Chapter 34: "This is what happens when you do good deeds."

I rubbed my arms, my gaze downcast. The performances were all over, we'd bowed the bows, I'd received flowers and taken pictures with people.

"Three months," Luke said absentmindedly.

"Three months," I said. That had become our mantra over the past few days.

"Call everyday," he said.

"Skype every other day."

"Text whenever you want."

"We can do it." I smiled and held out my hand for a high five. Luke beamed at the car's windshield and reached out to entwine our fingers together.

"I'll bet you twenty bucks we can do it."

I rolled my eyes. "What the hell?"

"What?" he said innocently. "Come on, shake on it?"

I gaped at his outstretched hand. "I am not betting against our ability to keep a relationship," I said.

He laughed, and pushed my head gently. "I'm just fucking with you, beautiful."

"You better be, you little turd," I said, crossing my arms.

"Your little turd," he corrected. I couldn't help myself and smiled at him, even though his focus was on the road.

When we reached the airport, Luke parked the car and ran over to my side to open the door. He grabbed my waist and lifted me out. I wrapped my arms around his neck and dropped a kiss on his cheek before he let me down.

He helped me roll my two large suitcases to check-in, and once I was checked in, I didn't know what to do.

I hitched my bag higher on my shoulder and looked at the ground. "Well, I guess this is it," I said, blinking rapidly.

Luke stepped closer to me and wrapped me in one of his constricting hugs. I returned his hug twice as hard as usual, and felt the air in my chest squeeze. "This is not it. Only three months, remember," he said into my neck.

I blinked again and bit my lip. "I don't want to go, Luke," I whispered. My hands shook around him, quickly followed by the rest of my body.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said, pulling back to grab my shoulders. He pushed my chin up so I was looking at him, and gave me one of his classic loving smiles. You know, the kind that lighted up the room and crept its way from my stomach up to my heart and caught in my throat. It stretched wide and crinkled up his beautiful hazel eyes, and it had me crying in two seconds flat.

I really didn't want to be selfish, but I was going to miss him so much. Of course, I'd miss Randy and Leo and the rest of the Tarrones too. The way I felt about them was different, though. I'd be glad to see Seth and Theo again, but...oh, God.

My eyes clouded up and I bit my lip hard to keep the tears from spilling over. God, this wasn't fair to Luke for me to act as if I was the only one affected.

Stop it, Danny, I told myself. Stop.

"I'm sorry," I forced out. "Luke, I'm sorry."

Luke took my face in his hands and bent down to kiss me. I let him kiss me, and I kissed him back. It felt too much like a goodbye kiss though, which just made me cry harder. "I love you, beautiful," he breathed when we broke apart.

"I love you, too," I sobbed.

"And nothing's going to come between us, right? Not even the distance."

"Nothing," I agreed.

"We're going to call, and Skype-"

"-and text," I said.

Luke smiled at me again and pressed a kiss to my forehead. He used his thumbs to wipe my eyes, but then his forehead crinkled slightly and his lips turned down. "I'll miss you."

I managed a smile and straightened my back, using my finger to quickly dab away any more evidence of my sadness. I looked at Luke, and remembered that I'd see him soon. That the devastatingly handsome boy loved me and would wait for me, and that he was worth anything I had to do to get back to him.

The smile became a bit stronger.

"You should probably get going," Luke said, and I heard his voice crack slightly. His eyes were clear, but I definitely heard the crack, and it fucking broke my heart.

I frowned and reached up on my tiptoes, brushing his silky blond hair from his face. "One more kiss?" I said.

He grinned and picked me up, eagerly moulding our lips together. I dug my hands into his soft hair and revelled in the feel of him. I memorised how he felt against every part of my body, and how fast he made my heart beat. I memorised the stubble on his strong jaw and his sticking-out ears and his endearingly big nose and his impossibly soft lips.

Finally, Luke set me down, and I scanned over his face. He was so wonderful and he was all mine. I loved him so much.

