A/N: I hope you love me for this ;)

Chapter 21: "You are so needy when you're ill."

Luke wasn't at school.

How did I know that? Well, for one, Randy and Leo gave me a ride to school when it was usually Luke that did so. And for another, he wasn't there at the musical meeting we were supposed to attend before lessons.

Luke not being at school always got me really worried. He usually never skipped and when he did, that meant he was extremely ill. But never, ever tell him that, because his head is too fucking big as it is.

I was so worried. I mean, I was always the one to take care of him when he got sick, but it had always been a chore before. It had never been that I actually wanted to find him. And I didn't have any bloody idea why. Oh, who am I kidding? I knew exactly why I was so upset. I missed him.

With one more frustrated sigh, I stood up in the middle of class, drawing the teacher's attention.

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to me. I remained calm, keeping my expression neutral. Mr. Grigori shot me an annoyed look. "What is it, Miss Wolfe?"

I sighed as though speaking was painful and grabbed my shoulder bag. "I need to go," I informed him. Randy's eyes widened next to me and she gestured for me to sit my ass down. I ignored her.

Mr. Grigori crossed his arms and scowled deeply. "You can't just leave the lesson in the middle of a lecture."

I shrugged. "It's your choice, but I need to say, sir, I have some girl things to take care of." I tipped my head and smiled saccharinely, earning a twittering of laughter from my classmates.

His face turned an angry red and he pointed at the door for me to get out. I just shot him a content look and sauntered out of class, the chuckles of the class making the smile on my face grow.

Luke didn't even know the shit I put up for him.

***

"What a bother," I muttered, slamming his front door shut.

"Who's home?" a raspy voice called through the house. My ears pricked up at the sound and my eyebrows knitted together as I hurried into the living room. God, he sounded so ill.

"Luke, where are you?" I asked loudly. I took the stairs two at a time and barrelled into his room without knocking.

"Danny?" he exclaimed as I appeared in his view. He looked dreadful, with a pale face and dark bags under his eyes. He was covered up in his blanket, but he was shivering, and he kept coughing.

I gave him a kind smile and knelt next to him. He stared at me as I pressed my lips against his forehead to assess his temperature. I instantly frowned. "Oh my, you've got a fever."

It was December, almost time for the Christmas holidays, but it was also the time Luke was most susceptible to getting horrid colds and the flu as well. "Shouldn't you still be in school?" he asked hoarsely.

I snorted. "What are you, my truancy officer?"

He shook his head and smiled widely at me. Even with his sick face, he was still gorgeous, and I felt my face grow warm. "You skipped lessons for lowly me, Pres?" he teased.

"Shut up," I responded immediately. "Where's your mum?"

He continued to grin his cheeky grin, as though he knew something I didn't. "She went to visit your mum a while back," he told me.

I wrinkled my nose at his words. Mum was almost at her third trimester, and so it was like Rita was constantly at our house. "Okay, do you know when she'll be back?"

"Nope."

"What about your dad?"

"He's still at work, beautiful."

"Then I guess I'm on babysitting duty, huh?" I sighed and laid my cool hand on his hot forehead. His eyes closed slowly at my touch. "I'll just bring you up some soup, don't move."

"I can't, really. My body's sort of in extreme pain. Can you give me another kiss to make it better?" Even though his eyes were closed, he managed to make a suggestive face.

A small snicker escaped my mouth and stood up. "Nice try, Luke."

His hand reflexively grabbed mine and yanked me down a bit. "One kiss?" he pleaded, opening his eyes so that he could pout properly.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, little baby, just one," I relented, leaning down towards him.

As if on cue, my heart accelerated when I kissed his forehead, and I was sure that I had a fever myself from the heat I felt running through my body. Just as I straightened and started walking out, he let out a massive sneeze.

I cringed at the sight of the spit erupting from his mouth. "You are so fucking lucky I moved before that saliva shower rained down on me!" I called. All I heard in response was his hoarse laughter, followed by a series of coughs.

My god, he was so sick. When I got to the kitchen, I heated up a can of soup and poured it into a bowl, as well as grabbing an orange juice box and some Tylenol. All the while, I hummed a tune under my breath and swayed from side to side to fill up the emptiness of the dark rooms surrounding me.

"Jordy, it's so sexy when you swish your hips like that," I heard from behind me. I let out a miniature shriek and dropped the soup spoon in the sink with a resounding clink.

"Goddammit, Luke, don't sneak up on me like that!" I scolded, shoving past him with my shoulder.

He wobbled unsteadily on his feet and I instantly felt guilty, rushing to his side to help his balance himself. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I positioned mine at his waist to steady him.

"Why are you out of bed?" I asked angrily, staring at him accusingly. "Didn't you say you were aching?"

Luke pouted. "I was lonely," he mumbled, sounding like a small child.

I gave him an incredulous look. "Are you serious?" He nodded solemnly. "You're a moron. Would you just lie down on the sofa before I push you to the floor?"

