I want you back- (luke)

[DELILAH PUNZEL]

It had been a while since thoughts of a certain ex-fiancé had entered Delilah's mind. And for Delilah, "a while" translated to "a few days".

Even though she swore up and down that her heart wanted nothing to do with Luke, Delilah still had feelings for him. In a small part of her mind, she even wanted him to come to New York, to beg and plead on her knees for her to take him back. Delilah knew she'd take him back without question. She liked to pretend she could, but Delilah wasn't the person to hold grudges for anything. Just ask her cousin. Vivienne had come to New York to gain Delilah's forgiveness and it had worked. She was reluctant at first, but Delilah couldn't stay mad at her cousin forever. All Luke had to do was ask and Delilah would forgive.

Needless to say, Luke was on her brain.

Times like these, Delilah went to the park for yoga or painting. The fresh air cleared her mind and soothed her, both of which were definitely needed right then. Pulling on shorts and a tanktop, Delilah left campus and made her way towards Central Park. Like always, she was photographed several times along the way. Delilah didn't mind, really, it just amazed her that New York still got excited over her stepping off campus. She was just a country singer, nothing special.

--

Now at the park, Delilah took in a deep gulp of air. It was warm but crisp, smelling of new flowers. Spring was definitely upon them and Delilah was more than ready to get rid of the cold New York winter. Spreading out her mat, Delilah went through her motions. The stretching relaxed her tensed up muscles that had been wound up with stress. Slowly, Delilah felt her mind relaxing as well. There were no thoughts of Luke and Delilah was at peace, just enjoying the feeling of her muscles lengthening and cool air whistling down her throat. Done with yoga, Delilah laid on her back and watched the clouds. Even though she was a "grown-up", Delilah still had an imagination and made out shapes in the skies. A fish, flower, stereotypical bunny. Smiling, Delilah remembered how she would do the same thing with Vivienne and...Luke. Dang it, there he was again, popping up fresh in her mind.

The sky now unsafe to gaze at, Delilah shut her eyes and began to sing softly. It was sad that she had stepped away from the music scene for a while; singing had always made Delilah feel better.

"I won't give up on us,
even if the skies get rough.
I'm givin' it all I've got,
I'm still lookin' up."

She began to sing the next verse, but was interupted by...what the hell was that? It was wet and slimey and yuck. Her eyes popped open to see a dog panting over her, tongue lolling out. So that was the feeling. The dog had licked her. Rolling over and getting on her knees, Delilah held out her hand for the German shepard to sniff. "Hi puppy," Delilah said in her best baby voice. It was then that she noticed a leash. Looking up, Delilah's breath caught and her heart froze. No. It couldn't be. "Luke?" It was just a whisper, like Delilah thought if she talked too loud she would scare him away. Was that really Luke? It couldn't be. And besides, she had never known Luke to have a dog.

Then Delilah noticed the sunglasses and the way the dog seemed to be leading Luke. Standing up, Delilah waved her hand in front of his face. No response. Delilah felt her eyes tearing up as she tentatively grabbed Luke's hand. "I can't...I can't believe it. You're here in New York."

notes;; wow this sucked so much I'm sorry ;-; I hate posting on my iPod SO MUCH. I swear I don't usuallywrite like this.

[LUKE JOHNSON]

Running a hand through his already-messy hair, Luke sighed. He had already been in New York for weeks now and still no sign of Delilah. He had, however, heard that she was going to the university nearby. If only he knew how to get there and how to find her once he got there. Usually colleges and such had massive amounts of stairs, and he just wasn't ready for that.

A sudden shift under him on the mattress caused him to jump a little. God, he wasn't cut out for this stuff. He really needed to quit being so jumpy. Lila gave him a friendly lick on the cheek and thumped her tail behind her before Luke reached up and petted the black German Shepherd. "Yes, I know. I need to look harder." He said as he stroked her back. Delilah was around here somewhere, he knew it. Not just because he often heard her name while walking down the street, but because he felt it. She was close but just out of his reach.