I touched his arm. "See you soon, handsome," I said, mustering up a grin. If I didn't go now, I wouldn't be able to leave at all.

"Same to you, beautiful," he said.

I started walking backwards, walking away from and waving to the love of my life. "I'll call you!"

"Not if I call you first!" he yelled with a cheesy grin.

I bumped into a tall, pinched-faced airport official, and upon hearing Luke's husky, shiver-inducing bark of laughter, I smiled sheepishly and faced the front.

When I reached the escalator that would take me out of Luke's sight, I turned around and spotted him still watching and waving.

I waved back, and even from such a distance, I could see his wide smile. I felt my chest crushing in on itself, and I took a deep breath. I'd see him soon, no need to panic.

But I was so close to losing it when I turned back one last time, just in time to see Luke wiping at his eyes.

And I, no longer being the stone cold Student Body President, wept like a baby.

***

"Now boarding B-list passengers. B1 through 30, please line up," the flight attendant said through the speakers.

I grabbed my bag and stood up. My boarding pass was B13, so I went to the middle of the line, behind a cute old lady who wore a sports bag and carried an adorable tin lunch box.

"Are you thirteen or fifteen, dear?" she said in her gravelly old voice. I was offended before I realised she was talking about my ticket, not my age.

I smiled politely. "Thirteen, ma'am."

"Well, that means you're in front of me!" She graciously swept her hand to the side and I awkwardly moved in front of her.

"Thank you," I said. My voice was still hoarse from my crying fit a while back, even though that had been half an hour ago.

The old lady frowned in concern, reminding me of my own grandmum. It warmed up the cold pit in my stomach. "Are you alright, dear?"

I shrugged and smiled tightly. "I just had to leave my boyfriend, that's all."

Her white, fluffy, candy-floss-like hair bobbed in surprise. "Oh no, dear!" she said. "You really love the boy, don't you?"

I decided to not even question her intuition. I smiled at the thought of Luke. His grin was permanently etched into my brain, and I was thankful for that. "I really do," I agreed.

The old lady smiled at me. "That's how we're a little similar, dear. We're both separated by the loves of our lives this flight!"

I frowned. "Your husband?"

She nodded and sighed. "Sadly, we were separated."

"Oh no, where is he?"

The old lady laughed slightly. "Oh, he's on this flight, we just didn't get seats next to each other. Oh, look at me, complaining about this when your boyfriend isn't even here. I'm sorry, dear."

"Don't worry about it, ma'am," I said hastily. I smiled at the wistful way she spoke of her husband. It was adorable. "I'm glad you and your husband are together."

"In a few hours, we will be!" she said excitedly.

I looked at the way she clapped her bony hands together, and the way her glasses became askew in her happiness. I paused. "I'll switch seats with your husband," I said.

"Dear, you don't have to," she protested.

"I want to," I said. "Which one is your husband?"

The old lady beamed at me. "His ticket is B6," she said, just as the flight attendant began accepting our tickets, allowing the line to move. "You've got a very kind heart, dear. Your boyfriend is very lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have him," I corrected with a smile. The old lady patted my cheek and we entered the plane, searching for our seats. "Goodbye, ma'am. Have a lovely flight."

"You too, dear. Thank you so much, once again!"

"You're welcome," I said. I smiled at her again and moved up the rows to where she said her husband would be. In row 2 on the right side of the aisle, an old man wearing a plaid cap sat quietly, a tin lunchbox identical to the old lady's on his lap.

I patted his shoulder and he jumped, turning to me. "Excuse me, sir, I'm seated next to your wife. Would you like to switch spots?"

His wrinkled face lit up in a beaming smile that had the sad lines melting off my face. "Really, honey?" he said.

I nodded and smiled. "She's two rows back, to the right."

The old man immediately stood up and grabbed his two bags. "What a lovely girl you are," he said, ruffling my hair. I moved aside for him to get through, and then placed my bag on the floor, sitting down in his old seat.

"Lovely, not to mention hot," I heard from beside me.

