The first thing I realized when I woke up was not my painful headache, nor my dry mouth. It was the fact that my head was no longer on my pillow. After a few seconds, I quickly realized Luke and I were very much entangled together, and that my head was resting far too comfortably on his chest while his nose was buried in my hair.

Shit. I was cuddling with someone who was not my boyfriend. That wasn't supposed to happen. My eyes snapped open and I very quickly rolled away from Luke only to end up falling on the floor.

"Shit!" I swore a little loudly as I landed very unceremoniously on the ground with a thump. I heard Luke stirring. He most likely woke up when I tore myself away from him very quickly for someone who was still half asleep.

"Noelle, why the fuck are you on the floor?" he muttered, sitting up and peering over at me.

"We– um, you, uh..." I struggled to get up and when I was standing I straightened my t-shirt – Luke's t-shirt, I quickly realized – while Luke watched in amusement. "We were, um, you know, cuddling, so I–"

"So naturally you felt the need to, what, throw yourself off the bed?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Uh... I was just trying to– to roll away and then I fell off," I mumbled, trying to pull the t-shirt down a bit.

"Huh. Well, you could've been a little quieter about it. My head fucking hurts." Luke lay back down and pulled the pillow – the one I'd been using before I decided to use Luke instead – over his face.

"You're not the only one whose head hurts," I huffed. I cleared my throat and looked down at my bare legs. I was going to have to go back to the dorm in the clothes I'd worn yesterday, which meant I needed to change. "Uh, Luke, can you go? I need to get changed."

Luke groaned. "Seriously? You're going to make me get up?"

"No, you can stay there while I get dressed," I said sarcastically.

"The sarcasm is not appreciated," he grumbled, pushing the duvet off him – exposing his bare torso – before standing up and stretching, making all the muscles in his back stand out. I tapped my foot impatiently. Luke glanced at me with frown. "Okay, I'm going." Eventually he left and I pulled back on my clothes and looked around for my phone, which I found on the dresser. I checked the time.

Eleven twenty-seven. My mouth dropped. I'd missed both my lectures. There were also a hell of a lot of messages on my phone, from Jess, George and Nathan. There was even one from Tristan. Shit, shit, shit. The only text I'd sent to my friends was one last night and I hadn't said anything since. They were probably really worried. The first person I called was Jess, who picked up on the second ring.

"Noelle? Where are you?" she said frantically.

"Sorry, I'm... don't tell Nathan, but I'm at Luke's apartment," I said with a wince.

"You're WHAT?"

"Well, it's really the band's apartment. I went back to the studio and bumped into Luke, and we went into LA together and oh my god Jess, I got a tattoo," I said excitedly.

"You did WHAT?"

"Yeah. It's a snowflake. Then we went to this building and stood on the roof and stuff, and then I went to drop Luke off at their apartment but a load of paparazzi showed up so Luke said I should just come in. Then we kind of got pissed–"

"You got drunk with 5 Seconds of Summer?" Jess shrieked. "Did anything happen?"

"No," I stated firmly, not counting the fact that I slept in the same bed as Luke and ended up cuddling with him. "We just played beer pong and stuff. I was really good."

"Wow. Oh my god. Is their apartment nice?"

"Very," I replied, looking around me at the bedroom. "Listen, I know I've missed my first two lectures but I'll be back soon. Remember, don't tell Nathan I was at the band's apartment."

Jess laughed a little. "Sure. You can tell me more when you get back."

I rolled my eyes. "See you soon." I hung up and exited the room, carrying Luke's t-shirt. The other boys were also up, looking grumpy and hung-over. "Hey guys, I've got to go. Uh, thanks for last night. It was fun," I said with a laugh. They all just sort of nodded except for Ashton who gave me a small smile. "Here's your shirt, Luke." I threw it at him and he caught it, not looking up from his phone. He was biting his lip worriedly, so I decided to just go. "I'll see you guys at the studio."

"We'll see," Michael muttered with his head in his hands.

~ ~ ~

"Nathan is really pissed at you," Jess informed me when I got back.

"Really? I couldn't tell from the ten messages he sent me," I said sarcastically, immediately dialing his number.

"No need for that. He's coming over. Be prepared," she warned me, beginning to leave the room.

"What?" I groaned, chucking my phone on the bed. "And you're leaving?"

"Duh. Nathan's going to be angry as fuck. Don't really want to stick around for that."

"You're a terrible friend," I told her. "You should stay and ... help me, or something."

"I would, but I do actually have to go somewhere. With Tristan. You'll be fine," Jess consoled me. "Bye. Good luck."

I just glared at her as she left. I was not looking forward to seeing Nathan. I really hadn't done anything that bad – it wasn't like I had cheated on him or anything, I just hadn't really answered my phone. And had slept in someone else's arms, which was not cheating, but I still didn't want Nathan to know about it. I sat on my bed and twisted my hands around each other, waiting for Nathan to get here. When there was finally a knock on the door I rushed to open it and Nathan immediately stepped in, hugging me.

