March 11, 2016

I was really excited because Luke was coming home a few days later. His last concert in the Asia tour was the next day, and I couldn't wait to have him home for a little more than two weeks before he went to Europe.

Mid-morning, I Skyped Luke, who was currently in Hong Kong, getting ready to leave for the Philippines.

"Hey Lukey," I smiled as his face came up on my screen.

"Hey Peyt," he grinned back, "what are you going to do today?"

"Well, I don't know what I'll do during the day, but I'll go to Maria's tonight to sleep over. She wants me over since I haven't been there in a while," I explained. He nodded.

"I can't wait to go to the Philippines and preform then come home and be with you again," he pouted, "I want to come home right now and just cuddle you, but I know I can't, and I wouldn't because I'd let the boys down. We still have another show, and we can wait another few days for me to be home, right? Then we'll be able to spend a lot of our time together during those two weeks."

"Yeah," I got excited, "I really can't wait. I miss you so much."

"I miss you too," he frowned, "but right now, I have to go. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll be waiting," I smiled, "I love you, Luke Robert Hemmings."

"I love you too, Peyton Claire Gray." We then ended the call, as usual.

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Later that afternoon, I was getting things ready to go to Maria's, and mum came up into my room. She was just checking on me, asking, "so, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting some things together to take to Maria's. I'll be going there before we eat, so it will be just you and Paisley at dinner," I informed her. She nodded, understanding.

"You don't need me to take you to Maria's, do you? Then I could pick you up in the morning after I come home from running my Saturday errands?"

"No, mum. I can drive there and back. Thanks for the offer, though," I grinned, and she left my room after muttering, "you're welcome."

After another few minutes, I finished getting things into a duffel bag, then lastly put my laptop in. I grabbed the duffel bag and my other bag that I rarely called my "purse". I shoved my phone into the pocket of my sweatpants and grabbed my keys out of my purse.

"Mum, I'm leaving for Maria's," I smiled as I hugged her.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. Call when you're getting ready to come home," she instructed.

I nodded and replied, "I will. I promise," and left after yelling goodbye to Paisley.

After getting into my car, I started the car up and backed out of the driveway. I was at Maria's sooner than I thought I would be. I didn't realize how quick of a drive it was to her house from mine.

Maria's parents offered a sweet, "hello!" as I walked in the door. I smiled at them and repeated their statement. I then continued going up the stairs of their giant house to go to Maria's room.

I entered Maria's room to see her on her computer at her desk. My feet hit the cold hardwood floor of her bedroom, which was a big change from the soft, warm carpet in the hallways. I closed her large door quietly. Maria spun around in her swivel chair. The wheels ran over the cracks between the wood, creating a sound as if the floor was bumpy.

"Hey Peyton!" She exclaimed and jumped from her chair, accidentally jetting it backwards.

"Hey," I smiled at her and hugged her when we got close enough.

"Are you excited about Luke coming back soon?" She questioned.

"Yes! I'm really excited. Why would you think I wasn't? I can't wait. I'll have about two weeks with him, then he'll be away for longer in Europe, until mid-June. Then I'll have another two weeks with him until he's back on tour in North America from the end of June to the end of September. I'll see him for a few days then, and he'll have a few more shows across Australia to do, but he'll only be gone about a week for that. So, yeah.. that's really most of the schedule for his tour," I chuckled.

"I still don't understand how you've done this three other times," she shook her head in astonishment.

"It's been hard..." I sighed and nodded.

"I bet! I see Eli about every other day. I don't know what I'd do if I had to wait a month or three months until I saw him in person again," she scoffed.

"I am not looking forward to the North American leg of the tour.." I looked down at my hands.

"I wouldn't be either. I feel bad for you," she hugged me.

"I'm fine, Maria. Don't worry. He'll be home in a few days, and I'll get to see him for a while, then he'll leave again. I'm not thinking about that right now. I'm taking this one day at a time," I informed her.

"Okay. I'm just glad you aren't completely sad over this. I'm happy that you'll be able to see him in less than a week."

"Me too," I bit my lip, "I can't wait."