Song is Never Stop by SafetySuit

There are better things ahead than any we leave behind
  -C.S. Lewis.

  -Maggie-

  As Luke and I walked into the building where the dinner part took place we were given some sparkling cider. As I took in the room I couldn't help but gasp at how it was decorated. Surrounding the room there were circled tables, (Same decoration as the pic just different table) a dark gray table cloth laying above each one and a wine red cloth running across in the middle. On the center of each table there was a bouquet of red flowers and mini candles that have already been lit. The light in the room was dimmed down, giving more attention to the beautiful decorations. In the center of the room was the dance floor, and right by the stage was the music booth. Whoever decorated the place did a fantastic job.

  There were already a fair amount of people in the large room, some being here for awhile and others just arriving. All the men were wearing a tux and women were wearing gowns. A hand on my waist made me break my contact from the room as I looked at Luke. He was staring at something to my far right and there was a frown on his face as he pulled me closer to his side. Confused by his sudden mood I followed his trail of sight only to see two guys who were eyeing me. One winked while the other smirked, holding up his glass to me before taking a sip. I blushed and turned to Luke again, who was now fuming, letting me know he saw that.

"Luke?" He looked at me and raised an eyebrow, gesturing for me to continue. "Let's go find your parents, yeah?" He nodded, sending me a smile and I let out a sigh of relief as he started to lead the way opposite from those two guys.

"You look absolutely gorgeous Mags. I'm gonna have to stay by your side all night to keep other guys away." I chuckled and shook my head. "I can manage." I replied. He scoffed and nodded his head. "I know, but these guys can't." Before I could say anything else we reached his a parents, who were currently speaking to a man. "Mom, dad. You've met Maggie." Luke greeted as they turned to us. Hannah beamed at me and extended her arms for a hug. I returned it and smiled at her as we pulled away.

"It's nice to see you again Maggie. You look stunning!" She exclaimed as she took in my appearance. I laughed at her cheery mood, instantly feeling comfortable. "Thank you. You look amazing as well. I love your dress." She was wearing a peach colored gown that loosely flowed down to her ankles, showing off her heels. Her make up was done lightly, accentuating her natural beauty, topping it off with diamond studs and a beautiful necklace to match.

  "How've you been honey? I heard about the whole hospital stuff. Must've been tough, huh?" I let out a breathy laugh and nodded. "Definitely. I've been doing good overall though, thanks for asking. What about you? This must be a big night for you and your husband." She chuckled and shook her head. "Well we've been through enough of these to get used to it but yes, it is a big night. I've been great."

  "Maggie, you look lovely. It's a pleasure seeing you again." I turned to Thomas and smiled at him, about to shake his hand only to go through that awkward moment when you go for a handshake and the other person goes for a hug. I let out an awkward laugh at my weirdness and accepted his hug, silently scowling myself for being weird as we pulled away. "This is Hugh McAllen, my boss." Thomas gestured at the man standing by him, who extended his hand for a handshake just as I opened my arms for a hug. Are you serious Maggie?! I quickly shook his hand, secretly glaring at Luke when I heard him chuckle softly. As I took a sip from my drink he began to speak. "It's nice to meet you Mr. McAllen." I greeted. The man who looked to be in his mid fifties smiled with a nod. "Please, call me Hugh. We're all on a first name basis here. It's nice to meet you Maggie. Lucas, you have a lovely girlfriend here." Hearing this I gasped, resulting in me choking on my drink and having a coughing fit.

  "Oh dear, are you okay?" Hannah softly patted my back as I nodded, my coughs slowly subsiding. "Yeah, My drink just went through the wrong tube that's all." She nodded her head in understanding as Luke spoke up. "I agree Hugh, she is lovey but Maggie here isn't my girlfriend." I don't know if it was just me or if it actually happened but as Luke lifted his sparkling cider to drink I think I heard him mumble a 'yet'. Hugh pouted as he glanced at both of us before giving Luke a warning look. "Well I suggest you take this lady out and ask her to be yours before you lose the chance. A lovely girl like Maggie only come once in a lifetime." My neck and cheeks flamed up as Luke looked at me with a genuine grin. "I'll definitely keep that in mind."