"Jesus Christ, Noelle! Why didn't you call me back? Like I knew you were staying at a friend's or whatever but then you missed both your lectures this morning–"

"Nor–Nathan, seriously, you're not my dad," I said in annoyance, quickly covering up the fact that I almost called him Norman. "We just accidentally slept in. It's only two lectures. It's really not that big of a deal."

Nathan sighed. "I know, but I just got worried. Who were you even staying with?"

"Uh..." I panicked. "Just a friend. They don't go here, you won't know them. It was... it was their birthday. They kind of invited me last minute." I snapped my mouth shut before I spewed out another lie.

Nathan gave me a scrutinizing look. "Did you get pissed last night or something? You look really hung-over."

I frowned. How did he know that? "No. We just went to bed late."

"What were you guys doing?" he demanded.

My frown deepened. "Why do you feel the need to know everything that we did? It was just a girls' night, Nathan. Lay off, would you? It was one night."

"Yeah, but you didn't call me–"

"For fuck's sake, this is not an interrogation," I snapped. "You're pissing me off right now. You're acting like an overprotective dad."

He glared at me. "I'm pissing you off? I'm not the one who didn't call their boyfriend, who was probably getting pissed and maybe even doing something dangerous. How do I know you weren't cheating on me?"

I stared. "What the actual fuck, Nathan? You're seriously pulling that on me?" I scoffed. "Wow. Shows how much trust you have in me. I can't believe you actually think I would do that."

"Well I would hope you wouldn't but–"

"But what?" I exclaimed in frustration. "I spent one night, one fucking night away from campus and didn't call you – but I did text you so you knew where I was – and you get pissed at me and then accuse me of cheating? What kind of a relationship are we in? You don't seem to trust me at all!" When Nathan didn't reply, I scowled slightly. "I think we should take a break. You should go and, I don't know, cool off or something."

With a clenched jaw, Nathan nodded curtly and left the room. As soon as he went, I groaned and sat down on my bed with a thump. What a dick. Accusing me of cheating when he used to be the player. I just didn't get him – he was usually charming and sweet but he could also get way too overprotective and was a bit unsupportive sometimes. As with everyone else I always tried to look past his flaws but it was getting a bit much.

Sighing to myself, I took a quick shower and an aspirin for my headache that wasn't ceasing before pulling on some smart clothes for going to the studio. Even if I felt like shit, I wasn't showing it. I snorted as I wondered if the boys would even turn up today.

As I walked to the car, I decided to call George to tell him what had happened. But it turned out Jess had beaten me to it.

"I cannot believe you stayed in the apartment of 5 Seconds of Summer," he said dramatically as a way of answering the phone.

"So Jess told you everything," I assumed, rolling my eyes.

"Of course she did. You got pissed with Luke Hemmings and nothing happened? Bullshit."

"Nothing happened!" I insisted, arriving at my car and getting in before setting off. I put the phone on speaker so I could stay talking to him as I drove through LA.

"Really," he said disbelievingly. "Nothing at all? Not the smallest thing?"

"George, I wouldn't cheat on my boyfriend," I reminded him, a little annoyed. "Well– I don't know if he still is my boyfriend," I admitted.

There was a pause. "Are you telling me you and Nathan broke up?"

"Before you start to get excited, we're on a break," I quickly said. "He was pissing me off, so I made him leave after saying we should take a break. I guess we'll sort things out later."

"Or... or you could profess your love for Luke Hemmings–" George broke off and I was about to respond with something biting when he spoke again. "Noelle, you're on the internet."

"What?"

"The news. With Luke."

I nearly ran a red light but braked just in time. "What are you talking about?"

"I was googling Luke, as I do basically every day, and you came up. There are pictures of you with him, and of you going into his apartment," George told me quietly.

"Are you serious?" I said in alarm.

"Completely. It's sort of difficult to see your face, though, so... I'm sure it will be fine," he tried to reassure me. "I only knew it was you 'cause–"

I interrupted him by groaning. "This is so not good. John and Kate– they're going to kill me–"

"Who are John and Kate?"

"Doesn't matter." I banged my head against the seat. "I should not have gone into their apartment. Oh god. Look, I'm gonna go before I crash. I'll see you later."

"Love you," he sang. "Good luck."

"Thanks," I muttered, touching the hang up button then sighing deeply. To take my mind off it I blasted some Queen and sang along loudly to 'I Want To Break Free'.

When I arrived I very quickly made my way up to the third floor to see Kate, John, Matt, Fran and Zakk there, but none of the boys were. I wasn't surprised.

"Hey," Fran greeted me, walking up to me. "Have you..."

"Heard about the pictures of me and Luke? Yeah," I said, running a hand through my hair. "Haven't seen them, though." I looked over at the others who were deep in conversation. "Are they mad?"

Fran shrugged. "Hard to tell. They're all acting kinda quiet. What happened last night?"

