she's a dark pastel ; michael clifford au

Chapter 8

SKYLAR'S P.O.V (At the restroom)

I was about to go into the restroom, which I really didn't need to use but I really just needed an escape from that asshole for a while. Gosh he's so annoying. I ended up laughing at his stupidity in his face but he thought I was laughing at the joke he said. As I was about to walk into the restroom I heard a voice call my name. I turned to see a furious looking Calum rushing towards me.

"Oh my God." I mumbled quietly to myself. He probably saw me with Travis. He's proabably going to tell Michael. Oh God, Michael's probably here with him. 

"Skylar. Having fun here with Travis? Having fun while you hurt Michael's feelings?" He sneered.

"He's here?" I whispered. I felt my heart break at the thought of hurting Michael. He was the only boy who wasn't a complete asshole and showed an interest in me. I couldn't throw that all away for this imbecile.

"Yes he's here. And I wanna know why? Why would you treat Michael like you cared about him while you were really interested in someone else?" Calum snapped.

"No no no, it's not like that." I begged for him to understand, "I care for Michael, a lot." 

He scoffed, "Then why are with another guy?"

"Because Travis basically threatened me through Nicole telling her to tell me that everyone will hate me unless I go on this date. She said everyone would tease me and make fun of me. So now i'm here with that asshole having to put up with him. He's a dick, you know? He keeps trying to make moves on me.... I really don't want to be alone with him." I said.

His features softened but he still had a hard look on his face, "Whatever." He mumbled before walking into the restroom. 

I sighed and stood there for a while before walking out back into the restaurant. I made my way towards Travis and scanned the place in search for Michael. I soon spotted him across the room looking right at him. I sent him an apologetic look before looking away towards my "date." 

"Good, babe you're back." I cringed slightly at hearing him call me 'babe.'

"Yeah, i'm back." I said.

He leaned in really close, too close for my liking and whispered, "What do you say we get out of here and head over to my place?" My eyes widened in shock.

"W-What?" I said quietly.

"You heard me. C'mon." He called the waiter and payed for the dinner.

"I-I don't think this is a good idea, Travis." I said nervously. 

"What are you talking about? I already took you out on a date, what more do you want?" He snapped.

"I don't know, how about I get to know you better?!" I whisper shouted.

He groaned, "Don't be a bitch." I gasped and was about to slap him, but I contained myself.

"Specifically because i'm not one of the bitches people just take home every night is the reason why I don't want to go home with you." I snapped.

"Whatever." He growled. He stood up and grabbed my hand while dragging me along with him. I tried to dig my heels into the ground to stop him but he was too strong. I turned my head to see the four boys sitting there watching us leave. I mouthed 'Help' but I wasn't sure if they noticed. I looked back to see Ashton paying for the food as the rest of them stood up and followed us out of the building.

"Travis, please let go. You're hurting me." I tried to keep my voice strong but it shook. We finally reached what I assumed was his car and he slammed me against it. I winced and clenched my eyes shut. I felt him press himself against me and I struggled against his grip. 

"That's no way to treat a lady." I heard someone shout. I turned my head to see three shadows approach us. I couldn't see their faces in the dim moonlight, but I knew it was Luke, Calum and Michael. Soon another shadow ran up behind them. That must have been Ashton. I silently thanked the Lord that they had been at the same restaurant. 

"Relax man, we're just having fun. Right, babe?" He said before looking down to me. I gulped nervously and tried to answer but I couldn't.

"I... I uh... no." I whispered.

"She doesn't want to be with you, mate. Just let her go." I heard, what seemed like Michael, say.  

"This is between me and her. Just fuck off." Travis spat. I tried to wriggle from his grasp but he only held my wrists tighter causing a high pitched sqeak to leave my lips.

"You're huritng her!" The voice boomed. 

"Listen, mate, I told you this was none of your business. Now fuck off or else." Travis snapped. He turned around slightly only to get a punch thrown towards his face. He fell backwards and lost his grip on my hand. I ran over towards the three boys behind the one who defended me. It was indeed Ashton, Luke, and Calum. I turned around to see Travis rushing towards me before being stopped and thrown back against his car. I was embraced by Ashton as I tried not to show much emotion. I focused on the soft breeze coming our way and closed my eyes as he held me tightly. I felt a different hand pull me away from Ashton and pull me into an embrace. I looked up to see Michael holding me tight. I sighed and took a deep breath, his cologne invading my senses. He pulled away suddenly.

"Thank you." I whispered quietly, "And thanks to you guys too." They simply nodded before taking a step back.

"We're gonna go to the truck now. Catch up with us in a bit, Mike." Ashton said before they all walked away. I turned to see Michael staring at me intently. It wasn't like before when he had wonder and curiosity in his eyes, this time he had anger and hurt. 

"I-I'm sorry, Michael. Please let me explain-"

"There's no need. Calum told me. You're doing this for your reputation and I understand." He interrupted me, "But is it honestly worth it? What do you get out of this so called "reputation?" Popularity?"

"I-"

"No. Let me finish. What is popularity going to help you with? In a few years you're not going to have any of this. You're going to leave this school behind and go to another one and all of your popularity is going to go down the drain. Maybe you don't realize this now, but it's not going to be worth it when you get out of high school. There really is no point." He said. I let the words sink in and realized how true they were. I was being selfish and stupid. Here stood an amazing guy who cared about me and I was too scared to fight for him.

"I really like you Skylar." He sighed as his hand caressed the side of my face.

"I like you too." I smiled. 

He closed his eyes and took in a breath, "But.... But if we want this to work you have to be willing to give up your popularity."

"I-" 

"Take your time if you want. Take all the time in the world... I just hope my feelings are still strong by the time you decide." He sighed before bringing me closer and pressing his forehead against mine. I gasped softly before focusing on the green of his eyes. They sparkled in the dim moonlight. He leaned in so close that our lips were brushing. I felt my lips tingle at the feeling of having him so close. He pressed his lips to my cheek, not my lips, softly and left them there for a few seconds before pulling away. He smiled lightly before walking away. I wanted to say goodbye or apologize for being such a coward, but he just kept walking. Why wouldn't he say goodbye himself? Then I realized that he didn't say goodbye because he hoped we would be together again. I hoped that too. I hope I get over my fears and just tell him that I like him too much to forget him.

But that was the last time I spoke directly to Michael Clifford for a very long time.