  I gave him a tight lipped smile, trying my best not to squeal or swoon as I took a drink to calm down. Hannah shook her head and nudged Luke's shoulder. "Stop flustering the poor girl Lucas." She said with a chuckle. Hugh checked his watch and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, well it's time to eat. I need to make the announcement. If you'll excuse me." We all nodded, letting Hugh walked towards the stage as we made our way to a nearby table and took our seats.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the company I'd like to thank you very much for attending us this lovely afternoon, to celebrate the new upgrades we've received and outstanding rates. Now if you could all please take a seat, dinner will be served shortly. Let the evening begin and I hope you all have a great time." Just as the announcement ended a slow song began in the background as a group of waitresses and waiters came with carts carrying the food.

  "We're having Alfredo pasta with avocado stuffed lemon chicken breasts tonight." Luke whispered to me. I smiled, liking the sound of what we were about to eat. Just then my stomach grumbled and I'm guessing Luke heard it judging by his smirk. "How's Graham doing?" He asked, striking up a conversation.

I smiled yet groaned at the same time. "He's doing great, being his usually playful self. What sucks is that I can't hold him until I get these stitches taken off." I explained. Luke stared at me with amusement dancing in his eyes, causing me to raise my eyebrows. "What's so funny?" My question caused him to smirk as he shook his head.
"Every time you get annoyed your nose twitches like a rabbit." I gasped and glared at him, only earning a fit of laughter. Two can play this game.

  "Well your laugh sounds like a cross between a dying whale and a walrus." Of course I was lying, but I couldn't let him win. He abruptly stopped laughing and sent me a look of warning. "Take that back."  I was the one smirking now and shrugged, taking a sip of my sparkling cider. "I'm afraid I can't do that." Luke quirked an eyebrow and two seconds later I was laughing, trying to stop the tickle ambush.

"Take it back and I'll stop." Luke said with a laugh as I snorted. "I t-take it b-b-back!" I let out a squeal, causing people from other tables turn to look at us. Luke stopped tickling me with a grin on his face and I tried catching my breath, my face blazing red by all the stares I received.

  I looked up at our table to see Hannah and Thomas staring at us with their eyebrows raised, a smirk lying on each of their lips. I smiled shyly just as a waiter came to our table and laid a plate in front of each person at the table. My mouth watered at the sight of the pasta and the chicken and now I couldn't wait to dig in. "So Maggie, is there anything you plan on studying after high school?" I looked up at Thomas and smiled. "Well, I plan on studying for a medical degree, that way I can be a pediatrician assistant." Hannah perked up and gave me a grin. "I used to be a pediatrician before I had Luke, let me tell you it's pretty fun working with kids." I nodded my head in agreement. "I really love kids and hopefully it won't be as hard to learn everything when I start going to community college."

  Thomas hummed as he swallowed his pasta and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Why become an assistant instead of a pediatrician?" I turned my attention to him and replied. "Well I needed something close enough that would give me some time home as well, being a mother and all. I don't want to be at work every single hour of the day and not give Graham any attention." Hannah raised her eyebrows and put her fork down. "Isn't Graham your brother?" She asked, glancing at Luke, a questioning look masking her expression. I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head. "Um, no. I got pregnant with Graham and gave birth to him six months ago." I explained slowly.

  "Oh, well I guess Luke didn't mention that. Do you have a picture of him?" Hannah asked. I gave her a small smile, glancing at Luke as I took my phone out of my clutch. He was slowly chewing on his food, his expression blank. I don't know why but a wave of hurt washed over me as I handed my new phone-thanks to mom- displaying a picture of Graham on it to Hannah and Thomas. Hannah gasped and let out an 'awwww' as she smiled at one of the photos Sarah had that photographer take Saturday.

