Nightspell || Michael Clifford

Chapter 1

One week had passed since the cruise ship had started moving.
I had been stuck here for 7 days and I had 13 more to go.
My mom had tried to hook me up with 3 guys already.
To be fair, there were some good looking guys on this boat, but I guessed I had my standards set to high when my mom had made me talk to 3 guys that were not good looking at all.
I looked at myself in the mirror, my brown hair falling over my pyjama clad shoulder and the skin on my face showing off just a few too many freckles for my liking.
I was holding 2 different shirts in front of me, unable to decide which one I could wear.
Usually I had Steven to help me out with this.
Steven was part of the staff my parents had hired and he loved helping me pick some clothes to wear.
He didn't get paid for it. My parents didn't even know about it until he got fired.
Steven was actually our cook but he always showed up in the morning to help me out.
Sighing, I walked out of my cabin and knocked on Alex's door.
Mom had already gone out to do some business so I couldn't ask her for advice and my brother knew more about this than my dad. Even though he was only 14.
Alex opened the door, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.
'What's up?' he asked as he noticed me standing at his door.
'I need help, they both look the same to me.' I said, holding up the shirts.
Alex looked me up and down, imagining what each shirt would look like on top of the shorts I was wearing, before he pointed to the one in my left hand.
'This one. It's brighter so it'll distract more from that.' he pointed at my leg brace.
I had been in a car accident when I was 13. My leg got stuck and once the doctors had stopped the bleeding and did some tests, they told me it was paralyzed. 90% of my nerves and muscles were torn apart so they weren't very optimistic. Though after going to a rehabilitation centre for a year and a half, I had somehow managed to get some strength back.
The only problem was that my knee collapsed when I walked so I was going to have to be wearing a leg brace for the rest of my life.
'Would you pick the other one if I wouldn't have a leg brace?' I asked.
Alex always seemed to think that it bothered me that I had to wear it but over the years it had become a part of me.
I didn't mind it anymore when people were looking at me. I'd learned to ignore it.
'No, I'd still say you should wear that one. I like it better.'
I nodded and thanked him before going back to my cabin to change.
Once I had changed, I made my way to the "breakfast room".
I grabbed a plate and walked passed the buffet. I wasn't a fan of anything too luxurious so I just stuck with a croissant stuffed with chocolate and one with cheese.
'Someone is enjoying her croissants.' A deep voice suddenly sounded beside me.
I looked up and was met with a guy who looked to be around my age.
He smiled mischievously as he grabbed some salmon and put it on his plate.
'You know what you should try?' he asked, pointing at his own plate.
He had the salmon perfectly placed on a piece of toast and a little cup of garlic butter beside it.
'You should try this, because it is the most magnificent thing you'll ever taste.'
I smiled and shook my head 'No thanks, I don't really like salmon. Or any fish for that matter.'
The guy gasped as I turned around to get myself a cup of tea.
'I don't believe you.' he said, acting as if we hadn't just met each other.
He was wearing a Green Day shirt with black dress pants.
It looked a little funny.
'Hey don't laugh, I'm making a statement for my parents. They want me to dress nice like everyone else here but I refuse to change until I had my breakfast.'
'You sleep in dress pants?' I grinned.
The guy rolled his eyes and followed me as I sat down at a table.
'No, my mom walked in when I was still half asleep and I only realized what I was doing when I was already wearing this.' He argued, spreading his garlic butter over his salmon.
'She sounds like a lovely woman.' I smiled, taking a bite from my croissant.
'Oh yes, she definitely is. She wakes me up at 6 every morning, rambles a bit about how I need to get my act together and empties a bucket of ice water over my head if I don't listen. She's absolutely wonderful.'
'So she woke you up at 6 and you're only having breakfast now? It's almost 10.30.'
The guy nodded. A proud smile appearing on his face, as if he had just accomplished one of his life goals.
'Like I said, I'm trying to make a statement. She can't keep telling me what to do and when to do it.'
I nodded, silently wishing I could say the same.
There was no way I would ever get out of my mom's grip unless I would end up marrying someone that wasn't rich and powerful.
Though I was pretty sure that was exactly what was going to happen eventually.
'So what about you?' he asked, as he swallowed down the last piece of his toast and stared at my croissants. Clearly still hungry.
'What about me?' I questioned, splitting my cheese croissant in half and handing him one of the pieces.
It was weird to talk to him, it felt natural. As if we had known each other for years.
'What brought you here?'
'Well...this is basically my mom's business trip and she made me come along because there's a lot of rich people here that she'd love to marry me off to.'
The boy hissed as if he had just burned his finger.
'That sounds like a lovely way to spent your summer.' 

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A/N:
Here is chapter one!
Who do you think this random guy is?