"Noelle. Noh. Wake up." There was a tap on my shoulder and I forced my eyes open. Some of the drunken haze was gone. I looked over at Luke to see him looking back at me with a smile. "We're here."

The corners of my mouth turned down. I didn't really want to be back here. I would rather just stay in the car with Luke. "Do I have to go?"

"Um, I guess not. But you probably should."

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Then I looked back at Luke, not moving. He was biting his lip and looking out the front with a smirk, like he knew I was looking at him. He really was beautiful.

"Hey Luke?"

He glanced at me. "Yeah?"

I didn't really know what I was going to say. I just wanted to talk to him. I guessed I was still at least a bit drunk because I then said, "You're really... adorable."

Luke laughed quietly. "You're full of compliments tonight."

"I'm serious."

The smile faded slightly off his face, and I didn't know why until I realized I'd leaned in so we were now much closer. His blue eyes flickered down to my lips and then back to my eyes.

"Noelle," he said slowly. "If you kiss me you're going to regret it in the morning."

"I don't think so," I murmured, watching his lips move as he spoke.

Luke groaned quietly. "Yes, you will. God, I can't believe I'm saying this." Even as he was talking he ran his thumb lightly over my bottom lip. "No matter how annoying Norman is, you don't want to cheat on him."

With each second the fog was clearing. Especially after the reminder about Nathan. "Well, considering he cheated on me, I don't think it would matter that much."

"You– wait, what?" Luke said in surprise.

"He cheated on me," I repeated. "So, naturally, I broke up with him." I was definitely sobering up. "He's been cheating on me for a month."

Luke didn't say anything. For a while he just looked out the front of the car, jaw clenched. Then he abruptly opened the door and got out. I did the same. But he was striding off quickly, into the university and I struggled to catch up with him.

"Luke, what are you–"

"I'm going to find Norman," he said tightly, not sparing a glance at me.

"That's a really stupid idea," I informed him. When he didn't reply, I moved so that I was standing in front of him. He tried to sidestep me, but I grabbed both his arms. He and I both knew he was stronger than me but he stopped anyway. "Firstly, you don't even know where you're going. Secondly, do you forget you're famous? People are going to be wandering around and they're going to see you. Thirdly, Norman – Nathan – is not your problem."

"Firstly, I'll just follow the stench of dick and I'm sure I'll find him," Luke said without a smile. "Secondly, I don't care. Thirdly, he cheated on you and therefore has become my problem."

"No, he hasn't. Just stop, Luke. Think about this. It's a stupid idea."

Luke finally met my gaze and smirked. "You've sobered up. Drunk you would definitely let me do this."

"Luke, I'm serious."

"So am I."

I pressed my lips together as I looked at him. He wasn't going to give up.

"Noelle?"

Luke and I froze at the voice, and he looked over my shoulder. His eyes hardened. I turned around and saw Nathan standing there. I swallowed. He took a deep breath and met my eyes before saying, "Noelle, I know I'm probably the last person you want to see but Jess told me you'd gone into LA with your fake ID," he paused, glancing over at Luke then continued. "I got worried so I was about to come and find you."

"How kind of you, Norman," Luke said sarcastically, seeming like he was about to move forward but I firmly placed my hand on his chest, stopping him.

"Look, man, I respect you and everything but this doesn't really involve you so I suggest you leave me and Noelle to it," Nathan said slightly mockingly.

"Yeah? Well I suggest your ass becomes acquainted with my foot," Luke said lightly.

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm pretty sure you heard what I said."

"Knock it off, Luke," I said quietly. "I already slapped him, so..."

Luke snorted. "Not that I'm doubting your slapping skills, but I think he needs more than a slap."

"Wow, Noelle," Nathan stated flatly. "You find out about Isobel and run straight to him."

Anger flared inside me and Luke stepped forward, tensing. I was close to letting him loose on Nathan.

"I did not run to him, Nathan. If you don't piss off I'm going to let Luke punch you."

Nathan held his hands up in a seemingly innocent gesture when really he was anything but innocent. "Jeez, Noelle. I was just coming to find you to check you were okay. You don't need to get all bitchy with me."

