52: august 19th, 2015.

                                    

                                          
both.
                          
~:~
                          
wednesday.
                          
luke intertwined his hands together while his arms rested against his kneecaps. the sand warmed his feet and the familiar sound of the waves crashing against the shore filled his ears.
                          
he loved the beach so much. it never got boring, and it always calmed him down, no matter what. it was quite empty of people, but he couldn't complain about that — lately, he's been so stressed and hating himself over his actions.
                          
school had been dreadful, considering he hadn't spoken to andie at all. he could barely walk into the cafeteria without feeling a wave of sadness within him. he heard from cameron though that she had been graded with more a's than b's, and it made him really proud.
                          
luke was just about to stand up and leave when a voice spoke up from behind, surprising him completely.
                          
"hey, batshit." andie said softly and watched as he turned his upper body,
so he could see her clearly. "what's up?"
                          
"ands? what are you doing here?" he asked and was about to stand, but she quickly sat down beside him.
                          
"i came here to listen to you. just listen." she sighed and turned to look at him with her weary face.
                          
"how did you know i was here?" he weakly smiled.
                          
"you always come here when you're down. you love the beach." she shrugged and licked her lips. "especially the remote part, because you get to be alone."
                          
"i didn't feel like being home." he mumbled and smiled at the ground.
                          
"figured." she said quietly and let her eyes wander from his arms to his face.
                          
"i'm sorry." he apologized out of the blue and gazed at her. "i really am, andie. i messed up, and i hate myself for it so much."
                          
"don't talk like that." she retorted quickly and shook her head. "just tell me what's been going on so that i could understand. or at least try to understand."
                          
"chad talked to me days before you even told me about your encounter with him." he blurted out and gulped.
                          
andie's face hardened, and she was in disbelief at first. in all honesty, this was the last thing she expected to hear. luke waited for a reaction, but she kept quiet for a while.
                          
"you're not kidding?" she asked and frowned at him.
                          
"of course i'm not kidding. i was just outside school when he came to me and began talking. at first, it was just really weird, but then he mentioned you and your time together, so i put the pieces together. long story short, he in a way threatened me to leave you. then i remembered how you told me that he was a criminal — well sort of — and i freaked out. i was afraid he'd hurt you or something if i didn't, so being the wimp i am, i slowly drifted away so you'd break up with me. when you told me that he's been stalking you, i was even more scared of the guy... now i just hate myself because what the hell would it do if we broke up? it's not like you'd get back with the douche. i should've just told you the same day."
                          
luke let out a sigh and, ashamed, looked to the side, fiddling with his ring. andie stared at him and forced him to look back at her, stroking his jaw briefly.
                          
she exhaled deeply, battling with her own mind. it wasn't a shocking thing of chad to do — she just didn't expect it. thinking about it, she couldn't be that mad at luke anymore. at least not for the same reasons as before.
                          
"what did he say to you?" she asked and scanned his face.
                          
"he told me that he'd act himself if i didn't do it, and in worst case, that he'd plot something regarding you. i don't know exactly, he didn't say much, but he was intimidating as hell."