"You make me wanna cry in a good way

I didn't know that I was capable of being happy right now

But you showed me how

I didn't know that you were right in front of me

Until I looked out"

✰

Arlo woke up to the feeling of steady breaths brushing the back of her neck. She flutters her eyes open, finding her face inches away from the familiar wall of the bookstore as she lays curled into a ball on her side.

Luke's body engulfs hers completely, his legs intertwined with her own and his arms wound tightly around her waist, slotting her perfectly against his chest. There wasn't a single inch of her body where she couldn't feel Luke's presence- not that she minded in the slightest.

She finds that it feels weird to not wake up to the morning sun streaming in through her curtains, leaving her no idea as to what time it is. But, she knows its early for there was a group of birds chirping outside that could be heard even from Luke's room in the back of the shop.

Arlo stirs, attempting to roll over so she can catch sight of Luke's face before he wakes up. She'd never really seen the boy completely at peace and a part of her had a feeling he looked beautiful as he slept.

Just as she begins moving, attempting to roll over in his grip, Luke's arms tighten around her. The boy sucks in a breath, waking himself up fully. He hadn't been in a deep sleep for quite a while now, more like letting his eyes stay shut as he savored the feel of her body intertwined with his.

"Arlo, baby." Luke's voice is raspy as he speaks lowly into her ear, his lips grazing her shoulder and causing a shiver to go down her spine. "Stop moving."

Arlo freezes, guilt flooding her system. "Did I wake you up?" If the tone of his voice wasn't enough, the name that left his lips nearly caused her to pass out.

She whispers like she was scared of waking him up, causing Luke's lips to turn up. She was so fucking cute and he feared he might never feel the same after waking up to her. How would he ever sleep alone again?

"No." He mutters, loosening his grip enough for her to turn to face him. "I just don't wanna get up yet. You're warm."

Arlo rolls over to face him, being greeted by his puffy lips and tired blue eyes. This close to him she can see the freckles that dot his cheeks and the slight stubble lining his jaw. Before she can stop herself, the girl traces over his black lip ring with her pointer finger, causing his lips to part.

Luke sucks in a breath, willing his heart rate to slow down. It was too fucking early to get worked up. He was already working overtime to keep his morning wood at bay and Arlo certainly wasn't making it any easier for him to do. Especially not when she was just wiggling her body back against his.

Raising his hand quickly, Luke catches her wrist, stalling her fingers that trace his bottom lip. "Did you sleep alright?" He mumbles, placing a chaste kiss on her fingertips.

Arlo nods eagerly, a sleepy smile tugging at her lips as Luke presses kisses to her fingertips. "I did. Did you?"

Better than you could ever imagine. Luke wants to say, but he doesn't. The boy swallows down the words and simply nods, choosing to let his free hand wander to her waist instead. Unconsciously, he begins fiddling with the elastic waistband of the boxers she wears.

"I forgot to tell you yesterday..." Arlo begins, doing her best to keep her breathing steady as Luke's fingertips nimbly mess with the band of her boxers, brushing her hip bone and causing a pit to form in her stomach. "You did really, really good yesterday. I'm proud of you, Luke."

Luke freezes, the words leaving her lips shocking him to his very core. The blond had spent countless sleepless nights working to hear those same words from his parents. Although, he had a feeling the words leaving her lips made him feel better than his parents ever could.

"Couldn't have done it without you, you know." Luke says lowly, his morning rasp clear. "Starting to write, having the balls to join the band in the first place- none of it."

Arlo shakes her head in denial. "That's not true. You did this, not me."

"Don't argue with me, yeah?" Luke pulls her closer, burying his face into the crook of her neck.

"Why?" Arlo breathes.

She can feel his lips pressing gently against the skin of her neck, right over her pulse point as his arms bring her flush against his body. With unsure hands, she does what feels right- that being bringing her free hand to the back of his head, running her fingertips through his blonde hair.

A low groan leaves Luke's lips at the sensation. "It's too early for me to fix your attitude, that's why." He smirks, knowing she can feel his lips turn up against her skin.

He revels in the way his girl sucks in a sharp breath. Luke is positive if he could see her eyes, they'd be wide and her pretty pink lips would be parted in surprise.

"Luke." Arlo practically whines, her cheeks flushing beyond her control. He knew exactly what he was doing and he was enjoying watching her react too.

"I opened the door." Luke grins, his wavy blonde head of hair popping up from her neck to gaze up at her. "You have to put up with me now."

Arlo rolls her eyes playfully, attempting to wiggle out of his grip even though the last thing she wanted to do was leave. His arms made her feel warm and safe in a way she'd never known- a way she never knew existed.

"I'm closing it now." Arlo teases, the tip of her tongue caught between her teeth as she suppresses a smile. "Sorry, come back next year."

In a matter of seconds, Luke manages to flip them over, his body hovering over her own. A giggle leaves the girl's lips at the feeling of Luke's fingertips on her hips, the sensation tickling her.

Luke had tried to look upset, he really had, though as soon as a soft round of giggles leaves her lips he can't quite keep up the facade. The boy rolls his eyes, dropping the stern look and replacing it with a smile. She was already getting everything she wanted from him- he was simply weak when it came to her.

He looks down at her, nothing but pure adoration in his eyes. "You're gonna be the death of me, you know that?"

