CREDIT FOR SONG:
5 Seconds Of Summer
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DEDICATIONS:
teenpov
&
incohesive
because they're the first friends I've made on wattpad in a while.
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WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
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"You got the guitar?" Michael asked with a grin, leaning against the locker next to Luke's. Michael chuckled, watching him jump back in surprise. Luke glared at Michael and closed his locker before beginning to walk with him, his books tucked in his arms.
"Yeah, I did," Luke responded. Michael paused before he spoke, looking at both pairs of feet, noticing how they walked at the same pace. He waited a little longer, expecting Luke to say more.
"Oh. So, you didn't run into Ashton last night?" Michael questioned. Of course, he already knew the answer to that, Ashton being his best friend and all, but watching Luke blush seemed to be a form of entertainment to Michael.
"Oh, gosh. Don't remind me. He didn't even want to look at my face," he sighed. The bell rang before Michael could respond to him. Luke was quick to join the stampede of students, leaving Michael in the middle of a hallway alone with his thoughts.
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TALKING SHIT KNOWING DAMN WELL I WAS A LIAR
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"Ashton, you want to explain as to why Luke thinks you don't like him?" Michael interrupted, his arms crossed and his foot tapping against the floor.
Ashton gaped at Michael for a while before dragging him away from his group of friends, confusion written on their faces. Ashton waved them off, and the boys soon returned to their conversation.
Ashton stopped once outside of the cafeteria roaming with people. He checked his surroundings, making sure no one was there to hear their conversation.
"I told you, I wasn't going to do it. Sure, I don't like the boy since he hit me with a bike, but I'm not going to go through with that bet," Ashton whispered, still gripping Michael's arm.
Michael pulled away from his grasp, and Ashton gave him a sympathetic look, not realizing he had a tight hold on Michael's arm. His expression changed quickly, however, when Michael spoke again.
"Look, I don't have anything against Luke either. He's a nice kid. Trust me, I know. But if you don't go through with the bet, how else are you going to find $500?"
Michael tapped his foot against the ground again, smirking once he knew Ashton had given up. Ashton glared at him, his mouth open as if he were going to respond, but he didn't.
Ashton was ready to rant about how Michael wasn't being a good friend, but deep down he knew that his best friend only wanted to protect him.
"Michael, there has to be another way. Please, don't let me go through with this. I don't want to make a boy fall in love with me just for money," he pleaded.
Michael frowned, because although he really did want Ashton to earn some money, he cared about Ashton's (mental) health even more. He shook the thoughts out of his head, because this, at the time, was the only solution.
"Listen," Michael sighed. "How else do you think you're going to pay for apartment? You know you can't live with me, my parents being homophobic and all. You know you can't stay with your parents forever. Ashton, you need to gather as much money as you can. Take every chance you get, please. I'd rather have you flee the city than to stay here, being unhappy and all."
"Promise me something then."
"Anything, Ashton."
"If I have to hurt Luke, you have to hurt someone, too."
"Ashton," Michael whined. "I can't do that. You know I can't."
"Well, if I have to hurt someone, so do you," Ashton said, without hesitation. If Ashton had to hurt someone, so did Michael, so that he could feel his pain, so that it was fair.
Michael knew what Ashton was hinting at. Who he was hinting at.
"Well, yes, but I'd be hurting someone I know. You're hurting a stranger," Michael defended.
"Well, he's not a stranger if he knows you," Ashton retaliated. Michael hesitated. He didn't want to think about hurting Calum. He was hurt enough when he thought about the one time he was so close to damaging someone's life, Calum's life. But of course, he agreed.
"Fine. I'll do it for you."
Ashton, not knowing what to do besides nod, pulled Michael into a hug. He suddenly cried and cried, sobbing quietly into Michael's shoulder.
Michael awkwardly held his head, because Ashton was taller than Michael by a few inches. But still, that didn't matter to Michael. He held onto Ashton tightly. Because his only priority at the moment was to make Ashton feel safe.
Even if it meant breaking a heart or two.
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INDEPENDENT, YEAH, YEAH
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"We'll have Halloween on Christmas," Luke sang softly, strumming the chords on his guitar.
"That's pretty good. You have a nice voice," Calum said, nodding to the beat. He crossed his legs, his phone in his hands. "What's this for again?"
"It's for Mr.Foilman's project. I'm suppose to do this with Ian, Michael and Cody. I feel like I'm using Michael to get to Ashton. It's not on, like, purpose or whatever, but Ashton and Michael are best friends. Oh my gosh, can you imagine Ashton and I being a couple? And then you and Michael being a couple? We'd win best pairs of couples award! Calum? Are you even listening to me?"
Calum was listening until Luke mentioned Michael and Calum together. He started to dream about how it would feel like if they were actually dating. How it would feel like to be in Michael's arms. How it would feel like getting to listen to Michael's voice everyday. How it would feel like to touch his hair.
And then Calum remembered none of that could happen because Michael's social status was simply higher than that of Luke's and Calum's. They were just sophomores, after all.
"Calum, I told you to stop dreaming about Michael like that on top of my bed," Luke tsked. Calum shoved the boy slightly, making Luke giggle wildly and Calum smiled at the sight.
"Do you ever think about how it would feel like if Michael ever did return the feelings I have for him?" Calum blurted.
Luke shoved his guitar aside, scooting over to Calum and began to rub his back. ( a/n: I hate the word rub.)
"Listen, don't worry about that, him liking you back," Luke said. Calum snorted, thinking about all the times Luke talked about Ashton.
But then he realized, although Luke always talked about Ashton, he never once talked about how awful it would be if Ashton didn't like him back.
Maybe Luke would think about it for a second or two, or think about how Ashton felt about him, but Luke never acted gloomy about it.
"Calum, you have a lot more than Michael to focus on. And before you call me a hypocrite, yes, I do talk about Ashton a lot. Yes, I do focus on him a lot. But I'd never lose sight of what's important over a boy. And neither should you."
Calum nodded, half a smile on his face. Sure, Luke was a blabber mouth, and yes, he annoyed Calum to the point where he actually gripped the ends of his hair.
But at the end of the day, Luke wasn't just some dumb gay blonde, like everyone else thought. And he wasn't a Ken Doll, as everyone would refer to him as. Luke was wise and smart when he wanted to be.
However, just because he was wise, doesn't mean he was right. Because little did Luke know the effect Ashton could have on him. And little did Calum know that he was just as in deep shit as Luke was too.