A week later, I'm perched at Luke's desk, struggling with my algebra homework as Luke reads in his bed. I'm wrapped in one of his sweatshirts, thinking up ways to procrastinate.

Utterly bored, I rise from the desk chair and wander over to Luke's bed, sitting down next to him. He's wearing his glasses, as attractive as ever as he gives me a slow glance, expression one of warning. Since we first started dating, Luke has made me do my algebra homework in his presence, having nearly had a heart attack upon learning I was hardly maintaining a C in math.

The perks of dating a nerd: They make you do your homework.

I lean forward, stealing Luke's glasses and sliding them onto my face. Striking a pose, I ask, "How do I look?"

"Like you need to finish your homework." Luke sighs, setting his book down to give me his undivided attention.

I scoff. "That's not what I wanted to hear."

Luke leans toward me, cupping my face in his hands gently. "You look cute. Kind of like badass Barbie meets school girl."

I raise my eyebrows at his word choice. "Badass Barbie?" I question, climbing into Luke's lap.

He leans back in his bed, shrugging. He then flips me over so I'm laying against the mattress, hovering over me as he removes the glasses from my face and setting them down on his nightstand. Studying me with a dazed expression, Luke gently runs his thumb over my cheekbone.

"What is it?" I question, wondering what has him so lost in thought.

Luke merely shakes his head, smiling faintly. "It's just . . ." he trails off, a sheepish laugh escaping his lips.

I lift a palm to his chest as I ask, "What?"

"You're amazing, Clumsy," he whispers in response. "I never thought I'd be lucky enough to live in a world with you in it. And now I know I was right, because it's like you suddenly just became my world."

I furrow my eyebrows, eyes going soft as I gaze up at my boyfriend, sensing he has more to say.

"From the first moment I laid eyes on you, you drove me crazy," he continues. "I felt like I had just finished running a marathon, and I'd never felt such intensity by just looking at someone. I thought if I tried pushing you away, the feeling would go away. Instead, it kept growing and growing, until you were all I could think about."

Luke inhales a deep breath, eyes on mine. "I don't know what it is about you, Jade. I'm not good at letting people in. I don't know why that's always been so hard for me. I'm reserved, I wear a hard exterior, I can be a douche . . . At least, all of that was true—until I met you. You crashed into my life and knocked down all my walls and pulled down every guard I had up with just a glance. Until I met you, I never thought I'd be one to fall in love."

Everything stops. My heart, my breath, the world around me. All of it fades to nothing, until I am only conscious of the boy before me. Until he becomes my whole world.

"Are you saying . . .?"

"Yes," Luke cuts in, grinning. "I'm saying that I am completely and utterly in love with you, Jade Montgomery. I think I have been for a while now."

"Me?" I question, in disbelief. It seems like having a boy such as Luke Bradford admit he's in love with you is something too monumental, something too important to happen to me.

Luke laughs as he repeats, "Yes. You. And no one else."

"Luke." My voice cracks, though I'm smiling. "I love you too." And I mean it. I love everything about him. He is everything I'm not, yet somehow completes me. I am the fire to his ice, the spontaneity to his calm. We couldn't be more different if we tried.

And that's what makes us so perfect together.

Luke shakes his head, looking pained. "You don't have to—"

"Luke," I cut him off. "I love you. You. Only you." And then I kiss him, my lips reflecting every last thing I feel for him.

He keeps his arms around me as he kisses me back, the two of us laying together for a while, sharing kisses and whispers of I love you.

This moment easily becomes my favorite I have ever lived through, as it's the moment I got my first "I love you" from Luke Bradford, the most meaningful thing I could ever ask for.

»»----- -----««

"It's like a party. Except we're the only ones here. So it's, like, a really sad and pathetic party amongst losers."

Piper whips her head over her shoulder to shoot a glare at Peter. "Oh. So you think we're losers?"

"Yeah," Peter admits shamelessly. "But I also included myself in that statement."

"Because that makes being called a loser so much less offensive." Emma rolls her eyes, joining Piper as she glares at Peter. I stifle a smile, glancing at Luke by my side. He returns my grin, eyes sparkling as if to ask: These are our friends?

"I mean, you guys are cool losers," Peter stammers nervously to the two girls giving him death stares. Throwing an arm over each girls' shoulder casually, he mumbles, "Even if you are losers, I couldn't ask for better friends."