"I'm going to punch you," Luke promised. Nathan sneered.

"Go for it."

"Luke, seriously, go home. I'll deal with him," I urged. Luke didn't answer but kept his gaze trained on Nathan, who was glaring right back.

"You heard her, pretty boy. Run back to the studio," Nathan said with a smirk. Luke brushed it off. He didn't seem to care when Nathan said anything insulting to him, only when it was said to me.

"Nathan, I would really advise you to shut up and leave," I said firmly.

"I would advise you to tell your new boyfriend to back off. And Noelle, I mean, you really didn't waste any time–"

Luke rushed forward, punching Nathan square in the face. Nathan staggered back, swearing loudly while I shouted, "Luke!" Luke stayed where he was, looking very ready to punch Nathan again. He was definitely going to have a black eye tomorrow, and I could see a small cut had formed above his eyebrow. I snapped out of my trance and shot forward, but not quick enough. Nathan barreled forward and punched Luke causing him to let out a pained grunt. My mouth dropped open. Oh shit. This was about to turn into a full on fight. Luke started forward but I pushed in front of him. His blazing blue eyes looked down at me and I noticed blood on his lip.

"Noelle, I really suggest you move."

I ignored him. "Nathan, just leave. Right now." I glared at him until he unwillingly relented.

"If only the media knew what a dick you were," Nathan said calmly.

"Stop being so dramatic Norman," Luke said dryly with a look that promised a kick between the legs unless he left. I was pretty sure Nathan got that because he turned and walked away, flipping Luke off as he did.

I breathed out slowly. I felt completely sober. Nothing like the adrenaline of a fight to get the alcohol out of your system. I then turned to Luke, who was lightly touching his finger to his bloody lip.

"Come with me," I told him, beginning to make my way to my dorm. I was still worried about people recognizing Luke but I couldn't just let him go home with a now bruised face and busted lip. Hopefully it would be too dark for people to notice him anyway.

Luke easily caught up with me, his long legs taking shorter steps to stay the same pace as me. We walked in silence as I led him back to my dorm, passing a few people who were milling about but no one noticed who he was. Conveniently the halls were empty and we reached my dorm without any problems. Before we entered I stopped and faced Luke.

"Um, my roommate is going to be in there," I cautioned him, who was looking around himself with interest. "She's probably going to freak out."

Luke shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "Okay."

I knocked and waited for Jess to come to the door. She quickly opened it and when she saw me her face was overcome with relief. "Oh my god, Noelle. Thank god. I was just about to–" She trailed off as her eyes drifted over my shoulder and landed on Luke. Her mouth dropped open and I laughed a little.

"Jess, meet Luke. Luke, meet Jess."

"Hi," Luke greeted with an awkward wave.

"Hi," Jess said breathlessly before turning back to me. "What happened?"

"Let us in and I'll explain."

Jess stepped to one side and we walked past. "Sit," I ordered Luke, who obeyed and sat on my bed, resting his head against the wall and watching me. "We ran into Nathan," I then told Jess.

Jess, who had been staring at Luke, immediately looked angry. "Please tell me he looks just as bad."

Not taking offense, Luke chuckled. "He looks worse."

Jess smiled in satisfaction. Then she looked slightly guilty. "I'm sorry about telling him about you going off into LA but I thought he might know where–"

"It's fine," I interrupted. "Seriously, don't worry. Now, uh, do we have some sort of first aid kit?"

Jess nodded, her eyes drifting to Luke again. I was pretty sure it hadn't quite sunk in for her. "Yeah."

When she didn't elaborate, I prompted, "Where?"

"Oh! Sorry, I'll get it." Blushing slightly, she opened one of her desk drawers and pulled out the kit. "Uh, I'll leave you two to it."

Luke smiled up at Jess – then winced, because that can't have been good for the cut – and said, "It was nice meeting you."

She smiled back widely. "You too." Then she left.

There was quiet as I rifled through the remedies, getting out some antiseptic cleansing wipes. I took one out and finally looked up at Luke who was watching me carefully. I stood up and gently took hold of his chin to tilt hid head up. Luckily the cut wasn't on the side with the lip ring and I gently dabbed on the graze, immediately pulling away when Luke flinched.

