"alex, i-i can explain," michael rushed to say, glancing from luke to his friend with worry locked in his green eyes. alex just rolled his eyes and unlocked the stall door, letting ashton come in. the wavy haired boy poked his head in and frowned uneasily when he saw how close luke and michael were to each other.
"luke? c'mon, you're better than this," ashton frowned, his gaze flickering between luke and michael. out of habit, the black haired boy began to gnaw on his nails anxiously, completely forgetting that if he were to do so then brooks would proceed to ignore him.
"i can't believe this, mike-"
"wait, hold on," luke interrupted alex hastily, his fiery blue eyes set firmly on ashton, "what the fuck do you mean, i'm better than this?"
"better than having an affair with someone who's gonna get fucking married," ashton replied somewhat angrily, glancing quickly to alex, "yes, me and him are having an affair, but it's fine because neither of us are in a relationship. meanwhile, he's gonna get married and you're fucking a whole lot more-"
"you wouldn't understand," luke blurted out, keeping ashton from sputtering out that last sentence, "nobody understands our relationship except for us, so kindly fuck off."
"luke, i'm your best friend," ashton said with a roll of his hazel eyes, "i'm just trying to help you out here. imagine if his fiancé found out that michael was having sex with you. don't you think his first instinct would be to hunt you down and beat you up?"
michael stayed quiet, because to be honest he was sure brooks would do that if he found out that michael had constantly lied to him over and over, and failed to tell him that he was in love with his boss.
"i can take care of myself, ash," luke spat angrily, "i don't need you watching over me like a little kid. i know what i'm doing, and i don't give a shit about his fiancé, except for that he gets to see michael, kiss michael, hug michael- all of the things that i want to do freely with michael."
"michael, we need to talk," alex said sharply, reaching out to grasp michael's wrist and pull the shorter boy away from the warmth of luke's body. michael allowed his friend to pull him out of the bathroom, but then tugged his wrist out of alex's grip once they began to wait for the elevator.
"i can't fucking believe you," alex said angrily, tapping his foot against the carpeted floor impatiently, "you were the last person i expected to have an affair with that bastard."
"i-i think i c-could have a f-future with h-him," michael replied softly, still chewing on his nails but trying not to bite them down all the way. at his words, alex exasperatedly ran his fingers through his messy hair and just shook his head.
"fucking hell, no you can't," alex gave michael an angry look and repeated loudly, "there's no way you could like him. he's a terrible person and i hate working for him, but i have to because he pays well. but get this through your naïve head, michael— there's no way that luke would want a future with you. he's probably just using you but you're too oblivious to tell."
"he i-isn't using m-me," was michael's only reply, keeping his gaze on the floor as the two got in the elevator, "y-you can say whatever you w-want, but nothing c-can keep me f-from saying th-that i like h-him."
"how about the fact that you have a fucking fiancé you're getting married to?" alex sputtered, pressing the first floor button as the elevator doors closed, "i'm sure luke is just using you for sex or something, and you're being unfaithful to brooks with a fucking sociopath."
"he i-isn't a s-sociopath," michael argued softly, "and h-he isn't using me f-for s-sex. we've never even h-had sex, m-meanwhile, you an-and ashton..."
"ash and i are only a fling," alex said impatiently as they got off the elevator. michael slid into his office chair as alex stood behind his desk, an angry expression still plastered on his face, "at least i admit to it, and i have no feelings for him. i like brandi and nobody else."
"th-then why are you h-having an affair w-with ashton?" michael asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. alex shrugged and ran some fingers through his hair carelessly.
"he's good at blowjobs. but i'm gonna end our fling once i ask brandi out, whenever i gain the confidence for it. meanwhile, you're over here with luke—"
"j-just fuck off, alex," michael blurted out, giving alex a regretful look as the words sputtered out of his mouth, "i-i know what i'm doing; th-this is my life, n-not yours. i can h-handle myself, and so c-can luke."
"tell brooks you're cheating on him with luke, or i will," alex said simply, putting his arms back by his sides as he backed up from michael's desk, "i'll tell him right after your wedding, the worst timing ever."
michael watched as alex left, going up in the elevator and pressing the button to the second floor. he waited until the doors had shut to wipe the tears that had been forming in his green eyes. admittedly, what alex said had hurt michael. michael had no idea what was going to happen in his future, and alex dared to have the audacity to ruin his marriage to brooks.
--
michael had his speech therapy today, which was something he was happy about yet sad about since it meant the weekend, and that meant that he wasn't going to see luke until the following monday. at least luke was going to drive michael to the speech therapy office; that was time they could spend together. michael was considering asking luke if he wanted to get dinner somewhere after the therapy.
the black haired boy felt his heart race as he saw luke come out of the elevator, a tired expression glued to his face. he offered luke a small smile as the older man removed his tie and fiddled with it in his hands.
"h-hey," michael spoke up, seeing that luke wasn't about to greet michael. luke just gave michael a slightly overwrought smile as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other and eyed michael up and down.
