A/N I hope you guys like the latest chapter!
Luke never considered himself a genius, but proudly pat himself on the back for the master plan he made. After begging the rest of the week to be able to bring a date to the dance failed miserably, he knew he would have to come up with some way to bring Hallie as a date. His master plan was to simply lie, well not really lie but not tell the whole truth. His father could tell lies through the force, so he would have to be careful with how he relayed the information. Aaron had gotten a date for the dance anyways, he would be totally third-wheeling if he didn't get one.
First, though, he had to ask Hallie to the dance. Luke stood at the end of the hall in his school, Aaron stood behind him with a determined look on his face. Hallie was down the hall talking with her friends. Aaron placed a hand on Luke's shoulder. "You got this." He whispered.
"I got this.." Luke whispered back, mostly to himself. Luke looked at Hallie for a few more moments. "I am going in.." Luke took a deep breath and Aaron patted his shoulder firmly.
"Don't trip this time," Aaron added, Luke turned to look at Arron and looked at him incredulously then turned around and began walking towards Hallie. Hallie's eyes looked over to Luke and she smiled, she ended her conversation with her friend and looked towards Luke. Luke fiddled with his school jacket nervously and took another deep breath.
"H-Hi.." Luke squeaked, "Uhm," He swallowed hard, "About the dance- I just wanted to know that if maybe you might be interested in maybe…" Luke took a deep breath, "Join me and Aaron and his date to the dance..." Luke felt slightly stupid for how he asked the question. It didn't really sound like he was asking for a date, but asking if she would join their group. Her smiles fell slightly but quickly nodded.
"Yeah, I would love to go with you guys." Hallie smiled widely, Luke felt his heart soar and smiled widely.
"Okay! Uh- My Lieutenant will pick you up around 2000." Luke said with a soft smile, slightly disappointed it wouldn't be a date. But this would be the next best thing, Hallie wrote down the address of her apartment and handed it to Luke.
"Sounds good, I'll see you then!" She smiled and waved goodbye then walked down the hall to the school exit. Luke sighed as he stared after her as she disappeared through the crowd of classmates. Luke turned around and saw Aaron walk towards him.
"What happened?" Aaron asked, he looked at Luke excitedly as he waited for the answer.
"Well- She is joining our group.." Aaron looked at him confused, "I never got to ask her specifically for a date- but she is coming to the dance with us as a group." Luke shrugged and quirked a small smile.
"Sorry it's not a date." Aaron shrugged, "Tonight will still be fun though." Luke nodded and they both moved towards the school exit. They walked out to the landing pads, "See you tonight!" Aaron smiled, they waved each other goodbye and parted ways to their speeders.
"Do I look like a complete idiot!?" Luke asked as he walked into his father's conference room, holding out his arms to show the outfit he was wearing. He was wearing one of the outfits he found in the back of his closet that was for Imperial Events. He hasn't worn it before and wanted advice on how he looked, though, he didn't really consider his father a fashion expert.
"You do not look like an idiot." His father replied as he put down his datapad, "I would recommend straightening your hair." Luke looked up then quickly patted his hand on his head to smooth down his hair. Luke let out a sigh and looked at his father.
"So, about my curfew.." Luke began but was cut off.
"Your curfew is nonnegotiable." His father stated, Luke looked at him incredulously and placed his hands on his hips.
"But it's just one night!" Luke whined, "Please, I would have to leave the dance early!" Luke clapped his hands together and begged. "Please!"
"No, you will be here on time." His father replied and walked towards him, "I expect you to be back by 2200, no later. Meaning you must leave before 2200." His father held his hands behind his back.
"You are being such a sleemo!" Luke retorted as he balled his fists.
"You shall not call me such things!" His father pointed, "Just because you are attending a school event does not mean you can stay out later." Luke huffed and looked down at the ground. The Dance wouldn't be over till 2300, he would miss the last hour. It wasn't fair but it didn't seem like his father was willing to debate the topic.