With a sigh, Luke got up and stuck his hands out in front of him, still wary of his new apartment. Twelve steps this way... /thunk/. Nope, not that way. He rubbed his head as he stuck his hands out farther. He knew there was a chair right... here. Carefully maneuvering himself around it, he reached down and picked up Lila's harness. He gave a quick wistle and the dog came running up. She rubbed her side against his leg before she stopped, letting him know exactly where she was. "Now that's a good girl." He praised, petting her before attatching the harness. The right way, this time. It had taken him a little while to get used to not being able to see exactly where he was putting anything, but he got the harness down pretty quick for a blind guy.

Once the harness was on, he felt around for his shoes and quickly put them on, making sure they were securely tied this time. He wasn't going to fall for any of that 'you're shoe's untied' business here, though he kind of doubted anyone would do that in New York. Back in Nashville, people kind of hated him for breaking up with their favorite country music star of the moment. He held onto Lila's lead tightly and let her lead him to the door. She knew what was going on. This had been the ritual for the past three weeks. Once he had taken the bus all of the way from Nashville to New York, he had been searching for Delilah almost restlessly. Lila was his partner-in-crime. She was even named after his ex-fiancee. Of course, her name was pronouced 'lee-luh' instead of Delilah's beautiful-sounding 'lye-luh'. Feeling around for the lock, he shut the door and made it out of the apartment complex accident-free. There was one place he had yet to go, and he knew exactly where it was.

He arrived at Central Park completely incident-free, thank God. Lila was a great guide dog, especially in New York. She wasn't phased at all by the abundance of people, or even the honking cars. The quiet of the park seemed to calm her, however. They walked for what seemed to be about twenty minutes when the miracle happened. Lila got antsy when Luke stopped dead in his tracks as the beautiful voice flowed into his ears. He wouldn't forget that voice anywhere. It was exactly what he had been straining to hear these past few weeks. "Lila. Who's that? Let's go." He whispered to his dog as he crossed into the grass, letting Lila lead him.

The voice was getting louder as they got closer, and the dog finally stopped short. They must be almost on top of her. "Luke?" The voice was like a wave that washed over him. Tears pricked his eyes, but he knew she wouldn't be able to see them beneath the sunglasses. "Delilah." The name was like butter on his tongue, but his voice broke and ruined the beauty of it. "Yes, I'm here." He squeezed her hand gently after she grabbed his and spoke again. "Delilah, I-I'm so sorry, I di-didn't mean to hurt you. I-I just made a huge mistake. Your c-cousin Vivian. We were at the bar and she kept b-buying me d-drinks. When I w-woke up we were in b-bed together. She said she was g-going to lie to you if I didn't cancel the wedding." His voice cracked with his tears, but near the end it got stronger though the tears flooded down his cheeks. "I should h-have told you right away what happened instead of being such a coward. That night, I was going to turn around, but I-I almost hit a dog, and this happened." He suddenly took off his sunglasses to show her the faint scars around his eyes, actual scratches on his eyes, and the glazed look to them. "I'm so sorry, Del. Please, please forgive me."

[DELILAH PUNZEL]

It was all so much to take in. However painful it was, Delilah remembered the day Luke had come to end the wedding like it was yesterday. She had been pouring over a catalogue of dresses, trying to find the dress she had already envisioned. No...that one wasn't full at the bottom; Delilah wanted a princess dress. That one had sleeves and Delilah wanted sleeveless....they were all wrong. Delilah had frustratedly flipped to the bridesmaids section, but her annoyance faded quickly enough. She was getting married! To the guy she had always loved! Nothing could bring her down. And then Luke had come in and crushed her. Just like that, her life basically ended. If there was no Luke (or Vivienne), what did Delilah have? She could already picture the aftermath of it all. And seeing them around town? Delilah couldn't do it, so she had fled.

