-Luke's Pov-

Gabbie shuffled in front of me with the others, a groan escaping her lips. My eyes automatically studied her body from head to toe. I glanced above us where a thin piece of mistletoe hung loosely from the smoke detector.

Without a second thought, I carefully rested my hand on her shoulder. She turned around with confusion glinting in her eye. As soon as her eyes fell upon me, her face fell and a frown corrupted her face. I pointed up towards the mistletoe, making her cheeks flush pink and her head bow down.

"Is this okay?" I asked, hoping her answer would be yes.

From the first day I arrived back here, I had a constant urge to kiss her. When she looked so sweet and innocent all I wanted was to wrap my arms around her again and just keep her away from all the dangers of the world.

She paused for a moment, making my heart race. She silently nodded, creating a tickling feeling in my stomach. I leaned in, getting a whiff of her usual coconut scent. My lips only briefly connected with hers because I was afraid she would run away. She leaned into the kiss, sending a million thoughts around my head. Before it became more than a simple kiss, I leaned back.

"Guys, hurry up!" I heard Ashton yell for us. I looked at Gabbie who wasn't looking me in the eyes. Did she hate it? What did I do wrong? I began to panic about the smallest things.

"Are you coming?" Gab asked me, still avoiding eye contact with me but pausing further on in the hallway for me.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be there in a second, okay? Just tell the others to start opening presents." She simply nodded and continued walk, greeted in the living room with a crowd of cheers.

I leaned my head against the wall while pinching the bridge of my nose out of habit. When I told her she didn't mean anything to me anymore I kept telling myself that I was doing the right thing, it felt true. I really only said that to her because I was with Sophia. But coming back here, seeing how she's barely changed...it brought back feelings I thought I disposed of weeks ago. Fuck feelings. Fuck romance.

-

There she was, peacefully humming away to herself as she poured a glass of orange juice. It reminded me of a scene from a cringey 1980's movie where they fall in love and everything runs perfectly. Life isn't like that, though.She caught my eye by accident, making me cough awkwardly but walk up to her anyway.

"Hey," I mumbled, leaning against the counter just like I had done before I went on tour and told her I loved her.

"Hi," She mumbled sadly, gnawing at her bottom lip. I raised my hand to her lips, pausing her biting.

"How many times have I got to tell you not to do that."

I felt her take a deep breath in and out against my thumb that was gently resting on her bottom lip. She shook her head and walked over to the sink where she began to wash her hands.

"You look...dressed up." She commented on my outfit. I was wearing black skinny jeans with a red and black plaid shirt and a leather jacket. The truth was that I was going out on a date with Sophia who had travelled her just for me. I didn't want to but it was better than moping around with Gabbie on my mind. It was especially hard to forget her when she was always around. "You going out?"

"Yeah, actually," I replied, not really wanted to tell her where.

"Another date?" She asked, finally turning around in my direction. I desperately looked for her eyes to see how she felt about it but they were hidden by loose strands of hair.

"How did you know?" I asked, the immediate feeling of guilt rumbling in my stomach.

"Ashton told me about your girlfriend that time I called you..." She trailed off. "I just want to know why you wanted to kiss me, the other day." For the first time in almost 3 days she was talking to me.

"Can we talk about this later? I really have to go." I begged her because I didn't want to argue with her again.

"Luke, please. I've barely gotten any sleep the past few nights because you're all I think about. I'm just confused." She spoke softly and didn't yell. She seemed more sad than mad and that made my heart tear apart.

"Okay, I think it was a mistake." I lied again because I couldn't ruin her again. I couldn't admit anything to her because in a week I would be gone again and she already told me she didn't want that relationship. Her face fell and her eyes seemed glossier than before. "I'm over you and I'm with Sophia now. I guess I was just tired and you were just there and old feelings came back..." I rambled on.

"So you have zero feelings for me? Nothing at all. You never get nervous when I walk into the room." She started, relaxing her face and slowly walking towards me more confidently. "You don't feel a horrible pain in your stomach that feels like butterflies when we touch. Are you seriously telling me you don't have any urge to talk to me like I do?" She put her hand on my chest, her eyes travelling up from her hand to my eyes.

"Gabbie, I'm not going to hurt you again..." I mumbled, feeling vulnerable under her confident touch.

"What?" She moved her hand, making my chest feel cold and bare without her touch.

"I left you here and I changed."

"Yeah, you dress differently, you talk differently, you even do your hair differently." She agreed with me.

"I know and I told you I moved on..."

"Is that true?" She asked me, clenching her fists like she was ready to punch something.

"I refuse to hurt you again." I avoided the question.

"Luke, I broke up with you! I hurt you first. I regret doing that, every day of my life. I broke up with Alfie because he wasn't you." She laughed sadly, looking from me to the floor.

"Don't cry, Gab." I whispered, taking her small hand into my own large one. Her hand was cold compared to mine so I rubbed the back with my thumb, occasionally squeezing it. "I have to go."

"No, please." She burst into tears and began to sob into my chest, holding me tightly. "I can't lose you again."

I felt like I couldn't breathe, not because she was holding me too tight but because I knew we both wanted the same thing but I was too afraid to admit it. There was no way I was going to upset her even more, I knew she would get over me and find someone new. The problem was, she was too stubborn to think of anyone other than me but I understood that. I didn't even like Sophia that much, she was just a distraction.

