Chapter 11
Luke
Before
Fourteen Years Old
“Why the fuck are you so excited?” Dante asked me, practically grabbing the back of my jacket to stop me stampeding through the entire younger classes in my race to get to assembly.
The corridor outside the hall buzzed with noise as hundreds of students shuffled forward, the smell of floor polish already drifting out from the assembly hall. I was about to knock at least half of them out of my way if it meant I got my prime-time seat.
“It’s Friday, my friend. And you know what Friday means.”
“No?” he said, a frown on his face. “Other than it’s nearly time to get the hell out of here.”
“You’re missing one crucial detail, Dante,” I said, punching his cheek and then grasping his face with both hands. “What happens in assemblies on a Friday?”
“I die of boredom? Laura cries because of the… Oh, no,” he hissed, the penny finally dropping.
“Oh, fucking yes! It’s singing day, Dante. And my audience deserves the best of my performances.”
“Please don’t,” he practically begged, dragging his feet behind me. I ignored him, linking arms with one of our female classmates.
“Are you ready for this, Diana?” I asked her, beaming what felt like a manic smile into her face. “Lord of the Dance, here I effing come!”
“Luke!” our teacher hissed, pointing his stubby finger in our direction. “Luke, you get down from there, right this instant!”
“Dance, then, wherever you may be,” I belted out, pretending I hadn’t heard him.
Fair enough, I was standing on the benches, screaming at the top of my lungs, and had fallen off not once but twice, and currently had all the first years absolutely terrified, but this was my moment!
In my defence, the wooden benches had been wobbling and creaking loudly from the moment I stood on them.
I could see why Mr Hodges was pissed off, but one does not simply sing along to Lord of the Dance for fuck's sake! This song demanded a dance! It was right there in the title.
“Luke, you will spend the entire month serving after school detention if you do not desist with this tomfoolery and get down, immediately.”
“Oooh, serving during after school detention. Did you hear that, Luke? He wants to service you,” Trent laughed, jumping to his feet and joining in with my dancing.
“I can hardly blame him. Look at the way these hips move! Who wouldn’t want to be serviced by—What the fuck!” I hissed as Mr Hodges grabbed the back of my collar and yanked me down to my seat.
“Shut up!” he hissed, his spit flying in my face.
“Alright,” I muttered sarcastically. “You only needed to ask. A boy is becoming one with the Lord, singing about his dancing and leading, and this school treats you like a common criminal. It’s scandalous. Dante… Do you see this?”
“It’s tragic,” he said dryly.
“It is tragic. Trent is still dancing.”
“Trent is half your size and hasn’t done crowd diving!” Mr Hodges snapped back.
“I did that once.”
“Twice!”
“The first time was an accidental crowd dive. I hardly think that counts,” I scoffed.
“And the second?”
“That was the intentional one,” I nodded, knowing I was pissing our teacher off, but couldn’t find it in me to care. His grip tightened on my tie ever so slightly, and I beamed a grin that was the picture of innocence.
A couple of the lower classes giggled at our exchange, but quickly turned their heads back towards the front, watching the piano playing with an intensity that made Mr Hodges tut.
“Behave yourself, Luke. I won’t tell you again.”
“I’m sure you will,” Dante replied.
“What was that, boy?”
Dante shrugged. “I’m sure you will have to tell him again. In fact, I’m sure you’ll have to scream and yell at him no less than a thousand more times during our next two years at this school. You shouldn’t get yourself so worked up about it.”
“And maybe you should take some responsibility for your friend and encourage him to behave!”
“What am I, his keeper? He’s on your time, sir. You find a way to deal with it.”
“I’d like to deal with the lot of you Descendants,” he muttered under his breath, earning himself a chuckle from Dante.
“Next up will be This Little Light of Mine,” the head teacher announced, shuffling her papers to get the notes she needed. I groaned, closing my eyes tight and fist pumping the air.
“This one! This one right here is my jam!” I announced, getting back to my feet.
The piano clanged out the first notes, slightly out of tune as always, and my body practically vibrated with excitement.
“This little light of mine,” I heard sung from the back, and a quick whip around of my head saw Gabriella and Natalie on their feet, doing the dance moves. I practically shoved Mr Hodges to the floor in my haste to jump back onto the benches.
“I’m gonna let it shine!” I yelled back, wobbling precariously on the benches and only just managing to right myself. With one swift move, I dived forward, jumping onto Trent’s shoulders, and he carried me around the back of the room, both of us singing at the top of our lungs.
“I give up!” Mr Hodges said, spreading his arms wide before walking away, muttering to himself about bringing back caning.
Gabriella
Half an hour into assembly—which was only supposed to take twenty minutes—and my sides hurt from laughter. Could you rupture your stomach from laughing so hard? Because I felt like I was in genuine danger of that happening.
The minute Mr Hodges had loudly announced he was giving up trying to control Luke, he saw that as his free pass to act however he wanted.
He had been on stage, sitting next to the teacher playing the piano with her—terribly, might I add. His blonde hair had caught the rays spilling through the windows, and if it wasn’t for the fact he was such a chaotic gremlin, he would have looked almost angelic up there.
He had convinced half the Descendants to get up and dance with him, and was currently staging the can-can dance to He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.
“Dante,” Luke called, leading the can-can line over to where he was leaning against one of the walls. “What does he have in his hands?”
“At a guess, I’d say your sanity, because you clearly no longer have it.”
“Right you are, my friend! He’s got the whole world in his hands!” And with that, he took off in a run, leading the people attached to his can-can line frantically trying to keep up, tripping over their feet as they did so.
