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loverofthine · 2 years

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vulnerable l.h. - cologne

At a particularly loud clack, Luke looked over to Calum and Seph, who had been dominating the air hockey table. For a college town on a Friday, the bar wasn’t so busy, although that didn’t mean much, since most of the seats at the bar had been taken by groups of people hanging out. Luckily for them, the majority of their group was well over average height and wore varying levels of threatening expressions, so they’d had their respective games to themselves.

Luke leaned against the bar, keeping Calum and Seph’s drinks company, nursing his own. Michael, Ashton, and Priya had gone to play skee ball across the room with someone from one of Priya’s classes.

Priya hurried over, followed shortly by Ashton and Michael almost as soon as Calum and Seph had finished their fifth game. Calum won, again, as he had the past two rounds. Priya leaned over to whisper something to her roommate, which the latter agreed with, and the two girls were gone quickly.

“Where’re they going?” Calum asked, taking a sip of the soda Luke handed him. The group had considered trying to get actual drinks, but figured a college bar, no matter how old they looked, they were all going to get carded. Michael and Seph definitely would have, either way. They both looked nineteen and no older, and had even gotten ID’d at the entrance to the bar.

Michael shrugged, settling into a seat at the end of the bar, next to Luke. “Priya just said ‘girl stuff’.” He said, adding quotation marks with his fingers. “They’ll probably be a while.”

Suddenly finding themselves with nothing to talk about, the boys fell into an awkward silence, trading glances among themselves, taking sips of their respective drinks. Calum and Michael seemed oblivious to the strange tension that existed between the four of them, but Luke and Ashton weren’t.

“So, Ashton, how do you know Michael and Seph?” Calum asked, taking a long, awkward sip from his soda.

His attempt to break the silence fell flat when Ashton shoved off of the bar, brushing past Calum as he walked past. “I’m gonna go check on Seph.” He muttered right before he was out of earshot. Calum and Luke traded a glance, but the latter shrugged and returned to his drink.

Ashton and Priya returned, sharing a laugh over something Priya had on her phone, nearly tripping over one another as they made their way back to the bar. Seph followed shortly behind, seeming even more tired than she had been before, and Luke was keen to recognize the bags under her eyes. They didn’t seem very out of place, although he figured with how tired she had seemed in class most of the time, that they were.

“So, air hockey?” Calum asked, once Seph had taken a long sip of her drink. He nodded eagerly towards the table, leaning against the bar, almost directly between her and Ashton.

Seph offered the slightest of grins, rubbing her under eyes gently. “I would, but I think I just need to recuperate for a minute. Why don’t you play Ash? He taught me everything I know.” She suggested, seemingly ignoring the frantic glare her friend shot her from over Calum’s shoulder.

Spinning around to Ashton, Calum grinned and took the other boy by the shoulders, steering him towards the table, despite Ashton’s refusal. Michael and Priya agreed upon yet another round of skeeball, both making their way back to the machines. That left Luke and Seph, who hadn’t even acknowledged each other since dinner.

Luke didn’t even realize that Seph hadn’t gone with her brother until something pressed against the back of his shoulder. He turned slightly to find Seph, who had been facing away from him, so their backs were nearly pressing against one another’s, with her head tilted all the way back, leaning against his shoulder, apparently napping. With a chuckle, he readjusted, lifting her head and dropping it once so she rested against his arm, almost exactly the way she had earlier that day. Seph didn’t stir during the interaction until she was situated against Luke’s arm, sighing and nuzzling into it, clearly unaware of her actions.

The girl who leaned against Luke’s arm was gently snoring, one cheek pressed into the boy next to her, lifting her lip just enough to reveal white teeth. Her front teeth jutted out just slightly over her bottom teeth, despite the obvious signs she’d worn braces. Her nose was the same as her brother’s, save for the small white scar just below the bridge of her nose that contrasted with her tanned skin. For such a tired girl, and with the skin tone of her brother, Luke would have expected her to be much paler, but Seph was gorgeously sunkissed.

