Told you there was more Luke to come!

Hope you like it, I thought I would add an extra as I originally wrote Luke's first appearance as one, but decided the chapter was too long, so here is the other part! It would have been over 4000 word otherwise.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this! comment tell me what you think etc. :)

Luke's POV: (next morning)

I swear clocks move slower, when you really want them to go faster. I don't think I have taken my eyes of the clock since Axel called our surprise family meeting. It feels like him and Owen have been droning on for hours, no wait- they have! Two, so far.

"...And finally, Marc, Corey and Gabriel you are on a mission this afternoon, I've sent you the file," Axel waits for them all to nod and agree before saying, "Anything else to report?"

It's takes another twenty minutes to go round the table and find out that:

Kota is still at odds with his mum and Jess. Oops best not to mention I'm visiting this afternoon!

Corey has almost finished the coding on a game that his making, but he mutters this so quietly, that I think only me and Brandon, on his other side, hear him. Surprisingly, Axel doesn't bother to ask him to speak up, when before he would have totally done so.

Victor thinks that his sorted the bug in Gabe's designing programs.

Gabe goes to complain about North yesterday, but I shoot him a look shaking my head and he just thanks Victor and mutters 'nothing to report.' Before sitting, doing a very good North impression.

Sean thinks he should take another shift at the hospital (which Mr. B veto's and then assigns a smirking Nathen and brooding North to make sure he doesn't leave).

By this time my fingers are tapping, Corey notices, passing me a pen, the Toma's have got as used to giving me things to do with my hand as my old team now. Even if it's only a few who still do. I spin the pen casually trying not to fidget as we continue, North scowls a couple of times at the spinning pen, but I'm used to it now, even if it still hurts.

Nathen does a super quick review of the last mission him and Silas where on. (by super quick it means it takes almost half an hour! I feel like Kota, timing everything, right now)

Axel mutters something about bioluminescence and a break though, (which sounds boring)

Kayli is surprisingly quiet-for once. (normally she has a judgement for everyone).

Everybody else seems to be fine. I just add a 'nothing to report' when they turn to me. The pen still spinning in my fingers, my foot now tapping, as the clock edges closer to the time that I will be late for Erica's lunch.

It's almost half twelve when the meeting ends. As they finally let us go, it's all I can do to not sprint out of the door. I lifted North's Jeep keys from his pocket earlier, so I have my vehicle sorted, which helps.

Casually wandering out the door I just have to hope that nobodies blocked North's Jeep in, which they haven't, I feel like praising the lord, and I am not religious!

For some reason this feels important. Well Erica texted, so it's important, the thing that's bugging me is that I don't know why. At all. My Dream? She didn't give me another clue despite the fact I bugged her last night for almost an hour with constant texts, not one more word. After the 'No' she didn't even seem to go on her phone again.

I may have sped a little on the way to Kota's old house, but I get there almost bang on one o'clock. I really hope the light I ran didn't have a camera, or North will strangle me.

"Ok give me a clue as to what I'm doing here Erica..." I mutter, glancing around.

The only thing I can see different is a blue Land Rover, parked neatly next to Erica's small-town car. And while it would be amazing for her to buy me a car, I really doubt that she has. For a start that car is clearly used, well used. Plus, I don't think I would go for a blue Land Rover and Erica knows it. Also, she didn't buy Kota a car so why would she have bought me one? Seeing no other visible clues, I decide that the only sensible thing is to head inside, and ask her directly why the heck she texted me.

My sneaky nature demands I look in the Land Rover though, I mean come on, I've never seen it before what it it's a threat or something? But it tells me absolutely nothing. While the outside shows it obviously well used, the inside just continues that theme. Not disgusting, but used, evidence of mud scattered around and several pattens that look like paw prints on the seats. Great so all I glen from that is that this person has an animal, brilliant! I can't even tell you what animal it is, some spy I am!

More curious than before as that car just suggests that there might be an interesting person inside, I take out the bunch of keys that has all our homes on it. As Kota still, in theory, has a room here, we all still have keys.

The door unlocks easily, and I push it open as quietly as possible wanting to give Jess a jump scare, as I assume, she's here, she is getting way too hard to trick recently, plus I have to get my own back for the pink hair from when I last saw her. Gabe made her a potion of hair dye and it lasted for two whole weeks, then Gabe actually bothered tell me how to get rid of it!

Absolute silence greets me. Then I hear some vague bubbling, which means someone is cooking in the kitchen. Perfect, that must be Jess, Erica would be caught near the pans if anyone else is here, somehow, I just don't remember the Land Rover parked outside for a few seconds, and the fact that cars normally come with people! I don't fully know my way around their new home, but I use the sounds to guide me to the kitchen.