  "Oh he's so cute! He's like a mini version of you." Hannah cooed, handing the phone back. I let out a small laugh and put my phone back in the clutch, taking a bite out of my pasta. The food tasted great, but suddenly it was getting harder to swallow due to the lump in my throat. Did Luke not tell his parents because he was embarrassed of me? I let out a sigh and Thomas asked another question. "So you're a single mother?" I could tell he wasn't judging, due to the sincere look on his face but I still felt it hard to answer. "Y-yeah, the father is out of the picture."

  "So it was like a one night stand with an after effect?" The lump in my throat got bigger as I shifted on my seat. "Well-"

  "Dad, I think that's enough questions." Luke said with a calm expression. Thomas turned to me again and widened his eyes when he saw my face. "Oh, Maggie I apologize, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I raised my hand and shook my head with a smile. "Don't worry about it, you were just wondering." Maggie don't you dare break down into a sobbing mess in front of them!

  "Mom, why won't you tell us about the new office you're decorating." Luke suggested,  hanging the subject. I was grateful for him doing so but that didn't subside the hurt I was feeling. Eventually everyone finished their dinner and the music volume was cranked up a bit so people could start dancing.

  Hannah and I were talking about our favorite movies a time passed by. I liked old classic movies while she liked romantic comedies. There were some movies that we've both seen and like a lot, and when she mentioned Me Before You we both started tearing up a bit, thinking about the ending.

  I excused myself to go to the bathroom and stood up from my seat before Luke had the chance to pull it out, walking out of the ballroom towards the hallway. I stepped out of the bathroom after drying my hands and started making my way back to the ballroom. Just as I entered a finger tapped my shoulder, causing me to turn and see one of the guys from earlier that winked at me. He grinned and extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Hayden. And you are?" I slowly took his hand and shook it. "Um, Maggie." A smirk appeared in his face as he softly squeezed my hand. "Well would you mind joining me for a dance Maggie?" I was about to refuse, but me being the guilty person I am decided otherwise.

  "Of course." Hayden led me to the dance floor, placing on hand on my waist and grabbing my right hand with his left. We started to sway to the music as he spoke. "I'm going to be honest with you, the second you walked through those doors earlier with your boyfriend I knew your face would stay etched in my mind." I bit my lip nervously, a strange vibe reflection of this dude. "Er, he isn't my boyfriend." I mumbled. Hayden raised his eyebrows. "Oh?" His hand slid down from my waist to my hip, making me tense up a little. Just then I realized that he said the whole 'boyfriend' thing to see if I was actually single or not. Dang it Maggie, you're so stupid!

  "So have you lived here in Cali your whole life?" I nodded my head slowly as we continued to dance. "Yeah, I was born here and then we moved to New York where my sister was born, but after a few months my parents decided to move back. What about you?"

  "I'm actually from Romania, my father is part of the business branch and I decided to come along. I must say I'm not regretting it one bit." He smirked down at me and squeezed my hip, instantly making me feel uncomfortable. I gulped nervously and stayed silent, not knowing what to do. Just then a throaty was cleared from behind me. "Mind if I cut in mate?" I couldn't be more relieved to hear Luke's voice right now just as Hayden had started moving his hand a bit lower. Hen I looked over I saw Luke with his jaw clenched as he noticed Hayden's hand.

  Hayden sighed and stepped back, nodding his head. "Sure." He then turned to me with a smirk. "It was nice having the first dance with you Maggie. Hopefully I'll see you around." I nodded my head stiffly, ignoring the fact that he bragged in front of Luke about getting to dance with me first. Luke stepped in front of me and placed a hand on my upper back, his other grabbing my own just as other people stood to start doing the waltz. "Are you alright?" He asked. I nodded my head without saying a word as I placed my left hand on his right shoulder. Don't get me wrong, I was happy he got me out of the situation with Hayden but I was still hurt he didn't tell the parents the truth about Graham.