Now Luke was standing in front of her and it was like all the wounds that had begun to heal were tore open again. It was painfully and heart-wrenching, not to mention all the other emotions coursing through her. Sadness, grief...hope, forgiveness. Vivienne had told Delilah what happened, but she hadn't believed it. Coming from Luke, Delilah was ready to accept it, no matter how hard it would be. Now she just knew renewed hope and anger. Why had Vivienne done that? It was obviously her fault, no matter how much Delilah wanted to forgive her cousin.

Fresh tears sprang to Delilah's eyes as she looked at Luke. "Of-of course," Was all she could manage to get out before crying harder. She was silly to have thought she could remotely hold a grudge against Luke. It was never his fault, and that was all that mattered now. "I'm so, so sorry for running away. I shouldn't have, I should have stayed...I knew something felt wrong, but." Delilah sniffed, holding back more tears.

Delilah gasped as Luke told her about the accident. She could picture it happening, the motorcycle crashing...It was horrible, awful. But...Delilah was extremely greatful. The accident couldve been much worse. "You-oh my gosh, you could've died!" Delilah cried, reaching up and touching Luke's cheek gentley. Delilah thought of how he would never be able to see again, the whole visual world taken away from him. He was almost taken away from the world, though.

"All because of Vivienne..." Delilah muttered. Why exactly had her cousin done this? They had always been friends and Delilah never thought she would peg Vivienne as the malicious type. "Why would she do this? She knows how much it killed me." Delilah choked up again. She would be married right now, she would possibly have a kid...Luke would be able to see. Any negative emotion Delilah could muster was aimed at Vivienne then and there. Delilah only wanted to see her once more and that was so she could tell her off. "She...she can't get away with this. I have to do something." Looking up at Luke, Delilah smiled. She loved him so much still, after all that. And she would never stop.

[/justify]

[LUKE JOHNSON]

He leaned his head into her hand that rested on his cheek. It felt so good to have her skin touching his after this time apart. At his feet, Lila wagged her tail and pawed at Delilah's leg gently, begging to be pet. Luke put his hand on her hip, knowing from memory exactly how high up it was, and pulled her to him. "Delilah. It's not your fault. Running away was logical." He could tell that she was choking on her own tears, and those in his own eyes threatened to spill over. Her worry about his safety almost made him smile. It was like nothing had happened between them and they had never been driven apart. Delilah was just as worried for him as she had been that day when he had shown up on her doorstep looking a bit hungover and really sad.

A whine from Lila brought Luke back to the present. He knew what she wanted. Releasing Delilah, he bent down and unbuckled Lila's harness, setting it on the ground when he was finished. Almost at once, knowing Luke's intent, Lila took off to go play. She had been cooped up in the apartment for too long. The poor dog just wanted some room to really run.

Luke straightened up and once again took Delilah's waist, this time with both hands, one still holding the sunglasses. He was so thankful that she had forgiven him for what he had done. Even though he himself didn't know exactly what had happened between him and Vivienne. He thought the name almost the same time that Delilah spoke it. "I don't know why she did it, Delilah, but you don't need to stoop down to her level to get her back. She didn't do this to me on purpose. This was just an accident." He sighed. She was the nicest person he had ever known, and he didn't want what he did to change that, even if it was Vivienne's fault.

Lila came racing back and stopped at Luke's heels. He knew she was there, but he didn't do anything about her. She sat and panted from exertion, the light breeze not doing much to help. Luke pulled Delilah closer after he finished talking and kissed her deeply. Her lips were as soft as silk as he kissed her, reminding him of the first time they had kissed. They were in high school and he had just confessed his love for her. Just like today, he had pulled her close and kissed her passionately. If it weren't for a teacher approaching, it would have lasted longer. Today, however, there were no teachers or anyone around. Not that Luke would be able to see them, anyways.