A/N: Don't hate me, guys XD

Chapter 10: "Try not to maim my son too horribly."

"Jordy and Lulu's here!"

Three tiny bodies slammed into my legs as soon as I entered Luke's house, each giggling like hyperactive sugar bombs.

Despite almost falling flat on my face, a sincere smile lit up on my lips when I looked down and saw three of Luke's younger siblings.

He was the oldest out of the Tarrone brood which consisted, from oldest to youngest, of: Luke (17), Sydney and Jude (14), Harry (10), Hunter (5), Noah (3), and baby Sandy, who was almost two.

"Hello, my lovelies," I said gently to Noah, Hunter (who, actually, was a girl), and Harry. Sandy gurgled somewhere next to me, her little tooth baring up at me. I smiled at her and swooped her into my arms. "Hello, baby," I greeted, nuzzling her nose with mine.

An arm slung around my shoulders and I glanced to my left to see Luke looking at me and his siblings with a soft look in his eyes. My smile slightly faded and I looked away, tempering the blush in my cheeks.

"Danny, you left your glasses at our house," I heard a sweet voice say near my knees. I shuffled forward and glanced down.

"Really, Harry?" I asked, relieved. "I thought they were gone." I only wear my glasses for reading, and they'd disappeared about a week ago, which made it so hard to read the school reports.

"Syd has them," he said frantically, nodding his head.

I smiled down at him and ruffled the beautiful golden hair that ran in the family. "Thanks, Squirt," I replied cheerily, dodging away from Sandy's grasping fingers as she reached for my ears and hair.

"Alright, chickies, let's let go of Jordy now," Luke exclaimed, prying Harry from off my right knee. Harry gave a shout of protest, but then stopped struggling, kicked Luke's shin, and ran off.

"Thanks Lulu," I said in amusement, raising an eyebrow.

He flushed at his adorable nickname while rubbing his shin, and shot a 'fuck you,' look at me which I gladly reciprocated.

"Noah, honey, let me go," I told the cute little boy, who was the carbon copy of Luke, down to his large, twinkling hazel eyes. I smiled softly down at him and kneeled down, Sandy still in my arms.

Hunter and Noah stared at me as I untangled myself and stood back up, stretching out my free hand. Hunter immediately grabbed it and left Noah to giggle and jump into Luke's waiting arms.

I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Despite my  problems with Luke and his annoying attitude, a man that was good with kids was the sexiest and most heart-warming thing ever.

Don't even give me that look. No, I was not blind. Luke was a sexy beast, and he had a good heart. But let's be real. We could never be together because we were just too different. I know, opposites attract and shite, but when two people are too different, it's just as bad as when you're too similar.

"Is that my child?" Rita's voice echoed down the hall of the house. She poked her head out of a door in the hallway and beamed at the sight of us. "Luke, Jordan!" she greeted warmly.

"Hey, Mum," Luke replied while I murmured back my response. We dragged his siblings to his mother, going through the door into the living room.

"Is that Jordan?" I heard my mum say.

"Yeah," I called back, propping Sandy more steadily on my hip. I gripped Hunter's soft hand and smiled down at the little girl who looked more like her father with green eyes instead of hazel.

Mum came into the living room from the kitchen and frowned when she saw me. I rolled my eyes because she was still not over the bakery incident. "Jordan, darling," she started.

"It wasn't my fault," I interjected before she could start breathing fire. "Sorry, Mum, but we got the cake and that's all there is to it."

She chuckled. "I wasn't going to even mention that, Jordan."

I paused. "Oh. Then what?"

"Molly and Mark are coming over for dinner. And I need you to-"

"Make the dinner, am I right?" I finished tiredly.

"How the fuck do you always know what the end of the sentence is going to be?" Luke whispered into my ear. I looked at him and frowned, wondering why he was standing so close that he was practically on top of me.

"Shut up, Lulu," I whispered back, turning my back on him.

"Yes," Mum continued as though I hadn't just interrupted her. "We do, actually. Rita is taking me out to go look at flowers so Luke and you can go and see if you like our choices."

"You're going at six at night? Won't Molly be here soon?"

She waved me off. "Details, details. They won't miss us by much - in fact, Molly called and said they'd be here around eight."

