#willluke

Luke hates how good he looks doing it. He's got a bright yellow hat on backwards and despite it being a fashion crime, it does make his hair look stupidly good where it pokes out at the bottom. Sunlight spills through the cafeteria windows across the side of his face too. It catches the blond strands falling from the side of the cap while he talks.

Tunnel girl reaches over and steals fries off his tray as he argues with one of the guys about something. Ekky lets her.

Luke feels something ugly twist in his stomach as he watches it happen. He can't stand her smug little smirk as she listens to the conversation unfolding around her.

“Oh my God,” Ethan gasps softly beside him.

Luke tears his eyes away instantly, a silly reflex he's learnt to build up recently. Not because he's staring at Ekky too much. Not at all. Never. 

“You are so obvious dude.”

“What do you mean, I literally just looked over there.”

“Mmmmm.” 

Ethan’s got this unbelieving look on his face as he hums, like no matter what Luke says he still won’t believe him.

Blanks looks between them once before immediately realizing what’s happening. He doesn't even have to look across the cafeteria to know that Ethan's talking about the Swede. And unfortunately for Luke, he starts grinning about the whole thing too.

“No way dude.” Blanks 

“There is absolutely a way,” Ethan says.

Luke glares at both of them.

“You guys are actually insane. You’re like, the worst friends ever.”

“Dude,” Blanks laughs, “you looked like somebody shot your dog. You were so dramatic.”

“Oh my God I literally did not,” he groans dramatically.

Luke still doesn’t look away from the table across the room though. After a few moments of staring though, he finally decides to look back at Ethan and Blanks. They’ve both got these infuriating smirks on their faces. Like they’ve got a shared joke between the two of them that Luke has yet to catch up on.

“What?”

“You’re actually jealous.”

Luke tears his eyes away from them suddenly, and tries to avoid the table across the cafeteria as well. He suddenly hates the cafeteria lighting.

“I’m literally not.”

“You know that girl next to him don’t you?”

Didn’t know lunch was codeword for interrogation, Luke thinks to himself as he eats a fry from his lunch tray. Might as well get comfortable if they’re going to keep questioning him like this.

He refuses to look at them when he answers. “No I don’t.”

“You recognized her immediately.”

“I just…” Luke stops. There’s no saving himself anymore. Because there’s genuinely no explanation that makes this situation make sense.

Blanks is openly grinning now. “Dude. This is getting embarrassing for you.”

Luke stands up to refill his water aggressively enough that he nearly breaks the fucking machine. It was a stupid machine anyway.

Actually, this is ridiculous. Actually ridiculous. Because why does he care who Ekky sits with? And why does it matter that tunnel girl was laughing at something Ekky said? Why does it matter that Ekky looks relaxed with them in a way he doesn’t always look with the team?

It shouldn’t. It doesn’t. Probably. But yet, he looks back over as he walks back to their table anyway. Traitorous fucking neck.

Ekky glances up at almost the exact same moment for their eyes to meet across the cafeteria. Ekky visibly brightens immediately, like Luke noticing him was the best part of his afternoon.

Somehow that’s so much worse. Because Ekky lifts his hand slightly, as if beckoning Luke over. It’s an invitation in the most casual way. 

Come sit here.

Luke waits for maybe half a second too long as he hesitates at the table in front of Ethan and Blanks.  Ethan notices instantly and breaks his neck to see Ekky behind him.

“Oh my God your boyfriend wants you to sit with him.”

“Shut the fuck up Ethan.”

Luke goes anyway. Which feels important somehow since he really should say no. He absolutely should. Instead, for some completely unexplainable reason, he picks up his tray and walks over there anyway, telling Ethan and Blanks to tag along “if they want to.”

The girl notices Luke almost immediately once they reach the table. Actually notices, like she’s assessing him.

Luke dislikes her instantly. Well. He already did dislike her. Just dislikes her for sure now.

“This is Luke,” Ekky says casually, like the entire table doesn’t already know who he is. “And Ethan. And Blanks. We play hockey together but I live with Luke.”

The introductions blur together after that. Luke catches maybe half of the names but remembers Emma’s. That’s a good piece of information to know..