Chapter 14

LUKE P.O.V

My first ever red carpet event was tonight and I was freaking out. A few of the songs that we produced were in a movie and we were invited. It was a strange feeling having people take picture after picture of you.

I had a beautiful woman attached to my arm but when I looked at her, she wasn't the beautiful girl that I wanted. I had no idea how to tell her this. So I kept it to myself. I went through the motions with her. Dates. Sex. Movie nights. Sex. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Sex. Over and over again.

"Are you okay?" She asked holding a cup of tea and standing at the end of my bed. I was laying spread out on my back looking up at the ceiling.

"Peachy." She sighed setting her cup down and crawling beside me.

"What's going on?" She questioned.

"Where is this relationship going?" I asked her. I needed to know. Because for me, this was going no where.

"I don't know. We haven't been going out for that long." She shrugged.

"Well do you want to get married?" I asked.

"Someday." Michael had gotten married a month ago and even though I wasn't invited to the wedding, I wished him the best. Even though I don't think we were anywhere near close to be ready to get married, it was on my mind. "Where is this coming from?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Did you know I almost got married when I was 22?" I asked.

"22?!" I would have been 22 when we got married but thankfully I broke it off right before I turned 21.

"Yup." I commented. "Was only gonna do it cause my family said not to." She shook her head sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Was it McKinley?" I laughed.

"She wishes." It would be her someday. It was always going to be McKinley. I just had to figure out when the right time for that would be.

"We should get married then." I had a feeling she was doing it just to spit McKinley.

"What?" I turned my head to look at her. There was no way that either one of us were ready for this.

"Yeah. Why not?" She asked.

"Because I don't know anything about you." I answered honestly. I didn't even know what her middle name was.

"And? I think we should get married."

"Okay." I don't know why I said that.

*MCKINLEY P.O.V*

The shouting from the apartment below could be heard for miles. It didn't seem like anyone was shouting at each other. It was more of an excitement shout and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Luke had been avoiding for the last few weeks so in return, I was also avoiding him.

"Jesus Christ." Nicole mumbled coming out of her room. It was awesome having her here. I loved our weekly wine nights and we often just sat around talking. It was nice having a friend besides the four obnoxious guys in the apartment below.

"I know. What the hell is screaming about?" I asked as I sat on the couch reading.

"Maybe he's finally dumping her ass." I cringed at her words. The last time I had talked to him it seemed as if he was going to break it off with her. He said he wasn't happy.

"Doubt it." I commented setting the book to the side. My breakup with Luke was decently calm. He made it seem easy in fact. It was clear to me that this wasn't their breakup and if it was, it was nothing like ours. Luke had always been the kind of guy to brush things off. He didn't like being confronted.

"When he broke up with you, was it bad?"

"Nope. Not at all. He just, got in a taxi and left me standing on the sidewalk." I commented. Of course that wasn't our official break up. He broke up with me the day before when he screamed at me that he didn't love me. "He told me he didn't love me."

"He told you that?" I nodded. Hearing those words come out of his mouth hurt even now almost a year later.

"I will never forget the look on his face. He was so cold and... Distant. Like he wasn't mine anymore."

"Did you believe him?"

"At the time I did. Now I don't. I don't think he's happy in his relationship and the sooner he realizes that, the sooner he'll be mine again."

"You would get back together with him?"

"In a heartbeat." The screaming from downstairs continued for a while. It almost got the point where I was going to stomp on the floor to tell them to knock it off. Ashton came into the apartment and looked at both of us in bewilderment. "What the hell is going on down there?" I asked. He just looked at me and his eyes softened. "What?"

"Luke and Kristen are getting married." The breath was caught in my throat and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"What?" Nicole was the first to break the silence. I was shocked by Ashton's words.

"That's what the screaming was about." I stared at the wall taking in the words being exchanged between Nicole and Ashton. I couldn't believe that my Luke was getting married. But he wasn't my Luke anymore. Tears flowed down my cheeks and I rushed passed both of them and slammed my bedroom door closed and locked it behind me.

I flung myself onto the bed screaming crying into the pillows. I had officially lost him and I was crushed. Every bone in my body was in pain. Every organ shut down.

"McKinley, open the door." I heard Ashton from in the hallway as he knocked on the door. I wanted everyone to leave me alone. I would never be able to look at any of them the same. They were Luke's friends. Not mine. I was going to lose all of them the second he got married. Married to someone who wasn't me.

"He's a fucking liar!" I screamed turning my head so they could hear me.

"Open the door." His voice was a little more panicked. I quickly stood and opened the door for him. Calum and Nicole were both stood in the hall looking in on the disaster that was me. Ashton quickly came in and closed the door behind him to block from me. I got back into bed and covered myself with all of the blankets. Ashton was right behind me wrapping me in his arms. "Why is he a fucking liar?" He asked as I rested my head on his shoulder and looked at him as tears steadily streamed from my eyes.

