"Luke Robert Hemmings, I swear if you do that one more time--"

"Do what?" He asks playing innocent as he skates in front of me.

"Make me fall," I tell him simply as I nearly fall over to avoid hitting him. Instead, he just wraps his arms around my waist until I'm stable.

"Alexandria Lynn Parker, I promise I won't let you fall." He encourages and slips his hand into mine as we continue to skate along. Yes, Luke brought me to an arcade/roller skating rink. How he found out I can't skate? I'm going to guess my brothers. They're the only ones who know how clumsy I am when I have wheels attached to my shoes, and I'm sure that they told him about the time I chipped my tooth because I fell during an early attempt.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Would it make you feel any better if I fell down with you?"

"Maybe." I chuckle as we continue around the empty rink. "So--how did you manage this?"

"I made a couple calls and asked nicely." He tells me with a look of pride. "Random question," Luke tells me after a moment of silence.

"Random answer."

"Do you have any plans about what you want to do for your birthday?" He asks, which makes me wonder what he has up his sleeve. Unfortunately, my curiosity is overshadowed by the dread that comes with the mention of my birthday.

"Nothing. I've never really been one to celebrate my birthday. Most times I have a casual day with my mom and friends. The only thing that really makes it any different is we have cake. The last couple times I really celebrated didn't go very well." Luke just nods, and I appreciate that he doesn't need me to explain. "Why do you ask?"

"What would you think of actually celebrating this year? Nothing extravagant, but something to actually celebrate your birthday."

"I would say you have a lot of--" I don't finish my sentence because I hit a dent in the floor and lost my balance. Luke and I both fall down because of it. My knees hit the floor first, sending sharp pains up through my hips. The wind gets knocked out of me twice after that. Once when my stomach hits the floor, and the second when Luke falls on top of me. He quickly scrambles off, turning me over to make sure I'm okay. All I can manage is a small laugh and an "ow."

"Are you alright?" Luke asks again, still looking worried as he hovers over me.

"Yep. I'm just going to be a bit bruised the next couple days." I pause looking up at him before saying. "You didn't keep your promise, Hemmings."

"Well, at least I fell with you?" He laughs, unsure if that will help his plight.

"Correction--you fell on me."

"Is there any way I can make it up to you?" Luke asks, and I don't verbally answer. Instead, I get caught up in the moment and pull him closer. Luke gets the message and slowly leans in while I do the same. Our lips connect and I get the familiar feeling I get when we kiss running through my veins. I don't know what he's done to me, but I can't complain. Every time the butterflies in my stomach turn into a stampede, I feel like I'm weightless, or the most common— I feel like I have gasoline in my veins and he's the striking match.

When we pull apart, I smile up at him—at my amazing boyfriend. If only I could tell him how he makes me feel. I swear, I've never been able to open up to someone, be so comfortable in their presence, feel this happy, or like my genuine self. "I think that's enough roller skating for us." Luke laughs as he rests his forehead to mine, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don't want Nico beating me up for bringing you back covered in bruises."

"Eh, I've had worse," I comment nonchalantly as Luke and I try to stand up. Although, I'm pretty sure we didn't look like two teenagers, but a pair of newborn giraffes learning how to walk. We barely manage to skate to the side with our belongings without falling. "Give me your skates, I'll go return them," I tell Luke, who is now pulling on his black sneakers. I quickly take both pairs, setting them on the counter before I return back to Luke. When I walk up, he doesn't even notice I'm there, and it takes me a moment to realize why—he's looking at my phone. Stupid Peter. Wait... I freeze wondering if he'll be able to see the messages I replied with.

"Luke, why do you have my phone?" I ask tentatively, trying not to show my panic. Don't get me wrong, I only told Peter to leave me alone, but I also mentioned Luke— more specifically, my feelings for him.

"Why are you texting your ex?" Luke questions back, his voice cold and quiet. Great, he probably thinks I'm cheating on him or something.

I sigh, running a hand through my curly hair as I take a seat next to him. "He texted me this morning, and I told him to leave me alone. Obviously, you can see he won't listen, so I've been trying to get him off my back about it, by showing him I don't have any feelings for him anymore. I even told him I have someone else in my life."

We sit there arguing back and forth for what feels like an eternity. "How can I know that, though, Andy?" Luke shouts as he stands up to pace the floor, which is good. I would rather him shout than be cold about it, if he's shouting it means he cares about the subject and isn't resigned.

"Because, Luke, I'm your girlfriend. Even if I wasn't, you know me better than almost anyone else. You know how I feel about people cheating! I would never do that to you!" I shout back, and silence falls between us for a moment. I sit back down "Unlock my phone and read the messages before you start jumping to conclusions." I tell him trying to keep my voice soft, a part of me hoping he won't freak out when he reads it.

"Fine. What's the code?"

