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*Luke's P.O.V*
A week later...

"I still think this is not a good idea" A insists, arms crossed as I am gathering all my stuff to pack.

"You haven't convinced me yet" I snap.

Her eyes roll.

"Of course, you never read gossiping magazines. I do, and I know the bitch was in the hospital two weeks ago."

"What?" I turn to face her suspiciously. "How?"

Amanda gets her phone, scrolls through it and clears her throat.

"5 Seconds of Summer releases a new album in less than a month (how excited are we?!), but apparently they got another break since the four members of the band were spotted in San Francisco on the 4th getting in a hotel and also at the San Francisco General Hospital. A patient revealed that Hemmings' rumored girlfriend Laurel was seen inside one of the rooms, and 5 Seconds of Summer went for a quick visit. Maybe she's got a stomachache?"

A stares at me, waiting for my reaction. I groan.

"Fuck. My. Life. Why can't I just live and walk freely without being followed by this desperate beings?"

She laughs sarcastically.

"Have you looked yourself in the mirror lately? You are famous, do you get that? Laurel lives in a completely different world!"

I drag my bag to the living room, calling an uber.

"She goes to nightclubs, you go to award shows" insists Amanda, following my steps. "You drop your phone, everyone gets to know. What are you eating for dinner today? What time do you shower on Sundays? What's your blood type? Oh, do you want to go to the supermarket, you can, sure, but we'll be there to take shots when you grab the cereal! This is how your life works, Luke! They wrecked your privacy, didn't they?"

"You know the answer" I mumble.

"Do you want them to do the same with her? This cannot work!"

"Of course it can!" I retort. "And it will, because we'll make it work!"

Amanda grunts.

"Okay, you know what? I don't even know why I'm trying to save that skank. If you want to ruin her privacy as well, go ahead. Be with her, take her as your official girlfriend. You'll see her life will turn completely upside down. I could hang in there, she won't."

"Leave" I take a deep breath. "Please, for God's sake."

She keeps glowering at me for a couple minutes before sighing and nodding closing the door behind her.

"Those paparazzi can't keep following me when I go see her" I tell myself as I wait for uber. "They can't go after her as well."

                                •••

Following Laurel's directions, I get to a white house in Bayview. When I close the cab's door Laurel instantly appears by the porch, limp-running towards me.

"Finally!" She cheers, hugging me tight. I kiss the top of her head, taking a deep breath. I find it so weird how it looks like I can't breathe properly when I'm not around Laurel.

"How is your recovering?" I ask, while she guides me to the house.

"Better than I could ask for, actually. Dr. Williams said I can get back to work in two weeks!"

"Yay" I laugh, dragging the bag into the hall. I look around. "Is this your 'apartment'?"

Laurel looks down, blushing.

"Not at all... we rented it, just while I need cares 24/7."

"We?" I frown.

And then I remember.

I wipe my jeans, adjusting the shirt on my trunk.

"Where are your parents?" I ask, nervously.

She giggles.

"My mum went to the grocery store. Dad is upstairs, he's trying to make the stereo work."

Laurel goes ahead, slowly going up the steps. I follow her lead, leaving my bag on the floor of the hall.

"Dad!" She calls through the corridor. "Luke's here!"

"I'm here!" He replies back from one of the rooms. Laurel grabs my hand and guides me inside it; I catch sight of a middle aged man with his hands on his hips. When he turns to me I see Laurel's hazel eyes on him.

Her father smiles at me.

"Oh, so this is the famous Luke?" He questions, with the accent I now got so used to. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, sir, it's a pleasure to meet you" I gulp when we shake hands, visibly nervous.

Laurel squeezes my arm, motivating.

The man chuckles.

"No formalities son, you're family! Call me Charlie, please."

I let out a relieved sigh as I nod at him. Thank God he seems nice.

"Lore-el, do you want to go out for dinner or do you prefer staying?" asks Charlie.

Laurel turns to me, considering her options.

"Luke probably wants to set his things so could you cook for us?" She replies.

The dark haired man nods happily before turning his back.

"Now, if you excuse me, I'd like to listen to some Alan Jackson before I leave. So work needs to be done!"

I furrow my eyebrows at Laurel when we exit the room. She chuckles.

"He's much of a country man. Mum hates it. Let me show you your room!"

"Do I have a room?" I enquire.

She looks at me like I just said something stupid.

