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rhinoswriting · 4 years

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A Life On The Road - Part 2 (A Luke Hemmings FanFic)

Overview: Elizabeth and Calum have been best friends since they were 15/14 respectively. Elizabeth is from and lives in the UK, but her family lived in Sydney for a brief 2 year period which is how the two met.

With Calum’s band, 5SOS, embarking on their biggest and most ambitious world tour to date, he has invited Elizabeth along to work as a photographer/content creator for their social media. This is in the hopes that travelling with them and getting to explore so many new cities will help Elizabeth achieve her dream of becoming a full-time travel writer.

Elizabeth is acquainted with the rest of 5SOS but doesn’t know them tremendously well. Obviously that changes as they are all forced to be in one another’s company for the duration of the tour. As the tour progresses and new friendships blossom, Elizabeth feels the connection between her and Luke grow more and more.

A/N: Picking up where I left off in Part 1 and getting into the main story now. So if you weren’t a fan of Part 1 because it lacked 5SOS, you’ll be glad to know they’re all now entering the main narrative.

Part 1

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I woke up when the train was 15 minutes outside of Edinburgh and tried to gather my bearings as quickly as I could. The coffee, bagel and nap had all definitely helped make me feel a bit more human. But I was a bit groggy from the 3 hours nap so rummaged in my bag for the almond biscuits I had purchased in Sheffield. I ate the two biscuits in the hope that the sugar would perk me up by the time I met up with everyone at the station.

So it turns out that Edinburgh station is fucking huge. I absolutely hate being late, so the stress of trying to find my way through the station was very anxiety inducing. Eventually I decided to just follow the crowd and call Cal to find out where everybody was. He picked up after a few rings and gave me directions to the right exit as well as a description of the tour bus.

Look for the black and bronze bus. I thought to myself as I scanned the row of coaches, vans and buses. Once I had spotted it I began to make my way over. As I did so I was suddenly hit by a truck-load of anxiety. What if I don’t get on with the others? What if no publications pick up the pieces I write? Will I even be in a place long enough to write about it? Oh God, was this all a mistake?!

I forced myself to walk on and did my best to ignore all the intrusive thoughts firing around my mind. As I got closer to the bus I spotted someone in a bucket hat talking to a blonde man and an older man with a very round beer belly. The bucket hat instantly made me feel calmer and I rushed over, dragging my suitcase behind me over the uneven pavement.

“CAL!” I yelled as I grew closer to him.

The three men paused their conversation and turned in the direction of my voice. Calum broke out into a stupid, big grin and rushed towards me to close the distance quicker. My right hand let go of my suitcase as I opened my arms and threw them around Calum.

“I’ve missed you! I’m so excited for this! Thank you again for inviting me!” I said gleefully while still embracing him.

“I’ve missed you too, you melon! This tour is going to be so fun with you on it.” Calum responded, squeezing me tighter before letting go and standing in front of me, “Come pick your bunk then!”

Before hopping on to the bus to pick my bunk I said hi to Michael and Tom (the older man who was the driver) and swapped pleasantries.

I knew the bus was going to be impressive and blow my mind a little, but even that didn’t prepare me for just how fancy the interior was. The first section was the lounge area. One side had a leather sofa with some overhead cabinets and the other had a small dinner style booth coming off the end of a counter top with a sink, microwave and kettle. Through the thin, fabric curtain lead to the bunks. There were 6 in total, with three stacked on top of each other on both sides. I opted for the top left bunk and ‘claimed’ it by throwing my rucksack and camera bag onto the mattress. I then followed Cal through to the last section of the bus which was another lounge area. It had a U shaped sofa with a mini-bar at each end and a TV with games console already set-up.

“Shiiiiit, I could get used to this.” I said doing a slow spin to take in all of the second lounge area.

“COFFEE BETCHES!” Was suddenly yelled down from the other end of the bus.

“I put in your usual order with the boys, come grab it.” Cal said, immediately making his way towards his bandmates and awaiting beverage.

I followed closely behind. When I got into the front lounge area the guys, driver, manager and a two of the roadies were either grabbing their coffee cups or sat down already taking swigs from the take-away cups.