  "Maggie, about earlier I swear that I wanted my parents to know the truth but-" and that's when my anger came along. "But what? You told them Graham was my brother instead of my baby? How is that letting them know the truth Luke?" He took two steps back to the music and I followed forward, letting him guide as we slowly yet swiftly turned. "I technically didn't lie. I told them Graham was a family member because-"

  "Because you didn't want them to know you're friends with a teenaged mom. You're just disgusted that I had a baby at such a young age so you covered that 'tiny' little detail. You know, I actually felt welcomed by your parents, relieved to see that I wasn't being judged or felt sympathetic for by having a baby for once in my life, only to find out it was because they never knew. That look of sympathy your dad gave me kind a sucked. He wasn't judging which I respect him for and your mom, but now I know they feel bad. I thought I could feel normal." Luke groaned as he flattened his hand against mine, pushing it back so I could twirl into him and back.

  "I'm sorry I didn't tell them, alright? But the real reason I didn't know if you were comfortable or not with me spreading something so important without your consent. It wasn't my intention to hide it. I just wanted to know you were okay with it first." My anger slowly subsided as I heard him say that and I furrowed my eyebrows. "Oh." Luke sighed and removed his hand to place it on my waist, making sure it wasn't too low or too high. "Dang it, Maggie I would never feel embarrassed about you. That's the last thing I'd ever feel. And my dad didn't mean phrasing it that way- him and my mom actually like you a lot. My mom admires you for taking responsibility of Graham by yourself. Not a lot of people do that now in days." I looked up at him and furrowed my eyebrows.

  "I understand, it's just that I'm not used to people not treating me like trash. All the pieces are appearing out of nowhere and it's overwhelming putting them together immediately." As the song came to an end Luke leaned my back, swiftly dipping me. "Then piece them together one by one and I'll be there to help you." He whispered. A chill ran down my spine and goosebumps appeared on my arms at the close proximity our faces were at. We straightened up slowly as  everyone began taking there seats from the dance floor as others stood up to do the tango.

  Luke grabbed my hand, leading me back to the table where Hannah and Thomas was there chatting with an elderly woman sitting next to them. Luke and I just sat next to each other watching everyone around the room when a little kid came running up to us. He had a grin on his face, exposing the missing tooth he had. I smiled at him as he aced his fingers behind his back. "Hi there." The kid giggled and gestured for me to lean forward to whisper in my ear.

  "Can I dance with you?" He asked, cupping his hands around my ear. I grinned as I leaned back and nodded. "Of course. Let's go." I stood up, turning to face Luke. "He's so cute!" I mouthed enthusiastically. He chuckled as I walked to the dance floor with the boy and he cleared his throat. "I asked the D.J to put a special song for you." He stated. I raised my eyebrows just as the chicken dance song came on and began to laugh. "Okay, let's do this."

  We began doing the dance, me letting out laughs once in awhile as we turned. Other little kids started to come to the dance floor to do the same and eventually parents joined their children as well. But the end I was a laughing mess and my face was most likely red. Not just that I'm pretty sure I have abs now due to my sore stomach. I walked back towards Luke as the boy went running off with his friends, a smile plastered on my face. Luke's expression was filled of amusement as I sat down, taking large sips from my drink.

  "Should I be worried that a seven year old managed to steal my date away?" I choked on my drink for the second time today, but this time it was because I was laughing. I shook my head as I placed my drink down. "Well, he is a better dancer than you..." I said, trailing off.

  "I should've known. You've broken my hear Maggie." He replied, kissing his teeth and placing a hand on his chest. I rolled my eyes playfully and nudged him. "I mean, who likes British men anyways?" Luke's head whipped towards me as his mouth hung open, making me laugh.

  "Us British people are great, thank you very much. So that answer would be everyone." We spent the next five minutes chatting back and forth, making random jokes until a slow song came on. Luke let out a cheeky grin and extended his hand. "Dance this song with me, will you?" I bit my lip, trying to contain my smile- which I failed at of course- and took his hand, letting him lead me out to the dance floor. I looped my arms around his neck as he looped his right above my hips, letting his laced hands rest on my lower back.

