"And with your hand around my throat

I don't wanna see you go

'Cause I like it

That's why this shit ain't never working for me

I'm in love with a fantasy"

✰

"And what sucks is I think that I already fell for you."

Luke's entire body freezes, his heart threatening to beat out of his chest as she says everything he's been wanting to hear. Arlo Abbott fell for him, just as he had for her.

Although, his stomach drops, his shoulders slouching in devastation as he realizes that she's upset about this. She doesn't want to feel the way she does- Arlo didn't want to fall for him.

"I don't understand how you could possibly think you're anything less than perfect Arlo." Luke's voice is low and stern, not allowing her any room for argument. Especially not when he leans forward, cupping her face in his hands so that she has no choice but to look him in the eye.

"Everything you said just then was bullshit, do you hear me?" Luke pleads with her, watching as Arlo's lips part in surprise.

Arlo frowns, her bottom lip trembling slightly as she takes in the feel of his much larger hands on her skin. As much as she curses herself for it, she leans into his touch, placing her hand over his own. "It's okay, Luke. Just forget it-"

"It's not okay." Luke says exasperatedly. Their faces are inches apart now, his eyes glimmering with hope and hers with the rejection she's anticipating to come. "Do you remember what you said to me in the park?" It's his turn to ask.

Arlo shakes her head, her alcohol clouded mind combined with his hands on her skin being too much. "I said a lot of things-"

"You asked me what it would take you to show me how incredible I am." Luke cuts her off swiftly. "I don't believe in myself for a goddamn second, but I believe you." Luke says desperately. "Arlo, what do I have to do to make you see how fucking badly I want you?"

The girl's lips part in shock, her eyes going wide at his admission.

As for Luke, he kind of feels sick to his stomach. Never before had he admitted his feelings so openly. Luke is metaphorically holding his heart out in his hands, bleeding and raw with these new emotions- pleading with her to take it instead of letting it fall to the floor.

Arlo's mouth opens, only to close again as her words get lodged in her throat. She couldn't tell you how she felt, let alone come up with something to say. Luke had said everything she wanted to hear and everything she was hoping he'd never say all at once.

This would be so, so much easier if Luke had just told her that she was delusional- that they were too different and he could never ever see her the way she sees him.

Arlo Abbott would rather have Luke Hemmings break her heart in two than listen to him admit his feelings for her and make her fall even further for him.

She was falling before, but now, after those words that had left his lips and the tender way in which he holds her jaw in his hands- she's not sure if she'll ever be able to stop falling.

"Luke-" Arlo begins, though just as the words leave her lips the door of Calum's guest bedroom flies open, revealing Ashton. Instantly, Arlo leans back causing Luke's hands to fall from her face.

That single move is the equivalent of letting his heart fall through her hands.

Luke's face falls, though he hides it with a scowl unwilling to let Ashton see his devastation. He jumps up from the bench before striding over to the bed and sitting down. He busies himself with putting the small tin box of weed back into the nightstand.

"C'mon Arlo, it's time to go home." Ashton must have noticed the half-empty bottle of alcohol, for his voice is much gentler than normal. "Thanks for hanging out with her, Luke. She's not much of a party girl."

Luke clears his throat, trying to rid the emotion from his voice. "No problem, Ash."

Luke's stomach drops even further at the thought of him taking her home. After Arlo agreed to spend the night here, he'd envisioned the rest of the night talking to her in that window before making sure she got to bed safely. Their conversation had only just begun.

Luke hated the idea of her going home drunk and probably with a slight high when he wouldn't be there to take care of her for himself.

Arlo's throat is thick with emotion as she slowly gets up from the window seat, a slight stumble in her step though Ashton is there to steady her. She feels even worse at the sight of Luke sitting across the room, his eyes on the floor and his jaw clenched in anger.

As Ashton wraps an arm around Arlo's shoulders, preparing to lead her out of Calum's house and across the street to her own, Luke looks up. His eyes find hers and he silently pleads with her. Say you'll stay. Don't leave when you know I just spilled my heart out to you. I haven't done that for anyone else before. Those were all things we would say if Ashton weren't standing there.

Arlo sends Luke one last lingering glance, her eyes saying something he can't quite comprehend before she allows Ashton to lead her out of the door.

