*Luke's P.O.V*

After going through four different stores, Bryana finally approves a pair of shoes for Laurel. I don't know anything about them except they are high heels, and black colored.

"How do you guys manage to walk on those things?" Ashton frowns while Laurel parades around the store.

"Actually, I don't know." Bryana giggles. "But they're beautiful."

"And it's not that uncomfortable when you get used to it." Laurel adds. I raise my eyebrows at her and she chuckles. "Okay, it's always uncomfortable."

Even though I wanted to pay for the shoes, Laurel didn't let me. She wanted to pay for the dress as well, and she would have if I hadn't taken advantage while she was changing.

When we go out of the store, however, there are about a dozen paparazzi outside.

"Bryana, Ashton, look over here!"

"Luke, where's A?"

"Ashton, when are you getting married?"

"Bryana, smile!"

"Luke, who's this?"

"Is she a hooker?"

"What the fuck?!" Laurel suddenly curses, stopping to glare at them. To be honest I want to punch whoever said this but I'm used to paparazzi. So I gently lean my arm on her shoulders and pull her closer to me, asking her to keep on moving.

When we get to the car we quickly get inside and I pull out, making sure they won't have time to follow us.

"Motherfuckers." I curse, clenching my jaw.

"They simply don't know when to quit." Bryana rolls her eyes, and then lightly squeezes Laurel's shoulder. "Sweetheart, are you alright?"

"Yeah." She replies, letting out a relieved sigh. "I just didn't know they would go that far."

"They do anything to piss you off" Ashton says. "They need to take good shots, it's their job. An unfortunate one, but even so."

"Sometimes I wish they wouldn't follow us wherever we go." I take a deep breath, not taking my eyes off the road. "I'm sorry, love."

Laurel places her hand on my leg and rubs it gently.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault. Don't let them ruin the day, we've still got a party to attend, don't we?"

Ashton and Bryana agree and I simply smile, relaxing.

•••

"Laurel! Are you ready?" I shout from downstairs.

"Yeah, I'm going down!" She yells back.

It's already 9:00pm and I really want to go, but it's Laurel's fault that we are late. Maybe if she hadn't picked such an incredible dress I wouldn't have had the unstoppable desire to make out with her for almost an hour when we got home from shopping, delaying everything we needed to do for the party.

I hear steps coming from upstairs and when I turn around, Laurel is even more gorgeous than she was back at the store. She's got red lips, her natural curls are falling down her shoulders.

"You look amazing." I smirk, pulling her closer by the waist. She places a peck on my lips, carefully so it doesn't ruin her makeup.

"Thank you, mr. Hemmings. You don't look bad yourself." She smiles, and so we head to Alex's party.

When we get there, I introduce Laurel to my friends, and they all seem to find her nice. I look for Alex to greet him.

"What's up, bro!" He greets me. "I'm glad you could make it. I thought you were bringing Amanda with you, though."

"Actually, I brought Laurel. She's a good friend of mine." I pull her by the hand and she timidly smiles at Alex.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Laurel." He smiles at her, kissing her hand. She giggles.

"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine!"

"Excuse us, Alex, I need to find the guys." I tell him, taking Laurel with me.

"Did I really just meet Alex Gaskarth?!" She playfully digs her nails in my skin.

"Ouch! Yes, you've just met him." I laugh. "Why? A fan?"

"You could say that, yeah." She beams.

I catch sight of Michael and Calum talking to two women. When we get closer they both look at me and Laurel and crack a smile.

"Hello to you two!" Michael smirks, getting close to us just to hug Laurel, and boy, he hugs her tight. Too tight.

When I look at Calum he's laughing at my discontent.

"Don't worry, dude. She's yours, we all know it."

We start talking and Ashton shows up with Bryana. At a certain moment she wraps her arm on Laurel's and they both vanish. Time for the men's talk.

"Okay, now I need to share with you guys what Luke and I talked about earlier." Ashton chuckles. "He says he's not convinced that Laurel has got a thing for him."

"Come on, really?" Calum chuckles. "Does she need to write it on her forehead?"

"She's still with the guy." I roll my eyes.

"Just like you're still with the girl." Michael jokes. "Give me a break Luke, they are as committed as you and Amanda are."

"Would you be willing to give up on her to be with Laurel and only Laurel?" Ashton asks me.

"I don't know, man, the whole thing is just too messed up. First I would need to know if she's truly into me."

They roll their eyes at me and we decide to drop the topic. Nobody will be able to convince me, anyway. At least, not if I don't have an explanation about today's morning.

*Laurel's P.O.V*

Bryana takes me far from the boys to get something to drink.

"So" she begins. "You and Luke, uh? What's up with you two?"

I look at her surprised, and she raises her eyebrows.

"Come on," she insists. "I know there's something."

"It's complicated." I sigh. "Yeah, there is something. But I don't know what it is. He doesn't look that interested."

"Why not?"

"Well, he refuses to break up with that Amanda. And sometimes he simply stops talking to me out of the blue."

"But you admit you feel something for him?"

I look in Bryana's eyes. For some reason I feel like I can trust her to open up.

"Yeah, I do. And it's growing stronger."

"Why don't you tell him, then?"

I look to both my sides and come closer to her.

