"You like Skylar, don't you, Michael?" The smug smirk never left his face as the words rolled off his tongue. I was in a bit of shock from the question. He thinks i've never said a word to this girl other than earlier and now he's insinuating that I like her.
"W-What are you talking about? I barely even said hello to the girl this morning?" I said as I stood up and walked into the kitchen.
"I've seen the way you look at her, Michael. The way you react when Ashton flirts with her. You like her Michael, or at least you feel something for her." He said as he chased after me.
"You can't like someone without getting to know them first, I've never spoken to her other than this morning." I grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl and took a bite.
"Ah, but you have talked to her before." He pointed a finger at me.
"When?" I said with a snicker.
"You took her home the night of the party, remember?" He was the one to snicker now.
"That doesn't mean we conversed." I rolled my eyes.
"So you sat alone in a car with Skylar for the whole ride home?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Why do you care anyway?" I snapped.
"I just want to know, Mike. We're best friends and I'm pretty sure best friends tell each other if they like a girl or not." He said seriously.
"It's just... I-I kind of do." I said quietly. Calum's smile was there once again.
"I knew it." He chuckled, "And you're jealous of her and Ashton."
"Yes... I thought that maybe I had a chance with her, but then Ashton started flirting with her and I... I just can't compete with him." I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair.
"You're obviously horrible at hiding your feelings cause Ashton thinks you like Skylar." He said.
"What?!" I groaned.
"What are you going to do about it Michael? Are you just gonna sit there and watch Ashton take her? Do you really think you can stand seeing them together when you had the chance to make her yours?"
I let the words sink in a thought about it. If her and Ashton do get together, I wouldn't be able to look at them. It would crush me just to hear him mention her and talk about their date together. Talk about how sweet she is and how she let him kiss her.
"Why are you telling this to me and not Ashton?" I asked.
"You know how Ashton is, he gets a crush on a girl for two weeks then it's gone." He shrugged. He did have a point. I remember when Ashton used to have a crush on our neighbor, but that lasted about three days, "Do you really want Ashton to go and break her heart when his little crush ends? You should get her to choose you so that doesn't happen."
"But.... What if this one isn't just a little crush and we just end up confusing her? Maybe she'll like both of us and won't know who to choose?" I bit my lip as all the possibilities ran through my mind. I didn't want to hurt her anymore than she already was.
"Look, Michael, you need to stop thinking about what could happen. If you just sit there worrying about all the bad, you won't realize all the good and you might miss your chance. Just give it a try and go with the flow. Ask her on a date and it'll go on from there."
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair in frustration, "Alright, Calum. Don't worry, I will at some point." I walked away before he could say anything else and went up to my room. I looked into my mirror and stared at my face. My lips are way too big and my cheeks are too pudgy. My smile is weird, it's lopsided and strange. On the other hand there is Ashton, he has a great smile and dimpled cheeks, and his lips aren't bigger than Angelina Jolie's. I sighed and ruffled my hair. the green was starting to fade out of my fringe. Maybe I should dye it blonde again? No, that's too simple, why not dark blue? Whatever, i'll figure it out at the store.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I skimmed through the different hair coloring boxes until I landed on a dark, almost black, blue. I grabbed that box and a box of purple along with a box of a lighter shade of blue. I was about to experiment. I bought the boxes and drove home running into the bathroom and locking it. An hour later I was done and a complete mess with hair dye all over the place. I wiped my face quickly from any hair dye that had gotten on it.
After I finished my hair I stripped down and took a quick shower before getting out and wrapping a towel around my waist. I walked into my room and grabbed my phone. I bit my lip as I scrolled through my contact list. Maybe I should just wait for tomorrow. Maybe I'll sound too clingy. What if she says no? I pushed the thoughts away and clicked on her name.
"Hey."
"Hi, Skylar."
"Did you need something?"
"Um... I-I was wondering if... I dunno, maybe you wanted to, um.... go out tonight?" I stammered into the phone. I brought my hand up to my face and smacked my forehead at my idiocy. Why couldn't I just be confident like Ashton?
"Um... Like a date?"
"Yeah- I mean, no... uh... If you want it to be.... You don't have to go... I was just hoping-"
"If I say yes will you shut up, Michael." Her melodious laughter filled my ears and I smiled.
"Okay. I'll pick you up at seven?"
"Yeah that sounds good."
"Okay... i'll see you then."
"Bye, Michael."
"Goodbye, Skylar." And I couldn't wipe the grin from my face. Just by saying yes she made me happy. I sighed happily and searched through my closet. I rummaged through all of my old band t-shirts and skinny jeans. I began to over think on what to wear. What if she didn't like band shirts? What if the shirt I wore was a band she hated? I shook my head at my pathetic ways. I was stressing over what to wear just because of a girl. I went with an American flag tank top and some black skinny jeans. She couldn't judge me because of an American flag, right? I thought as I pulled on my skinny jeans. Oh look, and Australian wearing an American flag. Oh God, she might think that. I stopped putting on the shirt and looked through my shirts again. I grabbed my black Jack Daniels shirt. Oh God, he's probably an alcoholic. I panicked and threw it back into the closet before rummaging again. After about 15 minutes I finally settled on a black tank top and walked out of my room without a second thought or glance. It was 6:53 and I didn't want her to think I was a slow poke who couldn't get ready in 30 minutes. I walked down the stairs to be met with Calum, Luke, and Ashton in the living room watching the telly.
