"i regret this."

was what luke said as soon as noelle answered her door. she gave him a sharp look before tugging him inside her apartment where her brother, kaiden, was watching a show quite loudly.

"shut up," she rolled her eyes, leading him into the kitchen so the young boy wouldn't eavesdrop, "the only way i could see you today is if you came to me. so you're helping me babysit today."

"i hate kids," he deadpanned.

"but you don't hate me, so can you please just bear with this? just for half an hour. if you don't want to stay after that, then you're free to go."

"swear?"

"on my life."

he sighed, rubbing his forehead as he thought over her request, "half an hour. that's all you get."

"that's all i need," noelle smiled and started to walk back into the living room, luke following closely behind her, albeit reluctantly.

"who's that?" kaiden questioned the two of them as they approached him,

"kaiden, this is luke, luke this is kaiden," she gestured to each boy as she introduced them.

"it's nice to meet you," luke said as kindly as possible despite feeling extremely uncomfortable at the way the young boy was scrutinizing him.

"is this your boyfriend?"

the two teenagers stiffened and turned slightly red at his assumption.

"no! he's just-"

"we're not-"

they glanced at each other awkwardly, both of them at a loss for words. though luke personally wouldn't have minded if he was her boyfriend.

not that he'd ever admit that out loud, of course.

"that's all the answer i need," the younger boy smirked before returning to his show.

"evil," luke hissed under his breath, turning to noelle with his eyebrows raised, "this is why i hate kids."

"don't mind him," she waved her hand dismissively, still feeling flustered. "come on, let's just head to my room."

"don't do anything i wouldn't do!" kaiden's voice rang out as they walked away.

"you're 13! you shouldn't be doing anything!" his sister yelled back, running a hand through her hair before entering her room.

as soon as luke stepped through the doorway, he was immediately engulfed by her.

everything from the white painted walls to the polaroid pictures pinned to a cork board above her desk screamed 'noelle' and he felt as if he wasn't worthy of entering such a bright, happy place.

he was much too dark for her world, too damaged. and yet here he was, standing like an idiot in her doorway as she shut the door behind them with a smile, not caring how much baggage he brought along with him.

"sorry it's messy," she apologized as she tried to straighten out a few things, but he walked towards her quickly and put his hand on top of hers, causing her to freeze.

"don't," he muttered, "don't move anything. it's perfect the way it is."

her hand still underneath his, she turned her head to him, "alright. i won't move anything."

he nodded and moved his hand away, immediately wandering over to her cork board. a specific picture caught his eye, warming his insides as he examined it.

it was of her as a young girl. her hair was cut short, framing her chubby face perfectly. she was smiling as she sat on a swing - he assumed it was the one she'd shown him the day before - and he knew that the picture couldn't be more perfect.

it was true happiness captured in a single photo.

"i was 6 when my mom took that photo," she spoke from beside him, watching his expression carefully as he continued to stare at it.

"it's...great," he admitted softly, not sure how to express in words the feeling he had.

"i haven't really smiled that big in a really long time," she told him quietly.

luke moved his stare from the picture to the actual person, noticing the differences between the two. 

"it's a beautiful smile for a beautiful girl. i'd like to see it in person some time."

"i'm sure you'll see it very soon, lucas."

~

after a very hastily prepared lunch, kaiden forced luke to play fifa with him. old luke would've been excited to play the game, but he wasn't the same guy anymore. 

still, with coaxing from both the devereaux siblings - 'please luke? it'll be fun!' - he gave in and was now pressing the buttons on the controller expertly, still having the skills he'd once spent hours gaining.

"seriously? i thought you'd suck!" the younger boy complained as the teen scored yet another goal.

"please, kid," luke teased, feeling particularly lighthearted at the nostalgia the game brought along with it, "i might be rusty, but i spent half my life mastering this game."

"so basically, you're admitting to being a closet nerd," noelle piped up from beside him.

he nudged her knee with his, eyes rolling as he continued to move his players around, "fifa is not a game for nerds. i'm offended that you think so lowly of me."

"stop flirting with my sister and get your head in the game," kaiden laughed as he managed to get the ball passed luke's goalie. 

"blame your sister for being so distracting," luke shot back, sending the girl an amused glance as she huffed, though a smile broke through her façade.

he didn't hesitate to smile right alongside her.

~

"so?" noelle smirked as she stood in the hallway with luke.

"so, what?" he narrowed his eyes curiously.

"do you still regret coming over and babysitting with me?" she poked his side playfully and he smacked her hand away with a scowl.

"maybe it wasn't quite as horrid as i thought it'd be."

"typical you. not wanting to admit you had a good time."

luke simply shrugged and leaned against the wall behind him, arms crossed over his chest. 

"but seriously," she licked her lips, "thank you for coming. you really didn't have to and i know you probably would've preferred to do something else but-"

"i was with you," he broke off her rant and her eyes went wide, "that's all that matters. i wouldn't have wanted to spend my day any other way."

"even though i made you spend time with a kid?" 

"your brother isn't that bad, i'll give you that."

"one game of fifa and all of a sudden your attitude takes a complete 360," she joked.

"what can i say? your brother's found my weakness," he responded as his smile grew.

"ha!" she pointed at his mouth and he jumped.

"what are you doing?" he eyed her weirdly as she grinned like an idiot, still pointing at his face.

"reason 3."

"my face is reason 3?"

"no, you nerd. that smile. is it real or fake?"

luke answered without missing a beat, surprising the both of them. "it's real."

"well there you go," her hand dropped and moved to her hip in triumph. "i think it's pretty self explanatory. that whole feeling of happiness. why wouldn't you want to live to feel it?"

"i should be the one thanking you for today," he said, not wanting to dwell on how absolutely right she was and how it scared him that he enjoyed the feeling of unwavering jubilation he felt whenever she was around.

"well, in that case, you're welcome," she pulled him into a hug, her arms clinging to his waist.

he let himself take in the way she melded against his chest. the way she smelled like lavender and vanilla. the way he could literally feel her soft breathing through his shirt.

he was wrong before. the picture didn't completely capture true happiness.

but this did.

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it's 2 in the morning so idk what i just wrote. BUT 100 READS WHATT. thank you guys. seriously. i thought this story wasn't going to go very far, but i'm glad people are actually noticing it. 

i dedicated this to virtuously bc she posted the sweetest comments and i just alkdjgl;aj thank you so much bby i appreciate the support.

please comment/vote if you enjoyed! :-)