"But that's so late, I'm already hungry," Luke complained.

I would've elbowed his gut if I hadn't been holding two of his sisters, so I settled for a simple disdainful look. "Shut it," I advised.

"Brandon's here to watch the kids," Rita added in a chirpy voice. Brandon was Luke's dad. He was an awesome guy, but I wasn't sure how he helped produce Luke, because he was probably the most down-to-earth man I had ever met.

"Where is Dad?" Luke voiced my question.

I furrowed my eyebrows and glanced at my mum. "Wait...where is my dad?" I asked into the air, realising I hadn't seen him for a while.

"He's at work, darling," Mum said tentatively. "Like he always is at this time."

I frowned. At work? It was Friday, he always got off early on a Friday. God, I wished he wouldn't be such a workaholic. Sometimes I did enjoy his company, believe it or not.

Rita, noticing the tense atmosphere, decided to change the subject, bless her heart. "Your dad's just upstairs looking for Sandy's baby monitor."

"Okay." Luke grinned at me and scooped up Noah, who began to cheer in his cute baby voice. Noah loved to be picked up, and we always spoiled him like that because he was just too adorable to be ignored.

"Lucas, would you be a dear and help Jordan with dinner?" Mum asked.

I narrowed my eyes and grimaced when I noticed how smug she seemed. "I see what you're doing here, Mum," I told her. "But it won't work because you're sending us into a place full of fire and knives."

Next to me, Luke stiffened. "You're so scary when you use that tone!"

"What tone?" I responded innocently, knowing full well what he meant.

Rita and Mum exchanged glances before looking back at me. "Try not to maim my son too horribly," Rita said casually.

I smirked deviously, knowing that I would freak Luke out. "I'll give it a shot, but who knows what kind of accidents happen in kitchens-"

"Jordan, could you be less tactless?" Mum snapped.

I chuckled. "Whatever, Mum. I'll go start dinner now, but don't expect anything five-star." Maybe I could just order take-out.

"Don't you dare buy take-out!" Mum warned before grasping Rita's hand and marching off.

I gaped at her retreating back. "How the hell did she know?"

"Language, Jordy," Luke cautioned, motioning to Noah, who was listening intently to every word we were saying.

"Language, Jordy," Hunter echoed in her adorable little voice, causing to me look at her and smile.

"Okay, chickies, let's go find Daddy, okay?" Luke said to the kids, setting Noah on the ground and taking Sandy from my arms.

I absolutely loved it when Luke called the kids 'chickies,' because it was just too damn unreal and adorable. "Okay," Noah agreed enthusiastically, grabbing Hunter's arm and toddling away with her in tow.

Luke kissed Sandy's forehead as she drooled on him and laughed, following the two toddlers out of the living room. He paused and looked back, as though he'd completely forgotten about me while around his siblings. God, he loved them so much that it almost made me accept his stupidity.

"I'll be back to help with dinner, okay?" he promised with a cheery grin.

"No need," I replied briskly, waving my hand. "It's all good, I'll do it myself."

"I'll be back to help," he repeated firmly before turning back around and running after Noah and Hunter.

I sighed in annoyance at his pushiness. If I said I didn't need his help, then hell if I was going to let him help me. Why could he never understand that?

I shrugged to myself and strolled the the bottom of the stairs. "Syd?" I yelled up. "Are you there?"

"Is that you, Danny?" I heard her twin brother, Jude, call. Like Hunter, they were mirror images of their father, apart from Rita's golden hair they'd inherited.

"Hey, Jude," I called with a smile. Being around Luke's family automatically did that to me. Whenever I was around them, I felt carefree and happy, unlike at home when I was constantly lonely and depressed.

He didn't smile back, because he was at that teenage phase where he said "Fuck you" to practically everything and Heaven forbid he was ever happy enough to smile. He was constantly sullen and moody, but maybe that was just because his voice kept cracking at inappropriate and embarrassing times.

"Where's Syd?" I asked.

He shrugged and gave me a tiny shadow of a smile. At least with me, he was the least bit polite because we always bonded over how stupid we thought Luke was. Don't say that it was mean, because I swear, it was only teasing, and we only did it straight to Luke's face. Besides, Luke had such a thick head that nothing ever got through to him.