“Hey! Elizabeth! It’s good to see you again!” Luke said enthusiastically when he noticed my presence behind Cal.

“Excited to come on the road with us?” Ashton added, “Oh, uh, here’s your coffee.”

“Hey guys, it’s been a minute! And yeah I’m really looking forward to it!” I beamed at them as Ashton handed over my second cappuccino of the day.

Then their manager, Lou, quickly took control of the room, sharing the necessary details of tonight’s press event as well as a brief on tomorrow’s press, soundcheck and show in Glasgow. He sent the roadies back to their bus after this and then turned his focus more specifically on me. He gave me a brief of what images and content they were after, checked I had my laptop with me to edit videos and then gave me the login detail to the band’s socials. Once he was assured I had everything and knew what I was doing, as opposed to being the band’s freeloader, he bid us a safe journey to Glasgow and went to get in his hire car so he could drive ahead to the venue.

After grabbing headphones and or gaming devices the four men settled into the front lounge before Tom pulled the bus out of its parking spot and headed for Glasgow. Ashton and Michael were on the sofa, Calum and Luke were sat on one of the booth’s benches, while I stretched my legs out across the other, my head against the window.

“Ahhhh, it is so nice to be travelling and have leg room.” I said as I settled into the faux leather.

“You’re 5 foot 2; you are not allowed to complain about leg room.” Cal teased.

My response was simply to flip him off while gulping down some more of my cappuccino. Both Calum and Luke seemed amused by the gesture.

“So, have you got any story ideas in mind for any of the stops?” Cal asked.

“Not really. I’m probably not very well prepared. But I don’t want to go to a city with too many assumptions in case they’re off. But if you guys have suggestions I’m down to hear them.”

“You’ll be spoilt for choice in Berlin. The history, the art, the nightlife.” Luke said after a moment of thought, while counting off his suggested story angles on his fingers. I noticed he made a point of emphasising ‘nightlife’, so I already had a feeling Berlin was going to be a really fun stop.

“Paris will be good for art and galleries too.” Calum added, “Oslo has a tonne of rooftops bars you could review.”

“I’d be more than happy to do a bar crawl if it’ll help you write an article!” Luke enthusiastically offered.

“I know I can’t exactly demand anything. But I demand a rooftop bar crawl in Oslo.” I stated as I began to mirror Luke’s enthusiasm for the idea.

Our conversation had clearly grabbed Ashton’s attention. After a few more suggestions were thrown out, Ashton looked up from his phone and said,

“If you join us in Japan after Europe you should write about the fashion over there. I’ll be personally offended if you don’t.”

Not one to be left out, Michael then pulled an earphone free to get caught up on the conversation he’d been missing while engrossed on his Switch. Once he was up to speed he threw his first idea into the ring,

“Milan has some insane architecture. If you get to explore it, definitely go for an architecture story.”

By the time we reached Glasgow the guys had thought of so many solid angles and ideas that I had 15 of the best ones stored within my Notes App.

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After a week I was pretty well adjusted to my new temporary lifestyle with Cal and the guys. The daylight hours spent on the bus in transit were usually pretty chill. A lot of the time the guys spent napping, playing video-games, on the phone to family or stuffing their faces with junk. As well as hanging out with them and competing in Smash Bros tournaments, I used a lot of this time to work on some of my article ideas and edit together a video diary of the tour.

When the guys were doing press during the day, I used those free hours as my opportunity for solo exploration of whatever city we were in. But I always made it back for soundcheck and the beginning of the backstage hang out pre-drinking, in order to get shots and clips for the band’s socials. Then when it was time for them to take the stage I’d switch between side of stage, in front of the barrier and back of house in order to cover all angles.

After the encore I’d head back to the bus to shower and change while Cal and the guys met fans outside. Once they all clambered back onto the bus at varying stages of exhaustion we’d just hang and have a few more drinks before one by one peeling away from the group and heading to our bunks. Other than when they had a free day to explore a city with me, these post-show hours were proving to be my favourite times with them all on tour. And tonight in Liverpool was no exception.

I looked up from my laptop as the bus door opened and saw Michael enter, with his stage towel still draped over both shoulders.

“Ayyyoo! You were on fire tonight, Mike!” I congratulated him as he collapsed onto the sofa.

