"Take drugs, stay high

View the fucking earth from the outside, yeah

Pop pills through the daytime

And if I die, tell my momma that I died like a rockstar"

✰

"I don't like it." Luke tells the stylist firmly, cringing at the material of the shirt they made him put on.

"You're about to be interviewed for the first time, Luke." The middle-aged woman shakes her head, glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. "You can't wear just anything."

Luke scowls, flexing his shoulders as he tries to get used to the feeling of the material. he had no doubt it was expensive, so he didn't understand why the fabric felt like the equivalent of sandpaper. He decides not to waste his time arguing any longer and merely exhales frustratingly before making his way out of the room.

His hair and a little bit of makeup had already been done, just like the other boys. Although due to his distaste for the clothes they put him in, he was the last of the band to get completely ready for the interview.

All five of them had arrived bright and early at some radio station that Luke had never even heard of. From the moment they arrived, all four of the boys were whisked away and sat on an uncomfortable couch while some PR manager lectured them about what not to say.

By now, they'd heard it all a thousand times. Don't talk about drugs or alcohol but don't seem like a saint either- the fans appreciate the edginess, Don't talk about any relationships, Don't leak any parts of the album. And it continued, on and on and on.

As Luke walks out of the dressing room, the set is instantly visible to his eyes. A big fancy couch and a single chair where the interviewer would sit, lights so bright he got an instant headache, huge ass cameras. It was all so overwhelming and Arlo was nowhere in sight, probably being hidden away somewhere.

Luke fucking hated that- that they made him keep her a secret in the first place. They didn't treat her badly, but the label did act as if she was something to hide when that was the fucking opposite of the truth.

As he takes in the sight before him, anxiety rises in his chest. Luke had never been one to have anxiety, but as of late, that was certainly beginning to change.

Suddenly, he feels like he should be anywhere but in a giant studio getting ready to be interviewed. He wants to run away all the way back home and hide in his bookstore. He wants to go back to when life was simple and all he had scheduled in his day was Arlo's daily visit to get a new book.

Luke's chest feels tight, his breathing becoming rapid as he tries to ignore the feeling. But, the walls are continuously closing in. He needs to get out.

Ignoring the people looking for him, Luke makes his way down a long hallway. He vaguely remembers Calum letting everyone know he was going for a smoke break before the interview before disappearing down the same hallway.

Luke follows the hallway all of the way to the end where he finds a back door. He slips outside, relief flooding over him instantly as the crisp morning air calms him down. It reminds him that he's alive, that the stupid fucking radio station isn't all that there is.

"You from that band they're interviewing at the 7 A.M slot?" A voice asks.

Luke snaps his head up to find a man, not Calum like he'd hoped, but a guy wearing a designer shirt and expensive-looking trousers. He recognizes him to be some solo artist that made it big a few years prior. He's huge in the pop scene, always doing massive world tours and shit

"Yeah." Luke clears his throat. He really didn't know what else to say but he really fucking wished Calum would show up with a cigarette soon.

"I used to be like you when I started in the industry too." The guy says, nonchalantly reaching into the pocket of his expensive pants. He pulls out a couple of small plastic bags filled with a white substance, causing Luke's eyes to widen. "This shit helps, though. I'm on right after you guys"

As Luke watches this pop star take the drug, he can't help but feel like he's not even in his own body. Sure, Luke knew that famous people with more money than they knew what to do with indulged in drugs often. But hell, Luke never expected to witness it- this guy was doing it so casually as if he didn't care that anyone could walk out and see- at half-past six in the fucking morning too.

Luke always thought he was a pretty good kid.

Growing up, Luke never stole or lied anymore than the usual kid. He didn't disrespect his teachers or beat up people after school for fun. He got his work done the best he could and kept himself.

But, that all changed when he met Molly.

What started with hooking up quickly turned into more. He would go to parties with her- not just any high school parties either- she would drive them to the neighboring towns and crash college parties.