“Is she sleeping?” Ashton asked, unusually quiet, in the lull between games. He had crept over to sit next to Luke, who jumped at his question. “If you want, I can take her home.”

Luke turned to Ashton, trying not to disturb the slumbering figure on his other side. “It’s all good, not bothering me.” His arm was falling asleep, but no one needed to know that. “You can go back to your game.” He continued, waving his hand toward Calum, who was staring intently at the air hockey table.

With a cautious, nearly poisonous look, Ashton turned away, draining his soda and dropping the glass on the bar with a thud. He cast one more look over his shoulder to Luke, who had already turned away in favor of glancing at the girl who slept against him.

The pair at the bar looked surprisingly good together, although no one doubted that anyone in their group was attractive. Seph and Luke had one of the more dramatic height differences – although not as dramatic as the foot between Luke and Priya – but her head was the perfect height to press into his arm.

It wasn’t long before raised voices came from the air hockey table, but Luke didn’t very much care to listen in. Calum and Ashton had been butting heads all night, over some issue Ashton took up, but Calum seemed oblivious to his dislike. Luke figured the arguing was just them getting it out of their system.

“You knew we had to leave early.” Ashton was practically shouting as the pair walked past Luke and Seph. “I asked for the time.”

Calum was following shortly behind the other boy, sighing. “I told you the time. How is this my fault?”

Ashton snapped around, eyes narrowing both at Calum and the couple at the bar, the latter of whom he hadn’t noticed were still in the same position. “It just,” He waved his hands fervently. “Whatever, let’s go.”

“We’re going.” Ashton said, laying a hand on Seph’s shoulder as Michael handed his card to the bartender. “C’mon, Squish.”

Unlike earlier, Seph was quick to blink awake, blue eyes blinking open suddenly, just as quickly as she sat up and brought her hand to her cheek. Her cheeks were red, but just as she opened her mouth to apologize, Ashton yanked her off of the barstool by her wrist.

“Ash, what’s the matter?” She mumbled through a yawn, stumbling over her own feet as Ashton dragged her behind him, following Priya and Michael, who were rushing towards the bus stop. Bringing up the rear was Calum and Luke, speaking lowly to one another as they practically ran to catch up with the group.

Despite it being midnight, the downtown was alive with people, so much so that they were dodging others in their rush to the bus stop. At a particularly sharp turn around a highly populated beer garden, a large, rather drunk guy slammed straight into Seph, knocking her into Luke, where he quickly caught her by the shoulders. By the time both of them had shaken off the confusion, Ashton and Calum had disappeared around the building, and were nowhere to be found.

“Oh, fuck, I’m so sorry.” Another very drunk guy muttered, spilling himself and his beer over Seph as he followed a group of his friends. He didn’t even seem to notice the lack of beer in his cup as he raised it in a celebratory shout and followed his friends.

Unspeaking, Luke grabbed Seph’s hand, sweeping her under his arm to lead the pair away from the bar, and back towards where they had come from. The bus stop they had been heading for was lined with bars, likely to be surrounded by similar incidents that neither of them really wanted to deal with.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked, once they had safely found sanctuary next to a print shop, ducking down to inspect Seph’s shirt, doused in alcohol. “That guy barely even apologized.” He muttered, scowling at the mess.

Seph stifled a yawn, plucking at the shirt, although she seemed mostly nonplussed about the incident. “It’s f-” Her eyes finally met Luke, widening almost instantly. “Why are you taking your shirt off?”

With another scowl, Luke finished pulling off his jacket and tossed it to the girl, rolling his eyes. “Please, princess, this isn’t a peep show. It’s cold out.”

“It’s, like, seventy degrees.”

“Shut up and put the jacket on.”

She didn’t complain further, only obeyed, slipping the jacket over her shoulders and tightening the fabric around her waist. Seph wasn’t so small, but Luke’s shoulders were broad, so the jacket hung off of her in a way that had her shoving the sleeves up to reveal her hands. “What’re we gonna do? The next bus is in, like, forty minutes.”