"Well, I went back to their apartment–"

"Obviously."

"And, um, we kind of... got a little drunk?" I phrased it like a question. She merely raised an eyebrow. "I stayed the night there and that's it. Luke only told me to go in to their apartment because of all the paparazzi."

"You get that it looks bad, though, right?" Fran said, a little sympathetically. I just nodded.

"I'll go get coffee. You want one?" I offered, and she answered with a short 'yeah'.

The boys finally showed up about an hour late, all looking a bit worse for wear. As soon as they entered, John went over to Luke and muttered something to him. Then they both made their way over to me and John said shortly, "I need to talk to both of you." He sat us down on one of the couches while he paced in front of us before sitting down on the opposite couch. John then just watched us for a moment.

"Is there something going on here?" he said, gesturing to us two. My eyebrows lifted.

"No, of course not," I answered hastily. "I have a boyfriend. Kind of."

At that, out of the corner of my eye I saw Luke glance over at me before looking back at John. Then he spoke as well. "Really, Feldy, there's nothing to be worried about. I was only taking Noelle into the apartment because of all the paparazzi."

John just nodded, not saying anything while still examining us. "There are other pictures, of you two out and about in town and in a car together."

"So?" Luke questioned, a little aggressively. At his tone a knowing smile appeared on John's face.

"Just be careful, alright? I don't want Noelle being attacked by any of your... fangirls."

"Neither do I, and she won't because we are just friends," Luke stated firmly and I nodded in agreement.

John held up his hands in a slight gesture of innocence. "Okay, Luke, I was just asking."

Luke rolled his eyes slightly and got up, going to stand with Calum. John watched him go with a slight frown. "Hung-over?"

I laughed slightly then stopped because I still had a bit of a headache and that made it worse. "Yeah."

"And you?" He raised an eyebrow. I smiled sheepishly as an answer. John chuckled softly. "What made you all decide to get pissed last night?"

"It wasn't my idea," I defended.

"I suppose it was only a matter of time." He sighed. "Just be careful, okay Noelle?"

I nodded but I was a little confused. What really did I need to be careful about? If I was honest I was slightly surprised that John was so laidback about the pictures but then again he was a pretty cool guy anyway, so maybe I shouldn't have been. "Um, okay. Should I-"

"Noelle," Luke called. "Come over here."

I bit my lip and glanced at John who had an unreadable expression on his face. I gave him a small smile before joining Luke who was now sitting with a guitar and absentmindedly picking the strings in a melancholy tune. "Yeah?"

Luke put the guitar down and leaned back, looking at me carefully. "I'm curious."

"What about?" Then I realized. "Wait, I know. You're curious about when I said I kind of had a boyfriend."

"I really am. Care to share?"

I didn't answer for a moment. "We're on a break."

Luke snorted. "Those always end well."

"Shut up. I just wanted space. He was all pissy about me staying at your apartment and not calling him." I paused. "Well, he didn't know I was at your apartment. I told him I stayed at a friend's, then he accused me of cheating which I obviously didn't because cuddling doesn't count–"

"Still thinking about that then?" Luke smirked.

"No," I said flatly, which was such a lie. "Don't flatter yourself."

"You're a really shit liar."

I felt my cheeks warm. "Am not."

"You're also blushing."

"Fuck off," I grumbled. I then changed the subject. "What were you playing?"

Luke grinned at my change in topic. "Oh, nothing special. I'm not really in the mood to be making up songs. Hungover and all."

"Yeah, you're not the only one. How are the others?"

"Also hungover. Calum gets particularly grumpy after a night of drinking."

I glanced at Calum who did in fact look pretty grumpy. "Getting pissed last night probably wasn't the best idea."

"It was fun, though," Luke stated with a grin and I shrugged. The slight smile on my lips faded when I remembered everything I'd told him. I couldn't believe I'd just dumped all that on him, especially when we hadn't known each other that long.

"Luke–" I started, but he cut me off.

"I know exactly what you're going to say, but don't say it. I swear to god, if you apologize..."

When he didn't carry on, I prompted, "If I apologize, you'll... what?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. Kiss you, to make you shut up."

I lightly smacked him. "You're so annoying. And you won't be kissing me."

He just snickered. I rolled my eyes then gestured for him to give me the guitar. "I actually kinda liked what you were playing. What was it?"

"Nothing. Really."

"Please?"

Luke made a face but handed me the guitar and showed me the riff he was playing. I got it pretty quickly and linked it with some chords.

"Hey Noelle, what's that?" Ashton said, coming over to Luke and me.

I blushed slightly. "Nothing. It's Luke's. He made it up."

"Not all of it," Luke corrected me, a half smile on his face. "Play it again. It sounded cool."

I obliged, well aware of the fact that all the boys were watching now. Fran sat down and watched, too, with a grin on her face.

The guys liked the riff – which I obviously gave Luke all the credit for – and soon a verse came together about demons and dreaming and leaving, and there was nothing else on my mind.