"You shouldn't bully a sick man, beautiful."

"You shouldn't scare a lady, Luke," I returned.

We both paused, and then I asked, "Man?" at the same time he laughed out, "Lady?"

Luke would've laughed like a hyena had he not started coughing like a smoker. I clucked my tongue and led him to the living room. "Now sit down and wait a minute, you impatient little asshole," I ordered.

"Okay, Miss Wolfe," he sassed me.

I flipped him off and returned to the kitchen where I balanced the soup, juice, and medicine on a tray and brought it to him. "Here," I gently handing over the tray. "Don't eat too quickly and make sure you don't choke."

"Wait, you're not leaving, right?" he cried as I turned to walk out the door. I looked over my shoulder to see him watching me with the expression identical to that of an abandoned puppy.

"You are so needy when you're ill," I murmured, even as I felt my stern face softening and I moved to sit beside him.

Luke ignored my comment and smiled warmly in my direction, before digging into the canned soup in front of him. I just watched him as he ate, at the intense concentration he put into such a simple task like eating. He really was a handsome guy, with that strong jaw of his. And those eyes, oh lord...those eyes were my downfall.

For some reason, he always had some sort of cheery expression on his face around me, and I had yet to figure out what happy pills he was taking. "You're ogling me," he suddenly said, a smirk curling at the edges of his mouth.

"I'm just wondering how someone could be so ugly," I replied smoothly.

"Oh come on, beautiful." He wiggled his eyebrows and pressed our shoulders together. Before my face could burst into flames, I shoved him away and scooted down the sofa. "I know I'm sexy, but there's no need to keep your distance."

"Shut up, Luke, you'll get me sick. Now eat your lunch quietly, for Chrissakes."

"But I'm done!" He showed me his empty bowl and winked. "But not with you."

I laughed sarcastically and stood up to take the dishes from his hand. "Now, seriously, don't move."

"Okay, Miss Wolfe."

"Call me Miss Wolfe one more time and you'll see just how liberal I would've been with a cane back in the day," I threatened.

Luke didn't even looked cowed. He just laughed and said, "Ooh, kinky."

I groaned lightly and stalked away to drop the bowl in the sink. A flash of that toothy grin passed over my eyes and I shook my head vigorously. That fucking smile and those eyes...how did that much emotion manage to transfer to those two places? And reflect onto me? I will freely admit it - Luke made me a better person. Probably because he was how he was, but still. He made me want to forget my problems and remember that I still had reason to be happy.

"You look constipated."

I didn't even flinch, just glared at him. "Do you never listen to what you're told?" I growled lowly.

Luke bit his lip mock-seductively. "I know I've been a bad boy. Are you going to discipline me, Miss Wolfe?"

I tipped my head back in part-annoyance and part-embarrassment. "Give me strength," I murmured teasingly. "I can't, I just can't."

"Can't what? Find it in you to bring the stick to my fanny like I deserve?"

I couldn't help the smile that slipped onto my lips at his words. "You don't have a fanny, in case you didn't know, you pervert," I laughed. "Now will you please go and lie down before you faint on top of me?"

"Wouldn't that be nice, though?" he mused.

"Do you always get so horny when you have a fever?"

"No, beautiful, I'm always interested in that lovely ass-"

"Can you not?" I interrupted, turning my head so he wouldn't see my blush. Too inappropriate, Luke. Too much. Still not looking at him, I took his arm and tried to drag him back to the living room. He must've come willingly, though, because there was no way that that massive body of his would've come so easily.

"Take it easy, kitten. We have all afternoon!"

At least I could always count on Luke to make me smile.


***

Just as Luke finally started drifting to sleep, I leant forward, my hair gently brushing his cheek. I turned to give him a kiss on his cheek, but his face turned at the last moment and I felt my lips press against his for a brief moment. They were soft and warm and when I pulled away, a cheesy grin was growing on his face.

My hands flew to my lips and a breathy gasp escaped my mouth. "Sleep well, Luke," I managed to whisper.

His hand wearily reached up and he just barely touched my cheek. "You're my flower, beautiful," he mumbled. "You're my most amazing, most..."

The rest of his sentence was lost in his deep breathing as he fell asleep. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought it was going to escape out of my chest. I stared at the blond haired boy in front of me and came to a realisation that almost made me cry.

I scrambled to the front door and escaped outside, leaning against the door as I dialled my best friend. The cool air outside soothed my flushed cheeks and calmed my heartbeat, but only slightly.

"Danny, what the fuck was that stunt you pulled in English, I swear to g-"

"Randy," I interrupted her.

She heard the desperation in my voice and turned on her protective-best-friend mode. "What? What happened, Danny?"

"I've made a huge mistake, Randy."

I'd fallen in love.


________

exactly how many times have I ended a chapter with Danny saying she loved him? Ugh, I'm sorry


BUT THEY KISSED WOOHH!!