vagabond ; mc

ten ;

Luke hadn't looked at Dahlia for the rest of the night. After Michael had slung his arm over Dahlia's shoulders and pretended to flirt with her, his blue eyes hadn't landed on her again. Somehow, Dahlia felt cocky. If he could find someone new so fast, why couldn't she, even if it was just an act?

"Are you ready to go?" Michael asked after they had bowled their last frame. Dahlia had ended up with a whopping 12 points and Michael somehow managed to bowl a 148 game.

Dahlia nodded, it was getting late. Even though she didn't have to work tomorrow, she was still used to going to bed at a decent time to wake up early. But for once, she'd get to sleep in tomorrow.

"I'll grab the balls and you can return the shoes," Michael said, holding up his bowling ball as if it were on display. Dahlia agreed, collecting their shoes and heading towards the counter.

"All done for tonight?" Jacob asked as she handed over the shoes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired. I worked all morning," Dahlia explained, leaning on the counter. She didn't get to talk to Jacob much since he had college classes and a job. But when she did get to talk to him, it was nice.

Jacob understood. "Well, I hope you sleep well tonight. It was good to see you!" He said, smiling at her as he waved goodbye. Dahlia returned the gesture and then turned to find Michael. He had been gone for longer than she expected.

And when she laid eyes on him, Dahlia knew why. He was standing a few feet away from Michael, his hands tucked into his front pockets as they spoke. Dahlia's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. She wanted to know what they were talking about, but she didn't want to go and find out herself.

She'd avoid Luke for as long as she could.

Dahlia watched on as Michael nodded at something Luke said before he gave him a tight-lipped smile and walked away. His green eyes immediately met Dahlia's as he came closer. Once again, his arm snaked around her shoulders as they started out of the bowling alley.

"What was that about?" Dahlia couldn't help but ask, looking up at Michael's unshaven face.

She felt Michael shrug. "He was just wondering who I was since he's never seen me around before," Michael explained.

"What did you tell him?" Dahlia wondered, biting down on her lip. But what she really wanted the answer to was why did Luke care in the first place? He was the one who broke up with her, so why did he care who she hung out with? It was different for her; Luke was talking to one of her best friends. At least she had the decency to talk to someone that Luke didn't know.

"That I was no one he needed to worry about," Michael smiled down at her.

"Just enough mystery for him to wonder if it's true," Dahlia nodded in satisfaction. She was glad that Michael didn't come out and tell Luke who he was. For one, Luke didn't deserve to know anything about her life anymore.

Michael nodded, "It's gonna keep him up all night by the look on his face." He laughed, pushing open the door into the cool night.

She just hoped that Luke would stay away from her now that he saw she was with other people and moved on from him. It was the only thing she could do anyway since he was the one who dumped her, but he had just beaten her to the punch.

Dahlia and Michael walked the rest of the way to the apartment in silence. Small screams and shrieks of excitement carried through the otherwise still air from the boardwalk. Dahlia looked back on her day and night, smiling to herself. She hadn't had this much fun in a while.

She couldn't help but be thankful for Michael, even if he wouldn't be in her life for that much longer.

-

"Why do you do it?" Dahlia asked. The sky was dark in front of them, the horizon starting to show the faintest sign of sunlight peeking over the tops of the buildings. Sleep still plagued her eyes, but when Michael had shaken her away and told her to follow him, she couldn't refuse. It was one day that she could finally sleep in, but that wasn't possible now.

"Do what?" Michael asked, turning his head to look at her. Dahlia couldn't wait to see his face illuminated with the early sun, his eyes turning translucent from the light. The corners of his mouth upturned slightly, a ghost of a smile haunting his lips.

His hair was disheveled, the dark strands sticking out at odd angles. His shirt was wrinkled, a small tear at the collar. She wasn't sure if he had changed at all or if he had just pulled on a pair of pants before he came to get her. Dahlia tried to remember what he wore last night, but her memory was still fuzzy in the early hour.

"This," Dahlia said, gesturing to the view in front of them. "Travelling from place to place. Watching the sun rise from rooftops," she continued. "Don't you want to settle down, keep friends by your side?"

Michael took a deep breath, swinging his feet back and forth as he turned to look at the sky again. The sun was eating away at the dark color, yellows and oranges and reds starting to bleed up and out. He leaned back on his hands, closing his eyes for a moment, his lashes fanning across his cheeks.

"I want to feel alive," he finally said, his eyes opening. Like Dahlia had waited for, his green eyes were the color of sea glass, the same shade as an old soda bottle. "I felt suffocated in my hometown, like if I didn't get out then, I never would."

"So you're chasing happiness?" Dahlia asked. The sun was rising higher in the sky, the city coming to life with it.

"They have a term for it," Michael said, indirectly answering her question. He sat up again, letting his hands go limp in his lap. She raised her eyebrows, urging him to continue. "Vagabonds."

Dahlia had only heard the word used a few times before. "So you're a nomad?" She asked, wishing that she'd get some solid answers instead of cryptic ones.

This time, Michael nodded. "I'm not chasing anything, really," Michael shrugged. "And if I am, I don't know what it is. Happiness, a sense of belonging..." he trailed off, his eyes seeming to lose focus as he squinted into the rising sun. "I might find it, and I may not. But if I don't, it's not a big deal."

"Maybe you're looking for yourself?" Dahlia spoke allowed though she didn't mean to. She remembered seeing Michael look at himself in the mirror as if he didn't know who he was. He looked lost, as if he couldn't tell east from west, as if all the lines on a map blurred together.

Michael looked at her, his eyes coming back into focus as he blinked at her. He took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

"Maybe I am," he said, his teeth capturing his bottom lip. "But how will I know if it find myself?" He asked. Dahlia didn't have an answer, not one that would satisfy Michael.

So she was honest. "I don't know, Michael," he said, reaching forward and grabbing his hand that still lay limp in his lap. She threaded their fingers together and gave his hand a small squeeze. "But once you do, if you do, I know you'll know."

Michael gave her a wry smile and turned back to watch the sun rise even higher in the sky.