Emma smiles as Piper whacks Peter's stomach. He winces, doubling over. "Or maybe I could."

I smile to myself, living in the moment. My friends and I are sitting in my living room, the house to ourselves for the night. It's the first time we've all gotten together in a while, and it's nice. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world as I sit with Luke's hand in mine, our friends surrounding us, never failing to make me laugh.

"You guys are the best." I don't realize I've said the words aloud until the eyes of my friends are looking back at me, as if waiting for me to continue. "I mean, how did I get so lucky?"

"I think it's the other way around," Luke retorts, pulling me into his chest and running a hand through my dark hair. "I mean, I'm dating a klutz. It doesn't get much better than that."

Our friends laugh at Luke's joke, whilst I pull away from him to shoot him a glare. "And I'm dating the world's biggest dick," I shoot back. Though many things have changed between me and Luke throughout the months we've known each other, our bickering has remained a constant.

Too late do I realize that my choice of words weren't the best to prove my point. Luke smirks devilishly as he takes my chin in his hand, muttering, "You know it."

I blush as Peter bursts out laughing, Piper and Emma pretending to gag next to him. Luke captures my mouth with his, holding my chin steady in his grasp as he kisses me.

Luke is the first to pull back, smiling knowingly as he runs a thumb over my lips, wrapping me in his embrace and pulling me into his chest. I lay my head against his strong frame, listening to his heartbeat as he plays with my hair.

"I didn't think I'd ever be saying this," Emma says slowly, "but Luke and Jade actually make a cute couple."

"Right?" Piper agrees. "The were so awful to each other. Now they're, like, always sucking faces."

"I always knew they would get together," Peter gloats, leaning back on the couch as he wears a satisfied smile.

"You did not," us three girls say in unison, though beside me Luke stays quiet. If he cares about what Peter has to say, he doesn't show it. He remains relaxed, holding me and playing with the ends of my hair.

"Yes I did," Peter says, sounding sure of himself.

"How so?" I question. "I mean, even I didn't know. No offense, Luke."

"None taken," my boyfriend mumbles nonchalantly, tugging my hair gently. I shoot him a warning look, though he merely smirks as if he's thinking things that shouldn't be said aloud.

"How'd I know?" Peter muses, stroking his chin like he's thinking. "Maybe because Luke told me?"

I sit up and turn to glance at Luke questioningly. "What is he talking about?"

"I told you I've always known you were the one," he replies simple. "And I tell Peter everything."

I look over at Peter, who nods slowly as he emphasizes, "Everything."

"So, why didn't you just ask me out, then?" I ask Luke, puzzled. "I mean, you had all that time . . ."

"No, I didn't," Luke muses, eyes on mine. "You started dating Wellington. And when you care about someone, you want to see them happy. And Liam made you happy."

I smile at his words, leaning down to kiss him softly before whispering, "I love you." Luke trails a finger along my neck as I pull back, his touch giving me shivers.

"I love you more" he mouths before kissing me again.

"Enough!" Piper exclaims. "I came here to have fun, not watch . . . that."

"Aww, Pipes," Emma teases, smacking Piper with a couch cushion. "Are you jealous because we haven't been paying you enough attention?"

Piper rolls her eyes, though I notice the blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"We love you too, Piper," I play along, shooting her a teasing smile.

"Cut it out," Piper retorts, rolling her eyes once more.

"We love you Piper!" Peter joins in, ticking her foot.

"I love her more!" Luke chimes, watching as Piper's face turns red.

I rise from Luke's lap and rush to the couch, jumping into Piper's lap and wrapping her in a hug. Emma soon joins in, followed by Peter, and then Luke. We crush Piper in the center, laughing as our limbs entangle.

"I love you guys, too," Piper mumbles. "Get off me now, will ya?"

We oblige, pulling apart and finding our respective seats again. The next hour is full of jokes and laughs and smiles, moments and memories I wouldn't change for the world. I look around at my group of friends, knowing I wouldn't trade them for anything.

It's in this moment that I know it's true: I really am the luckiest girl in the world. Not because of my family's fame or wealth or because a limo drives me to school. None of these things are what matters.

I'm the luckiest girl in the world because I have to love and people who love me, and that is all that matters. It's the people surrounding me that shaped me into the girl I am today, and it's them who will continue to shape me into a better person with every moment we spend together.

And I couldn't ask for anything more.

»»----- -----««

a/n: someone please bring me my girlfriend i miss her.