"Cupcake!" I breath completely forgetting the fact that I am trying to sneak up on Jess. They just look so perfect I can't help reaching for them. Then someone screams. There's no way that's Jess's voice it's not the same, too deep, damaged almost, but it definitely a girl's voice. I spin meet a pair of bright haunted green eyes and my breath catches. My eyes move across the girl, unless Jess has dyed her hair blonde and somehow made her eyes a stunning green then this girl is not Jess. I muse colour contact for a moment before deciding even though that would be a great joke, there is no way that she could force or act that haunted, terrified, look into her eyes.

I open my mouth to introduce myself, stepping forward, when something knocks me off my feet, barking. Wait barking? A dog? Max? No, this dog is heavier and very angry.

"SANG NO!" Erica screams from somewhere. Then Jess's voice appears from the same direction.

"Sang, look at him, look who he is," her voice is desperate, "Sang his one of the ones you vetted, he was good remember, Lucien Taylor! Please call Jason off, I promise that Luke will stay on the floor until you can see him properly okay! His the jokester, I imagine he was trying to scare me in retaliation for the pink hair!" I smile very slightly at the fact that our thoughts went to the same place, she's standing behind me now, her eyes flick briefly down, and I give a tiny nod, if that's what the haunted girl wants.

"Sang, trust me!" Jess says looking across the room again her voice losing the laughter as she speaks slowly and calmly "This is Mum's very misguided" she hisses the word at her mother, "attempt to set you up with him and she should have told you that he was coming!" I can hear her annoyance as she glares to where Erica must be standing behind her.

"Sang, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise, I should have but I... I'm so sorry!" Erica sounds like she's in tears. She knows she has done something very wrong, but doesn't know how to correct it.

"He stays on the floor!" literally the most beautiful voice I have ever heard says quietly, quite clearly terrified.

"I promise!" I quickly interject, before I can look like any more of an idiot or Jess can tell anymore embarrassing stories, in an attempt to get the girl to get the dog off.

"Jason..." everyone holds their breath, including me, waiting to see what that scared voice will say "... to me!" Jess lets out a sigh of relief, as the dog shifts off my chest and out of my face. Erica apologises to the still faceless Sang again and she mutters that it's ok and her fault for being so scared, but I can tell whatever trust Erica had with her is gone from the tense tone of voice. Erica notices as well, when she turns away, I can hear her sobs.

While I might be slightly worried about Erica's crying, I'm way more worried about the almost silent stuff coming from across the room. I really scared this 'Sang' girl, I want to make up for it now.

"Sang, can he get up, if he stays over here, I trust him, plus your extensive background check cleared him, remember?" the 'Sang' must have nodded as Jess holds out her hand for me to grab. How the heck did she get enough information to a full background check, my info should be lock tightly behind, Vic and Corey's ironclad firewalls. When I finally grab her hand, she pulls me to my feet with ease, which she would never have been able to do before.

"Have you been working out?" my mouth blurts before I can stop it. Jess stares at me in silence.

"In a way." Her answer is a very Erica answer, short, cryptic, to the point.

"Great now you speak like Erica texts!" I mutter, faux angry, Jess lets out a snort, and I am almost certain I can hear a giggle from by the stove at well, smile flicks onto my face, that giggle is a fun giggle, rather than a cruel one!

"Hi, I'm errr" I want to add 'I'm Lucien but you can call me Luke', but I get caught in her eyes, again, as I turn around. The dog, Jason I assume, is pressed against her legs, her hand on his head.

"Hi, errr!" she lets out another tiny giggle, while she still has tear stains down her cheeks, at least her lips are twitching towards smiling now.

"Dam no, my name is..." I try again, but Jess cuts me off.

"Yes, we know your name is Luke, move on already, in fact Sang I'm here to help, give Lukemes here a chance to remember how to speak," she smirks, "and give us some work to do already!" wait when did Jess become this assertive, stop being a shy little girl and become confident to say Lukemes in front of the gorgeous girl, about one of her 'brothers' that she could never criticise before.

I have never even heard her tease us in front of anyone but my other brothers, not even Kayli(who she quite clearly hates) or her best friends from when we where younger.

"Lukemes. Nice, well I've met you now, anyway my name is Sang... not Cupcake!" I take a second to remember what she is talking about, before scowling at the fact that she just called me 'Lukemes'. I am going to kill Jess! If she's called me Lukemes I can call her Cupcake! I go to do just that but she speaks again.

"I'm kidding, hi Luke and yes, I have done... several checks on you!" Jess snorts again, I'll take that as the several means many then, with that Sang starts handing Jess a tonne of ingredients. My eyes land on the cupcakes again.

Hopefully Sang won't mind, they do look delicious. Moving slowly because I recognise that look in her eyes, the terror, I sit down at the table my hand sneaking for the closest cupcake. Sang's eyes widen, almost comically, she gasps as I raise it my face to take a bite. Weird.

"You don't..." I bite down "...want to do that!" she adds weakly as it explodes in my face. The 'cupcake' was a water balloon, with cream on top.

