"I guess I'll take the consolation prize

But what the fuck was that look in your eyes?

I'm a mess

I don't know how to impress anyone

And I don't want us to just be friends"

✰

Luke didn't even have time to dwell on the fact that Arlo was standing in front of him for the first time since he admitted his feelings to her, for as soon as the good news left her lips the boys were dragging her upstairs.

Calum insisted that the group needed to celebrate with drinks and as he connects his phone to the speaker in the living room it became clear that he was looking to party. Luke so graciously pointed out that if they had the potential to get a record deal, they should probably put in some more practice rather than celebrating something that was a mere possibility.

That was an hour ago, and now it's safe to say that everyone was drunk off of their asses.

Except for Arlo and Luke, ironically enough. They honestly were the two who needed a good drink the most considering what had happened a week before.

The group's little party had moved outside into the summer sun. The boys had gotten bored and jumped into the pool in their boxers, leaving Luke to sit at the outdoor patio table with a scowl on his face as he watches Arlo make sure they didn't drown.

If he was on better terms with the small girl he would most likely be helping her in making sure his intoxicated friends stayed above the water, but he didn't even know if he could be around her. Luke didn't want to be in her presence until they could be alone. He needed to know what was going through her head.

It may have been a childish way of thinking, but in Luke's defense, he'd spent the last week getting only a few hours of sleep. His anxiety surrounding the whole situation kept him up well into the night considering every time he closed his eyes his stupid brain would begin replaying what happened in Calum's guest room.

Luke wasn't too sure if he regretted what he said or not.

He meant everything he said, that was for damn sure, but he didn't know if he wanted to. If Arlo was going to leave him on edge like this forever, the boy would have much rather just kept his goddamn mouth shut.

Luke sits under the shade of the patio, doing his best to not look at the brunette sitting on the edge of the pool, letting her feet dangle into the cool water. As he fiddles with the top of his soda can, he can't quite shake the uncomfortable feeling settling in his bones.

He kind of wanted to scream. It's torture for the boy, not knowing if she feels the same way as he does. Luke had never done the whole admitting your feelings thing, but he figured it wasn't supposed to suck this fucking much.

Arlo's giggle echoes through the air, catching his attention instantly. Luke clenches his jaw in annoyance as Calum cups his hands in the water before squeezing them together, causing a spout of water to shoot in Arlo's direction.

The girl quickly retreats away from the edge of the pool, giggles leaving her lips as she holds her now soaked t-shirt away from her body where the water had plastered the fabric to her skin. When Arlo uses the end of her t-shirt to wipe the water from her face, exposing the smooth skin of her torso Luke decides he's had enough.

Cursing under his breath, Luke stands suddenly from the table causing the legs of his chair to make a scraping sound against the concrete. The music is far too loud for any of the boys or Arlo to hear, allowing Luke to slip in the back door of Calum's house unnoticed.

The disgruntled boy goes straight to the basement where he'd regretfully left his notebook. After retrieving the moleskin notebook that's nearly filled to the brim with his deepest thoughts and emotions, Luke makes his way back upstairs.

With an annoyed exhale, Luke slouches down into one of the chairs at the bar in Calum's kitchen. This seat gives him a slight view of the backyard just in case Arlo is drug in too far over her head dealing with three of their idiotic drunk friends, though the view isn't good enough to distract him.

Luke drags his hand down his face, mentally exhausted by his own emotions. He opens up his notebook, picking up the pencil he'd placed between the pages he'd left off on. If he was going to feel like shit for caring about Arlo, he might as well make a song out of it.

Meanwhile, Arlo does her best to avoid being thrown into the pool by a drunk Michael Clifford.

"I have my clothes on!" The girl shrieks, dodging away from the boy's hands as he chases her around the edge of the pool.

Calum and Ashton float in the water with pool noodles, watching the entire interaction. The alcohol running through their veins combined with the good news that they could possibly get a record deal if they played their cards right has the boys feeling on top of the world.

