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The band was doing great so far, playing gigs, recording, writing, but most importantly; Luke and Michael were friends. Actual friends who could sit in a room without attacking each other. Even before this stunning revelation it was easy to see the fondness each one held for the other. It was something amazing to watch.
~
Luke walked into Calum's basement and sat down on the floor next to Ashton, sitting his blue guitar down next to him.
"Where's Michael?" Luke asked trying to contain the hint of hope in his voice.
Calum and Ashton laughed at the obvious interest Luke had in Michael.
"Your boy's coming, don't worry." Calum replied through laughter and Ashton confirmed.
"He's not my boy." Yet, Luke wanted to add.
"Sure he's not." Calum replied and went back to putting his bass in tune. As if on cue loud footsteps could be heard stomping down the basement steps. Luke smiled knowing that Michael was about to walk through the door.
"Hey guys." The familiar rasp of a voice came from the door.
"Hi Mic-" Luke completely froze. There Michael was, but no, not regular Michael. His hair was a dark brown, almost black; his fringe showing under the burgundy beanie he had covering the back of his head. The color contrasting so well that it made the rough stubble on his face appear more drastically. Luke was struggling not to cry or get a boner in the middle of band practice. He didn't know which would be worse.
"Michael." Luke finished his sentence with a loud gulp and a pink tint to his face. Michael smiled at him.
"Ready to start?" Michael said towards Ashton and Calum and they shrugged back and stood up. Michael licked over his deep red limps and plugged his guitar in. Luke has never been so sexually frustrated, so quickly in his life.
~
The time was currently 2:41am. Luke was scrolling through Instagram trying not to fall asleep, it was only a Saturday.
He refreshed the feed and at the top was a picture of a certain black haired boy. Luke woke up immediately and stared at the picture captioned "I don't play guitars, I just take photos with them....."
He smiled as he read. His eyes were drawn back up to the photo and he looked harder. Michael's stubble on display beautifully around his large pink lips. Luke has never wanted to jump someone's bones so badly until he met Michael. He was a 16 year old boy and Michael was a hot guy, what do you expect? He let his mind wander to what else Michael could do with those hands besides guitar, what that mouth is capable of. Luke felt himself chubbing up in his basketball shorts the more his thoughts when on. Michael was a personalized, walking, wet dream that Luke desperately wanted to get his hands on.
He was the prettiest person he's ever looked at. Warming red lips, soft green eyes, a slim, pale body that Luke just wanted to touch so badly. His hands were perfect for holding and other things Luke wouldn't mind doing. His fingers calloused from years of guitar could only feel so good touching Luke's body as he lay underneath Michael's panting one.
That did it.
Luke's shorts and briefs were down at his ankles and his hand wasted no time in sliding quick up and down himself. He wished it was Michael; he felt bad thinking about the boy in this way, but who could blame him? His thoughts went back to the boys mouth, his fingers, his voice. God, his voice.
Bursts of precome left him frequently as he got closer. This would be over way to quickly. He was right. Before he knew it he was coming terribly soon into his right hand and a broken sob of Michael's name into his left.
He let himself catch his breath before he used an old towel on the floor to clean up and he pulled up his shorts. His head hit the pillow again as sleep drifted over him. His final though being how he needed to tell someone about this 'small' crush soon.
~
Sunday afternoon, Calum called him to come over. He was currently sprawled out on one end of his couch with an episode of Parks and Recreation playing on TV. This would be the perfect time to talk to Calum about the entire Michael situation, Luke thought. He sat up and reached for the remote and clicking it off.
"Bro, what the f-" Calum was cut off by Luke's serious voice.
"I need to tell you something." Luke made no eye contact.
"Okay.." Calum waited for Luke to go on.
"So, this is gonna be really hard to say but i'm gonna try," Luke breathed in deeply,
"..I like somebody."
Calum's eyebrows shot up and a smirk slowly inched it's way onto his tan features. "And who would this person be?" Luke didn't know if Calum's sarcastic tone made the situation easier on him or worse. Luke turned his eyes to the picture of Calum's family behind him as he mumbled out a broken answer.
"Michael."
"FUCK YES!" Calum stood up of the couch with his hands thrown above his head. The outburst made Luke jump.
"What?!" Luke was curious as to why Calum looked like his face was about to fall off from the shit-eating grin it held.
"OH NOTHING IT'S JUST THAT YOU FINALLY ADMITTED TO HAVING A CRUSH ON MICHAEL AND I KNOW AND I ALSO KNOW THE FACT THAT MICHAEL THINKS YOU'RE A CUTIE." Calum practically screamed and his words came out jumbled into one. Luke's brain struggled to comprehend all that information at once.