  "Thanks for coming with me."  Luke said. I smiled and rested my head in his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat against my ear. "I'm glad I did. I'm having a great time." We danced to the rest of the song in silence as Luke softly hummed to the song by Safetysuit.

This was too good to be true.
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  "Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend, somewhere a long in the bitterness! And I would've stayed home, with you all night, had I known, how to save a life!" I cringed and let out a laugh as Luke sang off key to the Fray the way back to my house. Unfortunately the party came to an end and it was time to go back home, but overall I had a lot of fun. Luke had danced to the last dance with Hannah before we left, him nodding to whatever she told him.

  "You are probably the worst singer out there." I stated with a giggle. Luke glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "Oh yeah? Go ahead and give it a try. I wanna hear you." I shook my head and laughed.

  "Nope. I have just as bad." He chuckled and turned the radio down a bit so I could ear him speak better. "There was this one time my kindergarten teacher set up this talent show thing, and me being the kid who wanted to try everything auditioned." I widened my eyes, shifting in the seat to face him. "Oh my God, what happened?"

  Luke laughed at my eagerness and continued the story. "I started singing a Taylor Swift song, and by the time I finished most kids were crying and clutching their ears." I rolled my lips in my mouth, trying my best not to laugh but then the I age of that story popped in my head and I let my laughter out.

  Luke started to laugh when I snorted, only causing me to laugh even more. "I c-can't believe you made those kids c-cry." Luke sighed and turned his head to me as we hit a red light. "What about you? Any embarrassing stories?" I had one too many embarrassing stories from when I was younger, but so help me I wasn't going to tell Luke. He would tease me for life about it. I shook my head, deciding not to embarrass myself. "Nope, I was a pretty cool child actually." I looked out the window as the car began moving again.

  "Oh come on! Everyone has at least one story. I told you mine now you have to tell me yours." I groaned and thought back to the many times I've done something stupid. As I did so I remember one specific night and a gasp left my lips. Oh there was no way I was telling him that one, I thought. But before I got to think of another time Luke whipped his head towards me with a huge grin. "That gasp tells me you so have one! Spill Ms. Brown." I sighed in defeat and bit my lip. He is never going to let this go.

  "Okay, so there was this one time when my parents took Sarah and I to the beach. I was like ten, making Sarah eight at the time. My dad had left to this nearby drink shack to get some piña coladas for all of us. Mine and Sarah's came in small styrofoam cups while my parents got to have their in an actual pineapple, and I was so eager to get the pretty one that when he turned around I went ahead and snatched one, drinking basically more than half of it." I stopped speaking, dreading what was to come next. Luke smirked and gestured his AND towards me.

  "Go on." I poured but nonetheless continued. "When my dad turned around and saw how much I drank, he basically flipped. Both of my parents were freaking out and that's when I started to feel dizzy-"

  "No." Luke started to laugh, putting two and two together. "Your first time getting drunk was at ten years old?!" He burst out laughing as I huffed and crossed my arms. "I never knew there was alcohol in it! Anyways, according to my parents I had just sat down and fell asleep, face flat on the sand. When I woke up a few hours later my head was hurting me so much I started to cry and my mom had to call the doctor. It was sooo bad." Luke started to laugh harder and eventually I joined, not noticing that we were parked in front of my house.

  "What happened after?" Luke said as our laughter died down. I sighed and leaned back in the chair, facing him. "Well, my parents had sat me down and they told me that before I had fallen asleep I had told Sarah the truth about how she was born. She spent the rest of the week crying and I spent the rest of the month grounded." Luke gasped and loosened his bow tie as I twiddled with my fingers.

  "You traumatized your poor little eight year old sister? My Gosh you're evil!" I groaned as he chuckled deeply. "I didn't even know. Anyways Sarah ignored my parents, mad at them for not telling her the truth. That ,asked for the rest of the year and when she turned nine she finally spoke to them, making them pro use not to have another child ever again." We both laughed at that one before falling into silence, our steady breathing the only sound. "I should get you inside." Luke murmured.

