wasting time » lh ; mc

seventeen

"I told my dad that I might be hanging out with you, so if we leave he knows," Michael told the blonde while pulling on his shirt and packing up his hockey gear. "We can just do stupid shit or we can figure out what to do after I talk to Flan again."

"Mike, I really have to go," Luke said, a sudden guilt settling in his stomach. "Penelope is waiting for me." He looked down at his phone and then back up at Michael, teeth lightly gnawing at his bottom lip.

Michael turned to him with a frown. "What? Why can't you just cancel?"

"I cancelled on her two days ago for you," he replied. It was rude to cancel twice in a row, and it's not like he wanted to. Michael was the one who called Luke clingy, but won't let him do his own thing.

"I don't understand why she's more important than me and this rugby team," the hockey player complained, his arms crossed.

"It's a date, Michael," Luke rolled his eyes, "I can get a girlfriend and help you at the same time."

"You've known her for two weeks."

"That's why we're getting to know each other," he pointed out.

Michael fell quiet, picking at a loose thread on his jeans. Thoughts ran through his mind about Luke and this Penelope girl and he didn't like it. "You like her?"

Luke grinned; it makes Michael's stomach churn and his shoulders slump, because he knew the answer just by looking at the gleam in the boy's eyes. "Yeah, I think I do," he said.

"Well, let's go, then." He watched as the hockey player grumbled to himself and packed his hockey gear back in his bag,

Luke, finally catching onto his plummeting mood, grabbed Michael's shoulder to stop him. "Why are you so bitter? You've never even met Penny."

Michael coldly shrugged off Luke's hand, still not looking up. "Bitter? I'm not bitter. It's not like I can't go bother Calum," he spat.

"You are," Luke argued. "My life doesn't revolve around sports; my life also doesn't revolve around you."

"Don't you have Penny to hang out with?" Michael mocked the boy, with a roll of his eyes and crossed arms. He was being childish and he knew it, but it's not like he's ever dealt with these kinds of feelings before. He hasn't since the tenth grade, anyway.

"I hate when you get like this," Luke admitted, scoffing. "I'll see you later."

Luke shouldn't feel guilty for having a life. He shouldn't have to watch what he does because Michael isn't okay with whatever, or whoever, Luke is occupying his time with. Michael had other friends; he didn't. That's why he wants to spend time with Penelope--it just helps that she's pretty cute. And that she has a farm.

Luke walked as quickly as possible and began to text the girl why he wasn't on time. They were going to get to know one other but didn't want any distractions from doing so. Luke suggested sitting in the swing set at the kids' park down the road from his neighborhood and, even though she laughed about stealing seven-year-olds' play time, Penny agreed.

A glance at the phone every five seconds only showed that there was no text back. Luke grew nervous after five minutes; if the girl was upset, it was basically Michael's fault, wasn't it? Because he wouldn't let Luke leave and tried to start an argument.

Sometimes Michael still got on Luke's nerves. It'll always be that way, most likely; it's the dynamic they started with and its the dynamic that their friendship is built off of, so most of the time he doesn't mind much. But, when he's starting to finally get himself a life and maybe a girlfriend, the attitude can get annoying.