#peacetealuke

no matter how many times you replayed every second you’d spent with calum and every conversation you’d had with him, you just couldn’t figure out what you’d done wrong, what you’d done to warrant this sort of behavior and treatment from him. the only conclusion you could come to was that perhaps he’d met someone he actually had more than just a sexual interest in and this was his way of ending relations with you, which seemed dickish to you and you wished he could’ve just said so -- because you would’ve understood -- instead of just ignoring your existence, but you were glad that at least you weren’t head over heels for him because him blowing you off would’ve hurt worse if you were. with this in mind, you continue on with your life as it had been before your little fling with calum. you all but forgot about him except for the few times your paths crossed and he’d scurry away each time. 

when you’re woken up by a knock on your door in the middle of the night -- thinking it was just your roommate and she’d either forgotten her key or was too drunk to use her key -- you’re surprised to find...well, no one. instead, on the floor, is a cd, the title, “everything i didn’t say,” written in rather familiar handwriting. there’s no track list on the back of the cd, but instead, an unsigned note with the same handwriting, telling you, “i know i cut ties with you out of the blue and with no explanation and i’m sure you wondered why. the reason is that it just got to be too much and i didn’t know what to do with my feelings. i know the logical thing would’ve been to just tell you, but i’ve never been too good with articulating my feelings...so i wrote you these songs to tell you how i feel instead.”

when you bring up the idea of getting a tattoo to your friends, they all recommend you go see art major!luke at the local shop because he’ll do your tattoo for free as a part of his apprenticeship. as enticing as the idea of a free tattoo sounds, you’re not entirely keen on the idea of saving money just to have someone tattoo you as practice. they all assure you that his work is of quality though, so you decide to just bite the bullet and go see him. 

he thinks you’re there looking for one of the other artists at first -- because the only people he ever got to tattoo were friends (or friends of friends) and clients who viewed him as a last resort -- but his expression lights up after you tell him that you’re actually there to see him and he’s immediately ready to get down to business, asking you what you wanted to get done, how big you wanted the tattoo to be, if you wanted color, etc. once you two discuss the logistics, he puts a pencil to paper, ready to crank out your tattoo design, but finds himself just sitting there for a moment, completely at a loss. 

“i thought you were talented beyond your years,” you lightly quipped. 

your remark snaps him out of his stupor because even though he knows you’re only teasing, he’s determined to prove that he has what it takes to be a full-fledged tattoo artist. he flashes you an easy grin, reassuring you that he is and that he was just mentally sketching your tattoo design because “someone as perfect as you deserves perfection” and even goes as far as winking at you, which makes you giggle and your face warm.