close as strangers ; sequel to band shirts

05: awkwardness

When Luke walked into his small apartment, the first thing he noticed was the broken glass scattered across the kitchen floor. He frowned and walked towards it, but stopped as he noticed the tiny splatter of blood in the middle of it, his eyes moving to the path of blood. His heart raced inside his chest, his legs moving as fast as they could despite their shaking. "Michael?" Luke called. The blood stopped at the bathroom door, which was closed, but inside Luke heard sobbing. "Michael, baby, you in there?"

There was a sniffle and then the sound of the door unlocking, but Michael didn't open it. Luke pushed it open gently, directing his eyes to the sobbing boy on the floor. His hand was pressed against his chest, leaving a red stain on his white shirt. "I'm sorry," He breathed out, his eyes shut tightly, "It slipped...I tried to clean it up but," He removed his hand, showing Luke the cut, his eyes still shut.

Luke rushed to the sink, wetting a face towel before helping Michael up and sitting him on the toilet. "Michael," He murmured, pushing Michael's hair away from his tear-stained face. "It's okay, it's just a glass" Luke kissed his cheek softly. Michael had placed his hand back to his chest and his eyes were open wide now, staring at Luke curiously. "Babe, I need your hand"

"It hurts," Michael whimpered, letting Luke take his hand. Luke nodded and slowly pressed the wet towel to his hand. Michael winced but let Luke remove the blood before examining the wound. As Luke frowned, Michael smiled down at him, reminding himself that this is why he fell in love with Luke in the first place.

"Okay, it's not too deep, but let's put a Band-Aid on it, alright?" Luke stood up and searched for his first aid kit before turning back to Michael with a shy smile, "I only have Toy Story or The Wiggles"

Michael giggled despite himself and pointed to The Wiggles Band-Aids in Luke's hand. Luke put the other Band-Aids back and kneeled in front of Michael, taking his hand in his own, flipping it over so the palm was facing him. He smoothed the Band-Aid down on the cut and then looked up at Michael with a smile. "See? All better"

"Aren't you going to ask what happened?" Michael whispered, not breaking eye contact.

Luke shook his head. "Do you want to tell me?" He questioned, watching as Michael shook his head softly. "Then you don't have too. I'm not going to pressure you, baby"

"I love you" Michael couldn't stop the words before they came tumbling out of his mouth. The words left his lips and his eyes widened, as did Luke's. His heart raced and his palms grew sweaty, waiting for Luke's response.

"I love you, too" Luke reached up and placed his hands on each of Michael's cheeks, leaning forward. Michael's eyes immediately shut and he waited for Luke's chapped lips on his, his hands moving to Luke's waist. Their lips molded together, and Michael felt himself moving off the toilet to kneel on the floor like Luke. Their kiss didn't turn fierce, or sexual, it stayed full of love and passion. And Michael never wanted it to stop.

***

"Are you still dating him?"

That was the only question Yasmin seemed to think of after Blake told her of how Ian had reacted to Calum. She hadn't spoken to him much, though he called her a lot and messaged her every day. "Yes, I am" Blake replied as she scrubbed at the dishes.

"Why?" Yasmin asked, frowning as she watches Blake, "Honestly, he shouldn't be able to tell you who you can and can't see. You should know that, B"

Blake sighed, her shoulders slumping as she let the plate she was cleaning slide back into the sink. "I know," She replied, "I told him that, but I also haven't spoken to him since that day. He has messaged me but I don't know if I should reply. Hell, I don't know if I want to reply"

A knock rang out through the house and Yasmin beamed. "That must be Melanie! One moment. I promise you'll love her!"

Blake watched as Yasmin hurried to the door, a happy bounce to her step. Sighing, Blake grabbed the tea towel by her side and dried her hands, listening as Yasmin greeted the girl at the door. Blake vaguely remembered Yasmin telling her about a girl she had met, but she wasn't paying all that much attention then and she wasn't paying much attention now when Yasmin introduced her to Melanie. She was thinking about that day, almost six years ago, when she met Calum in the principal's office. She wondered what would have happened if she had never gotten in trouble. Would she still have met Calum? She couldn't think of what it would be like without him there, even if they only knew each other for a year before he left.

"Blake, could you get that?" Yasmin asked her as she handed Melanie a cup of water, "I think it might be Ashton. He said he was coming over"

Blake frowned, not knowing what she was talking about until there was another knock on the door. She walked out of the kitchen and to the front door, still thinking about Calum. "Blake!" Ashton pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just had a fight with Ian" She murmured, pushing her dark away from her face and giving him the best smile she could manage. He raised an eyebrow at her but before she could explain, Yasmin came towards them, hugging Ashton before turning to Melanie.

"Ash, this is Melanie, the girl I've been seeing" She grinned at the both of them, and Blake watched as Ashton forced a smile and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Ashton and Melanie said at the same time. Ashton quickly stepped away, almost hitting the door in the process, and turned to Blake. "So, um, wanna talk about that fight?"

Blake nodded, but as soon as they were in her room she turned to Ashton. "What was that?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What was what?" He played dumb, looking anywhere but her eyes.

"You, just then. You were all awkward and weird, why?"

"No, I wasn't" He defended, scoffing, "I was completely normal and calm"

"Yeah, alright, whatever"

Just then Yasmin opened the door, "Calum is here as well, and Melanie and I are having some wine and snacks if you guys want to join" She told them. Ashton gave Blake a look before hurrying out towards the living room with Yasmin following. Blake rolled her eyes and made her way out as well, giving Calum a smile as she sat down next to Melanie, who was peering at Calum in confusion. He was looking at her as well, his eyes full of worry.

"So, who wants a glass?" Yasmin called out from the kitchen, oblivious to the tension in the living room. Blake is looking between Calum and Melanie with narrowed eyes, and Ashton is glaring at Melanie, sulking in the seat furthest from her. When no one answered Yasmin, she came out holding the bottle, looking at everyone. "Well?"

Blake quickly turned to her and nodded, so did Melanie and Ashton. Calum shook his head and turned to Blake, who grabbed her phone to stop from looking at him. She checked her messages and frowned when she noticed Ian had messaged her again. She peered up at Calum who was still watching her before looking back at her phone, asking herself why she was giving up Ian for someone who didn't even love her.

"Calum, can I speak to you?" She asked him. She didn't give him a chance to answer, instead stood up and walked towards the front door. Calum followed her in confusion, but she jumped in before he got a chance to ask anything, "I need you to leave. As ridiculous as this sounds, Ian and I had a fight because of you, and I just need to talk to him but he'll only get angrier if he finds out we've been hanging out"

He scoffed. "What? You're letting a boy tell you who you can and can't see now?" He rolled his eyes, "B, I know you. You would never let someone control you, so why now? Why him? I couldn't give a shit if he didn't like me because frankly, I don't like him, but he can't stop us from being friends"

"Cal, please" She whispered, closing her eyes softly. "I'm trying to avoid more arguments"

"Well consider this one avoided" He snapped before storming out, slamming the door behind him. Blake clenched her jaw and fell against the door, rubbing her temples as she tried to calm herself. She hated having to choose between Calum and Ian, but she knew Calum was her past and Ian was her present.

--

i hate people who try to create drama where there isn't any lmao