Luke didn’t really have a plan when he pulled Seph away, but the bus was almost certainly gone, and there was little chance of their friends waiting for the blondes. “Walking, I guess.”

“Walking?” Seph echoed in a much smaller voice, peering up at Luke like he was crazy. “It’s a twenty minute walk through Greek row at midnight on a friday. I wouldn’t go through there even if I was your height and a hundred pounds heavier.” There had been multiple instances of her walking back through the neighborhood that laid between campus and downtown that ended with a punch and Michael bailing her out of trouble with a frat.

The boy said nothing for a moment, although he started towards the heavily tree-lined streets of the neighborhood just south of the buildings. “No need to worry, princess. No one fucks with me.”

True to his word, Seph’s normal encounters were nowhere in the realm of what they experienced. They were approached by the occasional drunken party-goer who recognized Luke, but he didn’t stray.

The moonlight made Luke’s eyes look grey, flashing as they met the streetlights. Seph could make out the smallest imperfection on the left side of his lower lip. It was a scar she was very familiar with, since she shared the same mark.

“Can I ask you something?” Seph asked, breaking the peaceful quiet the pair had fallen into. Her arms came around herself to quell the shiver that ran down her back. The sigh that followed seemed like permission to continue, so she did. “What’s with Princess? I have a name.”

Luke cracked the slightest of grins, lips curling to one side as he looked down at Seph. “What, you’re not into it?” He paused, catching Seph by the wrist just before she brushed past him, and spinning her to face him. “At least zip up the jacket.” He muttered, mostly to himself, as he zipped up the jacket.

“I didn’t say that.” The blonde girl muttered, cheeks reddening. She couldn’t quite figure Luke out, and was sure that was just the way he preferred it. Still, Seph enjoyed the company, and for the first time, she didn’t have the urge to start running when someone stumbled out of a house.

Seph wasn’t a violent person, but there was just something so punchable about a frat guy. And Luke.

She’d heard the name before. Hemmings was an infamous whisper amongst the dining halls, of whatever he and Hood had been doing the night before. Upperclassmen friends she made would warn her away from anyone with an H last name.

Despite her friend’s warnings, Seph couldn’t help the way her cheeks warmed when Luke glanced down at her with that grin. But she’d always been a proximity person, and she chalked the fluttering in the depths of her stomach up to the fragrant depth of Luke’s cologne that flooded her senses. It was mild, not too heavy, which she appreciated, and she hadn’t even noticed it until she was wearing his jacket.

His demeanor was entirely different to how he had been in class. It wasn’t that he was any less confident, but he kept his head down in class, and didn’t say much. He had friends, quite talkative ones, that he enjoyed the company of in class, people Seph didn’t like to associate with, but he wasn’t much for speaking. However, it was a stark difference to the confident way he greeted people and carried himself while they made their way down the pavement.

He fit right in on Greek row.

“So, what does-”

“Luke!”

Luke scowled at the interruption, spinning around to find the source of the exclamation, brow knitting when his eyes finally fall on the person. Under the streetlight that shadows his features, he can’t see the figure very well, but that problem is quickly solved by their emergence into the light.

This girl is gorgeous.

Long legs that seemed to go on forever in the skirt she wore, beautifully golden, compliment the blonde ends of her dark hair and white smile. “Lu, I didn’t realize you were around. You should’ve said hi.”

“Just passing by. This your party?” He nodded towards the house she had come from, alive with a loud party that would definitely fizzle out in a few hours after a noise complaint.

The girl’s cheeks seem to redden as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, tittering nervously. “Uh, yeah, not mine. Sneaky link, you know how it is.” The two shared a soft chuckle, apparently recalling their own, before the girl’s dark eyes fall to Seph, who couldn’t look more nervous. “You’re cute. I’m Mya.”

“Seph.”