“Thanks, E,” He responded in a voice that matched the exhaustion exuding from his posture more than it did the grin on his face.

“I got some great footage of you during Jet Black Heart tonight. You want another drink?” I asked as I got up from the booth to refill my own cup.

“I’ll take a beer if there’s any left in the mini-fridge.”

As I handed him a cool bottle, Cal and Ashton got on the bus both in stitches over something one of them had said.

“How great was tonight?! We fucking rocked it!” Ashton exclaimed as soon as he saw Michael and I.

“Best night of the tour so far! Joint with London!” I excitedly responded as Ashton pulled me into a hug, “What a way to end the UK portion of the tour!”

Ignoring my freshly poured drink and Michael’s bottle that was only missing a few sips, Ashton decided to kick off the post-show celebrations by concocting cocktails for us all. He was pouring the bright blue mixture into glasses when Luke got back on the bus and completed the group. His entrance once again prompted us to shout about how great the show had been, while Ashton handed out our drinks.

After the first cocktail went down, Ashton was immediately preparing seconds and someone was blaring our carefully curated ‘Rock Party Playlist’ through my Bluetooth speaker. So needless to say it wasn’t long before the dancing began.

At some point Michael managed to sneak off to his bunk. Cal was the next to head to bed after wishing us a good night and gracefully turning down our pleas that he stayed and partied on.

So for a while it was just me, Ashton and Luke dancing about the front lounge and opting for shots over cocktails. It was at some point during this stage of the night that the infamous video of the three of us belting out the lyrics to Rock n’ Roll All Nite by KISS was uploaded to Ashton’s IG story and introduced my face to their fan base.

Then, just before he reached blackout drunk, Aston took himself off to his bunk, making it a party of two.

“Last ones standing!” Luke declared as he held his shot glass high into the air.

“Last ones standing!” I echoed as I clinked my shot glass with his and promptly downed the liquid.

A few songs after this the playlist ended. Instead of finding a new one or repeating it, we both embraced the quiet that washed over the tour bus. Neither of us quite ready for bed, we sat at opposite ends of the couch with our knees pulled into our chests so we could face one another and started chatting.

“You’re doing a great job by the way,” Luke told me, “Lou, would never praise you to your face, but I know even he’s impressed. You’re doing a really good job, even though it’s not the main reason you’re here and I want you to know that. And I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know you as well as Cal does, but I want us to be genuine friends too.”

“That’s incredibly sweet of you. And thank you for thinking I’m doing a good job here.” I responded as the compliments added a darker hue to my already flushed cheeks, “Also we are genuine friends, Luke. Cal and I being best friends doesn’t negate the fact that you and I have a friendship.”

“I know. I know. I guess what I meant is I want us to be better friends. I want to get to know you as you, not as I know you now.”

“And how do you know me now?” I asked a little defensively.

“I know you as Cal’s British best friend from high school Science and History the last two years we were there. I know you as Elizabeth, the girl who comes to at least our London show with Cal’s sister when we tour the UK. I know you through Calum. What I’m trying to say is I want to know you myself. More than just the surface level stuff and the stories Calum tells us of your good times.”

I guess he has a point. I guess until this tour I’ve only really know him, Ash and Michael through the stories Cal has told me and from hanging out in the same packed backstage dressing rooms at all their previous London shows with MK.

“More than the surface level stuff you say? Well then go ahead and ask me something you want to know. Let’s build a better friendship tonight.” I smiled

#luke hemmings fanfic #luke hemmings fanfiction #luke hemmings #5sos fanfiction #5sos fanfic

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new2fivesauce · 5 years

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Please Don’t Regret Me - 3. Bad News First

Warnings: Cursing

March 2018 - 5sos III Tour

If there was anything worse than a delayed flight, it was definitely a luggage conveyor. LAX just had to have the slowest working conveyor of all time. Nelle tapped her foot impatiently. She had two suitcases placed beside her; She needed three more before she could leave the place. She tapped away on her phone, ordering an Uber to pick her and the men of her life up. She glanced at the luggage belt, looking for black suitcases with either orange, red, or blue duct tape on the handles. Nothing.

