ARI.

Bathing was therapeutic to me. Some people do yoga, some people clean and some people bake cupcakes. I on the other hand, liked to fill up my tub with warm water, embellish it with fruity smelling bubbles and let the entire bathroom echo with my favorite songs from a plethora of artists. After leaving Luke's house earlier, I drove straight home, yearning to delve into my bath time rituals.

If there was one thing about me that I don't like to admit, is that I'm more sensitive than what I like to let people see. For my entire life, I've always been the tough kid on the playground; the one that's always willing to stand up for other underdogs. I didn't like showing any emotion that would perceive me as weak and I rarely let people see me cry. For the longest time, Ashton, Calum and Michael always had this strong inkling that I was biologically incapable of producing tears.

Then my dad died.

And for quite a while, it seemed like all I could do was cry. Luke has seen me shed tears on more than one occasion in the span of several weeks. Letting him see me cry meant that I was comfortable in his presence; that wherever he was, felt like home. After our argument today, I let Luke's words lacerate me. He really hurt my feelings and maybe it was a mistake; maybe I shouldn't have allowed myself to plummet into his tenacious gravity.

Just as Five Colours in Her Hair by McFly ended and another song ensued, I stepped out of the tub. Wrapping a soft towel around my body, I walked across the hall back to my room where I selected some clothes to wear. A simple pair of high waisted denim shorts, a tucked in white tank and a dark blue and black flannel adorned my freshly bathed body. I took my hair out of its ponytail and kept my long locks in its natural state, letting it cascade down my back in soft, tousled waves.

Buzz. Buzz.

I looked over to the desk where my phone sat. Picking up the device, I slid my finger across the screen to see a new text message.

From: Reese O'Hara - 3:45PM
Picking you up in 15 mins :)

To: Reese O'Hara - 3:46PM
See you soon.

Reese was nice. Sure, I didn't really know him and he could be some creepy dude with weird beastiality fetishes but he was something new and refreshing. Not that I ever got bored spending time with the guys, but a little change never hurt anyone. When Reese came by to pick me up, I made my mind repress the idea of Luke. I was still upset over our argument but I didn't want to put a damper on this hang out with Reese. He didn't deserve to be vacuumed into juvenile high school drama.

"So what's the plan?" I asked, as Reese pulled away from the curb. I gazed at him, noticing how his university sweatshirt fit nicely on his body.

"I was thinking we check out the annual Pumpkin Festival?" He suggested, "I've never been and I've heard there's tons to do."

"I actually like that idea," I told him, and I swore I heard him sigh in relief. "I haven't been to Pumpkin Fest in about five years."

"Sounds like a plan, and afterwards, you can decide what we can do next," he offered.

"Oh, so you think that there will be an afterwards?" I teased. "What if I totally get sick of you, fake a throbbing headache and demand you take me home?"

"Your home or mine?" Reese smirked, a solitary dimple popping out on the left side. I rolled my eyes at his snarky innuendo.

"Ha, ha. Smooth," I sarcastically quipped, earning a laugh from Reese.

"I'm joking," he declared, a smile still painted on his face. Reese turned up the radio, continuing the drive right outside of town to the Pumpkin Fest where we spent the rest of our afternoon.

From picking out lumpy, outcast pumpkins in the patch, to chasing each other through the corn maze and even indulging ourselves in a range of pumpkin flavored foods, I could honestly say that I was having a good time with Reese. He respected my space and never asked anything too personal. He was intriguing, he was quite wise and I admit, he was very good looking. Yes, he's an older college guy, but that didn't mean it automatically translated in Reese being some fraternity douchebag. Luke was quick to assume; he corellated societal notions, jumbling them all till it proved Reese to be the enemy. It was nice that Luke wanted to protect me, but at the end of the day, all he's protecting me from is an innocent bunny.

Despite being throughly entertained at the Pumpkin Fest, our palates were craving something far from the likes of cinnamon and pumpkin mashups. That's when I remembered Rita's, an old favorite of mine. Some people liked ice cream and candy mixed together on a slab of frosty stone, while others enjoyed self-served frozen yogurt. I on the otherhand, liked to nourish my heart and soul with Italian ice.

I laughed hysterically, slapping Reese playfully on the arm as he continued speaking in a diverse array of accents. I was both surprised and entertained with how talented he was in the art of mimicking.

"This Italian ice is scrumptious," Reese declared in an Italian accent that had me clutching at my sides due to the amount of giggling.

"Stop! You're making me laugh too hard jackass, my sides hurt," I pleaded in between laughter and panting.

