"Nice of you to join us," Michael's stepmother comments when he finally joins them for breakfast. He's been purposely avoiding them both for the past week, either out with Calum or shut up in his room. He hates to consider himself a coward, but after what happened that night, he hasn't been able to face Ashton.
Michael grunts softly in reply to his stepmom. He recognizes the sarcasm in her voice all to well.
"So what have you been up to, Michael? I've hardly seen you lately," she says uninterestedly.
Again, Michael knows that she isn't being genuine with her questioning, so he stays quiet, digging through the pantry for cereal.
"Ignoring me again?" She asks sharply. She could care less what Michael says, she just seems to enjoy taking jabs at him a little too much.
"No," Michael sighs, fearful of her temper.
His stepmother pretends to have not heard him. "You'd think your parents would have raised you with better manners."
Michael spins around with his glare on full blast. "Don't you dare talk about them," he spits.
She raises her eyebrow at him, amusedly. Ashton's eyes are wide and darting between the two of them. "Guys this isn't necessary," he tries to interject.
He's interrupted by his own mother. "And you'd think you'd have some respect for the women who took you in and gave you everything. I mean think about it, without me-"
"Oh shut up," Michael snaps.
The three cling tightly to their selections of breakfast- Michael and his stepmom out of anger, and Ashton out of fear. The atmosphere in the kitchen is a swirling mess of buried emotions that surely is making everyone uncomfortable.
Michael tries to make a quick getaway to his room with his cereal bowl, but is stopped after only a couple strides. "Why don't you sit here with us," his stepmother requests, gesturing to the empty chair across from her. Ashton groans at her.
For a few moments, they all eat in silence, for which Michael is grateful. But like everything, she ruins it.
"Hey Ashton, who did you say was coming over today?"
Ashton glances guiltily up at Michael before whispering, "Luke."
Michael stays cold, holding up his emotionless guard. He knows exactly what they're doing and he's not going to let it get to him this time.
"Oh good. I like that boy," she says with a glint in her eye. "How are things going between you two?"
Again, Ashton pauses for a second too long in order to catch Michael's expression. "Pretty good."
His stepmother is smirking at Michael as she asks, "And he bought into the poem?"
It's a little harder for Michael to brush off that one.
"Y-Yeah.."
"Too bad we don't know who wrote the original poem.." She thinks aloud.
Michael gapes at her, searching for any sign of humor or sarcasm, but finds nothing. She sincerely doesn't know that it was him. This comes as a bit of a shock to Michael; he thought for sure Ashton would blab to her first thing after their fight.
He risks a peak at Ashton now and finds him staring down at his breakfast. He wishes Ashton would just look up so that he could find some way to secretly pass along his gratitude to him.
If his stepmother ever found out, who knows what she would do.
"But it's a good thing we have Michael here," she finishes her thought.