"Where you goi- woah there, you changed your hair, Michael." Calum asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" I said.
"Where are going?" Luke asked.
"Out." I motioned my thumb towards the door and walked out quickly before they could question me any longer. I got into the black truck, which took me so long to save up for and I bought last week, and drove down the road. Soon, I was at Skylar's house. I didn't see her step-parent's cars so I got out of the truck and went to knock on her door. A smiling Skylar answered the door and stepped outside. She was wearing an oversized maroon knit-sweater over a white shirt and some black skinny jeans. I took a deep breath in as I took in her natural beauty. She didn't even try and she still looked amazing to me.
"Oh my God, Michael! Your hair looks so cool!" She squealed.
"Thanks, I did it a few hours ago." I mumbled while scratching the back of my neck.
"Yeah, you still had black hair in the morning." She chuckled.
"So, are you ready to go?" I asked. She nodded and we walked into my truck.
"I didn't get the chance to ask you earlier cause of my little scene but, is this that truck you were talking about buying?" She asked as she buckled herself in.
"Yeah, I got it a few days ago."
"That's good. You finally saved up the money.... So where are we going?" She asked as I began to drive down the road.
"It's a surprise." I smiled widely. I did know where we were going. I had thought it all out.
"Aw, c'mon, Michael. Can't you just tell me?" She whined.
"You'll see." I scolded. The stars were beginning to come out which was perfect for what I had in mind.
After about 20 minutes of driving I pulled up to a lake I had been going to since I was little.
"Is this the part where you confess to me you're actually some insane person who's going to kill me out here?" Skylar asked.
I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Skylar. My trunk is loaded with all types of torture machines." I chuckled and got out of the truck. I heard Skylar get out and I went to the trunk and got out a blue cooler and walked over to her.
"Is that your box of torture?" In the faint moonlight I could see the right corner of her lips pulled up into a sly smirk as her eyes shined with humor.
"Maybe." I said as I walked over to the edge of the lake and set down the cooler before I went back to the truck to get a blanket and placed it on the ground.
"After you." I said as I motioned towards the blanket for her to sit. She giggled and took a seat and I sat next to her. I took out some sandwiches I had picked up from the store.
"I'm not much of a cook, so I bought some sandwiches." I chuckled as I scratched the back of my neck.
"Don't worry, Michael. It's okay. I like that you're actually showing an interest in me." She smiled at me.
I began to think about all that she's told me. She's never had a boyfriend and she's never gone out with a guy... So does that mean she's never been kissed? A blush crept upon my cheeks at the thought of pressing my lips against her delicate ones. Why would she want to kiss me anyway? I bet she's just here out of pity. I shook my head and tried to put my stupid thoughts away.
She peered up at the starry sky and then back down at me, or at my hair should I say. A soft giggle escaped her lips, "Your hair reminds me of the galaxy."
"Really?" I chuckled.
"Yeah, it's got purple and blue and black, just like the galaxy. You've got galaxy hair." She smiled widely as she pointed at my hair. I ran a hand through my hair and just smiled along with her.
"It's stupid. I've got stupid hair." I shrugged my shoulders.
"No, don't say that. I love your hair. It's really cool."
"Thank you, Skylar. But how come I have to accept your compliments but you can't accept mine." I said as I stared into her hazel eyes. I could only see her with the faint moonlight. I decided to pull out the few candles I had bought at the store. I began to light them as she gave me her answer. I placed them on each corner of the blanket.
"Well... Because I compliment you because you're beautiful." She said matter-of-factly.
"I compliment you because you're beautiful." I couldn't keep the blush off of my cheeks from her comment. I had to face the fact that I liked this girl a lot and it was too late to turn around and forget about her.
"Then I guess we'll both have to get used to it and accept each other's compliments." She chuckled and ran a hand through her hair. I watched as it fell back gracefully and she pushed it behind her ear.
"You stare at me so intently at times." She said as she cocked her head to the side in curiosity.
I felt the heat in my face as I responded, "I like looking at pretty girls."
"You don't look at Nicole that way."
"Because Nicole isn't pretty on the inside." I shrugged. She sighed in defeat as she took a bite of her sandwich and peered up at the sky.
"It's beautiful." She said quietly. I hummed in response, but I was referring more to her than to the wondrous sky before us.
"Do you think there's something out there, Michael?" She asked but didn't take her eyes off of the sky.
"Maybe. It depends what you want to believe. I think it's just as scary to think that we are either alone or not in the universe. Both are pretty terrifying thoughts." I tried to put a quote I read once into my own words.
"'Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.' Arthur C. Clarke." She sent me a cheeky grin, "Thought I wouldn't notice if you stole a quote, did ya?" I laughed and my face was most likely tomato red by now.
"It's still the truth, isn't it?" I shrugged.