"Fine." Luke huffed, "I'll be home on time." He crossed his arms over his chest, "But I am not happy about it."
"It is unfortunate you will miss the last hour, but you must come home on time," His father crossed his arms over his chest as well, "Or you will be grounded, young one." Luke let out a long sigh.
"Okay.." He mumbled, "I have to go now to the dance." Luke looked back up at his father. There was silence between them for a moment. Just as he was about to leave the conference room his father placed his hand on Luke's shoulder.
"Have a good time, my son." Luke gave him a half-smile with a small nod and turned to leave. He walked into the turbo-lift and descended to the hangar. He stood in the lift and instantly felt a wave of anxiety swirl around him, he wasn't sure if it was just anticipation or the prospect of asking Hallie to dance.
The lift doors swooshed open and Luke walked into the hangar, Lekauf walked out of his office and smiled. "Are you excited, Luke?" Lekauf asked as they walked to the speeder. Luke nodded as he jumped in the speeder and strapped in.
"Yeah, just…" Luke paused, Lekauf lifted the speeder and began flying to the school. "Nervous."
"Nervous?" Lekauf asked, "What are you nervous abou-" Lekauf paused, then looked at Luke and smiled.
"What!?" Luke asked nervously.
"Its a girl isn't it?"Lekauf laughed, Luke was silent for a moment and stared out the viewport awkwardly.
"That- May or may not be the case," Luke said quietly as he looked out the viewport, Lekauf laughed.
"Hey Luke, no need to be nervous. Just be yourself." Lekauf smiled, Luke gave him a small nod and a hopeful smile. They arrived at Aarons apartment landing pads and saw Aarons mother, Mrs. Thalcorr, standing over Aaron straightening his hair with Aarons date, Sanna, standing right next to him. Her eyes looked up and saw Luke and smiled.
"Luke! Get over here!" She waved her hand over to their direction, Luke looked over at Lekauf and shrugged then jumped out of the speeder. He walked over to Aaron who looked slightly embarrassed at his mother fussing over him. "Look at you!" Mrs. Thalcorr smiled and grabbed Luke by the shoulders and looked at his outfit. "You look so handsome."
"Mom!" Aaron whined, Luke smiled awkwardly.
"Thank you, Mrs. Thalcorr." Luke said softly, she patted his head then pushed the three kids close together. She then pulled out a cam from her bag that hung by her hip.
"Alright, give me big smiles." She held the cam up to her eyes and took a picture of the two smiling boys. She looked down at the cam and smiled, "I'll get you a copy of the picture Luke." Luke nodded as she walked over to Aaron and gave him a tight hug. "Be safe! Have fun!" Then planted a kiss on his forehead.
"Mom!" Aaron whined again and pulled away from her, she let out a sigh. Luke felt a pang of jealousy as he watched Aaron with his mother.
"Sorry Aaron, I just can't believe it's your first high school dance." She placed a hand on her chest and looked at Aaron. "Alright, you three have fun 'kay?" Luke nodded and Aaron waved to her.
"Bye, mom." Aaron smiled, they ran back to the speeder Lekauf was sitting in. Luke gave Lekauf the address to Hallie's apartment, the speeder flew quickly to her apartment. Luke grew increasingly nervous the closer they got, he adjusted the collar of his tunic to make sure it was straight. He didn't want to look stupid, he took in a couple of deep breaths as Lekauf landed the speeder. Luke looked out of the viewport and saw Hallie in a purple dress with her hair in a braided updo with flowers pinned in her hair.
Hallie hugged her parents and ran over to the speeder, she jumped in and smiled. "Hi Luke! Hi Aaron! Hey Sanna!"
"Hi, Hallie!" Sanna smiled and hugged her.
"Hi, Hallie." Aaron smiled, Luke turned in his seat to look at Hallie.