Reese ignored my pleas and continued to talk about the dessert in his hands in a different accent. As I shook my head, demanding that he stop making me laugh so I can enjoy my dessert without the fear of choking, I heard my name being called out.

"Ari?"

I turned my head, to see Luke slowly approaching. Behind him were Ashton, Calum and Michael whose excited smiles soon faded into smooth, anxious lines as their eyes landed on their tall, blue-eyed, friend. Calum jogged after Luke, seizing him by the shoulder which prompted quiff boy to stop in his tracks and teeter backwards slightly. Calum whispered something into Luke's ear and whatever it was caused him to groan and roll his eyes.

"You know them?" Reese suddenly asked and I nodded my head as I gazed up at him.

"Yea, they're my friends," I told him. When I turned my head back, I half-expected to see Luke within a closer proximity, however this was not the case.

"Quiroz!" Michael happily ran towards Reese and I with a doofy grin. "Who's your new boy toy?"

I shot him a glare and scoffed, "he is not my boy toy," I looked at Reese and gestured for the lilac-headed boy, "this is my friend Michael."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Reese," he introduced, brandishing out his hand. Michael shook it just as Ashton and Calum approached. Luke on the other hand, strolled right to the window of the building to place his order.

"This is Ashton and Calum, my other friends," I introduced and like Michael, Reese shook the hands of my non-Asian lookalike and bandana boy. As Reese and the boys engaged in light conversation about pumpkins and pizza, my mind zoned out for a moment as I let my eyes scan the vicinity, conviently landing on Luke.

Luke stood before the open window of the white building where a pretty blonde was tapping away on the touch screen register. I could hear her flirty giggles fill my ears forcing me to roll my eyes in annoyance; I wasn't planning on scoffing over the girl's blatant coquettishness, but as I watched Luke muse her, I suddenly felt like throwing bowling balls at her register till it exploded.

"...and you Ari?"

My attention quickly shifted from Luke and the cashier back to Reese and the boys who all gazed at me with lingering stares. I had no idea what the hell they were asking because the last thing I heard spew out of their mouths before I bought my ticket to the train of thoughts, was pumpkin and Vegemite pepperoni.

"Sorry, what was the question?" I asked with a guilty expression on my face.

"I was just asking these guys what their plan was for Halloween next weekend," Reese began, his hands in his pockets as he bounced on the balls of his feet, "and I was wondering what you were doing that night?"

"Oh um, aren't we hitting up a party?" my eyes fell on the boys with a curious expression, as I remembered about an old conversation about the best Halloween bash to ever hit Percival Shores. Michael nodded his head eagerly with a wide grin.

"Well it looks like I'll see you there," Reese hinted with a smirk, causing me to cock my head in confusion. I guessed he sensed my puzzlement because before I could open my mouth, Reese added, "I have class wtih the host of the party, Sean Leone."

"Oh, well then," pursed my lips and nodded my head.

I always knew that Sean was older than Jasey but never did wonder about his life outside of him dropping by the Pier Pressure shack to bring a bottle of Jasey's favorite organic, cold-pressed green juice. If he went to school at UCLC and had class with Reese, I wondered if my sister knew Sean too.

Before my mind could jump back into another round of aimless thinking, it was impeded by a tall ass Aussie. Luke approached us with an official Rita's Italian Ice paper cup, filled with the sweet dessert. He walked in between Calum and Ashton, putting himself into our small conversation circle. Luke's blue eyes swiped over Reese and I, and I felt my heart drop in memory of our argument.

"Ari," Luke acknowledged with a head nod, which was something I honestly wasn't expecting. I didn't say or do anything back however, because I was too stunned. Luke brandished out his free hand towards Reese, "hi, I don't think we've met. My name is Luke Hemmings."

"Nice to meet ya man. I'm Reese," he introduced, shaking Luke's hand with a smile. His gaze did dwadle longer than normal, as I noticed Reese narrow in his eyebrows with wonder illustrated in his brown eyes. "You look oddly familiar. Have we met before?"

Luke stuck the plastic spoon back into his dessert, "I don't think so."

"Are you sure?" Reese pressed. "I could've sworn I've seen you before."

"I highly doubt it," Luke declared confidently. "I would say that you've seen me in the halls of Percival Shores High, but judging by the univeristy sweatshirt and Ari's imperative need for quality time with older people, it's not likely that you're in high school."

"Luke," I whispered through gritted teeth, shooting him a death glare. What the hell?

"Unless you were at the Quiroz dinner party a few weeks ago," Luke squinted his eyes as he stroked his chin in mock-wonder, "but I don't think you were, seeing as it was a close friends and family thing."

