turned - muke - the distortion trilogy 2

0.9

MICHAEL'S P.O.V.

I'm eagerly awaiting Luke's arrival, excited to tell him about what happened during therapy today. Ashton is sitting on the other side of the room, as far away from me as possible. It's obvious that Luke can't handle being around him yet--and it's completely understandable, too--and he recognizes that. He's not that bad. Well, maybe.

"Lukey!" the squeal leaves my lips as soon as he walks through the door. It's only my third--fourth?--day in the ward, but I already know that Luke's visits will be ritualistic. And even though I can always expect him to be here, I don't think it will ever fail to put a smile on my face.

He gives me a smile, but I can see the lines of stress on his face. I frown, opening my mouth to ask him what's wrong, but before I can say a word, he's sat down on the couch next to me, placing a hand on the back of my neck and pulling me into a hot, open mouthed kiss.

It takes me by surprise, needless to say, but I melt into Luke's arms anyways. We have to pull away after a few seconds--because the visitation room isn't the best place for a steamy make out session--but when we do, Luke's smile looks much more genuine.

"Hi," he smirks at me.

I feel my cheeks heat up, and I bury my face in his chest. He chuckles, rubbing my back. "Hi," I squeak out my response. I pull away from his chest, allowing him to wrap an arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss to my temple.

"How has your day been?" he murmurs against my hair.

"Really great," I say excitedly, lifting my head from his shoulder--where it was briefly resting--to look at him.

My smile seems to trigger one from him, too. "That's awesome," he says. "What happened?"

"So I was in therapy with D-Dr. Lancaster, right?" I begin, Luke nodding along to humor me. "A-And Gordon was in control--" I feel Luke tense up, because he doesn't like Gordon, but I continue my story. "--and he was being really rude to Dr. L-Lancaster so she started asking me questions. L-Like, she knew that Gordon was pr-present, but she was addressing him as Michael and...and--" I'm smiling so hard I'm not even sure if I can finish my story. I move cover by face with my hands, but Luke lightly grabs my still-bandaged wrists immediately.

He's done the exact same thing before, telling me 'you don't have to hide from me.' It seems like it was ages ago, but it can't be more than--what? Two months?

"Don't hide that beautiful smile," he pleads with me, and my blush deepens. "So she was addressing Gordon as Michael and..." he prompts me, urging me to continue my story.

"And suddenly I was there," I exclaim, excitement building up inside my chest. "And Gordon was back in my head and, and I did it!"

Luke beams at me, beginning to leave kisses all over my face that make me giggle. "I. Am. So. Proud. Of. You." He says each word in between kisses, grinning at the reaction he's getting out of me.

When he finally settles down, I ask him, "How has your day been?"

He sighs, his smile falling. I immediately regret asking the question. He refuses to meet my eyes when he says, "I know this is really selfish, but--" he sighs. "--I just miss you so much."

I frown. "Why would that be selfish?"

"Because you're here to get help," he answers. "You're doing what's best for you. I have no right to mope around all the time, I should be happy for you."

"It's okay to miss me, Lukey," I promise him, scooting closer to him so he's forced to look at me. "I mope around here, missing you all the time."

He rubs his nose against mine. "I love you."

I close the small gap between our lips. "I love you, too."

-

CALUM'S P.O.V.

I'm not one hundred percent sure why Luke asked me to accompany him to visit Michael today, because right now they're being disgustingly cute on a couch on the other side of the room and I'm sitting here like a loner.

I notice Ashton sitting alone on the other side of the room, too. Luke told me that Ashton was asking about me yesterday, which is kind of odd. Maybe I should go talk to him--

"Hello, Calum," a thick Australian accent says, causing me to look up.

I force a smile. "Hi, Ashton."

"What're you doing here?" he asks, taking a seat next to me. He plops down like he owns the place, but he does live here, so it makes sense that he's more comfortable than I am.

"Um, Luke asked me to come with him," I explain, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly.

He nods in understanding.

"Are you waiting for someone?" I ask him.

His face falls and he shrugs. "My mum was supposed to come, but she bails sometimes."

"Oh, I'm sorry, man," I say, unsure how to comfort someone in a situation like that.

He shrugs it off, a full on smile returning to his face "It's okay, I'd rather be with you anyways."

I nearly choke on my own spit. "W-With me?"

He gives me a cheeky smile that makes my heart skip a beat, and I don't know why. "Yeah," he says. He nudges my elbow with his. "You're cute."

I jump, moving further away from him on the couch. "I have a girlfriend," I say defensively. And coming to my senses, I add, "And you raped my best friend!"

Ashton sighs. "I know, I'm sorry." He takes a deep, pained breath. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's okay, man," I mumble, even though it isn't.

He shrugs again.

I don't know why I say it, but I find the words spilling out of my mouth: "And for the record, I think you're cute, too."

~

A/N: I'm only updating bc I've spent all night in the ER so I feel generous AND my baby boy got hurt today and I cried for like an hour and writing this makes me feel better (but fr I was so worried & I know he says he's okay but I'm still so worried bc that's probably so emotionally scarring/traumatic my bABy)

I was gonna rant about how much I hate the boys of zummer setlist (fob) and how my mom is bringing my 10 year old sister with us lmao but I'm way too tired so here is your update goodnight