Molly introduced him to sex, but she also introduced him to adderal, ecstasy, weed, coke, and probably others. She was pretty and if she let the college guys with trust funds feel her up, they would share their drugs.

Luke spent more nights than he could even remember leaning against the wall of some party while Molly disappeared into the bathroom of a huge house and left with her bra full of those same little plastic bags the pop star in front of him had.

Molly didn't love Luke and Luke didn't love Molly, but the girl did care about him in a way. They didn't have intellectual conversations or do much else besides fuck but deep down Molly knew Luke had a good heart. He was innocent and that was what originally drew her in.

So, no, Molly didn't show her care for Luke by fucking him- what they did sexually was virtually meaningless. Molly shared her drugs and that was how she expressed her fondness toward the boy five years younger than her.

Luke never did drugs except for when he was Molly- discounting one time.

A month or so before Luke met Arlo, someone had brought a shit ton of coke to one of Calum's parties and Luke was having a rough night. He'd been with two girls already, neither of them particularly good enough to satisfy him, when someone offered him a line. He did it, thanked them and that was that.

Luke didn't struggle with addiction, but he did struggle with his own feelings. He didn't do drugs often at all and he didn't do them for fun. Luke did drugs because just like with sex, they were a distraction from the things he didn't want to feel but couldn't avoid.

Like now, as Luke stands behind the radio station with a small bag of coke in his hand just begging to enter his system. He knew he shouldn't, that it was bad for him, and if Arlo knew it might make her upset.

In the end, Luke decided that indulging in the drug was better than having a panic attack in the middle of an interview and fucking up the band's reputation.

Luke walks calms back inside the radio station, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. He stops in the bathroom, making sure that there was no evidence left before continuing down the hallway. The rest of the band is crowded around, talking to themselves. Arlo's there too, sitting in a director's chair with a coffee in her small hands.

"Luke!" His girl smiles, her face lighting up as she sees him. "Where were you?"

"Yeah, mate." Calum nudges his best friend. "We're freaking the fuck out, you look pretty calm though."

"I'm a natural, what can I say." Luke shrugs, referring to what the director on the set of the Hey Everybody music video had said. Ever since the words had left the middle-aged man's mouth, Luke decided to rub them in his bandmates faces.

As the crew begins calling for the band, Luke leans down to place a kiss on Arlo's head. "You gonna sit right here the whole time?" He asks hopefully. Despite the drug in his system, he knew having her in his sight would calm him the most.

"Yup." She pops her lips, subtly wiping the tiredness from her eyes. "You're gonna do great, as always." Arlo encourages him, doing her best to be supportive. But, it was early in the morning and the girl was dead tired so she worried that her tone might be lacking excitement.

Especially when Luke looked to be too calm. Arlo wondered if he was freaking out internally, for his outer exterior gave nothing for her to read. His expression was so blank, his eyes so far off that she wondered if her boy had even fully woken up.

"As soon as I'm done we can go home and read, yeah?" Luke allows a smirk to tug at her lips, ignoring the people calling his name to get in place. If he wanted to talk to his girl he was going to fucking do it.

"Sounds perfect, I can't wait." Arlo smiles genuinely.

✰

So far, the interview had gone amazingly.

The boys had all answered the questions perfectly according to the standards of the label and although Luke had contributed the least out of everyone, it fit his personality. Sure, the label wanted to market Calum as the "mysterious" one, but that didn't mean Luke couldn't fill the role for a day.

"Alright, a few more questions." The interviewer, a woman wearing a tight navy blue dress with obvious botox says. Luke hated her voice, but maybe that was the drug in his system talking. "We're live on air right now. Michael, Are there any new releases you want to tell your fans about."

Michael smirks, more than happy to oblige. The label had allowed them to announce one more song of their choosing and of course, he'd chosen his favorite. "We just finished a song called Safety Pin that's a personal favorite of mine."

The interviewer raises her eyebrows, obviously pleased to be getting such good information. The band in front of her was the hottest in the world at the moment and their popularity was only skyrocketing by the day.