Michael rolls his eyes, his hands on his hips. "So did we." He gestures to himself and then the other two boys in the pool.

Unbeknownst to Michael, Arlo notices that his pale skin had gotten quite red over the hour or so they'd been in the summer heat. She stifles a giggle despite the fact that he's currently trying to throw her in the pool- He was going to be positively burnt by the time he wakes up tomorrow.

"Michael, I can't just strip down to my underwear in broad daylight like you can!" Arlo argues, finding safety on the opposite end of the pool as Michael finally gives up and throws himself back in the water.

"Why not?" Calum smirks, sunglasses resting over his eyes as he hugs a pool noodle to his chest, lazily kicking his feet in the water.

"Boobs." Ashton points out simply before bringing the end of his beer bottle to his mouth. He's the soberest out of all of them and after knowing her for so long, he'd become slightly protective over Arlo.

Michael grins, his now soaked hair dripping water down his face as he pushes the red strands back. "And pus-"

Michael is swiftly cut off as Ashton wacks him on the back of the head with a pool noodle, causing the boy to choke on his own breath at the surprise contact. This insights a pool noodle war, to which Mikey steals Cal's pool noodle, encouraging the tanner of the two to kick over to the edge of the pool with a scowl.

Arlo stiffens as Calum approaches her end of the pool, prepared to bolt if he even looks like he's up to no good. "Cal." She narrows her eyes in warning.

Calum holds his hands up in defense, gesturing for the girl to sit on the edge of the pool like she had been before. "I just want to talk. 'M serious."

What Arlo didn't know about Calum is that the boy was an emotional drunk. The boy had always managed to keep up a tough, frat-boy esque facade that made him appear more insensitive than he truly was. With the alcohol in his veins, he felt confident enough to drop the act and be vulnerable- at least for a little while.

"What do you wanna talk about, Cal?" Arlo asks sincerely, trusting the boy enough to let her feet dangle in the water again. She scoots to the edge of the pool as Calum folds his arms on the edge, resting his head on them.

"I just want to thank you for being so nice to Luke." Calum hiccups, the alcohol getting the best of him. "Not a lot of people are nice to him anymore and it makes me really upset because he's my best friend and he deserves the best."

Arlo furrows her brows. "You don't have to thank me for that, Cal." She reassures the boy, giving him a friendly pat on his curly head.

In reality, Arlo has no idea what Calum's talking about.

Luke was one of the most popular people their age in the entire town. He had girls lined up just to talk to him for miles, especially now that he'd revealed his secret talent. The guys in their town envied him for his looks and his charm- his cockiness that bordered between being an asshole and having extreme confidence, yet it manages to work perfectly for him.

Even if people were mean to Luke like Calum said, Arlo had no doubts that Luke would take care of it. The boy was intimidating, from the lip ring in his lip to the harsh words that fell from his mouth, Arlo wouldn't even think about testing him.

An unfamiliar sense of protectiveness brews in her stomach. Never in her life had Arlo ever been one for confrontation, but something tells her that if she ever found out that someone had upset Luke, she'd have no choice but to sort it out.

Luke was amazing and he didn't deserve an ounce of pain.

As soon as the thought crosses her mind, she mentally scolds herself. You caused him pain. She reminds herself regretfully.

The truth was, Arlo hadn't meant to walk out of Calum's guest room that day without giving Luke an answer. Maybe, it was the alcohol swimming in her veins or the fact that Luke's words had literally stunned her into silence, but Arlo felt like she literally couldn't speak in that moment.

In fact, if she could go back she would have been the one to say it first. She wanted Luke- more than she wanted anything. She was just too scared to have him.

Although, they were unaware of the other's feelings, both Luke and Arlo felt that same fear. The fear of being vulnerable in front of another person for the first time, for allowing someone else to hold the same heart you've guarded your entire life.