"Wait, so you're saying..." Luke needed clarification.
"MICHAEL LIKES YOU." Calum had his hands on Luke's shoulder and was looking at him dead in the eye, it almost scared him.
"Really?" He looked down as he spoke with a barely there smile on his face. You could hardly tell if it wasn't for his dimple sticking out.
"Yes, man." Calum sat back down and lowered his voice.
"He's always telling me about how cute he thinks you are and how hot you are and how kissable you look. Frankly, I don't see it." The tan boy joked.
Luke's eyes were still angled downward as he took in the new information. He breathed in as the smile slowly drifted away before speaking.
"So what do i do?"
"TALK TO HIM LUKE." Calum answered rather loudly, he hoped the neighbors didn't care about the constant yelling.
"Calm down! And Calum, what would I even say? I can't just come out and tell Michael I have a kindergarten crush on him."
What if Michael didn't actually like him back? What if Calum was making all this up? What if Michael didn't feel the same way? So many what ifs had the chance of coming true and that made Luke want to
keep his mouth shut.
"That's exactly what you do! Call him! Ask him to hang out, just do something where you have the chance to tell him in private." Calum looked exasperated from trying to convince the blonde.
With an angry huff Luke agreed to find some way to tell Michael.
~
The next Friday Luke held his phone in his hand and had Michael's contact name selected, he just needed to figure out how he was going to go about this. It's not like him and Michael have never texted before, and Michaels been over to Luke's house before. But for some reason this felt different, the plan for all this could make or break their friendship. That terrified Luke but he couldn't walk around carrying this information and not do anything about it forever. They were in a band for fucks sake, how could he hide it?
Luke opted for a simple 'hey'. He sat on his bed with his chin in his hands waiting for a response. He jumped out of his skin when his phone notified him he received a message. Michaels message said 'hey Lukey'. Luke adored that nickname, but only when Michael used it.
"So you wanna come over later?" Luke typed out quickly before his brain could stop him. He sighed in relief when Michael agreed. Thinking about it after it happened made him realize how stupid he was for worrying this much. All he did was ask Michael to come over. The hardest part would be later.
~
A soft knocking from the front door had Luke off of the kitchen counter and rushing to answer it. He stopped and checked his reflection in the small mirror his mom has placed in the foyer. What? He wanted to look good for himself of course, that had nothing to do with Michael. He opened the door and ignored the heat he felt in his stomach the best he could when he saw Michaels nice stubble and dark hair. He tried to act calm about the entire situation. Michael greeted him like always.
"Hey nerd."
"Hey loser."
One thing Luke loved about their relationship was that even after the truly hateful words said in the hallways at school, they could still be playfully mean to each other without any real anger or heat behind the words.
Luke let him in and shut the door behind him. Michael was already halfway to Luke's room before he could even properly lock the door.
Luke jogged slightly down the hall to catch up to Michael who already made it into Luke's messy room. Michael might as well have lived at Luke's house. He was there all the time and never failed to make himself at home when he arrived.
Michael had his combat boots off and was lounging on Luke's bed like it was his own. Luke chose to stand to the right of the bed nextto him, still keeping his distance. He thought of the reason why he invited Michael over in the first place. Calum's voice rang through his head. Should he just back out with it? I mean, there was the possibility Michael did like him, from what Calum said. But Michael's too hot for him to like Luke the skinny blonde nerd. Luke took a deep breath to clear his thoughts enough to form the words he needed to say.
"Hey, Michael.." Luke forced a smile that most likely looked pained and tried to laugh.
"Hey Luke." Michael laughed along, a genuine laugh that held some concern for why Luke looked like he was going to be sick.
"I think we need to talk." Luke twiddled his thumbs and only glanced at Michael's face.
"You're not breaking up with me, are you?" Michael tried to hold in his laugh and give a fake pout. Luke couldn't help but to laugh along at how cute and lame this boy was.
"I wish it was that easy."
This was it.
Luke was gonna say it.
He took a deep breath and opened his eyes to meet Michael's. Quickly darting away, this was to embarrassing to say it like, directly to his face.
"Michael, I like, kind of, a lot, really like you ?" The words didn't make any sense but Luke hoped he caught on.
"Yeah Luke I like you too, you're really cool." Michael said with confusion in his voice, part of him knew what Luke really meant, but he wanted to play it safe.
Luke took a deep sigh.
"No, fuck. Okay the only way I know how to say it is in the lamest way possible so please don't laugh." Luke took another breath.
