shy boy ; muke (ON HOLD/BEING REWRITTEN)

Chapter Four

The sun rose and overpowered the darkness, its light shining down on Earth. Through the slightly opened blinds, bars of light sat on Michael's white sheets and pillows, shining on his face. The sound of his parents moving around in the living room weren't hidden behind the thin walls, waking the sleeping boy up from his slumber. Opening his eyes, he leaned over and pressed the home button on his phone, lighting it up. He peered at the screen, the numbers 9:48 front and center on his lockscreen. Under the clock were texts from Calum and notifications from his social media.

Sitting up in bed, he glanced down at the floor and noticed his large plush whale laying there. Must have kicked it off, he thought as he reached down, scooped it up and put it under his arm, cuddling it.

Michael remembered the day he got the plush. It was the same day he figured out his feelings for Luke.

-

It was August: the summer before freshmen year. He had gone out on a double date at the town's carnival with Calum. It was a pair of friends; Julia, the girl that Calum went with, and Elliana, who Calum had set him up with. Cute and decent gal, but, as he soon found out, not his type.

The date went horribly wrong for both of them, so they ditched the two girls and continued to have fun.

They found a station where you had to throw bean bags into each hole in order to get the big prizes. Ultimately, they knew they would never be able to do it, but they still tried.

After multiple failed attempts, they noticed a family come up beside them and also attempt at it.

A fourteen-year-old blonde stood in the back, typing on his slide-out keyboard Blackberry, texting his friends.

It was Luke Hemmings.

Michael and Calum had seen him before. At the end of 8th grade, they took a trip to another middle school who had a bunch of students going to the same high school as they were. In an effort to try to get the kids to the bond, they planned mixers, where both Michael, Calum, and Luke were in the same mixer group.

Michael looked back at Calum who was preoccupied with flirting with the girl in charge of the station. He continued to play, with the occasional laugh from Calum. As he handed another dollar to the girl and grabbed a purple bean bag, a hand reached over and snatched it from his hands, quickly throwing it perfectly through the hole. Before he had time to react, the boy had already thrown all eight bags through the holes. Michael attempted to speak, but couldn't find the words. Glancing back at Calum, who furrowed his eyebrows at him, he turned around to see Luke holding a large, fluffy, blue and white plush whale towards him with a small smile on his face.

"Here ya go, pal," the boy said.

Michael speechless took it from him, giving Luke a small smile.

"Thanks," he told him, almost coming out in a whisper.

As if nothing ever happened, the blonde Australian went back to his family and continue to type on his phone, a small smirk on his face.

Before that, Michael never would have thought twice about a guy like the way he was now.

-

Inhaling deeply, Michael got out of bed and stretched, a loud Chewbacca yawn leaving his lips. He went to the bathroom, did what he had to do, and came back to his room to change into a pair of pastel green shorts and and a soft gray sweater.

Michael stepped out his room and trotted to the kitchen where his mom stood, piling food onto three plates. Turning around she smiled at her son and asked him to fetch dad for breakfast.