Where Michael thought that he was genuinely going crazy, but three certain murderers just wanted him to feel that way.
Luke, Ashton, and Calum always had each other as their only sources of love, and they thought that their trio was all that was nee...
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42 - Fear of Being Alone
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Michael! Happy birthday to you!"
Michael smiled bashfully at his group of friends, shaking his head at them when they cheered around the table when he blew out the single candle placed into a vanilla cupcake that was in front of him.
"You guys are embarrassing." He murmured once they all calmed down from their initial loud celebration.
"What's the point of being friends if we're not going to embarrass you?" Sarah laughed jokingly.
The group of five friends were sitting at a small table placed in the back of their usual go-to bar, holding their birthday celebration for Michael. With their night soon coming to an end after a few drinks and bar snacks, the group was ending it with their happy birthday song and the dessert for the birthday boy.
"Hey..." Mel smirked as she playfully bumped her shoulder into Michael's, "Don't look now, but there's a guy in the back looking directly at you."
Michael felt his face heat up when he saw Mel's entertained look and from what she said. He just shook his head and breathily laughed out, "I'm not even going to look."
"He's pretty hot." She shrugged, "It wouldn't hurt to at least look."
"Nope." Michael shook his head stubbornly and returned Mel's smirk, "No men or women for big old Clifford. It's me, myself, and I for the time being."
Michael didn't want to get romantically close to other people for obvious reasons. There would be too much trust involved for his liking. Too much trust that he's not ready for.
"Fine!" She huffed in defeat, "Don't say that I never tried to help you get laid."
Michael laughed from this, but Mel blew it off, "I'm going outside for a smoke break. I'll be back in a few!"
After giving her goodbye for the time being, Michael focused back on the conversations happening around the table. They were all talking about nonsense where he would randomly chirp in.
It was only a few minutes until Mel came back and slowly sat down in her assigned seat next to Michael. He instantly noticed that Mel seemed a little off put, since she was looking blankly down at the table in a weird silence.
"Hey..." He frowned as he saw her hands shaking slightly, "What's wrong?"
Mel snapped her eyes up at Michael before giving him a nervous laugh, "N-Nothing! Nothing is wrong. It's just cold outside. I should have brought a jacket with me."
"Are you sure?" He asked confused, but she just gave him a wide smile in return. The smile seemed fake and overplayed.
"I'm sure! Don't worry. Really it's just cold outside."
"Okay..." Michael slowly nodded, having to trust her that everything really was fine and that he was only being dramatically paranoid like always.
"Well..." Andrew suddenly said from across the table, "I'm going to need to call it quits for the night. I have to go into the construction site early tomorrow morning."
"Yeah. We should probably go too." Sarah said as she referenced to her and Andy, "It's pretty late now. That plus the fact that Andrew is our ride home."
"Bye guys." Michael smiled at the three as they started to collect their stuff to leave, "Thanks for celebrating with me. I really love you guys."
"Love you too, bro." Andy said and gave Michael a classic bro hug before Andrew did the same. Sarah rolled her eyes at the guy behavior they were exhibiting and gave Michael a real hug.
"Good night!" She smiled at Michael and Mel before leaving the bar with Andrew and Andy.
"I-I need to go." Mel suddenly said, jumping up out of her seat and grabbing her phone and purse after throwing some money onto the table.
"Mel, I'm really getting the feeling that something is wrong." He frowned, making her shake her head.
"I swear nothing's wrong." She smiled nervously down at him, suddenly pulling him into a tight hug, "Happy birthday, Michael. I really do love having you as a friend. Always remember that."
Mel then pulled away, giving Michael a small, lingering smile before forcing herself out of the bar. Michael just sat there for a few seconds, thinking about Mel's weird behavior before preparing to leave himself.
She wasn't acting normal. Nervousness was clouding his friend, so Michael was concerned. But there was nothing he could do once he left the bar only a minute later and didn't see her anywhere outside.
With a huff, he looked around the area with no success. Mel was gone, probably rushing home for whatever reason why she was suddenly nervous.
There was nothing else he could do other than send her a quick text message.
From Michael: Let me know once you make it back home safely. And if you need me just give me a text or a call
From there on he started making his way back to his apartment building, lucky that it was only a few blocks away.
And with it being the city that never sleeps, there were still countless people on the streets even at the late hour of the night, so he didn't feel the fear of being alone.
But unknowing to him—like always—he definitely was not alone when he walked down the busy streets where anyone could easily blend in and follow him without being noticed.
—•••—
Another update?! Yup. 😚
Why do you think Mel was so nervous all of a sudden??