✰

It had been an entire week since the night of the band's first gig. Today also marks a week since Luke had seen Arlo.

"Guys this is bad." Calum groans, flopping down onto the couch with his hands covering his eyes. "It's Monday and the competition is on Friday."

"Maybe you should have read the rules sooner." Michael sends Calum a side-eye before popping a cheese puff into his mouth. His feet are propped up on the table in the middle of the room as he leans back in his chair.

"We're supposed to be brainstorming, not arguing." Ashton points out gently, trying his best to play mediator. But, things are off between the group today.

Today's band meeting started off amazing. Michael had finally thought of a name for their band over his bowl of morning cereal- 5 Seconds of Summer. This breakthrough had all of the boys feeling excited as they bounded down the stairs to be proactive and practice for the fastly approaching Battle of the Bands competition.

The mood quickly dropped straight downhill when Calum received an email about the competition that served to remind the contestants of the rules. One of them was that they were expected to have three original songs- no covers allowed.

And well, She's Kinda Hot was all they had.

They all knew Luke was the writer of the group, so coming up with two more songs in a few days' time didn't seem impossible. That is until everyone realized the kind of mood Luke was in.

Luke was fucking pissed for some reason. All of the boys could see it clear as day just by the way he was sitting in his chair at the end of the table, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes burning holes into the tabletop as if it'd just slapped him in the face.

Luke's familiar moleskin notebook sits on the table in front of him, though he's made no move to open it.

"Why don't we call Arlo?" Ashton suggests, having no idea that the mere sound of her name sends a pang of hurt through Luke's chest. "That girl has read enough books, she could probably write one by now."

As much as her hasty exit upset him, Luke wasn't particularly upset at Arlo. He was more upset at himself and the timing of it all. She was drunk and high for the first time in her life, her brain was probably working slower than normal and her emotions were no doubt all over the place.

Luke had cursed himself all week, furious that he'd been so careless. Arlo, what do I have to do to make you see how fucking badly I want you? God, who says that- fucking insensitive idiots, that's who.

What the boys didn't know is that night Luke had gone home pissed. He ended up writing an anger-fueled song by himself for the first time in his life. He was surprised by how therapeutic it felt to get his emotions out that way- more so he was stunned at how good he was at it. The words flowed easily, just like he was writing poetry.

"I have something." Luke says suddenly, before any of the other boys can agree to call Arlo. He wanted to see her again, he just didn't want her to hear the song he'd written about her.

The boys all pause, whipping their heads around to face him as Luke speaks for practically the first time since he'd arrived. The blonde-haired boy shrugs "I don't know if it's good enough for the competition but it's something."

Calum smiles proudly at his friend. "Sick. Let's hear it." After years of begging his best friend to use his natural talent, Luke finally was and Calum couldn't have been happier.

"Let me call Arlo first, she'll want to hear it." Michael says, reaching for his phone.

"Wait." Luke says hurriedly, his eyes darting nervously around. "Don't call her until the song is done."

The three other boys exchange a glance and although neither of them speaks, they're all thinking the same thing. Luke had to have written the song about Arlo. They hadn't even heard it yet, but they knew just by the look on his face.

"It's uhm-" Luke scratches the back of his neck, slightly uncomfortable. He's never shared his work before, not even his poems. "It's kind of angry and sad, I really don't know if it'll be a good fit for the competition." He says, second-guessing himself.

"Nonsense." Ashton waves him off. "We need variety, right boys?"

"Yup." Michael nods in agreement. "She's Kinda Hot is really upbeat so could open our set with that one, hit them in the gut with a real tear-jerker, and then bring the mood back up with another head-banger."

"Exactly." Calum grins, his previous stress rolling off of his shoulders like it'd never been there in the first place. "Luke let's hear your song and then we'll call Arlo and have her help us write our third song?" He asks.

"Yeah..." Luke gulps nervously, the thought of seeing her again causing his heart to race. "That's fine."

"And then we have all week to practice the set." Ashton points out. "I'd say we have She's Kinda Hot mastered, we just have to clean up a few of the vocals but I think we can chalk that up to nerves."

Luke grabs an acoustic guitar, his hands shaking slightly with nerves as he feels all three boys watching in anticipation. "It's called The Girl Who Cried Wolf." Luke says, his voice wavering.