"You thought you'd be staying at a hotel?! Not a single chance, you are my boyfriend!"

Laurel walks until the end of the corridor, stepping inside a room with a king bed, a wardrobe and two nightstands.

"This is your room," she wraps her arm around mine, mumbling. "even though we know you're not gonna use it"

I shiver as a smile crosses my face. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long.

"Don't come up with ideas" She nudges me playfully. "My sex life has been cut down for a month"

I pout, rolling my eyes.

"Shit, right when I thought we could play 50 Shades of Grey style" I joke and Laurel laughs, going on her tiptoes to kiss me.

"That doesn't mean we can't have a little fun, though." She whispers against my lips and I grin, feeling all my body aching for her.

However, she frustrates me as she always does, stepping away.

"Come, let's get your things so you can settle down."

Laurel helps me unpacking for the four weeks I'm able to be with her before the album promo, and after it's all done I call my parents on FaceTime.

"Laurel! It's so good to see you, darling. How are you feeling? I got very scared when Luke told me about the accident!" My mum fires, covering her mouth with her hands. Laurel smiles fondly at her.

"It's all good, Liz. The doctor said I was lucky. I'm recovering from the surgery and my parents are even here to take care of me"

"Really? How long will they stay in San Francisco with you?"

"Two weeks. The last two I'll be under Luke's cares" She half smiles at me.

"Eeey, isn't that Brian Johnson's girl!" My dad shows up, smiley. "I'm so glad everything went well. We were very worried about you. Luke called us straight when he knew about the accident. He was freaking out."

I blush.

"Of course, that is my girl" I mumble and Laurel kisses my cheek multiple times.

"Andrew and Liz, you've got an angel as a son, I mean it!"

About 15 minutes later we hear the sound of the front door opening and the tinkle sound of keys being dropped on a table.

"Laurie, I'm home!" Rachel shouts from downstairs.

"Come on" She tells me, wrapping her fingers around mine. We go down and head to the kitchen.

Rachel is taking everything out of the paper sack. She's facing the other side, so all I can see is her blonde short curly hair.

"Hey, mum" greets with a smile on her face.

"Hi, sweetie! I bought strawberries, eggs, milk and also some--" Rachel turns over and her eyes lay on me. "Oh my God, Luke!"

When she smiles I now know where Laurel's smile came from. It's weird, Laurel looks like a perfect mix of Rachel and Charlie; his eyes, her smile.

I thought Rachel was going to shake hands or something like that; instead she comes closer and pulls me in for a hug.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you in person! How was your flight?" She asks me.

"It was good, very quick actually" I smile.

Rachel is really talkative, just like her daughter. While she cooks dinner we stay at the kitchen talking about every different kind of subject. We eat together and Rachel cleans everything.

"Lore-el, time to change your bandage" Charlie says, gently pulling her up by the shoulders.

"Actually, sir" I interrupt. "I mean, Charlie. Do you think you could teach me how to do it?"

Charlie looks down at Laurel, who's smiling.

"He's gonna stay here with me for the two other weeks."

So he smiles and nods. We get to Laurel's room and she lays down, pulling up her shirt. Charlie gets cotton, water and a special spray. He unwraps the band and a considerably big cut appears, literally sewed. I look in Laurel's eyes and I can see she's embarrassed.

"First you clean the area, and then you spray this" Charlie instructs. I nod and gently do as he said. "Well, since Luke is in charge, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, you two."

Charlie leaves and I am alone with Laurel.

"I'm sorry, it looks bad, doesn't it?" She blushes.

I smile tenderly at her.

"Don't, baby." I shake my head, spraying the copper colored liquid on the cut. "You're beautiful, you know that right?"

"Thank you" Her hand reaches my cheek. "Thank you for being here. I'm sorry if I caused any trouble with the band or something like that"

"Don't be silly. I love you, I'll always be here."

I wrap a new band around her stomach and take off her shirt to put on the one she sleeps with.

"Let's go to the movies" She tells me after we already turned the lights off.

"What?" I rub her arm with my thumb.

"I'd suggest we went to the beach," she explains. "but I can't. So let's go to the movies, you can choose the movie, but let's go. I'm asking you on a date, Luke Hemmings."

I chuckle in the dark. I feel her eyes on me, expecting.

I've been thinking about what Amanda told me, her privacy being ruined. I don't want anything happening to her, however...

"Okay. Action?"

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