Uber confirmed her ride and she sheathed her phone into the back pocket of her ripped black jeans. She yawned into the sleeve of her oversized black hoodie. The flight from Milan to Los Angeles had her extremely jet lag. The beginning leg of the III Tour already had her running on nothing but coffee and energy drinks with the occasional instant ramen or breakfast pastry. She needed real food asap.

She took a look behind her to see that Ashton, Michael, Calum, and Luke were not as affected by the different time zones. They were goofing around, playing hide and seek behind the airport benches and fake plants. Her eyes lingered on Luke. He was crouched down behind a pillar, his mouth covered by the sleeve of his jacket to contain his laughter as Ashton wandered around the area looking for him.

She couldn’t help thinking about the past couple of days that they’d been traveling Europe. Luke had bunked in her room 3 nights and had fought to get to sit next to her on their flight to LA. He had pushed Calum out the way, forcing him to sit between Ashton and Michael. Their nights they’d spent together were no different than the night following the release of Want You Back. They were spent watching Netflix, eating food, and innocently flirting with one another. Thinking of those nights gave Nelle butterflies and made her head feel light. What was the deal with Luke?

He was just Luke. Calum’s best friend. He was a jerk sometimes when he was hungry or sleepy. He liked pho and croissants. He was a blond giant who before only conversed with Nelle when he needed to. He wasn't mean to her or ever lashed out at her when something didn’t go his way. She assumed he just knew that her job was basically to babysit them and get them from point A to point B with the occasional errand here and there. Now he was insistent on them being partnered up for everything, but never made it obvious to his bandmates. For a moment, Nelle thought it was part of a cruel prank, but figured that Calum would never let him to do that her; Calum was extremely protective of Nelle. He’d probably disband the lot if Luke ever did something so malicious.

She shook her head. She needed to get it together. And quickly.

---

“Again.” Johnny, the sound producer, mumbled into the microphone. Luke rolled his eyes, adjusting the headphones around his head. This was the ninth again he’d heard in an hour. He huffed loudly into the mic on accident causing a high pitch ring to resonate through his booth and the sound board room. A series of Fuck, Luke and Ouch ran through the music booth.

“Sorry, sorry." He grumbled though not sincerely. “Can I get a break?” He asked looking to his bandmates through the glass that separated them. “Perhaps Cal could come in here instead and work on Babylon?” His voice was hoarse and exasperated. He didn’t even want to be here, but he was supposed to be because Calum said so. Because their manager had called them and said their album needed more work. Because Michael didn’t think it was complete. Because Ashton wrote one more song. Because he needed to rewrite and sing new verses.

Calum stood up from his spot, holding up his middle finger at his bandmate with a lopsided grin. He waved for Luke to come out the booth. Luke sighed, relieved.

The two passed each other up as one went in and the other went out. Ashton eyed Luke curiously as the curly-haired fellow went to drop himself into the armchair Calum had just unoccupied.

Luke felt exhausted. Their short number of shows in Europe and the flight from Milan had finally caught up to him, but that wasn’t the only thing eating at him. After flying into LA and checking into their hotel for the next few days before flying to Paris, Nelle left. No explanation or anything.

He knew it shouldn’t have bothered him because she didn’t have to explain herself to him, but he thought they’d been doing so well lately. She’d been endlessly playful and flirty with him. Every time she looked his way, he felt so light, like there was no pressure on him; that he was definitely and rightfully okay. Now, since arriving in California, not even a text had been exchanged between the two. He couldn’t decide whether to be worried or not.

There was a SNAP causing Luke to blink furiously and focus on his surroundings. Michael was standing in front him, his hand still extended in the end position of his finger snap.

“What the fuck has gotten into you?” he asked. Luke scoffed, turning his face away. He mumbled a small nothing. “Bull shit.” Michael declared. “Spill…”

Luke had to face Michael now. He sized his buddy up, eyeing him up and down and even bucked at him, but Michael didn’t even flinch. Instead…

“Spill… or I tell Cal you have the hots for Nelle.”

Ashton, who was mid-sip of his iced coffee, began choking. He gasped desperately, pounding the front of his chest with no help from Luke or Michael.