"I suppose." She giggled, "But don't you think it's just fascinating to just think about how we came to be? To just sit there and marvel at the miracle of human consciousness." I thought about what she said. Her deep thoughts definitely sparked a great curiosity in me. I wanted to hear her ramble on and on about the universe and hear her theories all night long.
"Yeah. That does seem pretty interesting." I couldn't think of anything else to say other than that, "What else do you think?"
"Well...this is pretty random but i've always wanted to share this thought with someone, so why not? Maybe the reason why murdering someone or killing yourself is a sin is because we all have our stories written. Our futures have been written and we just have to live them and reach our goals, but when someone dies, everyone who that person was going to meet and have an impact in their lives has to have their story rewritten. Like, if you hadn't met me because I died, someone else might be on this date with you. Or maybe someone else was supposed to be on this date with you and i'm the replacement." She shrugged and continued staring at the sky. I didn't want her thinking she was a replacement. This might be a stupid thing to try on the first date, but why not give it a shot? I grabbed her chin and gently turned her towards me. Our faces were close enough so that I could feel her breath on my lips.
"I wouldn't want to be here with anyone other than you." I said quietly. I stared into her eyes and ever so slowly inched closer to her and she inched closer to me. Our lips brushed together slightly and I took one last look in her eyes to see her flutter them closed. I was about to close the small gap between us.
We both jumped back as her phone began to ring. She gasped a little bit and soon got her phone out of her back pocket. I could see the bright crimson on her cheeks in the dim light coming from the candles.
"H-Hello." She said into the phone.
"...I-I'm at a-"
"...So-Sorr-"
"...O-Okay."
She put the phone back in her pocket and sighed as she threw her head back.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Uh, that was Martha, my step mom." She ran a hand through her golden brown hair, "She asked me where I was and then told me to go home cause she's hungry and wants me to cook."
"Why'd you say sorry then?" She bit her lip and questioned herself whether to tell me, "You don't have to tell me."
"It's nothing, she just laughed and asked why I can't even remember to cook before I leave."
"She has two arms of her own, can't she cook on her own." I protest but she's already beginning to stand up.
"You don't understand, Michael. Could you please just take me home. I'm so sorry we couldn't finish the date. We can reschedule if you want?" She said hopefully. I nodded, "I'd like that."
I walked her to my truck and opened the door for her before jogging to the other side and hopping in. WE drove in silence as the soft music playing from the radio played. My mind continued to linger in the thought of our lips almost touching. So close, but nothing happened.
"So... i'll text you so we can reschedule... that." I said nervously, not knowing if I wanted to call it an official 'date.'
"Yeah, that sounds good." She smiled at me as we arrived at her house. She looked at the small structure and sighed. She didn't look at this place as a home, it was more of a prison. She was sentenced to four years, but now her sentence is being added on to and there's nothing I can do to help her.
"Well, i'll see you tomorrow, Michael. Thanks again. That was actually really nice while it lasted." She smiled brightly as she opened the door to the truck and got out.
"Bye, goodnight." I smiled as she closed the door and began walking towards her house. I sighed as I stared at her. Her walk was graceful and lovely. She walked with pride but if you look closely you can notice the way her shoulders slightly slump forward. The weight of the world pushing her down.
I finally ripped my eyes away from her as she walked through her door and I drove off. After a few minutes of driving I arrived at the house me and the guys shared. As I stepped the door I found them all sitting on the couch and playing video games.
"Michael! You're home! Come game with us!" Luke exclaimed. I shook my head, "I'm going to go to bed."
"You're no fun!" He pouted. I chuckled and shook my head before going upstairs. I heard Calum say he was going to the restroom before I heard footsteps coming near my door. He stepped in without knocking just to find me sitting on my bed scrolling through my phone.
"So how'd it go?" He asked while taking a seat next to me.
"How'd what go?"
"C'mon, Michael. It's obvious you went out with Skylar. How'd it go?" He asked again.
"It was.... great." I sighed in a content manner, "She's so... interesting." A goofy smile spread across my lips at the thought of her so close to me.
"Did you kiss her?" He said with an arched eyebrow and a devilish smirk tugging on his lips.
I sighed sadly, "Almost." I threw myself back to where I was laying on my back in bed.
"What do you mean, 'Almost?'" He said turning slightly to look at me.
"I mean I almost kissed her. We were about to... but then her phone started ringing and it ruined everything." I rubbed my palms down my face and groaned in frustration.
"She's just so perfect and I just want to make her happy. What is this? I don't like this feeling, but at the same time I do." I sighed and layed my arms out at my sides and just stared at the ceiling.
"Wow, you really like her." Calum stated. You don't say? I thought in my head.
"Were you the only one leaning in for the kiss, or did she do it too?"
"She leaned in too... I think." I said.
"If she did, then you might just have a chance, Mikey." Calum grinned at me as I smiled at the thought of being with Skylar. Holding her hand and keeping her close. I smiled even wider as I sat up and sighed happily.
"Better make your move before someone makes her reconsider her options though, Mike." Calum said before walking out of my room.
And it hit me that she wasn't mine yet and that anyone could just swoop in and take her away any second.
And nothing terrified me more than that.
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A/N: FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!
@5SecsOfStahp
~J