Playing Strangers - Part 2
so this has taken me a while to put up, and I’m kind of unsure of how much I like it, but I hope you guys like it (and I might do a part 3, but I’m not so sure about that)
[PART ONE] [MY MASTERLIST]
*NOT MY GIF*
also I did reference two songs by the same artist towards the end, let’s see if any of y’all can get who the artist is / the songs
----
It had been an excruciating week. After seeing Luke in the street it seemed that all you could think about was him.
From the way he used to trace his fingers on your skin delicately as you sat watching TV together, to the heart wrenching look on his face when you began to turn away from him on the street.
His voice was still ringing in your ears and you hated it. Part of you wished you had stopped to talk to him, instead of behaving like a coward and turning away from him.
But you knew that you wouldn't have been able to have spoken to him without becoming overwhelmed by either sadness or anger.
Now there was just fifteen minutes left until you could close the café for the bank holiday weekend.
You had debated closing the cafe early as it was practically dead and you had done nothing but sit on your phone for the last half an hour.
After letting you go home early last week you had decided to return the favour for your coworker today.
Frustration rippled through you as you failed to complete yet another level of the game you were busying yourself with, but was quickly washed away by annoyance when you heard the musical tinkle of the bell on the door of the Café.
Looking up from your phone and rising to your feet to greet the customer you looked over the counter to see Luke awkwardly stood with his hands in his pockets.
Pushing down your want to disappear into the back room until he left you forced a smile, "hi, how can I help you?" You asked him cheerily as you would any other customer.
Luke stepped forward and scanned what was left of the day's cakes before he looked up, "could I get the last piece of Victoria Sponge and a cup of coffee please?" He asked pointing to the last slice through the glass.
"Sure," you smiled before you input the prices on the till, "that will be £4.00, please," you state before you look up to see him reach into his pocket.
After pulling out his wallet he stops and looks up at you, "sorry, but could I also get a ten minute chat with the cute girl that's serving me?" He asked with a cheeky grin.
Instantly you felt yourself blush as you laughed, "is that the best you could come up with?" You ask.
Luke nods, "believe it or not I've been planning it all day, but yeah, that's the best I could come up with," he said with a brief smile before he opens up his wallet, "how much will the talk cost me?" He asks jokingly as he hands you the money for the cake and coffee.
"Nothing," you reply as you open up the till and place the coins in and push it shut, "sit down, I'll bring your stuff over," you mutter before you turn to the coffee machine.
"Does that mean we can talk?" Luke asks hopefully.
Admiring his incredibly stupid attempt to chat you couldn't bring yourself to say no, "only for ten minutes," you explain as you place the cup on a saucer and move to fetch the slice of cake.
Once you have everything you take it over to the small table Luke is sat at and set it down infront of him, "thanks [y/n]," he smiles as you pull out the chair next to him.
"You don't have to thank me for doing my job," you laugh.
"Well thanks for talking to me," he said as he began to pick at his cake, "instead of you know, acting like a stranger," he said sadly and you awkwardly looked down.
"I'm sorry," you say, "I just kind of panicked and I wasn't expecting to see you," you admit.
"It's alright," he muttered before he lifted the cup to his lips, "we may as well have been strangers, with how little I was there for you," he said before he tipped his cup slightly taking a sip of his coffee.
Unsure of how to reply to his words you looked down at the table, "so how is everyone?" You asked as he set down his cup.
"They're good, we've all been busy, so it's nice to have a while off now," he said before he began to tuck into his slice of cake.
"How long do you have off?" You asked curiously.
"Like a month now," he said the crumbs from the side of his mouth, "how have you been?"
Pausing before you replied you shrugged, "I've been OK," you say.
Luke nodded before he set down the spoon he was using to eat the cake, "I really am sorry, [y/n]," he said quietly, "I really am."
The sincerity in his voice was what hurt the most. It was clear that he hadn't intentionally meant for things to turn out the way they had.
"I know you are Luke," you said with a sigh, "it was just too hard for me," you said before you glanced over to the clock to see it was nearly time to close up, "you better hurry up and finish your coffee, I have to tidy and lock up," you explain.
Luke glanced around, "is it just you here?" He asked and you nodded as you rose to your feet, "would you like some help cleaning up?"
Relief washed over you as the offer left his lips, "that would be great," you replied, "it will take a lot less time with your help," you smiled gratefully as you made your way to the door and turned around the open sign, "I'll just grab the keys to lock the door."
