When we showed up at Michaels house- a place I haven't been to for a long time- I was expecting Michael to look like a mess.
When he opened the door, he didn't look as bad as I assumed, but he didn't look entirely good. There was a small cut above his eyebrow and a light purple bruise on his cheek bone with hints of dark red. The bags under his eyes led me to assume he didn't get as much rest as he wanted to the night before.
"Hey," Michael smiled excitedly, like he wasn't expecting us to come over. "Come in."
He opened the door more, then lifted a hand to mess his hair around- which wasn't a very bright red anymore. Instead it was a calming blue, which looked purple at a glance, so he must have decided to redye it in the past 24 hours.
As soon as we were inside and Michael had the door closed, he pulled us both into a hug. He flinched as he did it, but he seemed to brush off the immediate pain the move brought him.
"I missed you guys."
"We saw each other yesterday morning." Luke and I mumbled in usion, my face pressed against Luke's shoulder and Michael's collarbones.
Michael shrugged his shoulders as much as he could, then let go.
"So what?" He smiled, "I missed you guys anyway."
Luke let a smile come over his face and then gave Michaels shoulder a light pat- which made his face twist into a pained look- and proudly told him he'd missed him too.
"So.. how are you feeling?" I asked a little sadly, looking at the bruise on his cheek. It didn't look that bad, since it was still so new, but bad enough to know he must've gotten hit- hard.
Michael shrugged his shoulders, looking at me, "My face hurts a little and I have a headache," He mumbled, scratching his head, "I'm sure he does too though so its okay."
"He better," Luke spoke under his breath, glancing at me, "he deserves it."
Michael was shuffling over to the couch, like standing up for that little while made him dizzy. When he sat down, me and Luke followed him and sat on opposite sides of the couch so Michael was in the middle.
"What did he want with you, anyways?" Luke sighed, looking over at him. He seemed upset again, in way where he was tied between being angry and sad.
Michael let out a shaky sigh, then ran a had through his hair again before fixing it right after, "I don't know what he wanted. He just- he called me, and he sounded really upset, I guess. I kinda felt bad, I've never heard Ashton cry before. I mean, I know me and him have never gotten along easily, but I still have a heart." He mumbled, not looking at either of us. This took me by surprise- not the fact Ashton had cried to Michael, but that Michael never really liked him. They didn't seem compatible though, so it made sense. Now I just wanted to know why.
"He asked me to talk with him, in person. I didn't want to at first but then I thought, what if this might change some things? So we did, I met up with him outside of one of those coffee shops. We didn't go in, but thats where we were." He paused, still looking down at the floor, fiddling with his fingers. "It was okay, for the most part. We just talked. I wasn't trying to start anything, I tried to be civil. He kinda lashed out after a little, though. I don't know what happened- Ashton was fine one second and the next he was glaring at me, acting differently and saying things. Then we started arguing and shoving each other. It just- it happened so fast, and I didn't try and stop it."
Michaels shoulders tensed slightly, like retelling the story made him think of something Ashton might've said. I reached out, putting a hand on his back and gently rubbing it to soothe him a little. His head turned at the touch quickly and I offered him a smile, which he returned a little weakly.
I glanced at Luke, who was looking at the same spot of the floor Michael seemed concentrated on before. He had an arm on the top of the couch and at his side, with his ankle crossed over his knee. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes seemed unusually dark for someone who usually had bright eyes.
"Did he say anything important? At all?" Luke spoke firmly, breaking his contact with the carpet to look at what he could of Michael, whos head just shook.
The three of us didn't say anything then. I don't think any of us knew what to say, but I sure didn't. Luke and Michael seemed in a daze- both of them were gazing off again.
"On another note," Michael coughed suddenly, startling me slightly. "What are you guys doing today?"
I looked at Luke quickly, raising my eyebrows. He'd told me he made a plan for our night, but he wouldn't tell me. Maybe he would tell Michael, though.
"I'm taking Jem out after we leave," He let a soft smile take over his features, "I have something planned, but she can't know. It's a surprise."
I groaned at that, tossing my head back into the couch with a quiet sigh. "I hate surprises."
Michael grinned at the two of us, but his eyes didn't match up with it. They still seemed a little spacey.
"Alright. Calum and I were gonna hang out tonight, I was going to ask you guys if you wanted to, too, but that's alright." He said, shifting in his spot, "But, if you guys have plans and all, and I gotta head out to get some stuff anyways, maybe you guys should get going." Michael looked sad to say it, and I was sad to hear it, but I guess he had a point. I was excited to see what Luke had planned out, anyways.
We left after a few minutes, making sure that one of three of us would be sure to make plans for all of us to get together and for both me and Luke to reluctantly say good-bye. Eventually, we got through it.
Once we got into the car, I looked at Luke. He was focused on the road, although we weren't moving. He was playing with his lip ring and his eyebrows were furrowed slightly as if he were thinking.
After a few seconds, Luke breathed out an 'okay' almost inaudibly to himself, like he was confirming a thought out loud.
"First up, we're going to see my Mum again. Just like before."
//
ive been so /: about this lately i am so sorry for the late updates n all guys/: i hope this is good for u all
i think i'm just gonna try and update whenever,,!!! then i wont fret about having a chapter done in time bc lately its been hard
anywho,, i dont got much to say so!!! goodbye all
- liberty