The difference between Luke and Arlo was that Luke looked fear in the eye like it meant nothing. Sure, he was fucking terrified of what admitting his feelings for Arlo might lead to, but he did it.

He'd just hoped Arlo would have the same courage.

Her curiously gets the best of her. "Who's not nice to him?" Arlo asks Calum, feeling slightly guilty for using his inebriated state to get information out of him.

Calum exhales, his damp curls dripping pool water onto the concrete he rests his arms on, turning the surface a darker shade of grey. "His parents." The boy scowls at the mere thought of them.

Arlo's heart drops. She knows family is something private and suddenly she feels like she should stop Calum before he goes on anymore. "Forget I asked Cal-"

"Ever since they kicked him out he hasn't been the same." Calum rambles on like he never even heard Arlo. That could be blamed on the pool water currently clogging his ear from where Ashton had tackled him in earlier. "I hate that he lives in the bookstore but he won't let me move him into my house."

Arlo feels her blood run cold, her stomach twisting at the words leaving Calum's lips. Luke lived in the bookstore? For how long? Was there even proper air conditioning? Proper water? Did he have money to get food?

The girl is so shocked in fact, that Calum continues to ramble her on, mistaking her silence as curiously. "Luke thinks the world is out to get him or something." The tan boy huffs. "I can't even buy him a pizza every once and a while because his parents have got him convinced that he doesn't deserve anything. He hates talking about money too."

Everything clicks into place all at once- why Luke always seemed to be at the bookstore. Not to mention, why he got so upset when Arlo offered to pay him back for the book he gave her. She'd just assumed that she got on his nerves.

Arlo swallows nervously, her eyes darting around for the gruff blonde only to find him missing from the backyard. She gently places her hand on Calum's shoulder. "Calum I think you should stop. I don't think I'm supposed to know this.

The boy furrows his brows, nodding along with her words. "You're so right." Calum groans. "I'm the only one who knows and I just spilled the beans."

"It's okay." Arlo says gently, not wanting to upset the boy. "I won't say anything."

"Good." Calum exhales in relief. "Luke would kill me if he knew I told someone."

✰

Arlo sits at the desk in her room, her freshly washed hair dampening the oversized t-shirt that hangs from her small frame. She fiddles with the rings on her fingers nervously, battling a mental war within herself.

The boys really meant it when they said they wanted her to be their manager, so when Calum told them about the Battle of the Bands competition, Arlo was the one to sign them up. The company had sent her an email, with a set of instructions about the event inside.

Sponsor of Choice

The words have stared back at her for nearly half an hour now as she tries to decide what to do. Arlo knew that if Luke found out what she was planning on doing, he would be furious.

But, his well-being seemed more important. He could be angry at her, but at least he would be safe.

Inside the email, the company that runs the competition included an option to pay for a sponsorship that would be printed on a large banner in front of the stage. Its purpose is to bring attention to local small businesses considering the entire town would most likely be at the park that day.

Sponsors are guaranteed to have more business from all the exposure, not to mention the band who wins the competition earns a large sum of money for their sponsor.

Arlo runs her hands through her hair in frustration, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. She'd felt like guilt was eating her alive from the moment she found out that Luke was living in that small bookstore all alone.

Did he even have room for a bed in there? She didn't see one when she went.

Suddenly, the girl feels sick to her stomach sitting in a big empty house with plenty of groceries and air conditioning. Not to mention, spare bedrooms. A stubborn part of the girl wishes Luke would show up throwing rocks at her window again just so she could offer him a place to sleep.

But, deep down she knows if he wouldn't accept his best friend's offer after all these years, there's no way he'd accept hers.

Before the girl can overthink it any longer she quickly types "Hemmings Bookstore" into the sponsorship line before sending the email. Arlo slams her laptop shut and leans back in her chair, her hands covering her eyes in stress.

She waits for the guilt to settle in, but it doesn't.

Arlo decides she doesn't regret submitting his name for the sponsor, not one bit. Besides, as long as he didn't find out, everything would be fine.