IV
Going On A Date... With My Idol
~Emily~
As I looked down at the ticket in my hand, I remembered what had happened just a week before...
Going to sleep next to Luca, wishing that I could tell him that I loved him, his having heard my saying that, then suddenly waking up in the hospital staring at my Idol who's angry expression was betrayed by his eyes.
Over the years, I'd begun to know if Luca was ever angry, or even if he was happy as his expression rarely changed. Just like his tone of voice.
I knew what happened had scared him.
I now knew that he cared for me as his weeping had been what had woken me up.
And yet, I was sad.
Sad that I had caused the person I cared for so much pain.
"I'm sorry, Luca..." I whispered.
Luca only stood there in the corner, eyeing me before whipping the tear stains from his face.
As he was about to speak, Mom began to stir.
When her eyes opened, she looked directly at me and screamed.
"EMILY! YOU'RE AWAKE!" Mom exclaimed as she crashed into me with a hug that could have given a bear trouble.
For the next, half an hour I guess, Mom and Luca watched as Doctors walked in and did different tests on me making sure that I'd be okay to go home.
When everything was done and I'd received the 'okay' from the Doctors, Mom took me home while Luca walked home.
It was pretty sad to watch him walk in the rain, but Luca insisted that he didn't need a ride.
He just "needed to get some fresh air and think".
The drive home wasn't very long, but to me, it was probably the longest 10 minutes in my life.
All I could think about was Luca and what he must have been going through when I had my heart attack...
Part of me wanted to go back to his house and see him, but another part just wanted to just fall asleep and not wake up.
After all... wouldn't that be how everyone else would have felt in this situation?
"Are you thinking about Luca?" Mom asked me, still sitting in the car despite us having parked inside our garage. I realized that we've been sitting here for several minutes not having moved an inch as the heater continued to blow hot air onto my feet and face.
It felt...nice. At least in comparison to the current situation that I was dealing with.
I nodded my head.
"Well, why don't we talk about it?" She asked. Mom was probably my biggest advocate and definitely the only one I could talk to in regards to...anything.
"Do you...think that Luca...l-likes me?" I asked her, only receiving a chuckle.
"Of course he likes you, Em." Mom said, pausing for moment. "The question is, does he love you?"
I felt my cheeks flush as Mom's laughter grew.
"M-Mom!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, hush. You know that I have to tease you about liking him. It's my job as your Mother." Mom said, still smirking at me. I could only huff in indignation.
We were silent for a few minutes, each listening to the song currently playing on the radio while both of us were possibly lost in our thoughts.
I don't know how long we were like that, but when I turned to look at her, I found Mom staring at me.
"D-Do you think he...l-loves me?" I asked.
"How would you feel if he did?" Was her reply before she got out of the car and walked inside.
~Time Skip~
~1 Day~
"Em! Wake up! You have mail!" Dad exclaimed from downstairs.
Groaning, I got up and slowly went through my day-to-day routine of getting dressed and brushing my hair before going downstairs to see what I had received in the mail.
Like everyday, I wore a baggy hoodie with a pair of shorts being hid underneath them, my shoes, as well as my red bracelet and a bright red t-shirt.
"Morning Mom. Morning Dad." I said to both of them as I found them at the dinning room table.
Dad was reading the newspaper, despite already knowing what it was going to say while Mom was making pancakes and eggs for breakfast.
"Morning dear." Mom replied, not looking up from the stove.
"G' Morning, Emily. Your letter is right there." Dad said, pointing over to my seat at the table.
"I bet it's from that boy you like!" My little brother, Nico, said.
For a moment, I noticed Dad's face contort in anger as he scrunched the sides of his newspaper before he slowly relaxed.
"Nico, you mean that Oliver boy, correct? The one that used to follow Emily home in Middle School?" Dad asked, clearly getting angry.
"No, I mean Luca Walker. The same guy she's always been in love with." My brother replied, saying the last few words in a way that always made my face get hotter.
"H-Hey!" I yelled at him.
"Now, Em. Everyone already knows you like Little Luca. There's no reason to hide it." Mom called over from the kitchen.
Dad, however, didn't get mad that I liked...loved Luca.
Instead, he seemed a bit happier than he was before as he actually put his newspaper down.
Evidently, this was far more interesting to him than the newspaper.
"Oh, Luca from the Walker family, huh?" Dad asked absentmindedly. "Always liked that boy. Why don't we invite him over for dinner, Diana?"
"That would be nice, Joseph." Mom called back.