I raised my eyebrows and turned to my right, my eyes meeting those of a young, relatively good-looking, dark haired guy. "Very classy," I said, scoffing.

"And you're playing hard to get," he said, smirking. It was an obnoxious smirk - not the endearing kind of obnoxious like Luke, but the God-who-the-fuck-do-you-think-you-are kind of obnoxious.

I looked at him, trying to mask my distaste in an attempt to be somewhat polite. "I'm not playing hard to get as much as you're hard to want," I said flatly.

The guy's smirk widened and he stretched out a hand to me. "I'm Jayden, what's your name, gorgeous?"

I stared at his hand for a moment before I hesitantly shook it. He took me by surprise when he lifted it up and kissed my knuckles, and I immediately yanked it back, a scowl forming on my face. "Don't do that," I said.

The guy - Jayden or whatever - just chuckled, and I didn't like the sound of it. "So, you're off to New York, too?" he asked casually.

"Well, that does appear to be the plane that I'm on," I said sarcastically.

He laughed. "You don't have to play that game with me," he said. "I know I'm a lot to handle, but I'll go easy on you, I promise!"

I almost puked in my mouth. My scowl deepened and my hands tightened on my seatbelt. "I've got a boyfriend," I hissed.

He raised his eyebrows. "Of course you do."

I mimicked his look mockingly. "What, you doubt that I've got a boyfriend?"

"I think you're just trying to play me. I mean, I'm pretty-"

I held up a hand. "Dude. Shut up."

He did not shut up.

***

When the seatbelt sign turned off, I surged to my feet and grabbed my bag before Jayden could ask me for the thousandth time what my number was.

I swear, I wanted to just drop kick him out of the plane, he was so annoying. And not the Luke kind, it was the stupid-bastard kind. God, I wanted to throttle him.

As soon as I got off that plane, I pressed 1 on my speed dial and waited for Luke to pick up. It rang twice and then I heard a click, followed by the most wonderful sound in the world. It instantly soothed my bad temper and had my fists unclenching.

"Beautiful."

I covered my mouth with my hand to stop the half-laugh/half-sob from escaping my mouth. "Hey, Luke," I said.

"Hey baby, how was the flight?" I closed my eyes and listened to his deep, husky voice carefully, taking in every syllable and every lilt and every intonation.

"Long," I said, thinking back to that asshole, Jayden. "I switched seats with an old man so he could sit next to his wife, and I got stuck with some horndog!"

"Wow, thanks," I heard someone say from behind me. I glared at Jayden, and he smirked at me before doing a very dirty dance move and walking off.

"Did you say horndog?" Luke said, his voice a little tight.

"Ah, don't worry about it."

He laughed and I basked in the sound. "Yeah, I'm sure to shoved his head up his butt so he wouldn't talk crap, right?"

I smiled softly, making my way to the baggage claim. "Maybe not in so few words..."

"This is what happens when you do good deeds, beautiful," he teased. "It always backfires. Always."

"I should just stop being a good person and start up a life of crime, what do you say?"

"Only if I get to be your sidekick."

"I wouldn't want anyone else."

"Jordan!" I heard, and I looked up from my phone and glanced around. My eyes found Seth, who was waving energetically, and Marie, who was holding on tight to a double seated pram.

"Seth's here, Luke," I said, disappointed to end the conversation even though I felt myself smile at my little family. It was small, but it was good, and even though I was here because of Seth, I loved him.

"Then I'll see you soon, beautiful?"

"Of course. Can I Skype tomorrow?"

"I'll have to pencil you in," Luke said.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, wouldn't want to conflict with all zero of your other social engagements."

He made an affronted sound. "I'm a busy guy, Jordy. You'd be surprised."

"Probably," I said. "Well...bye, Luke."

"Bye, beautiful. See you later."

"Promise?" I had to say.

"I promise."

__________

I'm shit at writing emotions, but I banged this baby out in one sitting, so I hope you like it :)