After fetching the keys and locking the doors you saw Luke hovering by the counter with the small plate in one hand and the cup and saucer in the other, "where should I wash these?" He asked.
"Just in the back," you replied, "here I'll show you," you added before you headed into the kitchen area and pointed to the sink.
"Cool," he said before he headed over to the sink and placed his stuff with all the other bits of washing, "I'll sort all this out if you'd like," he said and I nodded.
"Thanks," you said before you went to go and put away what was left of the cakes.
*
"Right, all done," you smiled and let out a triumphant sigh, "thanks for helping me," you added looking over to Luke as he sets down the cloth.
"Oh no, it's fine," he replies wiping his hands on his jeans.
As you grab your coat and pull it on and check your pockets for everything Luke speaks up again.
"[Y/N]," he says catching your attention.
"What?" You ask turning to see him stood with his hands awkwardly stuffed halfway into his jean pockets.
"Would you like to come out for dinner with me sometime this week?" He asked, his blue eyes glistening with what could only be hope.
"Uh..." you trailed off, "like a friendly dinner, or a date kind of dinner?" You asked him slowly.
Luke shrugged, "just the friendly kind," he said, "it doesn't have to be anywhere fancy, I just thought we could hang out."
A smile crept onto your face, "you know, I could kill for a takeaway," you said and Luke rolled his eyes.
"You and your takeaways," he laughed before he knocked your arm with his elbow playfully, "come on then, I haven't had good Thai in months," he said as you both headed towards the back door of the cafe.
"Well I was kind of craving a naan bread," you explained as he held the door open for you.
"Is that code for, I want to get Indian tonight?" He asked raising his eyebrows at you.
"Maybe," you laughed as he shut the door behind him and you began to lock it.
Luke let out a dramatic sigh, "I guess I can settle for a curry then," he said before he pointed down the street, "do you have your own car, or would you like a lift?"
"Oh right," you mutter, "I was going to get the bus, but I guess I could catch a lift," you nod before he smiles.
"I've parked just down here," he said before you followed him down the street, "shall we eat at your house?" He asks as you both walk side by side.
"We could do, [Y/F/N] might be in, but she might be going to visit her mum for the weekend," you explained.
"That's fine by me," he said as he stopped and pulled out his car keys, "you'll uh, have to direct me there."
*
Leaning forward you set your nearly empty plate down on the coffee table next to Luke's cleared one.
"Took you long enough," he smirked making you roll your eyes.
"Some of us like to enjoy our food rather than inhale it," you stated making him laugh before he turned his attention back to the TV.
"I miss this," he said making you look over to him, "just spending time together and stuff."
Over the course of the evening you had almost completely forgotten that you were no longer in a relationship with Luke.
A sudden ache filled your chest as you sadly looked at him, "me too," you said quietly causing him to look over at you from the other side of the sofa.
"Want to cuddle?" He asked a slight grin tugging on his lips as he held out his arm.
Without any hesitation you scooted over to him and cuddled up to his warm body letting him wrap his arm around you comfortingly.
"You know you're not just another girl to me don't you, [Y/N]?" He asked you quietly, "I love you."
Inside of your chest you felt your heart swell at the sound of the words leaving his mouth once again, but your head was battling it fiercely.
You knew that Luke's lifestyle just wasn't right for you. There was no way you could go back to those lonely nights lying in an empty bed.
"Please come home," he whispered pulling you even closer to him, "I miss you so much and I hate being in that house alone."
"Now you know how it felt for four months," you say quietly, "I love you Luke, but-"
"Then come with me next time," he said quickly, cutting you off in the process, "on tour, we can go and visit some of the most amazing places in the world together, and you'll get to see the others," his words were rushed and his voice seemed to be getting more and more excited.
"You think I could come with you?" You asked him quietly, beginning to get excited yourself. The thought of being able to travel with Luke whilst getting to watch him do what he loved was pulling you in.
"[Y/N], I wouldn't leave without you," he said quietly before he placed his free hand on your cheek, gently turning your face to look at him, "so, do you think that...that we can go back to the way it was?"
Luke's soft touch on your cheek left you feeling just like you had months ago, "I think so," you whispered quietly before he smiled, causing a smile to form on your lips.
Luke pulled you even closer to him and hugged you tightly, "I swear I won't let you down again," he said quietly before he pressed a soft kiss to your cheek.
You just hoped that this time it would all work out.
--
(if you spot any mistakes I might have missed when re-reading this let me know so I can correct them! I’m usually half asleep when I write / proof read so...)