"H-Hi.." Luke stammered, he heard Lekauf snicker and Luke turned back to face forward quickly. Sanna and Hallie chatted in the back the rest of the way to the school, Luke was more nervous than ever. Hallie was in his speeder now, he was too afraid to say anything to avoid saying anything stupid. Luke tapped his foot on the floor of the speeder nervously the rest of the way to the school. Lekauf landed the speeder on the landing pads outside of the school, a large holo-projector displayed on the front of the school.
Imperial City Academy Dance!
All four of them jumped out of the speeders, "Alright Luke, I am going to pick you up fifteen minutes before 2200, alright?" Lekauf said as he pointed at Luke.
"But the dance isn't over till 2300." Hallie said to Luke, Luke slumped his shoulders and sighed.
"It's my- my curfew." He said miserably, after a few moments of silence Luke continued, "I will be ready to go by then." Lekauf nodded and flew off in his speeder. Luke turned to face his friends, he expected to see disappointed faces but his friends were still smiling. "Uh- Sorry about the curfew thing."
"It's no problem- we will still have lots of fun while you are here!" Hallie smiled, "C'mon, let's go!" Luke and Hallie walked together behind Aaron and Sanna, they all walked into the entrance of the school. Decorations lined the halls with streamers, ribbons, balloons, and confetti littering the floor. Luke and his friends walked into the gym where the dance was being held, music played and bright colored lights moved around the dance room. Crowds of kids were packed in the gym, their chatter was muffled by the music.
"Wow!" Aaron breathed.
"It's beautiful." Hallie smiled, they all walked into the crowd of kids who were jumping to the music. Sanna grabbed Aarons's arm and dragged him into the dance floor, leaving just Luke and Hallie.
"I am going to get some punch." Luke said, "Y-You wanna come with me?" He asked Hallie, she nodded.
"Sure!" Luke smiled and walked towards a large table with a white cloth covering it. On the table was a large spread of finger food and in the center a large glass bowl with red punch. Luke moved to the punch bowl and poured a cup of punch. He remembered his manners and gave it to Hallie, she smiled. Luke downed his drink quickly and coughed after he finished.
"W-Wanna-" Luke paused, "W-Wanna dance?" Luke stammered, Hallie nodded.
"Yes!" She jumped slightly, they walked back into the crowd and danced to the music. Luke realized his anxiety was pointless, the dance was more fun then he had anticipated. They had found Aaron and Sanna dancing after a few songs and they all danced as a group and jumped to the music. Time passed, Lukes's feet began to ache.
"You guys wanna take a break in the hall?" Hallie asked, Luke nodded they both walked into the hall. A few other classmates were standing out in the halls, the music was muffled, though, still loud. Hallie looked down at her chrono and gasped, "You only have ten minutes." Luke shifted uncomfortably and silently cursed his stupid curfew.
"Sorry about that." Luke laughed awkwardly.
"Don't be sorry," Her eyes glanced to the exit doors, "Why don't we walk around outside for a few minutes while you wait for your ride?" Luke nodded, it would be nice to wait outside in the cool quiet air. The dance was fun but the speakers were incredibly loud. They walked outside, it was mostly empty. There were one or two kids out there, possibly waiting for their rides to leave early as well, which made Luke feel slightly better.
Hallie led the way as they distanced themselves from the school landing pads, "Where are we going?" Luke asked in a hushed whisper.
"There is a park nearby we could walk until you have to leave." Hallie smiled as she looked back at Luke. Luke was nervous that they would still be late, he would be punished if he wasn't home on time. He didn't want to seem lame though so he wasn't going to say anything. Hallie led through a small winding stone path that was hiding by a thick brush of bushes and trees, honestly, Luke was slightly creeped out.
Soon they made it to a park that was lit by black street lights lining it, there was a small stone water fountain in the center with benches facing it. There were a few trees and bushes, it was quite small but it was beautiful. Though at night, it was somewhat creepy. The trees cast long black shadows which made Luke wonder if anyone was watching them. The only sound was the water trickling down in the fountain.