✰

Arlo drags herself out of her bed with a groan to flip the vinyl record spinning on the turntable in the corner of her room. She slides the tattered sticky note she'd been using as a bookmark for weeks now in-between the pages of her book before laying it down on her bed.

She stretches her arms over her head as she walks across the room, a groan leaving her lips. It was only eight in the morning, but she couldn't sleep at all. So, she decided to read and listen to music as she usually did.

In fact, this was all she did before she got caught up with the band.

Arlo had tossed and turned all night, trying to get comfortable. It was all Luke's fault really, nothing felt the same after she spent the night with him. It was only one night but still, the girl had become used to the feeling of his arms.

After he dropped her off at her house and returned Calum's mustang in the late afternoon the day before, she'd spent every moment trying not to think about how much she missed him. It was so cheesy and cliche sounding, but she couldn't help it.

It really was all Luke's fault for being so perfect.

After flipping her record, Arlo collapses back into her bed, lying across the mattress with her feet crossed in the air behind her. Opening her book back up to the place she left off, she continues reading.

The book wasn't new, no matter how long Luke spent trying to hide a book in her bag before she left yesterday. Arlo had read this book over probably twenty times- it was one of her favorites.

The girl had a collection of three or so comfort books that she'd read when nothing else felt right or she didn't have any new books. In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have read the first book Luke gave her so fast. Maybe then she'd be reading it now.

There was approximately one hour and seventeen minutes until the results of the Battle of the Bands Competition would be posted on the website. Even though the girl had no doubt her friends had won, she was still beyond nervous.

The band planned to meet up at Calum's, as per usual in order to read the results together.

Arlo decides to go over to Calum's early considering she'd finished the entirety of her book and she had nothing better to do. She was sure he was just as nervous as she was. After getting dressed, Arlo bounds across the street, rolling her eyes as she finds Calum's doors unlocked.

"Cal?" Arlo calls through the large house.

"In here!" The boy calls from the kitchen.

When Arlo walks into the kitchen she finds her dark-haired friend sitting on the kitchen counter in only his boxers and a pair of fluffy blue socks. A pizza box sits on the counter behind him, a slice of pizza in one hand and some purple liquid in the other.

"What's up with you?" Arlo fails to hold back a laugh at the state of him.

Calum has dark bags under his eyes, his usually tan skin lacking its usual glow. "Cold pizza and some electrolyte shit." He holds up his meal for her to see. "Best cure for a hangover."

"You're still hungover?" Arlo gapes. From what she understood, Calum had gone to some party the night of the competition, but that didn't explain why he was hungover an entire day later.

"I didn't go to the afterparty." Calum smirks lazily. "I went to some girl's apartment, you know the one in the front row who was wearing the mesh top? She's totally into bassists."

Arlo looks at the boy incredulously. "No, I didn't see her. I was backstage."

"Shame." Calum pouts his lips, taking another bite of cold pizza.

"Was she nice?" Arlo asks innocently.

"Oh, my dear Arlo." Calum laughs, patting the girl on her head. He shakes his head, amusement in his tone. "We weren't doing much talking."

"Ew." She scrunches up her nose, pushing Calum's hand away and smoothing down her hair that he had ruffled playfully. "I did not need to know that."

"Speaking of..." Calum trails, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You didn't come home either, Miss Abbott. Care to explain where you were?"

Arlo's cheeks flush and she pushes herself away from the counter he sits on. She pulls her phone from her pocket and checks the time, finding that the rest of the boys would be arriving any minute. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Calum jumps off of the counter, throwing the rest of his pizza back in the box before crossing his arms over his chest. "No, I think you do." Just as Calum opens his mouth to continue, the sound of his front door opening echoes down the hall.

Arlo takes the opportunity to escape, swiftly walking out of the kitchen and down the hall with Calum hot on her heels. "We're discussing this later, Arlo!" He calls after her.

Arlo chooses to ignore him, far too focused on the sight of Luke following Michael and Ashton into the house. It's almost embarrassing, how wide her smile is just from looking at him.

The smile on Luke's face is the same, if not wider.

"I'm so fucking nervous." Ashton declares to Arlo, bringing his best friend into a hug. The last time he'd seen her she looked rather distressed and he was glad to see her looking much happier.

"Dude, I couldn't even eat." Michael groans, running a stressed hand through his hair.

Luke shrugs simply, wandering over to where Arlo stands. He simply stands next to her, enjoying her presence as he does his best to ignore their knowing gazes. "I ate fine." Luke shrugs.

Calum narrows his eyes. "I'm sure you did, Luke." Despite how much he wants to tease his best friend, Calum was just glad that Luke and Arlo had finally seemed to work things out. He'd never seen Luke this way and he had a feeling that Arlo was what he needed to get over that lingering feeling of disappointment from his parents.

"Guys, the results are out!" Michael says frantically, his eyes wide as he glances at the time on his phone.

In a split second, every single person is crowded around Michael's phone as he refreshes the page frantically, already having the website pulled up. Arlo chews on her lip nervously and Luke notices, sliding his hand into hers,

Clinging to his hand tightly, Arlo releases a shaky breath as Michael refreshes the page one last time. The results load all of a sudden, causing a simultaneous gasp to leave the group.

Calum looks up to his friends in shock, his face pale. "We won."

couldn't sleep so I'm writing before school what else is new