The boys perk up at the title, especially Michael. Luke had already planned on asking Michael to sing a majority of the song. He figured Michael's voice would suit some parts better and honestly, Luke wasn't sure if he could get through the whole song by himself. That was just how strung-out Arlo made him feel.

Luke begins strumming the guitar, his lip ring pulled between his teeth as he focuses on the chords, doing his best to memorize what little he'd come up with the other night in a slightly high, emotional haze.

"Every time you say to me it's over you just wanna start again, It's just lies"

It's a harsh line, but it's how Luke felt at the time. He knew he was probably reading too far into it, but Arlo's body language practically screamed that she felt the same way he did. He was so confident that her feelings were the same as his that he poured his heart out to her.

He took that leap expecting her to be on the other side to catch him. He felt lied to when she wasn't. How had he managed to read the situation so wrong?

"The girl who cries wolf every day, Ignored by gravity but in the end, Don't ask why"

Moments before Luke had admitted his own feelings, Arlo had told him that she fell for him. The girl painted him in a golden light, like she saw him as the best thing in the world, but when it came down to it- she must not have really meant it.

"You say you wanna, But do you wanna, Run away a great escape, Where you going, Always running, Find a way to call it quits again"

The girl was so goddamn confusing. Luke wasn't sure how she felt about him anymore. Did she even mean it when she said all of those things? She was drunk, after all.

Even if what she said was the truth, Luke was prepared to tell her how wrong she was before Ashton barged in. Arlo had compared herself to the meaningless fucks of his past, she'd somehow convinced herself that she wasn't good enough for him.

Luke thought that was complete and utter bullshit. The only possibility he could come up with after days of thinking is that she had to be scared. Arlo had to be scared of her own feelings so she was making excuses.

"So look at me in the eye, Is anyone there at all, Is anyone there at all, Cause I'm not dreaming"

Throughout the week since it had happened, Luke replayed every moment of that night in his head. If he could go back, he'd have locked the door so Ashton couldn't barge in and have her look him in the eyes- to tell him that she meant what she said.

"Does it have to be this tragedy this endless lost parade?, A castle of facade of make believe, The truth is spelt out in your eyes why don't you just reach out, And make it clear to me, What are you telling me?"

Luke fucking knew their connection wasn't one-sided. It couldn't be. He couldn't have imagined every bated breath and shiver that ran down her spine. The way her eyes widened in his presence and the blush he'd paint her cheeks with.

Arlo felt the same way as he did. She had to.

"Is anyone there at all? Is anyone there at all? Cause I'm not leaving"

As Luke's voice fades out and his fingers come to a standstill on the strings of the guitar, the rest of the band sits in shock. They couldn't quite believe that in a little under a week, Luke had managed to do that. His way with words and ability to create a melody was unnaturally good for the amount of experience he had.

"Luke..." Calum is the first to speak, though that single word is all he manages to get out through his shock.

"That was fucking incredible." Ashton finishes, equally as in awe.

"You've gotta let me help you with the chords." Michael stands up from his chair, instantly bolting for his guitar in the corner of the room. "Fuck, this is gonna be sick." The boy giggles excitably. "Luke! Hear me out- I'm thinking a little bit of desperate, scream-type vocals on that ending and-"

"Calum?!"

Luke goes rigid in his seat as the sound of her voice echoes down the stairwell of Calum's basement. Instantly, a sweat breaks out on his forehead and his hands grip the arms of his chair. He was not prepared to see her.

It was almost ironic, how someone as cocky and sure of themselves as Luke was would become reduced to a trembling nervous mess at the mere sound of her voice. But, she was so different than anyone he'd ever met. He didn't fucking know what to do with himself when she was around.

Arlo skips down the stairs, her nose stuck in her phone as she sports a wide smile. She's so focused on her phone that she doesn't even notice the extra company occupying her neighbor's house.

"I got an email from a record company!" Arlo shouts, excitement dripping from her tone. "A video of the performance went viral and there's a representative coming to the Battle of the Bands to watch you guys this weekend!"

Disbelief settles in the room as Arlo looks up for the first time since coming downstairs, finding the entire band looking at her with wide eyes. She freezes, her mouth dropping in shock. "Oh-"

Michael gasps suddenly, being the first of the boys to have any sort of reaction. "Guys, I think I just peed a little."