“Dude!” Ashton wheezed. Michael ignored Ashton and stayed focused on Luke.

“So the fuck what?” Luke finally stated. At this point, there was no point in lying. They were going to find out sooner or later just how he had found out when they both had crushes on her.

Michael stepped back, stunned that it took so little effort to get Luke to admit that he liked Nelle. He’d expected more fight. Luke was always on defense when it came to his feelings, especially feelings for girls. He ran a hand through his knotted hair.

“Uhh. Wow. I don’t really know what to say anymore.” Michael went to sit back down next to Ashton. “I guess you can take it from here, Irwin.”

Ashton sat up straight, clearing his throat. “So… Hemmo… what the actual fuck?! Look… take this from our experience of having loved… and still love the most beautiful creature to walk the face of the planet… Calum will hang you if you even so much as look at her the wrong way. I'm surprised he hasn’t caught you making puppy eyes at her... How long has this been going on? This is all rather intriguing and downright confusing.”

With a roll of his eyes and shrug, Luke disregarded everything Ashton said.

“It’s been made pretty clear that she’s not interested in us. She refused the both of you and you, Ash, are probably the most compatible with her. I don’t see how I would be an exception.” He declared, a heavy weight on his heart.

Ashton and Michael shared a brief, but knowing, glance with one another.

“I don’t know, mate.” Michael began. “I never seen Nelle look at anyone the way she looks at you."

That, there, it wasn’t exactly what Luke wanted to hear, but at the same time, it was exactly what he needed to hear. His heart skipped a beat and he felt light for a moment.

---

Luke trudged through the hotel lobby, hanging back from the other three. Michael, Calum, and Ashton were being boisterous, making the hotel guests and employees look their way as they joked and laughed heartily.

“Dude, c’mon!” Ashton stopped, pulling his two buds by the shirts to get them to stop walking. They waited for Luke to catch up with them. Since their recording session and getting Luke to admit his feelings about Nelle, Ashton had noticed Luke’s attitude had gone to nearly depressed. Calum was curious and had asked what was the matter, but everyone stayed tight-lipped.

Luke pulled his phone out of his pocket, checked to see if he had any notifications, and when he didn’t, he stuffed it back into his pocket.

“I really don’t want to go to Harry’s rager.” Luke mumbled, not bothering to look any of his mates in the eyes. Michael bumped him in the shoulder.

“Serious? Harry Styles is throwing the party of the year and you’re just gonna… not go?”

Luke shrugged. Calum narrowed his eyes at the guy, but didn’t say anything.

“The last time we partied with him, I ended up two cities over with no pants. I think I'm good.” Luke stated. “I think I'll just work on some music.”

Ashton scoffed at this.

“Wooow. You didn’t do shit today in the studio, gave up halfway, and now you want to--"

Calum held his hand over Ashton’s mouth to stop talking. He tried to pry Calum’s hand off his face but failed.

“If you want to stay here, go ahead.” Calum told him. Luke nodded in appreciation and began to turn his feet towards the elevators. They went their separate ways after Michael ran back to Luke to give him a quick hug and kiss on his head.

When Luke was sure that they were gone, he strayed away from the elevators and went to the front desk.

The brunette receptionist glanced over her glasses at Luke. He stood there, nervously, not really sure what to say or do since he was never the one to check them in when they arrived at hotels.

The woman cleared her throat, looking at Luke unamused. “Is there something I can help you with, sir?” Her voice super monotone.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, the edge of his neck ran pink from the nerves. He felt his palms growing sweaty. His heart thumped against his chest hard. He could feel his vision closing in, an anxiety attack ensuing…

“My assistant… she checked us in this morning but didn’t tell me what room she was in. I need my room key from her.” Luke managed to say after a few breaths. It was a lie. He had his room key, but Nelle hadn’t told him nor the others what her room was. Right now, he needed to be with her. He wanted to talk to her. The lady, who’s nametag read Monica, raised an eyebrow.

“Do you have your ID?” she asked. Luke nodded rapidly, fumbling with his hands to reach into his back pocket of his black pants. He handed his ID to her and she typed away on her computer.

