hiiii muke shippers
happy new yearrrrr! <3
enjoy
---
Michael leaned over his sink as he looked into the small mirror on his bathroom wall. The senior used a damp cloth as he tried to sooth the pain in his right eye.
"Fuck", he winced as he felt it sting.
Suddenly the door opened, and his mom entered the room.
"Mom?", he spoke as he saw her come in. Karen looked at him in shock as she saw his face in the mirror.
"Oh my goodness", she placed a hand over her mouth.
Michael gulped and quickly turned back towards the mirror. "Mom, I'm fine."
"What happened to you, Michael?", she scurried over to him immediately.
"Nothing", the senior threw the wipe away before washing his hands quickly.
"That doesn't look like nothing!", she walked closer to him. "Look at you! Your eye is a mess, who hurt you?"
"It's nothing mom, please", Michael turned to try and leave the room.
"Michael, wait."
The tall boy stopped in his tracks as she touched his shoulders.
"Mom, it doesn't even hurt.", he lied.
Karen shook her head and placed a finger on the corner of his face. "Who would do this to you Michael?"
Michael ignored her and stared down at the floor.
"Alright, if you won't tell me, maybe you'll tell your father. Daryl get in here!", Karen called.
"Mom!", Michael raised his voice. He didn't want this to be a big deal. And he especially didn't want his dad to see. The senior panicked, and immediately walked back over to the other side of the room.
A few seconds later, his Dad entered the bathroom.
"What's going on?"
Michael sighed, and placed his hands on the sink before closing his eyes.
Karen pointed. "Look at his face."
Daryl frowned as he saw Michael in the mirror, his back faced to him.
"What happened, son?"
"I just got into a fight, that's all", he mumbled, keeping his face down. The senior was insecure about how he looked.
"A fight? With who?", he walked over to the boy. Karen stood back and crossed her arms as she watched them.
"Just some kid, but I'm okay. I didn't hurt him, it's silly, really."
Michael had never been in a fight before this. He didn't consider himself violent.
Daryl sighed and tapped his shoulder. "Okay, buddy."
Karen scoffed. "Okay? That's all?"
"He's a boy Karen! That's what boys do! They fight!"
"But he's got a black eye!"
"You heard the boy! He's fine. Michael can't be distracted right now, he has a big game coming up."
Michael frowned and turned around.
"Dad, are you seriously talking about basketball right now?"
"Son, I'm just saying-"
"No. Just admit it, Dad. Everything you say turns into a conversation about basketball!"
Daryl laughed nervously.
"Michael that's not true."
"Yes, it is!"
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me, son."
Michael shook his head. He had already had a bad day. This was just making things worse.
"I'm out of here."
Daryl placed his hand on Michael's chest before he could leave. The senior looked down at him nervously. He had never gotten into a fight with his parents before.
"You're out of here? What is that, teen talk? You're not leaving until you apologize!"
"Apologize for what?"
"You do not get to speak to me or your mother like this, alright Michael?"
"Daryl", Karen spoke. She suddenly felt guilty for calling her husband.
"No. This is not like him at all. What has gotten into you Michael, huh? Do you understand who's in charge? Because it's definitely not you."
"I've just had a bad day alright Dad? Let me go."
"Well, you have no right to take it out on me! I raised you to be a respectful person, Michael. You can't have a bad day and use it as an excuse to act up! You really need to think about your actions, especially how you are going to UVA next year-"
"Oh my god!", Michael interrupted, placing his hands on his neck. He couldn't help the anger that was building up inside him. The senior couldn't hold back anymore, he had to get it out.
"Don't you get it? I don't care about UVA!"
Daryl stared at him in shock.
"Excuse me?"
Michael groaned and wiped his hands over his face.
"Can't you give me one day? One day where I don't have to be the basketball guy?!"
"Michael, do not shout at your father.", Karen said.
Daryl furrowed his eyebrows.
"Son, what are you talking about? You wanna be the basketball guy, it's who you are!"
"No dad!", he shouted. "It's who you want me to be."
"What on earth is that supposed to mean?"
Michael gulped and looked down at his father.
"I don't want this anymore", he whispered.
Daryl frowned.
"You don't want what?"
"UVA. I don't want to go!", he yelled.
His father shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You're just saying that. You're just saying that Michael because you're scared-."
"No! I'm not. I mean it, Dad. The only thing I'm scared of is not pleasing you, and you know what? I'm not even scared of that anymore."
Daryl looked at him with desperate eyes. Michael had never seen his dad look so helpless.
"You don't mean that."
Michael laughed bitterly and wiped his eyes. He didn't want to cry anymore.
"You don't have a clue who I am, do you? None of you do", he looked across the room at his mother.
Karen placed a hand on her chest. "Michael, stop talking like this."
The senior exhaled slowly as he looked at his parents. He had never seen them look so disappointed in him before. But Michael didn't want to be the golden child. He was sick of never talking back, and always letting his parents have the first say. Right now, the senior didn't think twice before speaking the words coming out of his mouth.
"I met someone."
His father shrugged.
"What do you mean you met someone?"
"His name is Luke", he said slowly. And we are", he paused. "We were together."
Daryl's eyes grew darker as he looked at his son.
"What the hell are you saying to me, Michael?"
Karen stepped forward as she watched her husband grow angrier
'Daryl-"
"Shut up Karen", Daryl interrupted. What do you mean you were together?", he moved closer to the senior.
Michael gulped as he looked into his father's eyes. His father who taught him everything, like how to play basketball, and how to ride his bike. The person he always wanted to make proud, and never disappoint. Michael couldn't help but erase these memories out of his mind as he knew everything was about to change.
"He was my boyfriend. Because I like boys, Dad."
"What?", Daryl whispered.
"Oh my god", Karen placed a hand on her mouth.
Michael nodded before speaking again.
"I like boy-"
The senior was interrupted as his father forcefully grabbed him by his collar and shoved him against the wall.
Michael groaned in pain.
Karen gasped and ran over to them.
"Daryl!"
"Dad, please don't", he cried.
"You listen to me!"
"Daryl, stop it", Karen tried to tear them apart but Daryl shoved her away.
The senior panted in fear as he looked down at his father.
"You say one more word, and I will make your other eye just as black, do you hear me?!"
Michael nodded quickly. He looked at his mother who was now crying.
"You need to take a long walk, anywhere, out of this house! And you are not welcome back until you change your ways because no son of mine is gay, okay? Do you understand me?"
"Yes", he whispered. "I understand."
"Good."
Daryl roughly removed his hands before storming out of the room.
Karen closed her eyes as she heard his door slam.
Michael slowly removed himself from the wall and placed his arms on his shoulders which were now sore. He looked at his mother who stared at him intently.
"I'm gonna go talk to him. You stay here."
"No, Mom", he answered, wiping his eyes. "I'm leaving. That's what he wants."
"He's not thinking straight. None of you are. Clearly, you are confused so if you just-"
"Confused?", Michael laughed bitterly. "How can you say that, mom? Your son comes out to you and you call him confused?"
"Don't you dare point the finger at me, Michael, I am-"
"You what? You what, mom? After all this time, it should have been you who saw it."
Karen gulped.
"Michael, don't."
"From when I was twelve", he sniffed and walked towards her. "You must have known, you had to."
Karen furrowed her eyebrows.
"How?"
"I never talked about girls!"
"Michael."
"Didn't you think I was different when all of my friends would talk about their school crushes and I didn't say a thing?!"
"How was I supposed to know that meant anything? You were just twelve, Michael!"
"Exactly!", the senior gulped as he felt his voice break. "I was just twelve, and I needed you! I needed my mom to tell me it was all gonna be okay. Not a father who pressured me constantly. You didn't give me a chance to find myself, or get to know me. The real me."
Karen sighed and placed her face in her hands.
"I wanted to protect you", she whispered.
"So you admit it? You admit that you knew!"
"Yes, okay?! I just thought it was a phase or something you would grow out of! I mean Michael you had a girlfriend when you were sixteen!"
"And how long did that last mom? Like two months? Three maybe?! Did you ever wonder why?"
"No, tell me why!"
"Because it didn't feel right mom! Being with a girl didn't feel right. Angie didn't mean anything to me, it wasn't real."
"Then why would you be with this girl Michael?"
"I just wanted to fit in at school!"
Karen shook her head in disbelief.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't ask. You never do. You just ignored it. I've had to live under this shadow, playing the role of the perfectly straight, sporty guy. You and dad never talk to me! You never want to talk about other stuff, other than basketball and I hate it!"
Karen whimpered, as tears streamed down Michael's face.
"Michael."
"It's like", the senior groaned and tugged the hairs on his head. "It's like I can't breathe sometimes!"
"Michael, I'm so sorry. It's just, I-I don't want this life for you."
Michael shook his head.
"Well, you're too late. I'm leaving", he walked towards the door.
"Wait, where are you going?", she followed after him.
"Anywhere but here."
"Wait, Michael", she called, but the senior was already heading down the stairs. She sighed as she heard the front door slam.
"I still love you", she whispered.
---
Ashton was at Calum's house the same evening. The pair were eating pasta, and watching television downstairs.
"I swear, this is the best pasta I have ever tasted", the curly haired boy mumbled with food in his mouth.
Calum snorted and chewed before speaking. "It's just macaroni. You do realize you can make this at home right? I have it like every Thursday."
"I know. That's why I'm here.", he moaned as he ate another mouthful.
Calum chuckled. He stopped as he heard the doorbell ring.
"Hold on, there's someone here."
"Oh great, it should be those cheereleaders from school."
"Ha!", he stood up to walk out of the room. "In your dreams."
The tanned boy walked down the corridor to answer the door. Without looking at who it was, he opened his front door and froze as he saw Michael, standing before him. The senior looked as if he had been crying. His eyes were red, and his hands were in his jacket pockets as he sulked helplessly.
Calum gulped. He didn't know what to say. He hadn't seemed Michael in weeks. Apart from basketball practice, but the two didn't really acknowledge each other. Calum wasn't prepared for this moment at all. And he certainly didn't picture it to be anything like this.
"What are you doing here?", he said quietly.
Michael let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding as he looked into the eyes of his best friend. Calum's presence was something else. He was warm, and always so welcoming. Michael didn't realize how much he had missed him.
"I", he whispered.
Calum stared at Michael sympathetically.
"What's going on man? Are you oka-"
"I'm sorry", Michael interrupted.
Calum raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, for everything. For going to UVA without you, f-for lying to everyone, for being a complete idiot. I-I'm sorry Calum, for ignoring you, and leaving you out of it all, like I don't need you because that's not true. I do need you, all the time. You're my best friend, and I really need my best friend right now. So, if you can find any place in your heart to forgive me, it would mean everything."
Calum half smiled and stepped forward.
"Michael, I can't imagine a world without you. Of course, I forgive you."
Michael sighed in relief and wiped his eyes.
"You don't how much that means to me Calum, really."
"What happened man?"
Michael shook his head.
"Everything is awful."
Calum furrowed his eyebrows.
"How awful?"
"My parents know."
Calum widened his eyes.
"You mean you-"
"Came out, yes. My mom was okay, my dad, on the other hand, didn't take it so well."
Calum gulped as he noticed Michael's eye was bruised.
"Did he hurt you?"
"No, no", Michael shook his head. "This uh, this was something else."
Calum nodded slowly. "Right. Then what did he say?"
Michael closed his eyes as he felt tears swell in his eyes again.
"He kicked me out", he whispered.
Calum swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched the senior bend down and sit on the pavement.
"Hey, hey", Calum bent down too and comforted him. "It's alright."
"It's not alright, Calum", Michael covered his face with his hands, as the tanned boy wrapped his arms around him.
"You can stay with me", he leaned his head on Michael's shoulder. "You can always stay with me."
Michael sniffed, and looked up at him.
"You don't have to say that."
"Yes, I do. You're not going homeless on me. You're gonna stay here, however long this takes, and we're gonna figure this whole thing out, together."
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
Calum smiled slightly. "You're my family. I know you'd do the same for me. This is just a bump in the road we'll get past it. Have you told Luke?"
The senior couldn't even bare the sound of his name.
"Luke left me Calum."
Calum frowned. "What?"
Michael sighed, and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
"I've lost everything."
The black haired boy rested his head on top of Michael's as he thought quickly.
"Okay, get up."
Michael watched as the tall boy stood up straight. He got up too.
"What are we doing?"
"You are not gonna sit here and cry, okay? Look at me."
Michael sighed shakingly, as Calum placed his hands on his shoulders.
"You're gonna come inside. We're gonna eat some macaroni. And we're gonna sort things out because you are gonna be alright, okay?"
The senior smiled weakly. "Yeah, okay."
"Calum, what's taking you so long?", Ashton yelled from inside.
Michael's eyes lit up as he heard his voice.
"Is that Ash?"
"Yeah", Calum grinned.
The senior wiped the tears from his face.
"Do you think he wants to talk to me?"
Calum smiled. "I don't think you know how much we've missed you. Come on.", Calum let Michael walk inside first before he followed behind and closed the door.
Michael timidly walked straight to the first room. He knew where everything was, he was used to coming to Calum's house almost every day.
The senior stopped nervously as he saw Ashton's head faced to him as he sat on the sofa, watching a film.
"Hey, Irwin."
Ashton furrowed his eyebrows, as he noticed a familiar voice. He shot around and widened his eyes as he saw Michael standing before him.
"Mikey?"
Michael half smiled. "Hi, Ash."
Calum grinned as he appeared behind him, and placed his hands on his hips.
Ashton watched him curiously.
"What's going on?"
"Michael's back", he placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's been through a lot, but he's back."
Ashton stood up and frowned as he noticed Michael's face. He walked towards the pair.
"Oh. Well, are you okay? What happened to your eye?"
"Neil Glendon hit me."
"What?", Ashton laughed. "The journalist kid?!"
"Yeah", Michael smirked. "He got me good."
"Wow", Calum spoke.
"It's a long story, but I'm fine. Just know that I'm sorry for everything. I really hope you can forgi-"
Michael was interrupted as Ashton suddenly engulfed him in a tight hug.
The senior giggled and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around the boy.
Calum grinned.
"I missed you, man.", Ashton mumbled.
Michael smiled.
"I missed you too bro."
"Group hug!", Calum announced, jumping on Michael's back.
They all laughed.
"Wait so why are you here so late man?", Ashton asked as he pulled away.
Michael sighed. "Long story short, my folks know everything. My dad said I can't go back home until I change."
Ashton frowned.
"What?"
"Yeah. And Luke left me. He knows about it all. About UVA."
"Wait so you guys broke up?"
Michael nodded.
Calum smiled sympathetically.
Ashton sighed.
"I'm sorry dude. Well, what are you gonna do?"
"We are gonna help him. We'll make sure Michael gets everything back. His family, Luke, UVA-"
"No", Michael interrupted.
Calum furrowed his eyebrows.
"No?"
"Not UVA. I don't want it anymore."
Ashton widened his eyes.
"Who are you and what did you do with Michael Clifford?"
"Wait, what do you mean you don't want it?", Calum stood in front of his best friend.
Michael shrugged his shoulders and smiled.
"You ever wanted something so bad, when it's right in front of you, you freak out? Well, that's how I feel. UVA once was my ultimate goal, when I was a kid. But now, along the way, it's like I'm finally realizing I never really stepped back and made sure if it was really for me. My dad was always the one pulling the strings, and I just went along with it because I was good at it. I love basketball, I always will. And I want to do it still, just not there. I wanna keep my options open."
"Are you sure this has nothing to do with blondie?", Ashton smirked.
Michael half smiled.
"It has everything to do with him. He's the one who made me realize that I shouldn't be afraid to be myself. Luke didn't like me because I played basketball, he liked me because I was myself around him. I need everyone else to see that."
Calum raised his eyebrows.
"If this is what you really want Mike, I respect it."
"Oh hell yes", Ashton agreed. "It's your life. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"Thank you, guys."
"You're still gonna play in our last game next week right?"
"Definitely", he nodded. "I wouldn't miss it."
Calum smiled sadly.
"Yes!", Ashton put his fist in the air. "Then let's get you and Luke back together."
Michael sighed. "I have no idea how I'm gonna do that."
"Yes, you do", Calum spoke. "You're Michael."
"I am. So what?", the senior smirked.
"You, my friend, are the most romantic human on this universe.", Ashton placed his index finger on Michael's chest.
Michael raised an eyebrow as he looked down at Ashton's hand.
"I am?"
"Yes, you are!", he chirped. "If there's one guy who can fix a broken heart, it's you."
"He's right Mike", Calum smiled. "You're telling me you don't have a clue what you'd say to Luke if he was right in front of you?"
Michael hummed, as his lips turned into a grin.
"I guess I have a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Yes!", Ashton cheered. "That's the response I was looking for!"
Michael chuckled.
"Alright, alright. Maybe I can do this."
Calum nodded.
"You can. And once you do, we'll work on your Dad and your family. All of it."
Ashton nodded. "Damn straight!"
Michael sighed happily as he looked at his two best friends.
"I don't deserve you guys. Thank you."
Ashton grinned. "Don't worry bro, we've got you. Now, do you want some macaroni? Calum made it fresh!", the curly haired boy scurried away to the kitchen.
Calum and Michael laughed simultaneously.
"He's had like ten bowls already", Calum smirked.
Michael chuckled, and put his hands in his pockets. "I gotta say, I'm glad I came over."
Calum smirked and crossed his arms.
"It's good to have you back, Mike."
Michael smiled as he looked at his closest friend.
"You too Calum."
---
omg cute
im gonna update this tomorrow becuz i love this book
thanks for reading!