"Glager blara!" I manage into the quiet. That quiet lasts for all of twenty seconds, as I feel cream running down my face. Then two voices start giggling, the giggling turns to full on loud laughter. It makes me feel lighter than have in days, weeks, even though I currently can't see a thing.

"Hold still!" A very quiet voice comes from just in front of me, and I freeze, perfectly still, worried that I will scare her again, because there is no way that's Jess's voice. I feel something touch my face and hear Jess gasp from somewhere to my right. I gather from that, that Sang doesn't do much touching or going near people, in any kind of capacity.

"Hmmm, you really are as bad as Jess said at resisting sweet stuff... you're worse than Jess and that's saying something!" her breath touches my face lightly, making the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

The cloth wipes over my eye lids and eyebrows, her touch feather light. Slowly, so that she has a chance to back away my eyes open, meeting the bright green ones (still scared but obviously fighting it), right in front of me. I can't look away. The pain I see is heart breaking, why would someone hurt this beautiful girl?

I try to let her know that I understand with my eyes, she gives me a tiny smile in confirmation, the fear lessoning.

"Wait a second, why the heck do you have that in the first place, you where, making those for us! You didn't know Luke was coming!" Jess's slightly outraged voice comes from behind her, took her long enough.

Sang's eyes dance briefly with laughter and she smirks, though it disappears as she shifts away, eyes now showing an innocent expression. Instantly I miss the feel of her near me, my hand twitches to grab her. She moves so that I don't go out of her sight line, even as she looks at Jess. Sang manages innocent for all of two seconds, before the giggles start.

"Well to be fair you did put a water balloon in my shoe, Luke have another cupcake..." she hesitantly adds "if you want, I promise they aren't that bad..." when I don't move, "...when they aren't trick cupcakes!" I narrow my eyes at her jokingly, I can still feel cream in my hair and my shirt is soaked in a cream water mix.

I have to say it is sticking nice and tight to my body. I hope Sang notices, what the heck? Luke you just met her! Five minutes ago! But you like her giggle! And she's so pretty!... Now I'm arguing with myself... again. Great.

Jess manages to not giggle and looks heavily offended, until she glances at me again. Which leads to a soft snort, the fake offended expression dropping.

"Ok, fair!" she finally breaks, "Luke, genuinely they are brilliant cupcakes, Sang is great at baking!" she says to me. They both laugh at my dubious face; at that sound I quickly take another cake.

I may be dubious, but there is now way I am turning down sugar when North isn't around to stop me. I squeeze it slightly, just to check, which makes them both laugh harder. But when I bite in to the (very real) cupcake it is just as Jess said- delicious!

"Wowh!" I stare at it, before quickly eating the rest. And taking another one, just to double check of course!

"Good?" Jess asks smirking, I'm quick to nod, very quick.

"That's the best cupcake I've ever had!" Sang blushes bright red, Jess just smirks harder.

"Told you!" she adds in an annoying sing song voice that she's perfected over the years. "Just wait till you try her chocolate cake!" Sang blushes harder, offers me a tiny thankful smile and goes back to the pans on the stove. Taking those huge eyes off me. The show of trust warms my heart.

"Jess have you finished the parsnips yet?" she askes over her shoulder, embarrassment still tinging her voice. Jess makes an oops no face and grabs the knife quickly finishing peeling before chopping them up.

"Luke?" I spin to look at Sang, dragging my eyes off the perfect cupcakes, she takes half a step back at my speed. Yes cupcake, what do you want? I answer with my eyes on instinct, realise a second later that she isn't family and go to open my mouth, but she beats me to it.

"Can you peel and chop the carrots and then chop the cabbage please! And my name is not cupcake!" she smiles at my shocked expression even through the mock frown, at I assume the name part.

How the heck did she understand my eyes, it took my brothers and me months to understand each other. Literally months of working together in very close quarters before we even realised that it was starting to happen. It was another few years before we could do it on instinct. I have to test it, keeping my eyes locked on hers, so that I can see if it was fluke, plus I want to know if I can read her- obviously.

Yes, it is because you are sweet and perfect, yet tricksy, just like this batch of cupcakes! I gesture to the mess on my shirt with a grin even as her cheeks start flaming again, it's so cute!

Thank you, Luke... sorry about Jason and my freak out! I get back from her. Her eyes drop, I want to reach out, but I have to wait for her to look up again before I can say anything; knowing that grabbing her will; one make the dog attack me again, two scare her away and I really don't want that.

Hey, Cupcake no problem! Seriously, we all have issues! Now I think I should do carrots, yes? The smile she gives me is still nervous and unsure, but I can see the hope in her eyes and what I think and really hope is the beginnings of trust. I flash her a slight smirk back, but that smile really does something to me and I want it more.

I really want it!

Thank you for reading, I really hope you liked the first interaction between Sang and one of the boys (or is it?).....

Have a good one,

Until next time....
Mini edit (11/11/21)