“Her name is Nelle. N-Nelle Padilla.” Luke stuttered. “My friend’s names are Calum Hood, Michael Clifford, and Ashton Irwin. We would have all been checked in at the same time.”

Monica looked at him, not entirely sure to believe him, but with a shrug of her shoulders, keyed in the names he gave off. She passed his identification back to him. “I have your friend’s names, but the first one doesn’t come up.” She told him.

Luke shook his head. He clearly remembered Nelle checking them all in. She hated LA. She wouldn’t stay anywhere else without them.

Something suddenly clicked. “Wait… could you try Eleanor Padilla?” He grimaced afterwards. He’d just found out her real first name days ago. It was a shock to him since everyone… like literally everyone only called her Nelle. The name was foreign on his tongue. He hoped to never say it again.

The receptionist tried again, typing quickly for there was a couple standing behind Luke now, ready to check in. She shook her head.

“Sorry. That one doesn’t come up either.”

Luke thanked her for her time. He headed back to the elevators, sad, confused, and downright annoyed.

His anxiety was gone. Now he was just irritated. He made his way to his floor, still wondering where Nelle could have gone. He checked his phone, his fingers lingering over the screen on their text conversation.

Where R you? Hazza is throwing a party. U down?

He stared at his text unsure if he should send it. He didn’t want to go to that dumb party, but if it got a response from Nelle, then it was worth it. He rethought the wording then deleted it as he got to his room. He let himself in. The lights were on. He furrowed his brows; he knew he’d turned them off before they’d left for the studio earlier. He entered cautiously, aware that the TV was on as well.

Stepping into the main part of his room, he sighed of relief.

Nelle was sitting on the bed, a pillow already placed in the middle of it splitting their sides. Her hair was damp so she’d had to have just gotten out the shower. It was drying into her waves. For the longest, Luke had thought she had straight hair. Now in the recent weeks of getting to know her, he now knew that it was naturally wavy. He decided he liked it like that best.

Nelle smiled at Luke; it wasn’t her typical genuine wide smile, but a small, closed lipped one. Her eyes looked sad but he didn’t want to question it. He was just glad that she was here. And Nelle was glad he was there too. She had been MIA all day since arriving in LA that morning. She’d sent the boys to the studio, leaving herself to have a meeting with their manager. The meeting had ran long, almost all day and part of the evening. She was mentally drained. She wanted to tell Luke about it but the second he’d walked in, she found herself suddenly feeling guilty and cowardly.

“I missed you today.” Luke mused, looking over at her. Nelle eyed Luke, her amber eyes trying to read his blue ones. He was being sincere. Nelle lowered her eyes, afraid to give her emotions away.

“Missed you too.” She mumbled back.

------

It was a sunny, cool morning in LA. It was 24 hours until their departure to France. Nelle wandered through the streets of Los Angeles, a coffee tray and a bag of bagels in her hands. 5SOS was back in the studio today for a bit. Every minute for the next 24 hours was booked solid and Nelle was determined to not let anything slip through the cracks, even when California always treated her unwell.

She made it the studio building with her arms full and without spilling a drop of anything. The girl at the front desk said hello to her as she carefully made her way to the elevators.

Ironically, the guys were located on the fifth floor. Anything in regards to the number five was almost always a good sign according to Ashton, who believed in that kind of good luck/bad luck thing. Nelle sped down the hallway to the studio room.

Michael was the first to see her through the thick glass door. He jumped off the recliner he was lounging in and hopped over Ashton’s body on the floor to open the door for her. Nelle entered the studio, trekking over Ashton’s legs, to set the coffees and bagels on the table next to the recliner Michael had just left empty.

“Luke just stepped outside. Cal is in the booth.” Ashton said as he raised his body from the floor to get himself a bagel. Michael was already an arm deep into the bag of round bread when Nelle chastised him.

“If you’re gonna get a poppy seed bagel, you better eat the seeds, Michael.”

Michael mumbled something under his breath before pulling a plain bagel out the bag. He grabbed the coffee with his name on it from the tray and went back to his recliner.

Seconds later, Luke walked back into the studio room and Calum entered from the booth. Johnny, the producer excused himself to make a phone call and to run down the street to the nearest McDonald's.