"Can you tell us when we can expect to hear it?"

Michael shakes his head, glancing at the other boys as he enjoys the feeling of knowing something the rest of the world didn't. "Nope." He says simply, earning a laugh from everyone in the room.

"Last question." The interviewer declares. "Luke, there's speculations of someone special in your life. A girl from back home still has your heart maybe?"

The boys tense on the couch, though they do their best to keep a neutral look on their faces. Arlo had tensed as well, her hands tightening on the coffee cup so severely she was scared she might break a hole in the plastic.

Much to the surprise of everyone in the room, Luke merely shrugs his shoulders, a cocky smirk on his face as euphoria runs through his veins. He feels invincible as his high hits him at full force. The boy couldn't care less about management or the jealous fans- he was so goddamn tired of hiding.

"I've got to write my love songs about someone." Luke spills the words so nonchalantly that Arlo isn't quite sure she heard them correctly. "I've got a girl if that's what you're asking." He continues, without a care in the world. "She's my muse. Everything I write is about her."

The interviewer seems stunned as the woman mentally connects the dots, not missing the way the blond lead singer's eyes had drifted to a rather scared-looking girl on the other end of the studio. "Well, congratulations." She smiles.

The end of the interview is a blur. Luke knows his management is pissed, too pissed to even talk to him and although the boys don't look mad, they don't look happy either. All Luke wanted to do is find Arlo and go back to the safety net that was their room at the end of the hall.

"You guys have to wait for security before you can leave." A member of their team notifies them. "The location of the radio show was leaked and you've got about a thousand fans out there. You're going to get swarmed."

Luke clenches his jaw, not at all in the mood to be seen by so many people. "How long?"

"We have a car for you pulling up now." The team member informs them just as several large men walk into the room. They're obviously bodyguards, which the boys had never needed before. It was nerve-wracking, to say the least.

Luke makes a beeline for Arlo. "You okay, Lo?" He asks her as he registers the wary look on her face. She's pale and her eyes are darting around nervously.

"Luke, you just told everyone that we're together." Arlo says exasperatedly. "Do you have any idea what the means, the label-"

"Fuck the label." Luke says sternly, wrapping his arm around her waist as he pulls her into his side. "I'm done hiding. It's my life, you're my girl, and I don't want to hide anymore. I know you don't either."

Although he was right, Arlo still feels guilt flood her system. Of course, she wanted the world to know that Luke was hers. Just not at the cost of their career. She hadn't been on social media but she could only imagine the backlash and utter chaos that was going on at the moment.

Arlo leans her body into his own, seeking comfort as panic fills her veins. "I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and us, really I am, Luke but-"

"There's nothing else to say, baby" Luke reassures her, ducking down to claim her lips.

A security guard approaches the two of them, a large radio in his hand. "We've only got a small window of time to get you out to the car. We need to go now." He informs them.

The panic in Arlo's veins only intensifies as Luke nods, before following the large men to the door. The rest of the band is already standing by the door, sympathetic looks on their faces that make Arlo feel even more guilty. They weren't even worried about what the label was going to say, they just wanted to know that their friends were okay.

The five of them are quickly ushered outside and the sounds of screams are nearly deafening almost instantly. Luke's arm is so tight around Arlo's body that she can't quite breathe but as the crowd gets tighter, she's thankful for it.

Security surrounds them on all sides, pushing through the crowd in order to get them to the car. The mass of screaming fans isn't at all calm and the severity of the rowdiness of the crowd is only worsened as they see Arlo at Luke's side.

It's so loud that Arlo can't even tell what they're saying, but she hears her name a few times mixed in with screams battling for the boy's attention.

What feels like hours is only a few minutes as the five of them are shoved into the car, the door slamming shut behind them and promptly cutting off the screams. Calum runs a hand through his disheveled hair, his eyes wild.

"A day in the life of a rockstar, am I right?"