"It's beautiful," Luke whispered, they walked the small path through the park. Despite being slightly creepy, it was peaceful, Luke made a mental note of this place. It was private and had lush greenery along with a fountain. It was nice to be out in the park with the cool hair bristling his hair. After being in a large crowd blaring music and jumping for an hour and a half, he needed to be in silence.
"Its nice to be out of the huge crowd," Hallie said, Luke found himself agreeing with her. It was really hot in there due to the large amount of people crammed in there. Luke glanced down at her hand wondering if he should take it but glanced at his chrono and saw it was getting close to his pick up time.
"We should probably hea-" Luke began but was cut off by bright lights flash in their eyes, Luke and Hallie squinted their eyes and looked to see who was coming. At first all they saw was a black silhouette, as they came closer they saw it was an Imperial Law Enforcer.
"What are you kids doing out here?" The enforcer asked as he stood in front of them.
"We were just walking around the park," Hallie said, slightly nervous. "Is something wrong?"
"Yes, the park closes at 2100, in addition, minors are not allowed out past 2100." The enforcer crossed his arms over his chest. Luke felt his heart jump into his stomach, did he just get in trouble with the law?!
"This is a misunderstanding!" Luke started, "We were just at the school dance and was waiting for my ride and-"
"Listen, kids from the dance like to run off and hide in the parks all the time. I don't want to hear any excuses." The trooper pointed at them, "You two are coming with me." Luke and Hallie gasped.
"But we were gonna-" Luke began but was cut off again.
"I don't want to hear it, you broke the law once you left the school property and walked around the city past curfew. Now come with me." The enforcer insisted, Hallie and Luke glanced at each other nervously. They followed the Imperial Security Enforcer to their speeder, it was hard to see in the dark but it was a military grey with a large black imperial logo tackle decal.
They squeezed into the back of the speeder, Luke glanced down at his chrono and saw it was 2205, Lekauf would be waiting for him and was probably wondering where he was. Luke felt anxiety swirl in his stomach as the speeder lifted. "W-Where are you taking us?" Hallie asked.
"I am bringing you kids home." The enforcer replied, "I'll tell your parents what you kids were doing." Welp, Luke was definitely going to be grounded. "Girl, what's your address." The enforcer asked. Hallie gave him her address and Luke looked out over the city nervously, Lekauf was probably getting worried.
They first stopped at Hallies, the enforcer got out and Hallie let out a soft sigh and looked at Luke. "I had a good time." She gave him a half-smile. "Sorry for taking you to the park."
"Don't apologize!" Luke said, she nodded and got out of the speeder. Luke sat alone in the speeder, it was tense despite him being the only person in there. He watched as the enforcer joined Hallie in the lift and the doors closed. Lukes's heart was pounding, he felt terrible that they got in trouble. He wished his first dance had gone better, but there would be more. His mind kept running with different ways his father would react.
Luke looked down at his chrono again, it was 2215. He was way past curfew, in the back of a Security Enforcer's speeder, this definitely didn't look good. He saw the lift doors open and the enforcer walked out alone, he walked towards the speeder and got in. He turned in his seat and looked back at Luke.
"Blond kid, where do you live?" The enforcer asked, Luke reluctantly gave him his address and sunk in his seat. The speeder lifted and began to fly towards his home, he just knew he was going to be grounded. Luke looked out over the city below him, hit glowed brightly. The speeder traffic moved quickly, he watched as they passed the school and continued on towards his home. The enforcer took a closer look at his GPS and made a noise of confusion.
"Did you give me Lord Vader's palace address? This isn't some joke kid, this is serious." The enforcer said in a stern voice. Luke shook his head.
"No, really. That is my home." Luke insisted, the enforcer looked at him in disbelief, "Would I risk all of our lives for some stupid prank?" Luke asked. The enforcer huffed and Luke gave the enforcer the clearance code of the hangar. The enforcer looked hesitant but slowly flew in the hangar. Luke instantly felt his father's force presence around him and latched on. The shuttle landed in the hangar, Luke saw the lift doors open. His father walked out, he could feel the enforcers shock as he saw his father. The enforcer stepped out of the speeder, Luke followed reluctantly.