"0624," I reply without a second of hesitation. I changed it last week when we became official. It's the day we went on our first date. I know it's cheesy, but I have been needing to change it, so I went with a memorable. Luke took a moment to look at me before he quickly typed it in, and I internally scream as I watch him read through the "conversation" which was mostly Peter begging me to talk in person and to take him back. Although, I never saw any of the messages after what I said. It's obvious when Luke gets to it because his whole demeanor seems to change.

"Did you really mean that? Or were you trying to get him to stay away?" Luke asks me, but I look away nervously.

"I meant it," I whisper staring down at my fidgeting hands. This wasn't the way I wanted to say it, and I'm going to kill Peter for this if I ever see his sorry little face.

I bite my lip, forcing myself to not tell another lie to him. "Yes, I meant it. I was angry when I was sending him that message, and I barely realized I had said it until after the message went through." I whisper, my anxiety shouting horrible things at me. That all fades away when Luke makes me turn to him and lifts my chin so I have to look at him. I can barely see him through the tears that cloud my vision.

"Andy, why are you crying?" Luke asks, obviously worried.

"Please, don't hate me." Is all I can manage as I try to wipe the tears away, but they're only replaced by more tears. "Please, don't leave."

"Why would you ever think that?"

"Because that's what always happens, Luke. I get close, I start to care, and then something happens making everyone run." I don't even know why I've convinced myself that he's going to leave. "I can't lose you. I--I--" My voice falters, but Luke speaks when I can't.

"I love you too." He tells me, as he continues to wipe my tears before pulling me into his chest. "I love you, Alexandria Lynn Parker." I laugh at his use of my full name, and he smiles proudly having made me cheer up.

"I love you too, Luke Robert Hemmings." I smile as the words pour out of my mouth. Matt was right, and as per usual, he saw it way before any of us did. "I just wish we had said this to each other under different circumstances, or that I didn't tell my 'ex' I loved you before you."

"I don't mind. We said it, which is the most important part." He smiles down at me as I pull back from the hug. "I've actually been wanting to tell you that for a couple days now." He chuckles, and I just shake my head at him. How come he's always the one to realize his feelings before I do? Nevermind. Luke's eyes keep bouncing between my eyes and lips. I get the hint and pull him close. "I love you." He whispers against my lips, which makes me smile into the kiss.

I stare at Luke as we walk around the town, trying to analyze every detail about the boy who stole my heart from me without warning. It's like the world around me is fuzzy as my head spins from the euphoria of it all. Luke's hand traces patterns onto mine as he excitedly tells me something, but I'm too caught up in him to hear what he's saying. "Andy?" He asks, which snaps me back in reality. "Did you hear anything I was saying?" He asks with a chuckle as my cheeks turn red.

"Sorry, I was a bit spaced out." I laugh along with him. Luke grins, which shows off his dimple, and his blue eyes light up with amusement. "Don't laugh at me. So what do you want to--" I start to say, but I'm cut off by someone shouting.

"Alex!" He calls from a few feet away as he jogs towards us. Luke looks at me confused as to what's going on, but I ignore him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"So what you're stalking me now?" I turn to the one person I feel such anger towards other than John. "I thought I told you to leave me alone, Peter."

"I'm sorry, but you know I can't do that." He says, taking a step toward me, but I take another away from him. "Alex, please, just give me a chance."

"No."

"Please, Malloy. I screwed up, and not a day goes by where I haven't felt bad for what happened. I miss you." He tells me, his brown eyes full of remorse, but I'm too resigned from what happened to feel anything.

I let go of Luke's hand as I step towards him. He starts looking hopeful, right up to the moment I start speaking. "I want to listen to me very closely, Peter." He nods, obviously waiting to hear what I have to say. "First, don't ever call me 'Alex' or 'Malloy' ever again. That's not my name. I'm Andy Parker now." I take another step closer, anger rolling through my veins. "Second, stay out of my life. If you came for forgiveness, you have it, but if you came hoping that there might be something between us--you're wrong. There is nothing between you and me, and there never was. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to enjoying my date with my boyfriend." I snap at him, turning around to walk away, but I'm yanked back by my wrist--hard.

"Alex—I mean—Andy, please. I want you back." He tells me, but I ignore him and try to pull my wrist away. When he realizes I'm not changing my mind, he gets bitter. "C'mon, baby. Do you really think he's going to put up with you like I did?"

I try to force his voice out of my head. "Let go of me," I tell him through gritted teeth.

He pretends not to hear me. "You really think, Mr. Rockstar over there is really going to stick around? I bet you he won't when he hears about all your issues." He spits each word at me like venom. All the while, I try my best to stay calm and keep Like from beating him to a pulp. Peter's grip on my wrist grows tighter and tighter, sending waves of pain up through my shoulder.

That's when I lose control. I barely register my free hand winding back and hitting Peter's nose. My stomach churns at the crunching noise that happens upon impact. Instantly, he lets go of my wrist, which is red from his grip, and I sprint away crying my eyes out.