  I nodded my head slowly, and stepped out of the car when Luke opened the door, despite my protests that I could do it myself. We walked up to my doorstep and I stretched my arms, looking at him with a smile. His hands were tucked in his pockets as he leaned against the doorframe. He hummed and walked towards the window where I was standing, causing my breath to hitch in my throat. "You look stunning." He whispered. I blushed and looked down. "All thanks to Sarah and my mom really. I-"

  "No, I'm not just talking about tonight." Luke lifted my head to look at him, catching me by surprise. "I'm talking about every single time I've seen you. The first we met, even though I was busy yelling at you I couldn't help but think how beautiful you looked. At school while you're erasing something in your notebook and even when you're crying- despite anything you still look beautifully stunning." He wiped his thumb against my cheek, making me realize I was crying. Why was I crying?! I don't know why I was feeling these sudden waves of emotions but one thing I did know is that I was no longer trying to swim away. I was simply becoming part of them.

  "A-and when I looked at you laying in that hospital bed sleeping all I could think was how impossible it was for someone to look so peaceful and graceful at the same time. Jesus Maggie, you're beautiful without even trying." Crap, Sarah was right. My life is a cliché book. And right now my heart is pounding as Luke is leaning his face closer to mine. Sarah's words replay in my head as Luke's hand stays on my cheek, the other one sliding behind my neck. You just have to give him a chance.

  "Can I-" I stopped him by nodding my head with a hum. He let out a single nite laugh at my eagerness and searched my face for any hint of hesitation, but then he looked behind me and his face slightly paled. I frowned, kind disappointed at his change of mood. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly. Oh God, he probably realized he didn't want to kiss me.p, and now he's regretting saying those things to me. Here I was, getting my hopes up only to-

  "No matter what you do don't turn around." Luke whispered. I raised my eyebrows, being one of those people who never listen and turn around anyways, only to let out a scream. On the other side of the window behind me the curtains were draw but the lights were still off, making my dad's serious face even scarier. How long was he standing there?! Dad turned to face me, giving me an innocent smile with a small wave before turning back to Luke, his face going serious again.

     "I should've kissed you earlier." Luke mumbled with a small groan, causing me to blush.

  He removed his hands from my cheek and neck, leading me to the front door which was already opened. He let me step in first, coming in right behind me. Dad turned on the lamp by the window and walked up to us. "Did you guys have a great time?" He asked. I nodded my head, keeping my face down. I almost kissed Luke in front of my dad! I mentally added this moment to my embarrassing life stories, right underneath the accidental drunken ten year old story.

  "Did Luke keep his hands to himself at all times?" This time Luke nodded his head, saving me from giving up the truth with my blazing red face. "Well alright. Maggie you should go up and change out of that dress." I nodded my head and looked at Luke, giving him a small smile. "Bye." He nodded his head with a smile of his own, waving at me. I turned around, rushing up the stairs quickly.

    As I went into my room and turned on the light I decided to check on Graham after throwing the clutch on my bed. He was sleeping in his crib, this time dressed in a onesie and a bottle in his mouth. I smiled and leaned down, giving him a kiss on the head before going back to my room to start changing. After slipping out of the dress I hung it up and placed it in its jacket, hanging it in my closet. I slipped into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, letting my hair down by removing the pin and shaking my hand through it to massage my aching scalp. A yawn bubbled out of my mouth as I looked at my digital clock on my nightstand, revealing it was ten minutes past midnight.

  Once I brushed my teeth I laced down in my bed, getting a message on my phone.
Sliding it unlocked I smiled as I read the message. Lucas: Had a great time. See you Monday. Goodnight.

  I smiled, typing goodnight back and hitting send before falling asleep.
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  Hahahahahaha, I decided to make this chapter pretty long, I hope you enjoyed it. Please don't forget to leave a vote if you do and leave your thoughts down too!

Buh bye!!!