With an even redder, hotter face, I decided to ignore my parents and look at the letter on the table addressed to me.
When I opened it, I found a ticket to a movie I had been wanting to see, but never had the money to purchase for myself.
There was also a handwritten letter.
Dear Emilia Ginger Brooks,
I want to invite you to watch a movie with me next week. I realized that you and I don't spend as much time together as friends should.
I could see that "friends" was written a little differently than the rest of it as if he had written something else underneath it.
If you'd like to attend with me, please reply with either a call or a text. Otherwise, you could just see the film by yourself. Or, I could give you my ticket if you'd prefer going with someone else.
Regardless, if you'd like to attend the movie with me, then meet me at the County Mall at 1PM as I also have a few other things planned out.
Love,
Sincerely,
Luca Evans Walker
When I was finished reading the letter, I felt as though my heart had stopped. Then, it began to beat really fast.
"Emily...why are you crying?" My brother asked.
"What does the letter say, dear?" Mom questioned as she walked into the Dining Room holding several plates of pancakes and eggs.
"L-Luca wants..." I began, but I didn't know how to explain it.
Luca had crossed out 'love' on the letter. HE LOVED ME! My mind screamed.
"L-Luca asked me to go see a movie with him..." I replied just a bit louder.
"Oh, Em! I'm so happy for you!" Mom squealed as she set the plates down before wrapping her arms around me, squeezing me tightly.
My most prominent question now was...
"What am I going to wear?" I asked aloud.
~Present Day~
As I looked around, still clutching the ticket in my hand, I spotted Luca standing next to the large clock in the middle of the Mall.
I could see his ever present "murderous" gaze as he looked directly in front of him, more than likely trying to keep people from approaching him.
I knew he would never go out in public unless he absolutely had to, so for him to go to a movie with me was... amazing.
Sighing to myself over his antics, I jogged over to him.
Before I reached him, he turned his gaze towards me and smiled, then scrunched his eyebrows and frowned as if he forgot that he "wasn't supposed to smile in public".
Sometimes, I didn't understand why he did some of these things, but they were the quirks that made Luca who he was.
"Luca!" I exclaimed as I got closer to him. "Were you waiting long?"
Inside, I was throwing myself a party as I had always wanted to say that ever since I'd watched Romantic-Comedy anime.
Jeez...I'm such a weeb... I chastised myself.
"No. I just got here." Luca said, his eyes betraying his monotone voice and angry face. He even winked at me as if to suggest he knew exactly what I was thinking.
I could only giggle at the cliché greeting between us for our date.
"So, what did you have planned?" I asked him.
"First, let's grab a bite to eat since the movie doesn't start for another 6 hours." He began. "Then, we'll go to the book store since I have a few books I want to purchase."
Again, inside my mind I was screaming.
Not only was this a Lunch and Movie date, but he was also taking me to a book store fully knowing that I loved to read.
I may have said this before, but Luca is very attentive to those he cares for. Which is just another reason why I love him.
"Alright, well lead the way Mr. Walker." I replied biting the bottom of my lip in an effort not to smile.
For the next few hours, Luca and I walked around the Mall, grabbing a few hamburgers then purchasing several books that he and I wanted to read.
If anyone looked at us, I honestly hoped that we looked like a cute couple.
However, there was also the fact that we could have looked like siblings since we didn't touch one another.
He didn't engage any physical contact with me.
I knew why, of course, but it was kind of painful to know that while I was only 14 and he was 19, I technically couldn't kiss him the way I wanted to, or even say that we were dating.
If I did, or anyone found out that we were together, he could go to jail and I didn't want that for him.
Though... I wonder if he would kiss me if I asked? As my thoughts wandered to that, I failed to realize we were in front of the theater in the Mall.
"Em? Emily? Are you okay?" Luca asked, looking down at me with worry. I shook my fantasies out of my head before looking up at him.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Is it already time for the movie?" I asked, to which he nodded.
"Just going to grab some popcorn and anything else you may want." He answered.
"Oh, alright. Maybe we could get a soda?" I suggested.
"Anything you want." Luca replied.
When it was our turn to order, Luca picked out a large popcorn with extra butter (just the way I like my popcorn), a large soda and a couple of boxes of candy that he was going to put into the popcorn.
Honestly, I think Luca knows me better than anyone else.
As the lady gave us our food, she looked between us and smiled.