"Can you ask Syd where my glasses are?"

Without a word, Jude disappeared up the stairs again, and I was pretty certain I heard a few screams and thuds before I saw Sydney appear with my glasses case in her hands.

"You okay, Syd?" I asked in concern, eyeing her ruffled hair and clothes with amusement.

She huffed, also in that awkward teenage stage where everything sucked and the world was against you. "Why don't you ask Judy?" she mocked.

Jude appeared out of nowhere and knocked Sydney's shoulder. "Don't call me Judy, P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way," he taunted right back.

"Maybe you want me to tell Paulina that you still watch Finding Nemo!" she screeched at her brother, pushing him back, but considering he already had five inches and twenty pounds on her, he didn't go very far.

"Hey, hey, I don't see anything wrong with guys appreciating Disney films - in fact, girls think it's kind of hot," I stated mildly.

Jude shot Sydney a triumphant look. "See? Even Danny thinks - hey, wait! I never said I appreciate Disney films!"

I smirked. "Oh c'mon, Jude, girls like it when guys have that secret soft side. A passion for Disney films included."

He gaped at me, causing Sydney to roar with laughter. "I don't have a passion for Disney films!" he yelled, stomping his foot like a baby. "Liking Finding Nemo is normal!"

"Whatever, Syd, would you just toss me my glasses?"

Sydney made a move to fling me the case, when a tanned hand swooped down out of nowhere and plucked it from her hands. "Hey!" she said accusingly, shoving Luke back with her elbow.

He grinned at the twins and then looked down at me. "Hey, Jordy, I like Disney. Does that mean you find me hot?"

I rolled my eyes. "In your wet dreams, Tarrone."

"Ew! Danny, I do not want to hear about my brother having wet dreams about you!" Sydney complained, shuddering her disgust. "Ugh, I'm outta here."

She stomped back to her room without a goodbye. Teenagers. What could you do?

"Luke, just come down here and give me my glasses," I ordered, stretching out a hand. "Jude, help me out!"

Jude took one look at his big brother's evil expression and raised his hands, backing away. "And that's my cue to leave," he stated apologetically, running away behind Sydney.

"Wow, thanks for your help, Jude!" I called sarcastically.

Luke bounded down the stairs, narrowly missing me as he flew past. "If you want these, you have to say that I'm hot and sexy."

I eyed him in disbelief. Since he was now on the floor, and I had climbed up a few steps, we were almost eye-to-eye. He was still a couple of inches taller than me despite me going up three steps.

He dangled my purple leather case enticingly, swaying it in front of my eyes. "C'mon Jordy-kins, you know it's true, you just have to admit it!"

"Fine," I relented, making a shocked expression overtake his features. "I'm hot and sexy."

An amused grin replaced the shock and he leaned into me, so close that I could smell the powerful minty flavour of the gum he was chewing. "Not bad," he admired, shooting me a wink.

I rolled my eyes, trying not to show how affected I was with his handsome face so close to mine. "Oh please, you set yourself up for that one."

"Fair enough. Let's go make some food, then, yeah?"

I allowed him a small smile. "Yes, let's, Lulu."

***

We both stared at the fallen pieces of dried pasta, him with amusement and me with exasperation.

"Well," he said finally, bending down to scoop up the pasta. "It's going in water anyway."

I shoved him away from the pot of boiling water before he could drop the dirty pasta in it. "And that's why I never let you cook by yourself," I told him.

He pouted, his eyes widened in confusion. "What's the big deal? They'll be washed in the water and be cooked at the same time! It's a win-win!"

"No," I replied flatly. "Think about it, you're putting pasta in water to rehydrate it. To do that, it has to absorb the water. And, by default, the dirt would be absorbed as well, you moron."

He paused. "Oh."

I rolled my eyes at the sheepish grin he was now wearing on his face, like a complete and utter idiot. "Just...I don't know, pick it up and run it under the sink water, then put it in the pot."

I knew I never should've let Luke help me cook. While I probably wasn't the greatest chef in the world, I wasn't nearly as klutzy, moronic, and horrible as him. He'd dropped practically everything I'd handed to him and almost cut himself on a carrot peeler. Like holy crap, he had to be trying to be an idiot to be that horrible at cooking. I wasn't even exaggerating, I swear.