"Michael I have a giant lame as fuck crush on you. There i said it." Luke was blushing and would be happy to leave the house now, but Michael was the visitor here.
Luke stared at the clouds through the window with a blank mind, listening to the silence between them. Michael started laughing abruptly. Luke blushed and felt embarrassed and heartbroken. He wanted to be alone.
"Michael I'm sor-" Luke was trying to mend whatever was left of there friendship, but something stopped him. Michael grabbed a fistful of his faded Metallica shirt that Michael 'accidentally' left at Luke's house, and pulled Luke down next to him.
"Get over here, Bambi." Michael was still giggling.
Luke blushed at the name Michael turned from an insult to a term of endearment in the transition of them from enemies-to-friends.
Luke's stomach had butterflies since he was basically laying on top of Michael now. Michael's soft emerald eyes were staring into Luke's so hard, yet also so soft and loving. Luke was almost afraid. Luke didn't know what he was expecting, probably for Michael to push him off and tease the hell out of him. What he defiantly didn't expect was for Michael to lean down and kiss Luke's small, arched nose. Luke's face was flushed more than he every had in his life. Michael had a smirk on his face when he pulled away. He giggled and buried his face in Michaels chest.
"Luke, I have a giant lame as fuck crush on your stupid ass too." Michael giggled into Luke's hair, his face still hiding.
"Really?" Luke whispered, tilting his head so his soft blue eyes could check Michael's face for any sign of a comical expression.
"Stop trying to stare into my soul and kiss me, you dick." Michael growled. Luke went to kiss him, but of fucking course, messed up and kissed the left side of his mouth.
"Oh my fucking God." Luke laughed and covered his eyes.
"Get off of me and we'll try again." Michael suggested, still laughing.
"Hey, you're the one who pulled me on top of you." Luke rolled over so he was next to Michael. He sat up, gesturing with his hands for Michael to follow in his position.
"Are you ready now, hot stuff?" Michael dramatically winked. Luke rolled his eyes but blushed, nonetheless.
The next moment consisted of jerky head movements back and forth. It was singlehandedly the most awkward situation either of the boys had been in.
"Okay, we need a plan. Is that bad?" Michael was the one blushing now.
"What's wrong with us oh my god." Luke grinned.
"Let's just go for it, alright?"
Michael suggested, seeing it be the best option. "You count to three."
Luke took one more deep breath.
"One, t-..
Michael's large and inviting lips pushed against Luke's shocked ones. Luke's air left his lungs and he was knocked off his bed and onto the floor in seconds.
"Shit, Luke!" Michael barely managed to speak in between cackles. "You good?"
Luke lay on his floor.
"This is absolutely terrible. How can we be this bad at kissing?" Luke was embarrassed now, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You know what," Michael began. He slid his way off the bed and sat on his legs next to Luke, still on the floor.
"What?" Luke was now closer to Michael.
"Let me just do it." Michael leaned down, not to fast but not to slow. Luke wasn't prepared at all, but it didn't matter cause Michael was kissing him, and he was being kissed by Michael, and Michael was kissing Luke, and there was nothing else running through Luke's mind other than that thought. Luke picked up one of his hands and softly tilted Michael's head up so Luke could finally kiss him correctly. Michael kissed him harder, making it more intimate and sweet. He finally pulled up, a closed-mouth grin on his face.
"Guess we're not THAT bad, eh?" Luke's face held a dimpled smile and a lovey flush.
"You're so fucking cute." Michael bit his lip, leaning down to kiss him once again. "This floor is hard and cold."
"Then let's get on the bed." Luke wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"You're a dork, oh my god stop." Michael groaned, standing up and helping Luke do the same. Both boys flopped back onto Luke's hand. Small and clammy hand in small and clammy hand. The entirety of the time since Michael arrived until now has been awkward and cheesy, but it was just so them.
"Dude, we should like, totally date." Luke tried his best to sound chill, and not like the loser he was.
"Did you really just call me dude after we kissed and are currently on your bed holding hands?" Michael talked through a smirk. "Aside from how lame you are, I would be happy to date you."
Luke's little face lit up, he took the liberty of leaning over and kissing Michael, initiating it himself. This was going to be great.
~
About a week and a half later, the boyfriends were getting ready to go on their first date (if you don't count movie nights with their parents and family dinners).
"JACK DOES THIS LOOK OKAY?" Luke yelled from his room to his brothers across the hall. Yes, he was really asking his brother for first-date fashion advice.
