Broken Pieces (Adopted by 5SOS)

Tonight We Are Victorious

Reject's POV

It had been so long I have felt the touch of another human. Of course there have been quick pats on the arm and things like that, but nothing like this.

Michael's arm had been slung around my shoulders, pulling my body close to the warm embrace of his chest. If I had listened hard enough I could hear his heartbeats. They were steady and calm as they should be. He felt safe. Like a warm sunset. Oranges, pinks, and the littlest bit of pale blue. The kind of sunset that follows a clear day and is the sure sign to a beautifully starry night. That's how Michael felt to me.

At first I was breathless and confused. My brain couldn't seem to comprehend what it was. Gentle touches weren't something that was given to me in my old life. I'm not even sure that I knew what gentle felt like. But now I know. Gentle is like waves lapping at your ankles. Like grass tickling your bare feet. Gentle is like acoustic guitar sounds. Gentle is like Michael Clifford.

I twisted a lock of my ginger hair around my finger as I escaped back into my own pleasant world. I still don't understand why Michael would ever want to dye his hair red. It's such a bright and ugly color. Everyone says so. Well, at least my father does. My father said that it was my mother who gave me my hideous hair. I've never met my mother but I guess my father didn't like her all that much.

"Jasey Rae?" Michael mumbled and his arm drooped off the couch, brushing against my knee.

I took his hand in mine hoping that he would nod back off to sleep. He deserves to rest.

With an unintelligible whisper and tighter gripping of my hand, Michael was asleep again. With my other hand I lightly traced his tattoos with my fingers. The symbol between the black bands means home, he told me. Home.

"I'm home!" Ashton announced as he came in the front door, which shut with a bang. I quickly put my index finger over my lips to tell him to be quiet. He nodded and tiptoed his way towards us.

"It looks like you two are getting along just fine." He gestured to our intertwined hands, "Thanks for taking care of him, Rae. He needs a friend on these kinds of days."

"Hey guys!" The door swung open and Luke and Calum came clomping in. Their noise was enough to wake Michael with a jolt.

I traced the tattoo on his arm again, hoping he would tell me a little more about it. I love tattoos. I love hearing the story and reasons why a person got them.

"Do you like them? The tattoos?" Michael asked me. I nodded.

He smiled, "I like them too. Maybe you can get some when you're older."

My eyes met his. The color of his irises were blue. Not a deep blue, but a light blue. A gentle blue. Gentle.

"Rae we're going to have a picnic on the beach!" Calum yelled excitedly and i covered my ears from the noise, "Sorry." He apologized quickly, "But we're going to have tons of fun! You're going to love it!"

No you're not. They're probably going to take you out and then leave you by the side of the road.

Paranoia started to enter my mind. What if that's what is really happening? I looked around the room to study the boy's movements for any sign of truth in that statement. Luke and Calum were singing random songs and putting food into a picnic basket. They seemed happy and carefree. Sometimes they would playfully hit eachother with soft objects that were lying around. I always got a little scared when that happened. It always gave me little flashbacks to time with my father. I don't want anyone else to go through that. But as long as they were both laughing I knew that it wasn't serious like that.