Sooner or Later (Feat. 1D and 5SOS)

2. Casper and the Smurf

The entire hallway fell silent as every student froze where they stood, stopping in mid-stride, mid-sentence, and even mid-bubblegum pop. One girl's strawberry gum had exploded all over her face, but she couldn't move her hand to wipe it off. She just stood there with everyone else, watching in awe as the boy with the bright blue hair made his way down the hall.

Backpack draped over one shoulder, Michael Clifford walked through the crowd with all the confidence of a rock star, fearlessly holding the gaze of each person he passed. About halfway down the line, though, he heard something he was not anticipating—a laugh. Really, it sounded more like a cough than anything (or at least that's what Michael wanted to think), but then he heard another and another, and soon the entire hallway seemed to be echoing with the sound of laughter.

Suddenly, Michael felt like he was walking down the hall in nothing but his boxers. One girl, who was standing with three of her friends, pointed a finger at him and cried in between giggles, "You look like a smurf!"

Cheeks burning with embarrassment, Michael dropped his gaze to the floor and hurried along until he reached his locker, where he hid and waited for the laughter to subside. Once the coast was finally clear, Michael reemerged and found his friends standing around him.

Calum's eyes were so wide his eyeballs could've hopped right out of their sockets. "New look, huh?" he managed to say.

"Yeah," Michael uttered, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked. 

Michael shrugged. "Nothing. It's just ... you know, everyone's staring."  

"Well, yeah, you have blue hair," Calum replied with a chuckle. "What else did you expect?"

"I dunno. I mean, I knew they'd be staring, but I didn't think they'd be laughing too. It kinda makes me feel stupid, like maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all ..." The frown that he'd been fighting finally claimed victory over his face, and his eyes once again fell to the floor. He was wearing blue high tops today, the same shade of blue as his hair.

I really do look like a smurf, he thought, and in that moment, he wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

"I don't feel so good, guys," he muttered, and then he turned and to leave. "Maybe I should go home."

"Hey—" Without thinking, Emma lunged forward and grabbed his arm with both hands. It was a bold move on her part but effective nonetheless. Having a girl suddenly cling to his arm was more than enough to make Michael stop. Slowly, Emma's hands slid down his arm, stopping at his wrist. His long, calloused fingers were stained blue.

"Forgot about the gloves," he said. "Stupid, huh?"

Emma frowned. "Well, do you like it?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I love it."

"Then that's all that matters, right? Who cares what they think?"

Looking over his shoulder, Michael saw the smiling faces of his friends, and then he himself smiled. "So you don't think it looks bad?"

All three of them shook their heads. "It's very you," Luke said.  

Michael laughed. "I know, right? I look awesome."

"... and he's back."

At eight fifteen, the first warning bell sounded, making the students groan and sluggishly begin to gather their materials for class. After grabbing a notebook and a pen, Michael slammed his locker shut and asked his friends, "What's your first class?"