Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. Rain rolled down the window, turning the outside world into a grey, blurry mess.

"Mara's just called training off," Luke announced, flopping down next to me with a huff. "Apparently, the weather's only going to get worse. Guess we're stuck here." He sounded about as thrilled as I felt.

"If this keeps up, the weekend's gonna be a total drag," he sighed, rolling back onto the bed. "Wanna go watch a movie?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said it's going to get worse out there?"

Without warning, or a reply, he jumped up and grabbed my arm, yanking me out of my sleepy haze against my will. Seriously, it was like he just remembered we were late for something, though he'd never actually cared that much about being late.

"We can go to mine! I've still got a room there, don't I? We'll hide out until the rain stops. Mum won't mind."

I hesitated, looking at him like he'd lost it. "You sure it's a good idea? What if we get stuck in this downpour?"

Luke wasn't having it. So, having already made up his mind, he tossed me my hoodie and grabbed my hand, dragging me down the hall before I even had the chance to pull it over my head. "Come on, it's better than being cooped up in the dorm. If we leg it now, we'll make it before the weather turns biblical."

***

Coco greeted us at the door with a shriek of excitement, throwing herself at Luke like he wasn't absolutely drenched from head to toe. I half expected her to spring off of him like a bouncy ball but instead she stuck to him like he was covered in glue.

We made our way to the kitchen, where Luke's mum, Lara, looked up and smiled warmly as she beckoned us inside. "Hey sweetheart. What brings you two here?" she asked, pulling a bowl of what looked to be popcorn out of the microwave.

"We were hoping we could stay the weekend, just until the rain lets up. We're bored out of our minds in the dorm. No tv, nothing." Luke gave her his best puppy-dog look.

She chuckled and ruffled his soaking hair. "No tv, eh? Whatever will you do?" she teased. "Lucky for you, there's still one upstairs in your old room. Me and Coco are watching Snow White down here, and I doubt you two fancy that."

Luke's face twisted into a grimace. "Definitely not," he muttered, before bolting out of the room to grab some DVDs like a kid in a sweet shop.

"He seems more himself," Lara noted, watching him dash away.

"Hasn't he come by lately or called you?" I asked.

She shook her head, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "No, but I'm not surprised. Luke doesn't like showing when he's struggling. Thinks if we can't see it, we won't worry. But it just makes us worry more, you know?" Her eyes lingered on the door where Luke had vanished. "He's always been bad at sharing what's on his mind."

It wasn't long before Luke reappeared with a pile of DVDs. He barely spared his mum a glance before he grabbed my arm again and dragged me upstairs into a room that looked like it had been frozen in time.

His bedroom was ridiculously tidy, like it hadn't seen human life in years just with less spiders and cobwebs. Still, not a speck of dust anywhere, a sign that Lara made sure everything was ready for whenever Luke popped home.

"Right, we've got Pulp Fiction, Lord of the Rings, or James Bond." Luke beamed, holding up the DVDs with a grin like they were treasures he'd just uncovered.

I laughed. "You don't get to watch many films, do you?

He shook his head. "Nah, now pick one."

"Well, I've never seen Lord of the Rings..."

Luke's face fell. "What? That's... That's blasphemy! Legolas is the reason I picked up archery! Okay, we're watching it. No arguments."

He chucked the DVD in the player, switched off the lights, and practically dived onto the bed, tossing his hoodie and shoes across the room. "Come on, then!" He patted the spot next to him, grinning like an idiot.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes despite quickly following suit. I wouldn't tell him outright, but I was actually looking forward to just hanging out with him. No training, no injuries, no alcohol. Just me, Luke and some time to actually chill. I tucked my shoes to the side and settled in for what promised to be a marathon movie night.

Three films later, my eyes were struggling to stay open. Luke had been right—Lord of the Rings was brilliant, but somewhere in the middle of the third film, exhaustion got the better of me, and I dozed off.

Deep purple eyes staring into mine, breath warm and close. "Why did you do that?" His voice slurred, thick with alcohol.

He tugged me forward by my tie, and I stumbled, bumping into him. His cheeks flushed, but his eyes didn't move from mine. He leaned in—

I blinked awake, my heart hammering. The room was dark, the storm outside still battering the windows. My brain struggled to catch up to where I was. Oh. Luke's house. His bed.

My cheeks flushed and I turned my head, only to find him lying beside me, sound asleep.

Great. Now I'm awake, and of course, my brain's decided to dig up memories of that stupid party, when things almost got... well, weird. We were both plastered, and nothing even happened, not really. So why was it still bugging me?

Luke looked peaceful, for once. No sign of the usual tension he carried around, just soft breaths and messy hair.

I sighed, muttering under my breath, "When did you start making me feel like this?"

Blinking myself back to the present, I rolled over and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shake off the strange feelings that kept crawling up from the back of my mind. It was working—almost—until I felt an arm snake around my waist.

"Not this again," I groaned. "Sleep on your own side."

"But you're warm," came the sleepy reply, muffled and barely audible.

I froze. "Uh... how long have you been awake?"

"Not long," he yawned, his grip tightening.

Thank God, I thought. At least he hadn't heard me rambling earlier.

"When did I start doing what to you?" he mumbled, his face resting comfortably against the back of my neck.

Panic shot through me. "Uh, n-nothing. No one."

Luke let out a soft chuckle. "You remembered what happened at the party, didn't you?"

All I could do was sigh, there wasn't any point hiding it now. "Why didn't you say anything? We were drunk. It doesn't mean anything. Right?"

He went quiet, his arm slipping away as he rolled over. "You tell me," he said quietly, his voice suddenly serious.

I felt him shift, and before I had time to react, he was leaning over me, his face hovering dangerously close. "What does it mean to you?" he asked, his purple eyes searching mine for any hint of the truth I was withholding.

As confident as he at first appeared, there was a slight flicker of fear in the depths of his eyes. This slight hesitation in them that made my heart swell. I'd never seen Luke hesitate over anything before. Feeling that words weren't enough, I wrapped my arms around his neck and slowly pulled him towards me.

That was when the door creaked open, interrupting us just like Nilla had at the party.

"Boys—"

Luke jumped about a foot in the air before crashing off the bed and hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"Ow..." He rubbed the back of his head, wincing as his mum stood awkwardly in the doorway. I could tell from the startled look in her eye that she knew exactly what she'd just walked in on.

"Sorry, I thought you two were asleep. Just came to check the tv was off. I'll leave you to it. Night, sweetie—" she paused, eyeing the situation, "—and leave the door open."

With that, she scurried away, leaving Luke looking like a deer caught in headlights. My face was burning red.

"Well, that was awkward," Luke muttered, getting up to half-close the door again before climbing back into bed. He wrapped his arm around me once more, this time without a word.

"Night, Nate."

I couldn't help but smile as I closed my eyes and finally drifted off.

What's going to happen next? What are these newfound feelings of theirs? Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote!