"You haven't talked about Michael a lot lately, Michelle," my mother pointed out, passing breadsticks across the table to my brother.
I shrugged and played around with the food on my plate. I'm not entirely sure what this is - meatloaf, maybe. "We just haven't been talking."
Other than simple phone calls and text messages, I haven't really been in contact with my crazy hair colored best friend the past week, maybe more. This Friday would be our last movie night of the month, and we haven't even discussed what we were going to make fun of yet.
"Are you fighting?"
"No, Grady and I are always with Luke and Ethan, that's all." Now that I included Grady in the conversation, my hands began moving along with my words.
My mom nodded and left it at that, only for Grady to ask me a question and include her again.
'So, is he your boyfriend yet?' he signed, smirking at me from across the table.
"We don't like each other!"
"Wait, you and Luke are dating? Since when?" My mother grew wide-eyed but smiled a bit.
"We're not, mom," my groan caused my oncoming headache to worsen, and I slid down in my chair with another smaller one.
'Yes they are.'
Grady had a tendency to be a sarcastic little shithead, and most of the time it was hilarious, really, but today I was so confused with everything that had been happening between Luke and I that I couldn't take this talk about actually being with him.
Seriously, this feeling in my stomach made me want to puke.
"Well, he's a nice boy," my mom said, taking Grady's half-eaten plate and leaving me to put mine in the sink myself. "And thanks to him, you may pass the eleventh grade."
'Wait, Michelle? Passing? It's a Christmas miracle.'
"Ha-ha, Grady. And it's June." I pushed myself out of the dining chair, leaving Grady sat at the table alone. I hadn't eaten any of my food, I didn't really want to find out what was in the meatloaf and risk getting sick. Mom frowned at me but began wrapping it in tin foil anyway. As if I was going to actually consider eating it later.
"I'm going to the basement, night." I waved to my family before rushing across the wooden floors of our house and opening the door to the basement.
For the very bottom floor, it was always warm down here. I made my way to the couch positioned in front of the normally turned on television, and it felt weird without the noisiness that was Luke, Grady, and Ethan. Mostly Luke, for obvious reasons, other than the occasional laughter and shoving that Grady and Ethan emitted.
I needed entertainment. My hands reached toward my phone next to me on the couch and dialed probably the only person who could willingly entertain me.
"Hi, hey," I said quickly. "I'm coming over."
"What? Why?" Michael replied confused, I could imagine his hand messing with his hair and his eyebrows furrowed.
I turned the TV off. "A girl can't visit her best friend?"
"I thought that was Luke," he sounded bitter, but I was hoping it was sarcastic. Even if I already knew it wasn't.
"Michael," I let a sigh release from my chest. I didn't want to feel guilty for having more friends. This is the most I've ever had - and I only have two. I wanted to feel happy, and I wanted Michael to feel that way, too.
"Fine, fine."
"So is that an okay? An, 'alright, I'm waiting with a pizza ready for us'?" I ask, attempting to make him laugh even if I couldn't see it.
There was a small, hidden laugh in between the two second silence. "Yeah, Michelle."
† † † † † † †
"Well hi," Michael chuckled once he opened the door and I hugged him, catching him off guard a little.
I let go. "We haven't talked in like, four years. Don't 'hi,' me," I joked. His house was surprisingly clean for once. Or at least, things were shoved into corners to make it seem clean.
Michael scoffed from behind me while I sat down on the couch and outstretched them onto the coffee table. "It's been five days."
"Who's counting?"
"Considering you're the only person I actually talk to, I am," he sat next to me and shrugged.
I didn't know what to make of that comment, so all I did was laugh it off. "That's depressing."
"You used to be the same way."
"Key words; used to, Mikey." Michael hated that nickname. Anyone who used to call him that he immediately hated because, to him, that was the most childish thing he's ever been called in his life and he never wanted it to catch on.
"Yeah, because you started speaking with the enemy." It wasn't quiet in Michael's house, he had music playing upstairs that was so loud we could hear it clearly from all the way in the living room. But Michael felt the need to whisper, and I don't know why. He played with his fingers.
"Michael," I sighed, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. I really didn't want to argue with him, I came over here with the expectation of having our normal best friend conversations, but instead he's doing what he has been lately; complaining about my newly formed friendship.
"Don't 'Michael,' me. He's horrible," his eyes rolled at me, he acted as if I were completely insane.
"Just because the girl you thought you were in love with was dating him while she was also with you doesn't mean Luke's the bad person in the situation." Technically, he is. Or he was one of them. I just didn't want Michael to disapprove of who I talked to.
"No, but he's one of them," Michael scoffed. His back was against the arm of the couch and he was partially laying down, his legs bent so his knees were up and he was still bending and unbending his fingers in his lap.
"Luke's not that bad," I told him.
"Yeah, okay," he glanced at me from around his knees.
"He is, Michael! Even Grady likes him." Grady loves him, actually. Almost as much as he loves Michael.
"Grady only likes his brother," he grumbled.
I was close to getting annoyed myself. Michael didn't have to bring this up every time I saw him - which wasn't even that often. He could pretend that I didn't even know Luke, then he wouldn't be so bothered and angry about it."You don't know that. You're never around."
"Because you're always around him!" Michael began whining.
"That doesn't mean you can't try to be civil. He feels bad, you know," I said, finally looking up at Michael so he knew that I wasn't just saying that so he wouldn't be upset with me.
"Yeah well, I felt pretty bad too, you know, when I found out my girlfriend was cheating on me for six months."
"That's not his fault, he didn't know." Yes he did.
"Yes he did, don't lie, Michelle," Michael was beginning to grow frustrated, each second that this discussion went on I could tell he was getting closer and closer to not believing what I was saying at all.
"I'm not!"
"He knew and he didn't even tell you when he realized you were who you were. Some friend you've got there," he ran his hands through his hair and laughed bitterly.
Annoyed by now, I crossed my arms over my chest and avoided eye contact with him, staring at the soda-stained carpet of his floor. "He did tell me."
"When?"
"A week ago." My feet kicked nervously on the coffee table.
"Exactly, Michelle! Why are you defending the guy?" Michael yelled at me. I flinched. "I don't trust him. What if you guys start liking each other? God, that would be so horrible." Noticing that I was uncomfortable with his change of volume, he lowered his voice.
"I - well," I paused, "yeah, that would be horrible." I silently hoped he hadn't noticed the nervous laugh I'd let out in the middle of my sentence.
"Wait - Michelle," Michael looked at me, wide-eyed and starting to show signs of being upset with me. I didn't want that. That's the last thing I wanted.
If I wasn't going to admit that I liked Luke to Luke himself, I definitely wasn't admiting it to the boy who despises his existence.
"No, no. Don't-"
"Michelle."
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haven't had grady in a chapter in a while and i felt it was needed bc I know you don't know much about him yet but he's seriously my favorite ok and he'll be more focused on in the future
and im sorry this kind of sucks its just im all out of pepsi man im struggling sO HArd
BUT IDK IF ANY OF YOU ACTUALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THE MUSIC I LISTNTE T O VBUT BLESSTHEFALL ANF HUNDREDTH WERE ANNOUNCED FOR WARPED TOUR ANd IM CR IYNG
thats all bye friends