"Aw... you two look like a cute couple." She said, causing me to blush. I turned to look at Luca who's steely expression still didn't change, but I did notice a faint reddish tint to his otherwise pale face. "What movie are you two seeing?"
"We're going to be watching My Love on Christmas." I told her, to which she groaned.
"I wish my boyfriend would take me to those movies." She sighed. "If we ever go out to see a movie together, it's always some racing movie, or some super hero movie. I mean, I wouldn't even mind watching a horror movie, but seriously a racing movie? You're not even a car guy."
Luca stood there patiently listening to me and the Movie Theater Receptionist gossip about her boyfriend who, from what I guessed, was probably in his mid-20s.
"Well, you two enjoy your movie." She said.
"We'll try. Good luck with your boyfriend." I called back to her as we walked towards the room where our movie was being shown.
As we took our seats, I noticed how only couples were here. Everyone sitting close to one another with the girlfriends, or wives, holding onto their partner's hands and/or arms.
I looked down at Luca and my hands, wanting desperately to hold onto him while the movie played, but ultimately decided against it.
When the lights went off and the movie started, I felt something nudge itself in between my ring finger and pinkie.
I cast my gaze downwards, half expecting to see Luca stuffing popcorn in my hand, but was happily surprised to see him holding onto my hand with his pinkie, effectively fixing my previous dilemma.
I smiled at our pinkies interlocked before returning my gaze to the movie.
Occasionally, throughout the movie, Luca would tighten his hold on my pinkie and I realized that the scenes with the main couple showing any signs of affection towards one another was enough to get his heart racing.
Underneath all of his rugged exterior, he was a total romantic.
After the movie, Luca's face was completely red with embarrassment, which only incited me to giggle at him.
We left the Movie Theater, walking back to his car when we were stopped by a group of men and a few teenagers I immediately recognized as kids from my school.
"Hey, good-looking." One of the guys cat called. "Wanna ditch this douche and come with us?"
I heard a loud crack come from beside me as Luca balled his left hand into a fist, cracking all of his knuckles.
Evidently, these guys had never heard of Luca Walker since no-one approached him. Especially guys.
"Not interested." I said, making an attempt to walk past them with Luca just behind me, however I was stopped as one of the older men who grabbed my shoulder.
"Awe, don't be like that. We could show you a far better time then this dip-shit." He said, inciting laughter among his entourage.
"Yeah, come with us." Another called out.
"She said that she's not interested. Now leave us alone otherwise I'm going to make you." Luca said in his monotone voice. I could tell he was getting extremely angry as venom dripped into his voice.
"Seriously? You're going to take on us? We're literally seven guys! You couldn't take us on, even in your dreams, Motherfucker!" One of the teens exclaimed, grabbing a switchblade from his pocket.
The others grabbed different weapons from within their pockets and took a threatening stance.
Though, none of it seemed to faze Luca. After all, he's been in these kinds of fights before. Why would a group of idiots like them scare him?
I'm here. I thought. I'm more of a liability than when he's alone.
That's when I felt his grip weaken.
"Em, I need you to run to the truck, get inside and lock the door." Luca said as he handed me his keys. "Don't open the door. If any of them try to get in, use my handgun to fight back."
Before any of them could do anything, Luca grabbed one of them, swung him at his friends, and screamed at me to run.
As I ran, I heard one of the thugs scream for someone to grab me, but was quickly silenced by Luca who more than likely punched him in the face.
I kept running, noticing a few other thugs look at me, then at the scene taking place behind me, before flashing me with a wicked grin.
The adrenaline coursing through my body sky-rocketed as I felt my heart-beat become irregular.
When I reached Luca's truck, I quickly opened the door, got inside and locked the doors just as the new group of men tried to grab me.
I reached into the glove compartment and grabbed his Colt 1911, loading a clip of ammunition into the gun, and pointed it at both windows.
"G-Go away!" I exclaimed as I felt tears well up in my eyes. "I-I have a gun! I-I'll shoot you!"
This only caused the men to laugh, one of them mocking terror as he ducked underneath the window before reappearing and laughing.
I wished Luca was here. I wished these men were being beaten to a pulp by Luca.
That's when one of the men broke the window behind me.
I accidentally dropped the gun underneath the seat, which allowed the other men to break the windows and grab me.
I let out a shriek, forgetting any of the combative spells I knew.
"LUCA!" I screamed.
Nothing happened besides the men laughing at me.
"Please..." I cried. "Just leave me alone..."
Again, only laughter before my whole world went dark as my heart suddenly stopped.