Chapter Text
Luke walked in and immediately knew it was a bad idea to show up at the school at all. Everyone, every single person in the class, turned to look at him with a curious, almost frightened stare. They didn't even try to hide it. Automatically looking down, Luke made his way to the very back corner, keeping his gaze away from anyone else's judgement look. Shrinking into his seat, Luke pulled out his binders, setting them onto his desk, then pulling his beanie lower onto his head. Suddenly, he heard the chair beside him get dragged along the floor, and he looked up to see a smiling face of a boy who Luke thought he recognized.
"Hey, I'm Calum, you know, Ashton's friend?" Finally realizing who the black-haired boy was, Luke nodded in acknowledgment. Glancing behind Calum, Luke saw another boy, who he realized was the second person Ashton was talking about; Michael.
"Luke," he said quickly, quietly, trying not to bring even more attention to him and his name. The two boys smiled, nodding because they already knew. They sat down in the chairs nearest to Luke, almost barricading him from everyone else's peering eyes. Calum was beside, Michael directly in front of him. Still, Luke dropped lower in his seat, trying to make his body seem invisible, wishing it could actually happen.
As class started, the unavoidable "Luke, why don't you introduce yourself," was directed to him from the teacher. As a response, Luke merely shook his head and just kept staring down. He wasn't about to give any details about himself now. It wasn't as though the teacher hadn't told the other students his life story, warning them not to bring anything of his past up into conversation. Luke watched Michael glance back with an almost sympathetic look, before turning around to focus on the teacher's words.
But, Luke couldn't focus on the teacher. Or anything that was being said. All he could see any time he looked up were all the stares from his classmates. And Luke knew exactly what all of them were thinking.
That's the kid.
The kid that murdered his own parents.
******
*Flashback*
Everyone had tried to assure Luke that it wasn't his fault. It was just an accident, everything that happened was just a big mistake. But of course they had to say that. Why would they be telling Luke that of course he was the reason that his parents died. Why would they be telling the truth.
It happened during the summer, and Luke's parents had decided that they wanted to go out for dinner. Of course, Luke had no where else to be, and found himself getting dragged along with them to the fancy restaurant, where his band shirts and black jeans didn't exactly fit the dress code.
During the evening, his parents had a little bit too much to drink, and after agreeing that they wanted to have a couple more glasses of wine, they put Luke in charge of driving them all home. Now, this of course was exciting for Luke. He had recently gotten his driver's license after failing the test the first time, and this was first opportunity he had gotten to drive without his parents constantly worrying about what he was doing.
However, as soon as the family left the restaurant, the sky darkened and immediately began to rain. In the distance, Luke was able to see and hear thunder and lightning. Their house was only a five minute drive away, but sill, Luke was nervous. How could he maneuver through the slippery streets with barely any experience. His parents however, were almost completely oblivious to thee danger. They were slightly tipsy, and enjoying themselves in the rain and darkness. Finally locating the car through a mop of flattened hair, Luke slid into the driver's seat, unlocking the doors so that his parents could get into the back.
It was a disaster. The roads were almost like ice, the wheels barely able to get a grip on the pavement. Grasping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turn white, Luke tried to steer the car out of the parking lot without hitting any other cars. In the back seat, he was able to hear the giggle of his parents, still unaware of what situation they had gotten their son into. As the car slowly made its way onto the main road, Luke kept trying to take deep breaths, attempting to remember all the rules of his driving tests. However, those rules couldn't have made much a of a difference in this situation, where he could barely see the lines of the road.
Peering into the darkness, it was close to impossible to figure out where he was on the road, let alone where he wanted to go. Luke made the mistake of glancing back to check on his parents. Of course, looking at the situation now, Luke knew it was the stupidest thing that he could've done in the moment. As soon as he brought his gaze back forwards, he realized that the car wasn't in the proper position on the road. Suddenly, the car lost control, and it began to turn sideways, sliding across the street.
Too late, Luke realized that the looming dark figure in front of the car was a tree. It was in that moment that he tried to regain control of the car that the side slammed full force into the trunk of the tree. Luke heard a piercing scream, presumably from his mother, but maybe even from himself, and then there was the deafening sound of crumpling metal. A flash of lightening was the last thing that Luke saw before blacking out completely, tears streaming down his face,
*End of Flashback*
Now, Luke had to live with Ashton, his older best friend, and Ash's girlfriend. Ash took full responsibility for him, almost acting like a father figure for Luke ever since the accident happened.
******
Luke shuffled down the hallway, trying to figure out how to to get to the caf. Everything in the school looked the same, the bight white walls lined with blue lockers and door frames. Eventually, he found himself in a big open space that had tables and chair taken up by hundreds of students.
Perfect. Now I have to figure out where to sit, Luke thought as he scanned the room for an open spot, preferably near the end of the table, close to an exit so he could leave quickly.
"Luke! Luke! Over here!" He turned to see Michael and Calum sitting with two other girls at a table at the back of the cafetorium. They were waving their hands to get his attention, and that was already too much attention brought to him than needed. Taking his time to get to the table, Luke placed his bag on top and slid into the chair next to Michael. He smiled and turned around.
"Hey man, this is Lucy and Bella, I think they're in your science class tomorrow," Michael said, introducing the girls that we sitting on either side of him and Calum. Luke looked up and nodded with acknowledgement, then focusing back onto ht sandwich in his hand.
"Ah, you're smart, Ashton must've told you that the food here sucks. See, my parents don't bother making me food, so I have to buy it here." Lucy stated. At the mention of parents, Luke stiffened, closing his eyes for a heartbeat too long, and Michael noticed.
"Um, yeah, the food...is terrible. Luke, why don't you show us your schedule and see if we have any classes together," Michael quickly said, changing the subject. Luke looked up gratefully, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the folded piece of paper with his time table on it. Everyone looked over, trying to see if they had any classes with him.
"Hey Luke, you have music with Michael and I!" Calum said, smiling up at him. Luke nodded, already knowing that the two boys were into music from what Ashton had told him. They had planned to make a band together, but that turned into just a silly dream for them.
"And Michael was right, you do have science with us." Bella said, looking excited. Once again, Luke barely acknowledged them, chewing on his sandwich that he suddenly wished he didn't have. He wished that it had been his parents that had made it instead of Ashton in a hurry that morning. The others started talking about new music that had been released recently, but Luke noticed something on Calum's shirt that he hadn't previously.
It was a logo of a band that he had listened to since he had been little. A band called Good Charlotte that his dad had introduced to him. A rush of memories made Luke almost gasp with emotion, and he felt himself stand up abruptly. Everyone at the table looked up at him as he gathered his belongings in a hurry and began to walk out the caf. Shoving his lunch bag into his backpack, Luke felt tears start to well in his eyes, but he knew he had never allowed himself to cry after the night of the crash. It had been the last time, Luke had promised himself.
Finding a washroom sign, Luke made a beeline for the doorway, struggling to get a baggie out of the back pocket of his bag. It was a baggie that had all of his supplies, and he fully intended to use them to make sure he wouldn't cry.