He was her teacher; She was his student.
He wanted her; She wanted him.
It shouldn't be complicated.
But nothing's ever that easy.
*contains mature content; read at your own risk
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"Is it that bad?" I asked as Michael took a long, slow drag of his cigarette. He wasn't much of a smoker— only when he was super stressed out. Normally, he would just drink to forget his problems, but when he brought out the cigarettes, that was when you knew something was seriously wrong.
"I'm just an idiot," he sighed, looking straight ahead and taking another puff of his smoke.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Although, I was really curious as to was going on, I knew better than to pressure him. He would tell me when he was ready, but I had to ask just once to be sure.
"Not right now." He flicked the ashes from the end, watching them tumble down the edge of the roof and onto the grass below.
I huddled my knees against my chest as we sat in silence in the chilly January air. Even thought he didn't want to talk about whatever was going on, I still wanted to be there for him in case he changed his mind or if he broke down in tears. It had happened once before, and although I was completely stunned, I still managed to hold my crying brother in my arms until he was alright again. That wasn't something I ever wanted to witness again, but from his eerie quietness, I knew he was holding back a lot more than he let on.
"Who's car was that? I saw someone dropping you off earlier," Michael broke the silence, finally extinguishing his cigarette.
"No one really, just a friend." I tried to play it off casually, but I was sure the uneasiness was evident in my voice.
"Sounds like a boy to me," Michael wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. That was the funny thing about Michael— the world could be crumbling around him, yet he would always act as if he was the one holding it together. He was strong, and that was something I admired about him. I could never do that. I would always burst into tears whenever the slightest thing went wrong. I guess that's just where we were different though— I got all of the emotions; he got none.
"Are you gonna tell me his name? Do I know him?" Michael continued to pester, bumping his shoulder against mine as I hid my face in my hands.
"No and yes," I said hoping that it would be enough information to get him off my back. "That's all your getting."
"Blakey's got a boyfriend," Mike sing-songed. "Am I gonna have to kick his ass anytime soon?" And there was the overprotective brother side of him.
"He's not my boyfriend," I muttered, although, I wasn't even sure if that was true. We had done a lot of couple-y things together, but we had yet to label ourselves. Maybe it was just me being overly optimistic, but I was sure that something was going to happen in the near future.
"As long as it's not Calum again, I don't care." Michael despised Calum. You see, they used to be the best of friends. It used to always be the five of us— Mike, me, Lindsey, and Ash— against the world until about a year ago. Calum did some regrettable things, and that's where it all ended. He was out of our friend group, but he really didn't mind anymore I'm sure. He turned into one of the asshole popular kids and made it his mission to make our lives, especially mine, a living hell. It was something that I wish I could've seen coming, but to be honest, nobody expected it. But there's nothing that can be done now. It's all over now, and soon enough, we'll never have to see his pathetic face ever again. He'll go to the college of his choice, and the rest of us will go to ours. And that's the end of story.
"You don't have to worry about that," I scoffed. "I would never willing get in a car with him if my life depended on it."
"Okay, good." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. "I don't want that douchebag anywhere near my baby sister."
I hadn't told him about what had happened at the party last weekend. I didn't deem it all that necessary. Sure, he would be pissed if he found out, but I do know how to handle myself—especially around Calum.
"It's getting really cold out. How about we go back inside?" I suggested a few minutes after our conversation had tapered off.
"You go ahead. I'll be there in a few minutes."
I stood up and brushed the dirt from my butt before climbing back in the window. Once inside, I paused to look back at my twin who appeared to be lost in thought once again. I was worried about him, but he was a big boy; he could handle himself.
Author's Note:
shorter chapter, but you got to see a little bit of Blake and Michael's relationship.
so what do you think is stressing mikey out so bad?
it's gonna be a while before you find out still (I guess that's a good thing ? bc it means more chapters😁)