"Luke stop," I demanded, my voice slightly higher than a whisper. I nervously looked at Reese who had an unamused expression on his face and I knew that he had figured out what Luke was attempting to do.

"Or maybe you were at the Cole's babysitting Brayson? Could that be it? Is that where you met me before?" Luke bit his bottom lip, taking his piercing in between his teeth and shooting Reese a snarky smirk, "but you know what? I don't think so because I was there and I think I was the only one comforting Ari when she need a good friend to be there for her."

"Luke, please," I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Were you in-- wait, no, nevermind. I don't think you were in my room either when Ari couldn't stop crying and being the trustey friend I am, I was the one holding her till she calmed down," Luke continued on his rampage, catapulting ammo left and right towards Reese even though the missles were meant for me.

"Lucas!" I bellowed, finally having enough of his fuckery. I could sense that Reese was feeling somewhat uncomfortable with Luke's ranting and I had to put an end to it. I grabbed Luke's wrist, snatching him away from the group and dragging him several yards away.

"Whoa Ari, calm down. Don't want your cool college friend to get jealous," Luke sarcastically voiced, sass dripping from his tone.

"You're upset with me and I get it, okay?" I told him, crossing my arms above my chest, "but seriously Luke? Why bring shit up now? Couldn't you have saved it for later?"

"I don't know what shit you're talking about Ari. Grandpa Reese just wanted to know where he's seen me before and I was merely feeding him suggestions," Luke shrugged haphhazardly, taking a spoonful of the icy delight in his hand. He was the Queen of Pretendland.

"Quit pretending like you didn't know what you were doing!" I scolded. "You're acting like an overprotective, clingy, jealous asshole right now. You don't want me hanging out with Reese and that's fine. But please be more mature and bite your tongue the next time you want to diliberately make someone feel uncomfortable!"

"Oh there she fücking goes again with the maturity bullshit," Luke blubbered, rolling his eyes in irritation. "Can you put your ego aside for one minute Ari and be wrong for once? You're not old enough or cultured enough to know what the real world is like. So quit trying to act like you do because you look like a pretentious little girl."

"And you know what the real world is like?" I jeered, chortling at the thought. "Oh I'm Luke Hemmings and I'm Percival Shores royalty," I mocked, earning a sullen glare from him, "I disrespect my hard working mum and I wear collared Polos because that's what all the cool kids are doing and popularity gives me insight on current affairs."

"I'm Ari Quiroz and I don't care what anyone thinks," he mocked, his tone at a higher pitch and erasing his Australian accent as I stood with clenched fists. "I like to pretend I'm a grown up and control everyone to compensate for the fact that my dad's dead and there was nothing I could do about it!"

SLAM.

Frosty, orange, peach-flavored Italian ice trickled down Luke's face and onto his shirt and jean jacket. I held the empty paper cup in my clenched fist with so much ire, I was ready to flip tables. Luke didn't say anything, too surprised that I had the audacity to throw the cold dessert into his face with an icy slam. I glared at him with both anger and hurt, and he looked right back at me with remorse in his eyes. Luke knew exactly what came out of his mouth and I was boggled that it actually did. He didn't just strike a nerve; he serrated it and dipped it in acid.

Reese, Ashton, Calum and Michael shuffled over to us with wide eyes and dropped jaws. Their eyes went back and forth between the sticky dessert that generously coated Luke's body and the empty cup in my hand. No words were uttered from any of them as they continued to stare and decipher the underlying reason as to why my $3.45 confection was varnished all over the tall, blonde-haired boy.

Luke took a step forward, grabbing both my hands, "Ari I--"

"Don't," I interrupted, my voice cracking as I eyed Luke with a pang of utmost hurt. I snatched my hands away from his, taking a step backwards.

"I didn't mean--"

"Please don't ever speak or awknowledge me again,"

//

Update because today, December 26th, "DRUNK WORDS SOBER THOUGHTS" hit 100K reads and is ranked at #775 in fanfiction!!! Honestly, I couldn't be anymore happier! I am astonished that this story had the capability to hit such a milestone. It's one of the best Christmas presents ever and it's awesome to see this story grow. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has read, enjoyed, voted and commented on this story. It makes me so happy and freaking giddy that people actually like what I've taken the time to write! Also, a big thanks to Fanfic HQ for adding this story (& "Run Baby Run") to their 5SOS list! Without them, I don't think "Drunk Words Sober Thoughts" would have reached half of my readers! :)

Anywho, Luke made a booboo and needs to do damage control. Ari could do some apologizing as well. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are liking this story so far! Thank you all again!