Loving Luke | muke [c]

Two

I met Alessandro on the night of Luke's Dinner Dance. I had gotten dressed at home, alone, like I hadn't planned it to be. I was supposed to get dressed at Luke's and then go with him in his car, now that he had his P's. I was still on my L's. I took a shower and died my hair black for the Dance; Luke's school was a lot more strict than mine, so I knew red hair would not be acceptable. I put on my tux and the little blue handkerchief Luke had gotten me to match his eyes. I wondered if Luke would wear the green one that matched mine. I made sure my face wasn't littered with acne and that the bags under my eyes weren't too evident before trudging down the stairs, seeing my mother looking at me with glassy eyes.

"I can't believe you're already going to a Dinner Dance!" She exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around me. "You have grown so much, my little baby. Give Luke a kiss for me, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." I grumbled, forcing a smile onto my lips as I pulled away from her, turning to my dad who was sitting on the couch with a smirk.

"You in a tux," He snorted. "Never thought I'd live to see that."

"It's supposed to give me luck with the ladies, right?" I joked, taking his hand and pulling him up from his seat for a hug. He held me tight, rubbing my back as if he knew the pain behind my voice as I said that.

"It's supposed to give you luck with whoever you want it to be." He whispered in my ear as he gave me a quick pat on the shoulder.

I let my mother snap a few pictures of me on my way out. I knew I was stalling, telling her my hair didn't look good or that my smile looked weird so that she'd take more photos and I'd be late to meeting Luke, Calum and Alessandro at Luke's. It came to a point where my mum had to tell me that was enough and that I had to get going. I had never walked so slow in my entire life as I did on that day, walking to Luke's house where I knew I would finally meet his soulmate he had talked about the entire week. My chest caved in just thinking about it.

As I reached the Hemmings household, I knocked on the door. It felt weird, considering I knew the Hemmings never locked the front door when they were at home and I was allowed in whenever I wanted. It felt strange standing there, staring at Luke's front door with my hands in my pockets, hearing the sounds of distinct voices chatting inside. I recognised Luke's voice and I recognised Calum's. I didn't know the third voice, but as my heart clenched every time they spoke, it didn't take much to know it was Luke's soulmate.

"Michael!" Mrs Hemmings gasped as she saw me, pulling me in for a hug just like my mother's. "You've dyed your hair again, you look gorgeous, darling. But why on Earth are you knocking on the door? You know you're allowed in whenever."

"I'm sorry." I smiled sheepishly as she pulled me into the house with one of her arms wrapped around my waist. I was too tall now for her to swing it over my shoulder like she used to do when I was a kid. "I just thought, you know, being the ball and everything, I should be, you know..."

"Nonsense," She snorted, pulling me further into the house. "Would you like something to drink before going? Have you met Luke's soulmate yet?" She asked, eyes watching me carefully as I shook my head.

"He's a wonderful boy." Liz nodded as she took a cup from the cupboard, filling it up with some chocolate milk she knew I loved before handing it to me. She placed both of her hands on my cheeks, turning my face so that she could look deep into my eyes. Her eyes were just like Luke's. "Not as wonderful as you, though." She said with a nod.

I took a sip from my chocolate milk, knowing that if I spoke, I would say something stupid. It was sad to know that even Liz knew about my feelings for her son and he was oblivious to it. I wondered if she knew that I didn't have a soulmate. I wondered if anyone other than myself knew that. I had never told anyone, embarrassed of the fact I was doomed to die alone. If only Luke hadn't found his soulmate, maybe I could've changed that. I sat in the kitchen for a while longer, not wanting to finally look at Alessandro and know it was true.