The enforcer was silent for a moment as he took in his fathers presence, he let out a shaky breath and bowed, "L-Lord Vader, I apologize if this is any inconvenience-" The enforcer was cut off.
"I assure you, it is a great inconvenience, officer." His father said, anger laced in his words. "Do tell me why you have my son in your custody." The enforcer was slightly frightened of his father, but kept a straight and stern face. Luke hovered between the two of them and looked down on the grey flooring of the hangar.
"Y-Your son was found in Pom Bloom park around 2200 with his friends. Minors are no-" The enforcer was cut off once again.
"I am aware of the law." His father replied.
"O-Of course you do, my Lord." The enforcer choked, "I just, I-" He sputtered but his father cut in.
"If there is any more imperative information tell me now, if not, do not waste my time." The enforcer looked at his father in shock.
"I- No, there is nothing else, my Lord." The enforcer said in a shaky voice.
"Your presence is no longer required, I shall handle this from here." The enforcer nodded quickly and turned around and entered his speeder. Luke still looked down at the ground as the speeder flew out of the hangar. He felt his fathers gaze burn into him and grew uncomfortable as the silence between them grew. "Explain what happened." His fathers baritone voice broke the silence, Luke looked up in silence.
"We were getting ready to leave and one of my friends recommended walking through a park while we waited for Lekauf. I guess we lost track of time and then the enforcer found us- I didn't mean to miss Lekauf! I didn't mean to stay past curfew!" Luke looked at his father as his father crossed his arms over his chest and examined Luke.
"You should have not left school property, especially at night." His father reprimanded, "This city is crawling with all types of scum and villainy, you should have known better!" His father pointed at him.
"I am sorry I-I just didn't want to seem lame!" Luke deflated.
"I hope it was worth it, young one. You are grounded." Luke whined and looked to the floor. Just then, they saw a speeder quickly land in the hangar. Lekauf stumbled out and looked frantic.
"Lord Vader, I sent out a search party for-" Lekauf stared blankly at Luke.
"Your search party will no longer be necessary." His father informed him as he gestured towards Luke, Luke sighed pitifully. His father had sent out a search party for him, he felt both of their eyes on him.
Lekauf walked towards Luke and looked at him with a mix of worry and anger, "Well, I am glad he is okay." Lekauf said in a small voice.
"You are relieved of duty for the night, Lieutenant." His father instructed, Lekauf bowed. His father turned to Luke, "Come now, you must get to bed, young one." His father then turned around and headed for the lift. Luke followed with his head hanging low, they walked into the lift and stood next to each other. The lift doors closed and his father crossed his arms over his chest, for a few moments there was silence. Luke wallowed in his punishment, but his father broke the silence.
"Besides breaking the law, did you have a good time, my son?" His father asked, Luke looked up at him.
"Yeah, it was pretty fun," Luke sighed, thinking about Hallie. He feels somewhat responsible for their night being ruined. It wasn't all bad, the dance was fun at least. He couldn't wait to tell Aaron what happened though, he probably wouldn't believe it. The lift doors opened, his father walked out first and Luke followed slowly. Luke walked into his room and collapsed on his bed, turns out he was more tired then he realized. He felt he could sleep right then in there, even in his fancy outfit for the dance.
Luke rolled over and sat up in his bed and saw his father standing in the doorway. "Sleep well, my son."
"Goodnight, father." Luke smiled, his father lingered in the doorway for a moment before leaving and closing Lukes door. Luke laid back on his bed and ended up falling asleep.
A/N Omg poor Luke lol, his first dance wasn't the best. Anyways, I hope you guys like the latest chapter! I struggled with this one, I hope it was good lol.
A baby Luke chapter is coming up that's slightly inspired by Taylors Swifts song Never Grow Up which always makes me sad lol. Anyways, let me know what you guys thought, I love hearing your input, thank you for reading!