Death Wish | lrh [ON HOLD]

the ninth chapter.

09

" MUSIC "

if there was one thing michael clifford could do, it's the ability to make the simplest of things fun.

he and jet sat there playing chopsticks—with the occasional outbursts of "ah, fuck you" and "suck my ass, bitch"—as the other three watched them miserably fail to outwit the other. they were in a rather intense game that had been ongoing nonstop for about ten minutes, while their spectators placed money on the winner.

"i bet michael's gonna win."

"oh yeah? i bet twenty bucks on jet."

and after fifteen minutes of them placing down dollar bills on the table, jet had shouted in victory.

"yes! take that loser," she boasted, doing a little happy dance, but not before sticking her middle finger up at the boy sulking over his lose.

"you cheated! i want a rematch!"

"how the fuck did i cheat? i'm all natural," she smirked, playing it cool as she slung her arm around michael, pulling him into a headlock. she gestured to the boy, whose airways were practically failing at this point, with a smug expression on her face. "does that look like a winner to you?"

"sorry, mike, but i'm gonna have to give it to jet," ashton sighed as the money transferred from him—scratch that, it was pried from him—to calum.

with a cheery "yes!" escaping calum's lips, he raised his fist towards the girl.

she had finally released her death grip and smiled contently, completing the fist bump, as michael pouted, taking a bite of his burger. she took a quick look at her phone and sighed.

"well boys, i've had loads of fun today, but i've got to get going," she explained, sliding out of the booth. "i still have things to unpack from when i first moved here, which was literally last week."

michael frowned, grabbing hold of the girl's wrist. "so? unpack later, hang out with us."

"i really do have to go, though. and i have some work to do, too." he huffed and let go of her, crossing his arms in order to put his disappointment on full display. "stop being so dramatic. i'll text you later. bye guys," she smiled as she exited the diner.

she went back to her empty apartment—piles of boxes stood in the center of the living room. she got to work and began decorating and organizing her things, which wasn't much.

"finally," she breathed, laying on the fluffy carpet she had set down in her bedroom—what was once bland, was now covered in posters and pictures of her friends.

she plugged in her phone to the speaker system that was set all around her apartment, and according to her string of profanities when she connected all of it, it was a pain in the ass to actually do.

she closed her eyes, allowing the music blasting throughout her entire apartment fully take over.

'but i crumble completely when you cry.'

the music had absorbed her whole by this point of the song, until a series of heavy pounds on her door broke through.

"turn down the goddamn music!"

•••

[ second update !! i wasn't sure if i was gonna be able to post on actual christmas, so i'm updating now :)) happy holidays you guys, thank u so much for reading my story !! ]