Straight Out of '94: A Michael Clifford Story

Chapter 6

As much as Haley loved her job and the fact that she got paid to go to shows, she hated dealing with the guys who thought that being drunk was an excuse to grope at and hit on any girl that walked past them in the crowd.

Maggie had been planning on coming with her, something that always worked in Haley's favor when they went out. Maggie tended to draw insane amounts of attention to herself, both with her looks and personality, and in turn attention was drawn away from Haley, just the way she liked. Maggie had called an hour before Haley had planned on leaving and cancelled on her, with the excuse that Francisco wanted to take her to a party and she felt bad turning him down.  She was surprised that her best friend was still dating the model, but it really wasn't any of her business.

The band she was scheduled to see that night was decent, a folky rock ground that she'd shot once before when they'd first come to L.A. It was nice to be listening to music that didn't make her wish she were deaf. 

One of the perks of her job was that it got her into areas of bars and venues that were significantly less crowded, and had a much lower jerk population. She'd grabbed a bottle of water from the bar and was heading towards the front of the venue when an incredibly drunk guy stumbled to a stop in front of her. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he leered down at her, a smug smile on his face. She rolled her eyes when the smell of beer hit her like a brick wall, and took a step back, trying to distance herself from him, before bumping into someone and feeling something cold and wet spilling down the back of her shirt. 

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and when she opened them, the drunk guy was gone. She turned around slowly, the drink continuing to drip down her back.

"I'm so sor-" Haley found herself staring into a familiar pair of wide green eyes. "Oh, shit."

Michael ran a hand through his hair, which had faded to white blonde, and put his empty glass on one of the high tables next to him. 

"I'm so, so sorry. You must think I'm the biggest asshole."

Even with the liquid dripping down her back, Haley couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him. It might have been because even in the dim light of the bar, she could see that the tips of his ears had gone red again, and she found it incredibly cute.

"You're not an asshole, Michael." His eyebrows shot up, like he was surprised that she remembered his name. "Maybe next time I run into you though, we should try not to actually run into each other, yeah?"

Michael nodded and attempted a smile, and then his eyes widened. He slipped the green plaid shirt off his shoulders, leaving him in a black cutoff t-shirt. Haley took in the bands tattooed around his arms, appreciating the contrast of the dark ink against his pale skin.

"Why don't you take this? You're probably going to be cold until that dries, and it's the least I can do, seeing as it's my fault."

Haley hadn't expected the gesture, and smiled up at him before taking the shirt and shrugging it on over her Ramones t-shirt. The shirt was warm and smelled really nice, a mixture of laundry detergent and the faint hint of cologne. The sleeves were way too long, and she rolled them up before picking her camera bag up from the floor. As she stared up at him, she realized for the first time just how tall he was, at least a foot taller than she was, and she smiled again.

"Thanks for the shirt, Michael. I've got to go, but maybe I'll see you at the store soon?"

Michael ran a hand through his hair again, and Haley tried not to stare at the strip of skin that appeared between the hem of his shirt and his jeans when he lifted his arm. She was turning to leave when he spoke.

"I work on Tuesday. Uh, if you want to stop by, I mean."

He looked sheepish, his hand jumping to his hair yet again, and Haley found herself nodding.

"Maybe I'll see you Tuesday, then." She smiled and turned away, heading towards the front of the venue. It occured to her that Maggie would've been proud of her for keeping her cool, but then she realized that talking to Maggie about it would include talking about Michael, and her best friend was suspicious enough as it was. She snuck a peak over his shoulder just before she headed into the back room to leave her bag in the back room, blushing when she found Michael's eyes still on her.

Haley's shoot went well, but she had to keep herself from searching the crowd for Michael. The crowd was small but energetic, and the band soaked it up. She knew from the last time she'd shot them that they enjoyed partying, and after their set, made sure that she was happy with the shots she had before releasing them to wreak havoc in the bar.

When Haley got home, she shrugged off her borrowed shirt, tossing it onto the back of her desk chair.  Plugging her camera into her computer, she changed into her pajamas, staring at the plaid shirt as her pictures loaded. She smiled softly for a moment, before shaking her head, knowing that she was acting like a little kid with a crush. 

As she scrolled through the first few pictures, which were really just her getting her camera settings right, she spotted a familiar tuft of white blonde hair in the corner of one of the pictures. As she continued to make her way through the pictures she'd taken, weeding out the out of focus and grainy shots, she tried her best to ignore Michael when he popped up randomly.

It was almost three a.m. when she closed her laptop, happy with the work she'd done so far. 

Sorry this is super short, I wanted to get a little cute Haley/Michael action in before everything picks up. Thanks for reading!