"You look fine, Luke. How much time do you have before you have to meet him there?" Jack asked, his eyes still watching his small TV.
"Like, an hour." Luke looked at Jack's alarm clock on the head of his bed.
"You need me to drive you?" His brother now had his eyes on Luke, a flush placed on it.
"Can you? Mom would embarrass me somehow." Luke let a tiny grin take over his place. He would always be such a mama's boy.
"Yeah. No problem." Jack smiled, knowing how much Luke was working himself up over the entire date.
Him and Michael were already dating, but what if the official date part of it went wrong? What if Michael didn't like his clothes? His hair? His voice? He knew Michaels wasn't that superficial, but in times like this, Luke thought the worst.
"Do you think he'll still like me? After the date, and all?" Luke crossed his feet, leaning against the door.
"What the hell? Of course he will. We've known Michael for how long? Almost a year? He wouldn't fuck with you like that." His brother tried to comfort him, everything he was saying he believed 100%.
"I'm just," Luke sighed. "I'm just kinda scared, I really like him."
"And he really likes you." Jack turned back to the TV. "No go back to getting all dolled up for your little boyfriend."
Luke giggled softly and turned back to his room.
Meanwhile, Michael was panicking. He didn't know what to wear, Calum wasn't answering, and he needed to mentally prepare. He's never even been on a date with anyone before, let alone his first boyfriend.
"Mom, mom, mom please help me mom." Michael rushed into her room.
"What if I start acting annoying, and he leaves? Do you think he'll hate me after?" Michael spat out possible terrible outcomes to his mom.
"Michael, baby. I'm a mother, I can tell when my boy likes somebody, and when somebody likes my boy. I know there is no way possible that Luke could stop liking you after something as simple as a date. This is going to be amazing, baby." She finished with a smile. Speaking the truth about how she felt about the entire situation.
Michael took a deep breath and nodded, letting his mom comb her fingers through his hair slightly before turning around to finish getting ready.
~
"Okay Jack, just drop me off here." Luke's eyes held some worry in them.
"Luke we literally just turned in the parking lot, I'm dropping you up front where he is. Even though you're both guys, he still has to be a gentleman to you." Jack laughed with his words, but still held sincerity.
"Fine, just, shit he's here." Luke unbuckled his seatbelt as Jack pulled up to the front of the cinema.
"Call me when you're ready to be picked up, 'kay?" Jack called through the window to Luke who was already walking by the doors to meet Michael outside.
"Alright." Luke shouted behind him.
Luke took a few deep breathes as he approached Michael. Michael looked hot, if Luke had a say in it. Luke bit his lip and was now right in front of his boyfriend.
"Hi." Luke whispered with rosy pink cheeks.
"Hey." Michael smiled back with full confidence. "I got tickets."
Michael held the up with his right hand and his left one tangled with Luke's. Michael turned to walk inside, Luke trailing behind.
~
The entire date consisted of neither of them really paying attention to the movie. Just them holding hands underneath the arm rest, Luke leaning his head on Michael's shoulder, occasional soft kisses on each others lips. They held hands and walked close outside. Luke had called Jack about ten minutes ago, and Michael had also called his dad. Both of their rides should be here any minute. They stood outside the cinema holding hands, the strong heat already faded into tough humidity. Michael's father had pulled up to the entrance, and nodded when he knew Michael would want to wait for Luke's brother to get here. Not too long after, Jack pulled in. Luke turned to face Michael.
"I had uh-, I had a great time tonight." Luke blushed, only his single prominent simple exposing itself.
"Me too." Michael smiled. His mouth shut.
"Can I get a kiss goodbye?" Luke spoke somewhat fast, his feet crossing.
Without answer, Michael leaned down and kissed Luke quick and sweetly.
"I'll walk you to your car." Michael gripped Luke's hand tighter, guiding Luke to where Jack was parked. He opened the door for his boyfriend before shutting it softly and walking to his own ride home.
~
2015
~
"Can you believe how awkward it was when we first started going out?" Luke cuddled closer into Michael as they reminisced.
"We were so gross and lovey." Michael covered his eyes in slight embarrassment, thinking about how stupid they must have looked kissing and holding hands like nerds.
"We're still gross and lovey." Luke giggled, giving Michael an overdramatized, sloppy kiss on the cheek to prove it.
"I love you, a lot." Luke's voice was softer.
"I love you a lot too. More than you could think of, Bambi." Luke blushed at the nickname.
"You still blush like you're 15." Michael was the one laughing now.
"Shut up." Luke's eyes were shut and his hand folded with Michael's tighter than before.
"Make me."
"If you insist."