Weightless (lashton au)

Chapter thirty-four

I took a breath, making an effort to keep my eyes on the screen as Michael got the movie to start. Maybe I was just thinking too hard, as usual.

I almost jumped at the feel of a hand on my thigh, but quickly stopped myself when realizing it was Luke. He was looking down at me in concern; he must've caught on to how tense I was feeling.

"You okay?" He whispered, just loud enough for me to hear over the volume of the TV. After running the question through my mind for a moment, I pat Luke's hand with sincerity.

"I'm fine, I just zoned out." I mumbled back, smiling slightly as my eyes looked over Luke's face. I knew I should've looked away two seconds ago, but his eyes were such a captivating blue and I felt an overwhelming desire to drag my thumb across Luke's stubble that was growing back faster than ever. The only thing stopping me was that we had friends over and we were already missing the beginning of the movie.

With an internal sigh and the feeling of Luke glancing at me once more, I bit my lip and concentrated on Titanic (and not Luke's face, which was difficult not to look at).

----

It could've been out of boredom (since I've seen this movie many times), or maybe it was because Michael and Luke's continuous bickering over dumb shit happening in Titanic, but I had thought of an (terrible and probably more problematic than good) idea that'll get them to forget their rivalry.

"I'm tired," I purposely drawled out the second word, casually leaning my head onto Calum's shoulder. The dark-haired boy's eyes widened with confusion, but I caught his eyes and mouthed 'I've got a plan,' as discreetly as I could, and he thankfully took the hint. Calum must've been just as annoyed with Luke and Michael as I was.

Thankfully, neither of them saw any of my mouthed words. Calum was playing along just as I hoped he would, wrapping an arm around my shoulders; getting the attention of both boys away from the movie now. We pretended nothing was wrong and I scooted closer to Calum, letting my head slide a little bit lower so it was almost on his chest. Yeah, it might've felt weird to do with him, but it was all for a good cause: to get Michael and Luke to stop being childish (and to also see how jealous they get).

I tried not to laugh as I felt Michael's burning gaze on me, and Luke seemed to be trying not to show any outward emotion. I spared a quick glance, hiding a smirk when I saw him biting his lip as if to hold something back.

After a minute, I felt Calum fidget a little; Luke was definitely glaring at him.

"Okay, at first it was fine but--" the blonde began to say with obvious jealousy that I almost felt bad for. I didn't meet his gaze (I really hope he doesn't hate me for this) and we both didn't move from our cuddling position. I wasn't giving up until the two react to each other with something other than negativity.

"Yeah," Michael quietly muttered under his breath, biting down on his bottom lip as if to pretend he didn't say anything. Somehow, the tension between him and Luke began to go
away.

"Nah, Calum is surprisingly comfortable." I smiled playfully, knowing full well I was making them both jealous (in different ways).

"Aw, someone appreciates my cuddling skills." Calum sounded so convincing I resisted the urge to blush, more out of embarrassment than anything else.

I swore I felt Michael and Luke look over at each other, probably noticing that they felt the same jealousy (and maybe even confusion) as the other.

Yes, this was exactly what I was hoping for. If they agree on something, it'll bring them together, right?

But, when would we stop? I didn't want Luke to get actually mad at me; did Calum even realize that Michael likes him a lot more than a friend yet? At this point, my concentration was only 10% on the actual movie and 90% on how much this cuddling plan might back fire later. An explanation will hopefully suffice. Calum and I did this in their best and worst interests.

With those thoughts swirling around in my head, I took my head off of Calum after three minutes of it, praying that those moments of jealousy (over something completely innocent, I would never kiss Calum just for a stupid plan) would knock some sense into the two boys.

A hand gripped my thigh, and I knew it was Luke. I couldn't tell if he was angry at me; he didn't meet my gaze for the rest of the movie.

The fighting had thankfully stopped between them, so I took this as a success.

----

"See you guys later!" Luke smiled widely at our two friends before quickly shutting the door.

I didn't know what to think; Michael didn't confront his jealousy for obvious reasons, but what would Luke do?

I didn't have a split second more to think as I felt myself being pressed against the wall, Luke grasping my waist tightly.

"What the hell was that?" He looked frustrated with his eyes that were practically on fire, making my throat run dry. All of those warnings Michael implanted about Luke in my head began to move to the front of my mind.

"I-I just--" I couldn't form an actual sentence, seeing how the taller boy looked so mad at me and how his fingers were digging into my skin.

Luke's eyes softened a little, and so did his grip.

"--Calum and I hate how you and Michael don't get along, so I thought that you guys both being jealous would, um, bring you guys together?" I winced; it was a bad plan to begin with, toying with their emotions like that.

Luke studied my face for a bit, possibly trying to make sure I wasn't lying. For that painful moment, thousands of bad things swarmed around in my head, but they were cut short when Luke buried his face into my hair with a sigh.

"Fuck," he mumbled, snaking his arms around my waist instead of gripping them. "You know I get jealous easily." My heart immediately felt lighter, knowing he didn't take the plan to heart.

I couldn't help but laugh a little, "I'm sorry, I won't cuddle with Calum anymore."

"Yeah, you better fucking not." Luke playfully nipped at my neck, causing me to let out a weird mixture between a squeal and a laugh,

"Get off me, you weirdo!" Luke chuckled, stepping away so I could move away from the wall.

"I know you like it, you don't have to be shy about it." I rolled my eyes at the dorky blonde I somehow convinced to fall in love with me.

These were the moments I never wanted to forget, and I didn't want anything more than to make more of them; preferably without negative feelings popping up to ruin things.

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DRAG ME DOWN BY 1D IS SO AMAZING ASDFJKAKHGSD YASSSS WE'RE NUMBER ONE ON ITUNES SLAY

K i hope this chapter makes up for things it's kinda stupid but oh well I tried