The room was quiet for a while as everyone ate and drank. Luke kept glancing at Nelle who was sitting next to Ashton on the loveseat couch. She could have sat between him and Calum on the long couch. He pushed that bit of jealously down with the gulp of his coffee but it quickly rose up again as Ashton put one of his hands on Nelle’s thigh. It was an innocent gesture, but his hand was pretty high on her leg and he couldn't help but feel slightly green. It also didn’t help that they were whispering amongst each other with their faces pretty close.

When everyone was finished eating, Nelle stood up from her spot next to Ashton. She picked up the boys’ trash, putting it all in the bag that it had come in. She cleared her throat afterwards and all four of them looked in her direction. She stood awkwardly in the middle of floor, pulling the Led Zeppelin shirt she’d borrow from Luke that morning tight around middle. Luke noticed the way the shirt now clung around her curves and his mind flashed back to that morning when he’d woken up to see Nelle hopping around the hotel room, struggling to pull her pants over the curvature of her hips and ass. Luke hadn’t meant to stare, but he had and when she’d finally succeeded in buttoning her pants, he pretended to be asleep to give him some time for his prick to go down.

“Everyone…” Nelle announced. “I have an announcement to make.”

Calum looked worried. The way Nelle had said that made goosebumps raise on his body. He shuddered as Nelle cleared her throat to keep talking.

She let out a deep breath, eyed Calum for a brief second for some quick reassurance and then spoke, trying hard to not let her voice break. “I… I am not joining you for the rest of this tour… I am not going on promo for the next single… and I am not going on tour for Youngblood.”

Blue, green, hazel, and brown eyes all widened in shock. The room was dead silent except for the vibration of someone’s phone but no one dared to move.

Michael seemed the first to react as his body collapsed backwards into the recliner, his eyes watering immediately. Ashton groaned in discontent.

“Is this some type of joke?” Calum asked. His eyes darted around the room to his mates; Luke had an unreadable expression and Nelle was not sure what to make of it. He seemed not phased at all.

“It’s not…” Nelle replied. “I—“

“What the fuck!?” Michael interrupted her. “What do you mean you’re not coming with us? This is a bit fucked up, Nelle! We’re in the middle of a fucking tour. We’re about to release our third album and you’re just gonna drop this shitty ass bomb on us like that!”

Nelle had not expected Michael to react so angrily. In fact, she had mentally prepared herself for Ashton to be the one to get mad, not Michael.

“It’s been a long time coming, Clifford. Did you really think I wasn’t ever going to leave? I mean… compared to other assistants we’ve come across, I’ve been around a lifetime… but I need to do my own thing. I’ve been putting the four of you ahead of my own life for almost six years now. I have to do this for my own good.” Nelle clarified but the more she spoke, the more it upset Michael. Ashton scoffed whereas Calum shook his head.

“So we’re a nuisance to you now.” Michael chuckled coldly. “Wow… I can’t even look at you right now.”

Nelle neared Michael, but Ashton gave her a warning look. “Look… I don’t want to leave, but lately it’s just been so much, so fast, and I’m tired. It’s hard to keep my own life organized when I have to organize four other peoples’ lives as well. I haven’t done anything for myself since I decided to come along with you guys. I got into Yale last fall…”

Calum gawked at her. “What the hell? Why didn’t you say anything, Nelle?”

“I did.” She shrugged. “You all were too busy beginning the new album. I got in, they understood my situation, and I’ve been doing online classes since we travel too much for me to attend actual classes.

“You know I love you, all of you” She met Michael’s eyes when she said this and Luke felt a slight pang in his heart. Why didn’t she look at him? “But… that break before you started the new album, getting into this prestigious university, it just made me realize that I need to put myself first now. I wouldn’t take back anything in all these years, but…”

“Can you just get out?” Ashton finally spoke, his voice on the edge of breaking, but he spoke with a cold force that made Calum double-glance at him to make sure it was him speaking. Nelle turned towards Ashton, her heart cracking, a huge lump in her throat. “We don’t need to know why… just fucking go. We’ll call Richard and figure all of this out on our own.” Ashton shooed her away towards the door.

Nelle took another look at the four of them. No one else said anything else, not even Calum, who had always been there besides her and took her side. She tried to meet Luke’s eyes, but he was turned away from her. She inhaled deeply, holding in her tears, and she left.