"I have to..." I mumbled into her hair, tearing up. I looked up to get rid of the tears.

"I need you. I still love you." As soon as she said that I felt weaker than ever before. My grip tightened as the tears finally fell. I wasn't emotional before I met her, I would have just walked away. I kissed the top of her head but decided I need to let go of her.

"I'll be back." I said, watching as the tears slipped hopelessly down her beautiful cheeks. Her eyes squeezed shut and she covered her face, crying a little bit more. "I promise."

-Gabbies' Pov-

And then he was gone, leaving me a crying mess on the kitchen floor. I sat on the cold, hard ground for the best part of 10 minutes before Ashton and Becky walked in. I covered my face, not wanting to show them the tear-stained cheeks.

"Gabbie?" Ashton ran over to me. "Are you hurt?"

"No, no." I shook my head, sniffling behind my hand. Becky bent down with Ashton to see me, prying away my hands.

"Why are you crying?" She asked me sadly.

"It's stupid." I denied because they would never understand what Luke meant to me. It was like I couldn't even function properly if he wasn't with me.

"I don't think it's stupid if you're crying this much." Ashton said, helping me up off the floor.

"Luke and I had a conversation and I got upset because he was going out with Sophia again." I began to explain to them as Becky grabbed me some ibuprofen for the headache that arrived with the tears. "Then he told me he had to leave and I ended up breaking down in front of him and he hugged me and told me he promised he'd be back."

"Oh angel, you really love him that much?" Becky asked me as I took the pill with the orange juice I had poured earlier.

"He's amazing." I sighed, slumping against the counter.

"I'm gonna call him. He shouldn't have just left you like that, what a dick move." Ashton sounded angry as he pulled out his phone.

"Oh, Ash, you don't have to-"

"-Luke, what the fuck?" It was too late, he had already called him. He put it on speaker so we could snoop on the conversation.

"What did I do wrong now?" He sighed like he was fed up with everyone, but I didn't blame him for that. "I can't talk, okay? I'm on a date with Sophia again and I have a million thoughts in my head."

"Why did you leave Gabbie?"

I bit on my lip thinking about the possibilities of how he could answer. He could lie or he could spill the truth and I would feel some sense of comfort.

"Is she okay? Is she still upset? Fuck, I wish she would leave me alone."

I felt a stab in my heart that tore it in two. The first half of his sentence made me believe he genuinely cared but then he ruined it. Ashton raised his eyebrows in shock and Becky rushed to my side to hug me.

"Luke! Why are you being such a dick?"

"What? No, I didn't mean that. I meant leave me alone in my thoughts." I still didn't understand what he meant but I allowed him to continue. "I can't stop thinking about her."

"What kind of thoughts?"

"How beautiful she is." I blushed and hid my cheeks with my hand again. My head told me I shouldn't be hearing this but my heart yearned for me to stand and hear him explain his feelings. "You know before she started crying she came over to me with this confident stride and asked me a million questions that I wanted to say yes to."

"What kind of questions?" Ashton pushed him.

"If I got butterflies when we touched which I do but worse. They're like mini-explosions that hurt so badly. And she asked me things like if I had an urge to talk to her. I have more than an urge to talk to her Ash. Oh, shit- gotta go. Tell her I'll be home soon...and I love her."

"Really?" Ash asked surprised, mimicking my facial expression.

"No, not the love part. I can't hurt her anymore."

"But you do still love her?" And just as I was about to find out the call ended and we heard the familiar beeps.

I hugged Ash and Becky with a smile plastered on my face. I didn't know how I felt but I did know I had a killer headache. So, I decided to go to bed for a nap to ease the banging in my forehead...

-

-Luke's Pov-

It was many hours later than I promised Gabbie I would be. I ended up fighting with Sophia for hours until she finally decided to let me go. I couldn't be with Sophia when I had strong feelings for Gab, that would be unfair for them both.

I gently knocked on Gabbie's bedroom door, hoping for an answer. I tried three times before almost walking away but I just couldn't I needed to do this. I opened the door slowly, trying not to be creepy. She was laying on top of her duvet with her casual clothes on, sleeping peacefully. A smile broke out on my face once I took note of how calm and happy she was.

"Gabbie?" I whispered, making sure I shut the door behind me. Everyone else was asleep as far as I could tell. "Angel?"

"Hmm?" She hummed as her eyes groggily opened. "Luke?"

"I promised you..." I said with a small smile.

"You're late." She mumbled, still sleepy while sitting up.

"I know, It took me a while to leave Sophia." I watched her grimace at the use of her name.

"Why are you in my room?"

"Because I need to tell you some things. I broke up with Sophia," I started, my heart beating out of my chest. "So I could do this."

I quickly leaned forward and connected her plump lips with my own. This time, I didn't pull away quickly. I leaned further into the kiss, our lips moving in sync again. I moved down to her neck and began to suck on the skin harshly. A soft moan escaped her lips making me grin even more.

"Daddy still loves you and he needs you." I whispered through short breaths.

"Daddy's princess missed him." She smirked at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and lightly tugging on my hair for a reaction. I leant down again to kiss her before lying down next to her. "Can you sleep in my bed tonight?" She asked me, tracing circles on my chest through my shirt.

"Say my name, Princess." I growled, placing my forehead against hers.

"Sleep in my bed tonight Daddy, please." She begged. I nodded my head making her giggle uncontrollably. God knows what I got myself into...