"Luke."
The bandana clad blue-head paused his lumber chopping to turn his attention to me. The relentless afternoon sun was obviously taking its toll on him; large beads of sweat raced down his forehead; areas of his skin were starting to turn light pink, a sign of how the sun took no prisoners when choosing who to scorch. White blisters were beginning their formation on his hands, in spite of the raggedy gloves he donned.
Fiercely amber eyes contrasted with the affable vibe they exuded. He offered me a wide, toothy smile that ignited his entire face as greeting.
I nodded unsurely in response. "Hi."
"Molly. First time you're the one talking to me."
"Yeah."
"What's up?"
Silence ensued as I gnawed on the inside of my cheek, arms instinctively folded across my chest, a barrier between me and the blue-headed boy who never failed to make me feel uneasy.
"What a useless question."
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but not offense. I'd realized long ago that very little would offend Luke. His gaze remained stuck on me, making my shoulders tense up defensively. I spoke.
"People always seem to ask empty questions like, "How're you?" or "What's up?" Why bother asking when you're just waiting for a standard reply?"
Another smile broke across Luke's face, his piercingly amber eyes crinkling at the sides in amusement. He set down his worn axe, sitting himself down on a nearby tree stump as he rested his chin in a soiled, gloved hand.
"Alright then. So what should I ask you?"
"Don't patronize me," I mumbled deprecatingly, leaning my weight on a tree trunk that stood behind me.
Luke didn't miss a beat. "I'm not."
His fingers fidgeted nervously; his chapped lips pursed together, as he chewed uncertainly on his lower lip. I nervously broke my gaze away from our eye lock, feeling his own one remaining imprinted on me.
"You're lonely," I finally stated, as I turned my eyes back onto him, observing him closely for a reaction.
"Isn't everyone?"
He smirked tiredly, letting his dirty hands run through his dry, straggly hair. A certain emptiness seemed to emit from him.
Empty.
"There's a place in the heart that'll never be filled." I started slowly; steadily. "And even in the best moments of our lives, we'll know it. More than ever."
He smiled a sad smile. The kind of sad that tugged on your heart, because someone as genuine as him didn't deserve to be so sad.
"So what can we do?"
I shrugged. "Wait."
"Wait?"
"Wait. We'll wait in that space."
"For what?"
"For something that doesn't exist."
Luke suddenly beamed affectionately at me, making me draw back at his unexpected reaction to me just baring a part of myself, a part of everyone, to him.
"What're you smiling at?" I attacked nastily, a snarl about to leave my lips.
"I think you have the most beautiful mind."
I withdrew visibly, my back pressing into the trunk of the tree on which I'd been leaning on.
"I already told you," I said icily, "don't fall in love with me."
"It might be too late for that," he admitted honestly, the previous steadiness in his voice faltering. His eyes focused on his ungloved fingers, which were twisted amongst one another.
I scoffed, ignoring the sinking feeling in my heart. "You don't even know me."
Silence, not unfamiliar to us, lapsed; him staring at his fingers; I, staring at the ground.
His vulnerable voice broke the quiet. "I want to, though."
"I'm not going to make you any less lonely."
"I know."
I sighed shakily, trying to tame my galloping heart. I looked at him once again.
He was the kind of sad that had no cure. It was a sadness that came from understanding the conditions of being human too deeply – it came from knowing that a part of him was always going to be empty.
"I'm not going to save you."
"I know that too."
"So why?"
"Why?"
"Why do you keep trying to get me to? You know I'm not going to do it. I can't." I paused. "No one can."
It was like a fire sparked inside of him – his fiercely feline eyes suddenly burned brilliant amber. If you squinted, you could almost see gorgeous, scalding flames dancing in them.
"I don't want you to save me." The flames grew higher and higher.
"I want you to stand by me and watch as I save myself."
His eyes were ablaze with a passion I'd never seen before; a passion that, up until now, I'd never believed could exist in someone who understood human nature so well.
I knew that I couldn't save Luke.
But maybe he could.
I smiled – a real one – and nodded, finally. I didn't know if it was possible, to try and fill that gap everyone had inside of them. But if anyone had a fighting chance, it was the blazing blue-head who stood in front of me.
"Okay."
He cocked his head, a confused but delighted smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.
"Okay? That's it?"
"Yeah. Okay."
We both stood there for a moment, smiling dumbly at one another. The air was no longer heavy; it was light with an unspoken understanding between us. A soft breeze was making the trees sway, while we stood still under them, encased in our own little bubble of knowing.
"So, what are we?" He ventured slowly, testing the waters uncertainly. "Are we friends?" He treaded the water lightly, feet like fairies.
"On one condition." He stopped abruptly, carefully; foot paused in mid-air for fear of falling in.
"Don't fall in love with you?" He slowly brought his foot down, letting the bottom of his worn boot graze the still surface of the waters.
He smirked upon his success of reading my mind. I nodded.
"Afraid I can't promise that." He daringly stuck his whole leg in, letting the icy water seep through the thick material of his jeans; letting ripples erupt around his immersed leg.
"Then we can't be friends." I stood by the edge of the waters; arms crossed rigidly.
"But we are friends, aren't we?" He let his other leg fall into the water too; one of his hands going to let his fingers dance around in it. The ripples he created were rapidly turning into waves.
"I don't know if I'd call it that yet." I hesitantly let my toes dip into the waters, slowly unfolding my arms from their defensive position.
I watched as he let his body fall into the waters; as the waters engulfed him, sweeping his body away with the raging current. He let the waves take him away.
"But it's a start."
I dived in too, head first.
Disclaimer: I do not own 'no help for that' by Charles Bukowski or 'Delirium' by Lauren Oliver.
Author's Note: Sorry I've been away for so long! Hope you enjoyed Luke's latest installation. I hope it's not coming across as Molly's playing both Chase and Luke, because she isn't – she's just allowing Luke into her life (sort of). Thanks so much for staying with me, and for all the reviews/likes/follows so far! As always, they're all greatly appreciated!