“Oh, you know, when I was in high school, I had this freshman. Her name was something like Steph, but it wasn’t quite.” Mya exclaimed excitedly, turning her attention to Seph completely. “You know, Steph, you look a lot like her.”

“Seph.” Luke corrected, nudging Mya gently to hammer the point home. “Her name’s Seph.”

There was a beat of silence before Mya squealed and spun back to Seph. “Ohmygod, did you go to Rainer High in Toulouse?” Seph barely had the time to nod before Mya was pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. “Girl! It’s been too long.” She suddenly gasped and pulled back, holding the shorter girl at arm’s length. “Sephie, didn’t we tell you to never go home with the tall ones with pretty eyes? I know they’re cute, but it never goes well.” She leaned in, although she didn’t lower her voice, so Luke heard everything. “Believe me, this one definitely isn’t worth it.”

With an affronted look, Luke cocked his head to the side, scowling at his friend as he pulled her away by the back of the bralette she wore. “Alright, you. This has been nice, but I think Seph’s brother will kill me if we don’t head back soon.”

“Oh, right, you’re Michael Clifford’s sister, right?” Michael was much more known around the town than Seph was. She didn’t have the time to go to nearly as many parties as he did, but she definitely had him beat in the theater department. “And Ashton Irwin! They were always nice.” Mya paused, slinking after Luke as he started to walk away with Seph under his arm. “For boys. You know, Sephie, if you wanted a hookup, I know a lot nicer guys.”

“We’re not-”

“Mya, we’re not hooking up. I’m walking her home.”

Mya’s expression soured as she slipped off her heels to carry them, catching up with the blonde pair. Without heels, she was shorter, although she was still taller than Seph, albeit, not by much. “Like hell you are. Sephie, never let boys know where you live.”

Despite the way Luke glanced down in a silent question if Seph was done with Mya’s presence, Seph giggled at her old friend’s proclamations, filing each of them under the other advice she’d been given. “I’ll keep it in mind. Luke, I can go home from here.” She muttered, just as they approached the greenhouses on the edge of campus, poking Luke gently in the ribs, in case he hadn’t heard her.

“Like hell you are.” Luke said, glancing up at Mya, who giggled at his echo. “Do you realize how much Michael will hurt me if I let you walk home alone?”

“Luke, I’ll be fine, it’s a ten minute walk-”

“Plus she won’t be alone,”

“Yeah, exact- wait, what?”

Mya scoffed, as if the question was dumb in of itself, but she just as easily slung her arm around Seph’s shoulders, to drag her along. “You never let boys know where you live. You also never walk home alone. That’s what sisters are for.” She added with a jostle of Seph’s shoulders.

Rationally, Seph knew that she should call Ashton and have her meet him halfway, which would avoid the worst-case scenario of both options, but something told her to trust Mya. Maybe it was the way that she smelled the exact same as the entire cheer team used to, a group of some of the sweetest and best friends Seph had ever known. It might’ve been her infectious smile that made Seph want to grin instantly.

“Yeah, okay.” She admitted, sweeping a lock of soft blonde hair over her own shoulder. “Luke, I’ll see you in class?”

Apprehension was written across Luke’s face, but he nodded after brief hesitation. His blue eyes searched Seph’s for any second thoughts, but apparently finding none, he took a step away from the girls, running a hand through his loose curls. “Tomorrow. Do you have my phone number?”

“I’ll get it from Mikey.”

Still hesitant, Luke nodded, slowly, taking another step away. “My, text me when you drop her off and when you get home.”

“Goodbye, Lu.”

“Bye, Mya.” He lowered his gaze to Seph, waiting for her gentle nod to take another step away and spin around. “Tomorrow, Princess.”

Both Mya and Seph waited for Luke to lumber around the corner to turn back around and continue towards the dorms, not turning until they saw his tall figure disappear from the road it had been cast on.

“Okay, Seph. You have to fill me in on everything.”

Seph hadn’t realized she still wore Luke’s jacket until she burrowed into it and found a surprisingly pleasant whiff of the cologne she’d become a big fan of.

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