have to drag her out, lucas!” she called out to him as she and danny made their exit to his car. his brows raised, wondering now just how serious katie had barricaded herself in her room as he made his way upstairs. “katieeeee,” he knocked on her door that was still shut. “are you dressed?” he asked, trying the doorknob to walk inside.

luke was hyper focused on the tv screen, fingers tapping wildly at his controller and swaying in his gaming chair that sat smack in the middle of his bedroom right at the end of his bed. it’d been a while since he’d gone live with the boys considering katie had consumed most of his time lately. not that he minded, but since she left him for his mom to go to the shops, he wound up playing well into the night. things were good with the exception of her reluctance to move in to the new apartment but he hoped that at some point she would wound up slowly moving in without realizing it. his dad didn’t care enough like his mom to grill him about katie and so he was spared from having to hide the fact that they were together. at least until their dinner tomorrow night. a bag of lays sat on the end of his bed as he blindly reached an arm back for some chips to shove into his mouth, dodging the mic from his headset as he did. “don’t fucking go that way! you’re gonna get us all killed!” he shouted into his mic, gesturing with a hand at the screen as if blake could see. he had the sound up to the max but could still hear the vibrations of doors opening and closing in the house. causing his head to whip toward his bedroom door when he noticed the light from the hallway creep into his dark bedroom only illuminated by the call of duty game on the screen. “hey, baby, you’re back.” he smiled as he glanced over to the girl carrying one too many bags. he’d forgotten to mute his mic and earned himself a few words from sean and blake about how it was game over now because katie was back. “hey, i’m still on, you fuckers! don’t talk about my girlfriend like that.” he muttered. 

luke was surprised that katie’s incision had even healed enough to get her stitches taken out considering all the times that she’d popped a stitched accidentally over the past week. nonetheless, the doctor seemed to approve of her healing and finally gave her what she wanted--to get stitches out. naturally, he drove as he usually did. but things definitely felt different since they’d agreed to become a couple. a step he never thought would actually happen. how he convinced her to be his girlfriend was beyond him. but he had accepted that his feelings for her were too strong to ignore and the more he told her how he felt, the easier the words felt to say every time. still, he wasn’t perfect and he was bound to mess up so he worried there would inevitably be a time when things would get so rough maybe she’d rethink their decision but he knew for a fact he only wanted a future with her. “are you happy now?” he asked as opened his passenger side door for her, leaning in to steal a kiss from her just because he could when she got closer. “you’re lucky i didn’t tell him about how many times your stitches popped or he would’ve definitely made you keep ‘em longer.” he mused. 

luke had spent most of the day and well into the night coding. katie’s surgery had backtracked him and so once he finished up and submitted the assignment online, he showered and got dressed to head to the party everyone had already left to over an hour ago. he figured he’d find her there, considering he felt like she was still hiding from him. things were complicated but at this point, he was just rolling with the punches. blake was wasted and immediately throwing a beer his way. as if he’d read his mind, he instructed him on where he’d last spotted katie. sipping on the beer, he made his way through the crowded floor. one fo the girls from the other sorority bumped into him, trying to spark a conversation. trying to be nice, he entertained her for a bit until he laid eyes on katie and excused himself to make his way over to her. of course, some drunk guy lingered by her. “hey, you..” he smiled, licking his beer coated lips as he walked over to her, slipping his hand down to the small of her back and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

he was emptying more ice in the cooler that was stacked with beer when he overheard a group of girls walk in. his head lifted, immediately laying his eyes on katie and a stupid smile tugging on his lips. he felt blake smack him on the back of the head to snap him out of it and he made a face as he twisted around to punch his shoulder that was probably sun burned by now. “fucker!” he cursed, finishing shaking off the bag of ice before slamming the cooler shut and heading to toss it in the trash. “hey,” he smiled at her. “hey luke!” one of her friends spoke up. once again, girls around her always calling him out for only saying hi to her and forgetting they were right there. “hey, sorry. plenty of lounge chairs. we got drinks and food going around.” he motioned to the deck, though his eyes were still on katie.

lucas was fed up with the way her family was treating katie. her dad had never been the best with her but this time around, with the added drama of annie, things had gone past their limits. after texting danny to hold off on the drinks, he told him the way things had gone done between katie and their dad which prompted him to accept katie deserved to drink whatever she wanted because her dad was officially an asshole. he was already getting in his car when she texted him to bring his trunks and so he had to quickly head back inside to change. swerving through the streets, he was at her dad’s place in no time. before he could make it further into the house, her aunt was already embracing him, clearly having had a couple drinks. “hey, hey.” he smiled, hugging her back. maybe it would calm him down from how pissed off he was at her dad and ready to blow up on him. “where’s my favorite girl?” he mused as he glanced around the party, knowing she always did like him and katie together.

luke didn’t know how drunk she’d be after spending most of the evening drinking as she said she would but he knew if she was anything but sober, it would make saying no to her even more difficult. and right now if they wanted to abide by the rules, both of them had to have their head screwed on straight. or at least one of them more than the other. “you look good.” he smiled once she climbed in and he eventually took off. he had no intention to say hi to any of her dad’s family. including annie. “here, i got you some coffee to help you sober up if you still want.” he said, lifting it from the cupholder and handing it to her. “my lap is restricted for the rest of this car ride.” he mused.