"A went to Charlotte with Michael and Luke. Once, she followed me to my kitchen and said things like 'Luke knows that you're in love with him but he's too kind to hurt your feelings' and 'I'm here exactly to make you realize you're no special'."

Bryana let out a frustrated sigh.

"Why am I not surprised? A can ruin one's happiness when she wants to. But if I were you, I wouldn't believe everything she says. She was probably jealous because everyone can see that Luke has feelings for you, Laurel."

"Do you think so?" I look at her with pleading eyes and she nods with a smile. "Please, Bryana, don't tell anyone about this conversation."

"I won't, you can trust me." Bryana hugs me for a moment. "But if you want some advice, you should just go talk to Luke about it all. Maybe you guys are feeling the same thing and don't even suspect so."

I consider what she says for a couple seconds. Could she be right? Could Luke actually... Feel the same way I feel?

All of a sudden Calum shows up, smiling at us.

"Bry, Ashton is asking for you. He said he needed to introduce you to someone."

Bryana nods and squeezes my hand lightly before leaving me and Calum next to the bar.

Calum grabs a beer and takes a sip before turning to me.

"I always get in the middle of girl talks" He chuckles. "I'm sorry, hope you guys weren't saying anything important. Ashton really did need Bryana."

"Oh no, we were just talking about daily life." I lie, drinking my whiskey.

A woman wearing a blue dress stops next to us to get something to drink, and I realize Calum is completely frozen. She glances at him and timidly smiles, biting her lip. His breathing becomes unstable and he opens his mouth to say something, just when she simply walks away with her glass.

"She's cute." I say, pointing at her. "And she makes you nervous. Who's that?"

Calum scratches his nape, embarrassed.

"That's Natalie."

"And how long have you been into her?"

"Is it that obvious?"

I raise my eyebrows and agree, amused. Calum gasps, drinking more of his beer.

"I met her last year, actually, at a party like this. But she had a boyfriend back then."

"Now she doesn't?"

"I've heard they broke up." He shrugs.

"So why the hell won't you go talk to her?" I question in disbelief. "She gave you the look."

"No way." Calum looks suspiciously at me. "I've talked to her alone like, only four times or so."

"Then make it five." I punch his shoulder. "Stop being a wuss. You're hot, bass cutie, member of 5 Seconds of Summer. Plus, you're charming. Just go there, for God's sake!"

Calum considers what I say, looking confused at first. Then he sighs, finishes his beer, hands me the bottle and burps. I laugh.

"My bad." He groggily apologizes. "I'm gonna talk to her now."

"You go, man!" I say when he walks away.

I'm still laughing at Calum when I feel someone wrapping their arms around my stomach from behind.

"Have I told you how incredibly gorgeous you are in this dress?" Luke whispers in my ear, and I feel goosebumps through my whole body.

"You have, three times already." I joke. "But I don't mind if you want to say it more."

Luke smirks and spins me around so I can face him. He kisses me and I need to be careful so I won't spill my whiskey on his shirt.

"Come with me."

Luke takes me by the hand and guides me upstairs; Alex's mansion is as big as his. He opens a door and pulls me inside the dark room, closing the door behind him.

"Luke, what are you--"

He cuts me off by harshly connecting our lips. I can't help running my hands through his hair and pulling it lightly.

He kisses my jawline and then my neck, slowly making his way between my breasts. I close my eyes, letting out a moan, feeling all the adrenaline. Luke slowly pulls up the hem of my dress, and I so want him to keep on.

But I can't let him.

"Luke" I whisper, gathering all my will. "Luke, stop, please."

Luke freezes for a moment and then sighs, gazing into my eyes.

"Laurel, what's wrong? Yesterday you did the same thing. I know you want me, but for some reason when we're about to do it you stop me." His tone shows me he's upset, disappointed.

"Luke, you don't understand. I can't." I try my best to remain calm.

"Why? What are you afraid of?" He fires. However something clicks inside him and he looks more cautious. "Laurel, are you a... a...?"

"A virgin?" I finish, sighing. "No. I wish I was though."

Luke frowns.

"What do you mean?"

I look away, feeling the tears form in my eyes. I don't want to cry over it again.

Luke grabs my hands and kisses them lightly.

"Baby, please talk to me. I know there's something, I want to help."

"You can't help me, no one can." I mourn.

"Well, then at least I could listen."

I glower at him. His eyes are begging me for an answer, he looks distressed. There is no one I've lately trusted more than Luke, but should I tell him what I never told anyone?

"Please." He whispers, leaning down so our foreheads touch.

That's it, I'm telling him.

"When I--"

I hear the door open and a drunk couple clumsily get inside the room. I doubt they even see us. The woman throws herself on the bed, and the guy follows, stumbling.

Luke rolls his eyes and takes me out of the room, leaving the two drunks inside.

"When you...?" He insists, pulling me closer.

I look around. There are a lot of people here, talking, laughing, having fun. I don't want to ruin Luke's night with some stupid dramatic event of my life.

"I guess this is not the place for us to talk about it." I sadly smile at him, caressing his face. "Maybe when we get home I could explain it to you."

Eyebrows furrowed, Luke takes some time to finally agree.

"Deal."

-------------
Comment what you think of it so far! Don't forget to vote and share if you like it. Thank you so much for reading my book, you make my day and I love you for that! That's the second update of today, should I make another? You decide :)

Stay beautiful! <3 xo