"Luke, please don't," I pleaded when he started making submarine and explosion noises and started reciting lines from the Titanic to the pasta he was washing. "If you want to be annoying, go do it somewhere else."

He just flicked water at me and didn't reply, choosing instead to drown the Jack pasta piece instead. I rolled my eyes again and muttered obscenities about how I'd like to harm him.

I got out a cutting board and started chopping the vegetables for the pasta sauce that was bubbling over the stove. In case you wanted to know, no, I did not let Luke anywhere near the stove.

"Ooh, can I help cut?" Luke asked excitedly.

I faced him slowly my face blank. "I don't feel comfortable giving you a knife," I replied carefully, internally cringing at the horrors he could cause with the sharp knife.

His face fell almost immediately, and while I usually would not give a damn...I felt kind of guilty at how sad he looked, even though I knew he was just trying to bait me.

I turned back to the cutting board, tuning out the long, painful sighs he would let out every ten seconds. "Shut up," I murmured. "Shut up, Luke, I refuse to let you chop anything, and in your case, that constitutes fingers, toes, and other body parts."

"Wow, how do you have so little faith in me?" he asked sadly. What a vindictive bastard, trying to make me feel guilty like that.

"Hmmm, let me see," I stated sarcastically, pretending to tap my chin in thought. "Maybe - and this is just a random guess - maybe it's because the last time I let you help me in the kitchen, you caused three natural disasters. Not to mention you were all for putting dusty pasta back in the pot."

"C'mon, Jordy, you can't blame Hurricane Sandy on my cooking skills!"

I raised an eyebrow. "You mean lack-there-of?"

"Jordy, please? Please let me cut the carrots? Please? Please, please, please? Pleeeaaassse?"

I slammed my hand on the counter, but wasn't even able to get a rise out of Luke. He just gave me a cheeky grin. I glared fiercely at him, wondering why my heart would sometimes be an idiot and feel things for him. How was it even possible to love such an irritating tosser? "Fine," I hissed. "But don't come crying to me when you cut your fingers off!"

"I won't!" he insisted, unwinding my trembling fingers from the knife and taking it in his grasp.

I grit my teeth, my hands clenched as I watched him hold the knife wrong and cut wrong and almost hurt himself several times. God, what was wrong with him? Why couldn't he listen to me for once when I said something? It was for his own benefit, for Chrissakes.

"See?" he said smugly. "I can do something without hurtin-ow!"

"Fuck, Luke!" I snapped, yanking his hand away from the knife as he grasped his bleeding finger. "I told you, god, you never listen, you complete and utter twonk!"

Without even hearing his rebuttal, I pulled him through his house, seething with anger. I knew he would hurt himself, so why would I let him do something so stupid? Eurgh, idiot. I hissed in frustration as I shoved him into the bathroom.

I forced him on the counter and took his bleeding hand, inspecting it carefully. It was a fairly deep cut along his left index finger, and was literally gushing.

"Idiot," I fumed to myself, guiding the finger to the sink so that the excess blood would wash off. While he washed, I took out the first aid kit that Rita kept stashed in one of the drawers under the sink.

"Jordy-"

"Shut up," I hissed, pulling the rubbing alcohol, gauze, and gauze tape from the white box.

"But-"

"Shut. Up."

He shut up.

My face still burning with barely contained anger, I cleaned and bound his finger, wondering how on earth such an idiot existed on this planet. I told him, I warned him, and yet he still didn't listen. Idiot. Moron.

He fucking scared me half to death.

"There," I muttered finally, shoving his newly-cleaned-and-bound hand away from me.

That was when I finally decided to look up, where I realised Luke was staring at me more intently than I'd ever seen him before. His hazel eyes swirled with colour and an unknown emotion, locking onto my blue eyes and keeping me riveted there.

My breath caught in my throat when he leant in closer, his breath still cool and minty from his gum. Oh my god, oh my god, was the idiot about to-

"Shit, the pasta!" I screamed, leaping back and high-tailing it out of there.

But we both knew it was just a cover up.


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Please please don't hate me XD I hope you liked it, regardless! Aren't you happy that Jordan obviously cares for Luke even though she doesn't admit it herself?


P.S. I'm curious: where are you guys from? What country?