"He said he was going to marry me someday." I whispered. Marriage wasn't something that you just did for fun.

"It didn't happen the first time. It won't happen this time either." Ashton smoothed my hair along my back.

"One of these times it's gonna stick." I whispered. He held me closer as I cried. I felt like a child. It was stupid to be crying over him. He didn't deserve my tears. Ashton's words were enough to calm me down to fall asleep.

*ASHTON P.O.V*

I slowly rolled my arm and body out from under McKinley and careful walked into the living room where Nicole and Calum were sitting. They both stood up as I came out.

"She's asleep." I commented. "I'm gonna stay here tonight but do you guys wanna order food or something?" I asked.

"Yeah. We should probably get her something too." Nicole commented going to the kitchen. She brought out a few menu's that we could choose from.

"Chinese?" I asked handing Calum the menu.

"Sure." He commented as he looked through it and Nicole looked over his shoulder. "How come she called him a liar."

"She didn't. She called him a fucking liar." Nicole commented making him laugh.

"He said he would marry McKinley." I frowned. The hurt in her eyes tore me to pieces. It didn't matter that she was Luke's ex-girlfriend, she was still a friend and her pain still caused the rest of us pain. "He doesn't love Kristen." I commented.

"I know that." I sighed. Once Luke has his mind set to something, you couldn't talk him out of it. I was worried about everyone involved. McKinley because I'm sure for the rest of our lives I was going to have to talk her off ledge. Luke because I knew this wasn't the right choice. Kristen because I knew that in the end, she would be the next one to be hurt by Luke.

We sat in silence while everyone decided what they wanted and I called to order it. I ordered something I knew McKinley would like.

"What are we gonna do?" Calum asked. I shrugged. First we start with McKinley. She was the one who was in the most pain right now and I think it would be best if we focused our attention on her. She was the one who was going to need the most support.

"Sometimes I wish we never moved." I commented. "If the studio never moved, Luke wouldn't have moved, McKinley wouldn't have moved, they would probably still be together."

"What was their love like?" Nicole asked grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her legs.

"It was disgusting." Calum joked. "They really loved each other. In the most pure way possible." He commented. "It was like..." He trailed off not being able to find the words on how to describe just how in love they were.

"It was like they had known each other their entire lives. They easily loved each other. They would have jumped in front of a bullet for each other."

"It was like a kind of love that even if it didn't last long, it would ignite flames inside both of them." I nodded along to Calum's words. Nicole listened as we talked. We told her about all of the romantic things Luke would do for her. And about the time she got drunk at Taco Tuesday. I will never let her live that down.

We sat around chatting and eating for most of the night. Calum left around 11, right after he left, Nicole went off to bed. I quietly snuck into McKinley's room and got into bed with her. She shuffled closer to me and sniffled.

"Are you okay?" I asked rubbing her back as she cuddled into my side.

"No." She answered softly. "I hate him." I let her say it but I knew deep down that neither one of us believed that statement. "Are you gonna stay with me?"

"Yeah." I commented.

"Do you want some shorts or something to sleep in?" She asked.

"Sure." I commented standing up.

"In the bottom draw theres a few pairs of Luke's old ones." She commented pointing to the dresser. "And the bathroom is right through there." She pointed to another door.

"Thanks." I commented grabbing a pair and heading towards the bathroom. I could hear her sniffling as I changed out of my jeans and into the shorts. I really felt for her. I just wanted to make the pain go away and I knew that there was nothing much I could do to help her out. I quickly got back into bed with her but now she was on her back looking at the ceiling. "What are you thinking?"

"That I wanna stab them both in the neck with a knife."

"You can't do that." I commented pulling her into me. She stayed awake the entire night. The next morning she shooed me out of the apartment so she could be alone but I told her to call if she needed anything. When I went downstairs, I swear I could pound Luke's head into the floor.

"Where have you been?"

"McKinley's." I gave him a flat answer.

"Doing what?"

"Trying to make sure she didn't kill herself."

"What?!" He seemed alarmed by my words.

"Told her you were getting married." I casually commented.

"Why would you do that?! Why wouldn't you let me tell her!" He shouted at me. "That's so fucked up!"

"What's fucked up is you marrying a girl you don't even love."

*LUKE P.O.V*

Ashton had ruined my life. I had planned to tell McKinley face to face. She deserved to hear that news from me and not Ashton. Now I was screwed. There was no way I would be able to go up there and tell her.

"You did this to yourself, Luke." Ashton commented to me.

"Where did you get those?" I asked referencing his shorts. Well not his short, I knew they were mine by the cut in the right side pocket.

"McKinley had them." He answered. "Said they were yours."

"They are."

"You've lost her, Luke."