"you ready to go?" luke asked, still fiddling with his tie as he uncomfortably tugged at his white collar and then proceeded to unbutton the top button so that it wasn't up all the way to his neck. michael nodded and got up from his chair, going around the wide desk and watching as luke briefly skimmed his gaze over michael again before they began walking toward the exit. as they walked michael decided to text brooks and see how he was doing, since he was sick and all.
michael (4:42 pm): hey brooksy how are you doing?
brooks (4:43 pm): i'm fine. my fever went down so i feel better :)) how are you, how's work?
michael (4:43 pm): i'm good, works good. just tired :,(
brooks (4:44 pm): my poor baby :-(
brooks (4:45 pm): i gotta tell you something
michael (4:45 pm): anything :-)
brooks (4:46 pm): so bryce tried to make a move on me
brooks (4:46 pm): i pushed him off, don't worry. and i told him that i only love you
brooks (4:46 pm): he's mad at me now. but it's worth it. i would pick you over anyone any day. i could never ever cheat on you
michael (4:47 pm): aw, love you <33 gtg, work. see you at home
brooks (4:47 pm): oh, ok. see you
"texting brooks about wedding plans?" luke asked stiffly as they got into his sleek black car, luke in the driver's seat and michael in the passenger's. michael tensed up and glanced over at his boss with a bit of confusion in his green eyes.
"n-no, not about w-wedding plans," michael murmured, glancing in his lap and buckling his seat belt across his torso. there was a small pause between them, so michael pressed his lips together and added, "h-his friend made a move on h-him and he pushed him off b-because he said h-he could n-never ch-cheat on me."
"how ironic," luke laughed, but stopped and tried to turn it into a cough when he noticed michael's upset expression. the blonde put the car in reverse to get out of the parking spot and glanced in the rearview mirror before the car began to move. "um, sorry. too soon?"
michael didn't say anything in response; just turned his gaze to the window and frowned a bit at the dreary weather. luke let out a small sigh and put the windshield wipers on as the clouds began to drip with sad raindrops.
"you know, i was thinking that maybe we should just stay low for the moment," luke spoke up after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence between the two, "since alex and ashton know about us. i don't really want anyone else finding out, so let's keep our relationship inside the office strictly professional, alright?"
"an-and our relationship outside th-the office?" michael asked cautiously, glancing over at luke. the blonde snuck a quick peek at michael before he averted his eyes back on the road, preferring not to get caught up in michael's beauty and forget that he was driving.
"however you want it to be, babe," luke smirked a bit, but mostly to himself as he set the windshield wipers on a higher setting. michael watched as the raindrops pelted the windows, and when he could hear the crunch of ice hitting glass he knew it had to be hail. it was weird for them to get hail during march, but apparently not rare.
"aw man, i-it's hailing," michael pointed out, slumping back in his comfortable seat. luke chuckled and stole another glance at the younger boy seated next to him with only the console keeping luke from grasping michael's hips and pulling him onto his lap. oh, and the fact that luke was driving at a speed of seventy five miles per hour.
"i have a jacket in the back you can wear when we get out," luke replied, knowing that the jacket would be swimming on michael since it was already big on luke and luke was broader and taller than michael. they were both pretty tall, but michael was around five foot nine while luke was over six feet.
"th-thanks," michael murmured thankfully, glancing back over at luke and hesitating before asking softly, "wh-what was eline like?"
"eline?" luke repeated, keeping his baby blue eyes on the road, "she was everything i ever needed. she was my best friend, my shoulder to cry on, my happiness and my world. she had this kind of... innocence to her and i felt like i could trust her with anything. she made me realise what love felt like, and you wanna know something? she helped me realise that i love you since i now know what love feels like. and i feel it whenever i look at you, talk to you, kiss you, anything that involves you."
"sh-she sounded so lovely," michael murmured, fidgeting with the tie he still had on, "if you t-two were still together, w-would we have th-this affair?"
"probably not," luke shrugged, his blue eyes darting out the window before he glanced back to the road, "i loved her too much to cheat on her."
"i-i wish brooks an-and i were like that," michael admitted in a slight whisper, hovering his fingers over his lower lip to keep his fat lip from trembling. luke pressed his lips together at the mention of brooks and stole a quick glance in michael's direction, holding in a sigh as his blue eyes took in the shorter boy's appearance.
"not every relationship works out," luke mused quietly, wanting to pull over so that he could properly comfort michael but, at the same time, he didn't want to since he would prefer not to make michael late to his speech therapy.
"i-i hope we work out, luke," michael whispered, glancing over at the taller man he loved, "s-someway, somehow."
"so do i, babe," luke confessed, looking over to meet michael's green eyes and offer him a hopeful smile. the black haired boy gave luke a content smile in return and then glanced out the window to watch the hail pelt the road outside, while luke turned back to the road ahead and ran his tongue over his black lip piercing uneasily.