<<>>

When the glass door was shut and Nelle was out of sight, Luke turned on Calum.

“WOW! And I thought you were her brother.” He mocked. Calum straightened up real quick, his brows creased.

“You didn’t say shit! Don’t come at me!” Calum argued. “What the fuck did you do to her to make her want to leave?”

Ashton’s eyes darted between the two and then to Michael. Michael, though still incredibly upset, suddenly felt troubled. Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten so upset.

“I didn’t do anything. Maybe it was you selfish assholes.” Luke voiced back. “She does so much for us and we couldn’t even return the fucking favor.”

Luke’s statement made all three of them lower their heads in guilt. He wasn’t wrong, yet no one bothered to admit it. Luke stood up hastily, his footsteps heavy as he walked towards the door.

“I’m not gonna let her leave on bad terms. She deserves the fucking world for everything’s she’s done for us.” He said. Calum sneered.

“Since when do you care so much about her?” he asked. Luke rolled his eyes.

“Since when have you stopped?” Luke shot back before he left.

<<>>

Nelle stopped before the elevators, her emotions getting the best of her. She leaned back on the wall across the elevators, between two potted plants. Her tears guzzling out before she could stop them. This was not the reaction she had expected.

She knew they were going to be upset, but she hadn’t known they were going to be outraged by her departure. She wanted her last moments to be hugs and kisses and I going to miss you. She hadn’t anticipated getting practically kicked out. She’d wanted to spend the rest of the day together, even if it was going to be spent working. She wanted to drop them off at the airport before they left for France and her Australia. She wanted to make sure their new assistant who was going to be at the airport waiting for them knew every single thing about them because she wanted to make sure they were in safe hands.

She let out a loud sob, forcing herself to rub her face with her hands to clean away the tears. She sniffled, wishing she’d thought to bring her purse because she was really in dire need of tissues and there was no way she was going to wipe her face on Luke’s shirt. She inhaled and exhaled the way she’d taught the guys how to when they got too anxious. Her head was bowed down with her eyes closed, but when she finally felt calm and her tears were now just silent trickles, she opened them up.

She glanced up quickly after noticing a pair of black boots in front of her own. Her wet tawny eyes met a pair of cerulean blues; her body buckled forward and luckily Luke had expected it. He caught her and held her close. This was the first time he’d ever hugged her… and the last his mind was quick to remind him.

Nelle drew in Luke’s scent, the same clean, zesty smell that been clingy to her, his, shirt all day. She pulled away from him, but stayed close enough to where he could keep his arms around her.

“I’m sorry for the way they were…” Luke whispered down to her, his forehead pressing against hers. Their noses touched and it took nearly everything in Nelle’s body to keep her from tippy-toeing up just a few centimeters to capture his lips. She wasn’t going to lie to herself and pretend that she didn’t find Luke attractive. She’d been doing all she could to distract herself from that fact especially in these days that they’d finally become friends. She was keeping her feelings at bay because she had already thought of quitting for a long time. That was why she couldn’t date within the band she always told herself. But Luke was different.

“I’m sorry I dropped the news like this.” She told him back. Luke shook his head when he noticed Nelle’s eyes watering again. He pressed her face into his shoulder, squeezing her body gently for comfort. It took a few seconds for Nelle to calm herself again. She dragged her body away from Luke’s again, this time completely. She couldn’t think straight with him so close.

“I need to go.” She said rashly. Luke looked at her with sad eyes just as Nelle tried to speed off. She managed to push the down button for the elevator before Luke could react. He reached out, grabbing her hand and pulled her back to him. Nelle yanked her hand away, Luke’s face dismayed by her rebuff.

“I don’t want to start anything we can’t finish.” She uttered just as the elevator doors opened. She stepped back into the metal box, pushed the Close Door button quickly before pressing the 1st floor button. She gave him a single wave just as the doors closed. He didn’t even get to wave back.

#5 seconds of summer #5sos #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #michael clifford #calum hood #hemmo #please dont regret me #sorry if there's typos #just wanted to get this out #5sos imagine #5 seconds of summer imagine

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