"Sorry," I apologized quietly, but he shook his head.

"It's fine," he assured me softly, and I took a deep breath before dabbing even more gently at the cut. This time he stayed still and I really tried to ignore how close our faced had suddenly gotten. I frowned in concentration as I cleaned his lip, and when I finished I chucked the wipe in the bin. I took out the antiseptic cream and squeezed a bit onto my finger. Luke opened his mouth to talk, but I quickly said, "Ssh." He shut his mouth for a second but then was about to speak again. I interrupted him. "Luke, you talking is going to make this very difficult for me, so please shut the hell up."

"Bossy," he muttered and I grinned at him, leaning forward and gingerly placing some on the cut, moving my finger in small circles to rub it in.

"There might be an ice pack in here for the bruising." I looked through the pack again, finding a Koolpak. When I was looking at Luke again, his eyebrows were furrowed.

"This antiseptic cream tastes like shit," he told me, and I laughed.

"You're not supposed to lick it, dumbass. Just leave it alone." I crushed the bag in my hand and waited for it to go cold.

"This sucks," Luke suddenly said to me. "Want to know why?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure. Do I?" I placed one hand on Luke's good cheek and used the other to gently press the cold bag against the bruise. Something flickered in his eyes.

"Sure you do. It means I can't kiss you." I was sure he would have given me that grin of his if it hadn't been for his cut lip. Instead he just looked up at me with mischief in his blue eyes.

I rolled my eyes, knowing I was blushing. "You wouldn't be doing that anyway."

Luke raised an eyebrow and hooked his fingers through the belt loops on my jeans, tugging me forward so I was standing between his parted legs, trapping me. One hand moved from my hip and slid up my waist causing my shirt to lift up slightly. "I wouldn't?" he breathed.

I nodded slowly, and then shook my head. His hands were cool and soft on my skin, sending little jolts through me and causing my mind to be in a haze. "Yeah. I mean, no, you wouldn't."

"You seem to be having trouble making up your mind," he remarked softly.

I opened my mouth then closed it, not really knowing what to say. Instead I ran my finger lightly over the graze on his lower lip, then the lip ring enjoying the feeling of the cool metal. I recalled how I'd done that earlier when I was drunk. My cheeks warmed and I stepped away.

"You should probably head back," I stated, looking down.

"What? No cuddling again?"

I shot him a look.

"Okay, fine. I have no idea where I'm going, though. You're going to have to walk me back to my car."

I nodded, and then remembered something. "My car." I groaned, a feeling of annoyance washing over me. "I left my car in some car park. Shit." I ran a hand through my hair, thinking over my options.

"We can pick you up tomorrow on the way to the studio," Luke suggested. "And then get your car on the way."

"Really?" I said doubtfully.

"Sure. It'd be fine, honestly."

"Thanks," I said gratefully. "Okay, now I really do need to walk you back to your car."

Luke nodded with an unreadable expression on his face. I made sure he took hold of the ice pack and I closed up the kit, putting it back in the drawer. I opened the door and peeked out, checking the hall was clear before leaving the dorm with Luke following me.

"I feel like we're in some kind of mission impossible," Luke said as we snuck out of the building.

"Close," I said with a laugh. "You don't want anyone seeing you, right?"

"I guess. Although I don't think I care as much as you do," Luke said, glancing at me.

I shrugged but didn't reply. A lot had happened tonight and I was suddenly very tired. I hadn't really pondered over the fact that Nathan cheated on me but now I was and God, it hurt. I exhaled slowly and a little shakily, feeling an ache in my chest. I just wanted to lie down and not get up for a week.

"Noh?" Luke said softly, stopping and making me stop too. I swallowed, clearing my expression before meeting his gaze.

"Yeah?" I replied a little hoarsely.

He watched me for a moment. "Are you doing okay?"

I nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." Then I kept walking, not waiting to see if he was following. Luke appeared at my side a second later and didn't say anything. I was sort of grateful for that. His presence was all I needed. But as I realized this, I also realized something else.

I liked Luke.

Oh, I was fucked.