Somewhere near the back, someone clapped along wildly offbeat, and the squeak of the wooden benches was almost deafening as the kids grew bolder and joined in with Luke’s shenanigans.
This assembly was an utter shambles, but it was the most fun I’d had in a long, long time.
When things were beginning to calm down, and we were beginning our traditional two minutes’ silence, I pulled out my phone—a brand new Nokia 7650 that I’d got for my birthday—and sent a text to Luke.
Gabriella: U know UR going 2 pay 4 this, don’t U?
Luke: 4 what?
“Master Luke, put your phone away or I will confiscate it for the rest of the term!”
“Sir, this is feeling like bullying,” Luke replied. “Have you read the school’s policy on bullying, because I am nothing but a victim to—”
“You can have him sat down on his phone, quiet and distracted. Or you can have him up on his feet again. Which would you prefer?” Dante interrupted.
Mr Hodges paused at that and then turned his back on them in a huff.
Gabriella: Old Hodges is ready 2 take UR head off. Look at him. He’s shaking with anger. UR in big trouble.
Luke: Trouble is my middle name.
Gabriella: UR middle name is twat. I thought we established this months ago?
Luke: And I thought we established months ago 2 give in 2 this flirty chemistry between us. Yet here U are, insulting me and pushing me away.
I looked at my phone, shaking my head, a playful smile on my lips.
Gabriella: In UR dreams, Luke. U would never B so lucky.
Luke: UR in my dreams. All the damn time.
I paused before replying.
When we first exchanged numbers, our texts had been simple. I asked about his mum, he asked about me. It was polite, minimal, but somehow something I looked forward to.
Over the months, he became flirtier, more playful… I had expected the humour to come at some point. He was Luke, after all. What I hadn’t expected was just how relentless he would be with his flirty teasing.
I wasn’t an idiot. We were fourteen now, and Luke flirted with every female in this school—teachers included! He had a natural charm and charisma, and his status as one of the leaders of the Descendants only added fuel to the whole “bad boy” thing that appealed to half the girls my age.
But I grew up with bikers. I practically was a biker. So it wasn’t that for me… It was something else. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
Maybe it was those moments, the ones past midnight, when everyone else was asleep. The moments where he would text me something like U up? And his guard would come down.
There was no comedic acting then. He opened up to me. He invited me into his world. It was our little secret.
Gabriella: I hope they are dirty dreams.
I pressed send before I could stop myself. From the corner of my eye, I saw his blonde head shoot up and look in my direction.
“Flick me with your hair like that again, Devon Sawa, and I’ll shave the lot whilst you sleep,” I heard Dante hiss, punching Luke in the arm.
I lowered my head, chuckling into my phone, only for Natalie to nudge me with her elbow. “He’s not wrong. Luke does resemble Devon Sawa.”
“He’s blonde. That’s where the resemblance ends,” I muttered back, shaking my head. I looked up just in time to see Dante swing at Luke a second time.
“Oi, Mr Hodges!” Luke barked, jumping to his feet. “A bit of lively dancing earns me a detention, but Dante here can perform his best Rocky moves and nothing is said?”
“I didn’t see that,” Mr Hodges replied, his nose in the air. “Now sit down and stop interrupting the silence. Have some respect!”
“Wow,” Luke breathed, flopping into his seat. “There’s some clear favouritism at this school. I see how it is.”
“Shut up, Master Luke. Final warning.”
Gabriella: How much R U shitting yourself being on final warning? I teased.
Luke: I’m inconsolable. I definitely need a titty hug.
Gabriella: WTF is a titty hug?
Luke: U know what it is. One of those where U hug the boys so tight your titties press against their chest. I need me one of those.
Gabriella: Ur not getting one of them from me. Maybe Diana might B open 2 it?
Luke: I can wait 4 U.
Gabriella: Ull B waiting a lifetime.
Luke: I never said I was in a rush.
I pocketed my phone, not quite knowing how to reply to that.
The assembly was dismissed not long after, and as always, the girls stayed behind whilst the boys left first. There had been a few incidents where the older classes had used the corridors for their personal make out sessions, and Mr Hodges had stomped his ogre feet and demanded separate leaving times.
The Descendants passed by us, with Laura hanging onto Dante’s arm, completely at ease with breaking the rules.
“Rider,” he nodded at me.
“Descendant. Quite the performance your friend put on there,” I said, looking back at Luke, who was still rambling about favouritism to an exasperated looking Mr Hodges.
“He’s an idiot,” Dante said, but he was smiling.
“You seemed to like some of the songs,” Laura said softly, her voice barely audible over the loudness of all the students.
“You could say the Descendants owe us one for saving Luke’s ass,” I said back.
“We owe you and your entire club a hole in the head, but let’s not let facts ruin a pleasant conversation,” Dante said, but there was no malice in his tone, just the standard ribbing we’d come to expect from one another.
“Are my ears burning?” Luke grinned, coming over to us and barging between Laura and Dante, throwing his arm over both their shoulders. “Oh, look. It’s the little Rider. Enjoy the show?”
“It was delightful,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. “We mustn’t do this again sometime.”
“Indeed, we must not. Good morrow and sorrows,” he smirked, repeating what had become our catchphrase before walking away with his friends.
He turned around at the last second, his eyes catching mine, and he shot me a small wink, mouthing “later” and waving his phone at me.
I got the message loud and clear. I just had to spend the rest of the day ignoring the excited butterflies in my stomach.