Walls | M.C.

Chapter 12

"Just hanging around with, uh, Lue." I peered over to Michael's sleeping body that was draped over the couch.

"Two more weeks honey. Then I'll be home and it'll all get even better from there." My mom cheered into the phone.

"Right." I stated, agreeing with her.

"I love you, I'll call you tonight." She sighed out. I mimicked her, breathing in to answer her but she cut me off.

"And I hope you're staying out of trouble." She said quickly, laughing after.

"I am!" I said defensively, taking a glance over at Michael stirring around.

"Okay, okay! I love you."

"Love you too, mom." I hung up, slumping into the couch on the opposite side of Michael.

Her daily phone calls always put me in a better mood. I felt bad for lying to my mom, but obviously I wasn't going to let her know that I've been sleeping over at a boy's house while he's doing the same, and forbid it be known that we were home alone both times.

In fact, I didn't tell her anything about Michael, not just yet. I wanted her to keep her good thought of him and let it linger on before I even mentioned his name in a conversation.

He frustrated me. A lot. But at the same time he could replace it with such triumph and he could do it in a matter of seconds. I also gave into him. A lot. Maybe too much. I was never one to just "let things happen" as I wanted things my way which afflicted with my life, as life was not fair at all. I shared the same stubbornness with Michael and that's one of the things that made us clash together.

It was noon and he was still passed out on the couch. If this was Lue, Annabel, or Julia I would've woken them up by now and dragged them somewhere without notice, but I figured that I'd let him sleep in, especially after the events from the night before.

I climbed up the stairs and threw myself on my bed. I laid on my back, blankly staring at the ceiling. I stayed there for a while before grabbing a book that sat on my desk. I hadn't even read a sentence out of it in a whole month, which was a weird realization. I just told myself I was distracted, that's all.

I sunk into the chair that was placed by it and the words soon consumed my thoughts. I kicked my feet up, leaving my back to face my room. I flipped page after page, slowly losing reality.

I breathed out heavily, finally shutting the novel after finishing the last half. I brought my legs down from the empty desk and tilted my head back slightly, only to hit it against the stomach of a unsuspecting person.

I shot back up instantly, turning around to meet a sleepy Michael. His hand covered his stomach and his lip stuck out in a slight pout.

"Sorry." I giggled, not being phased by the surprise. I tossed the book that was still clenched in my hands onto my bed.

"Well good morning to you too." His voice was always gravelly after he woke up, which was one of the things I enjoyed about him.

"Morning? You're a little confused there." I teased. I rubbed my eyes, not even knowing what time it was after I got lost in what I was reading. The clock on my wall was about to tick to 4 o'clock.

"s**t!" I yelled out. I ran into my bathroom, tugging my hair out of it's messy bun. "I have to be at work in less than 20 minutes." I splashed cold water on my face, wakening my tired eyes.

I rummaged through my drawers, searching for the tan pants and black shirt I was required to wear. Michael sat on my bed patiently, watching me go back and forth from my bathroom to bedroom.

"I can't find my uniform anywhere." I sighed, scurrying back to the bathroom.

"You might have left them at my place." He finally spoke up. I groaned at the fact and decided to ignore the dress code, it wasn't like anyone important showed up anyways.

I ran a straightener through my hair swiftly after buffing in a layer of foundation and weakly coating my eyelashes with mascara. My phone lit up by an alert from twitter, and the numbers 4:10 flashed at me.

"Hey Michael?" I called out.

"Hmmm?" He lazily replied.

"I know this is short notice, but I have to be there in five minutes and I usually walk since it's so close, but could you drive me down there for the sake of time?" I questioned.

"I was planning on going with you anyways, no worry." He flashed courteous smile at me. I looked up from my hands that were double knotting the laces on my vans.

"You're a life saver. Now let's go before I clock in too late." I turned to head downstairs, listening to the clobbering of our shoes as we ran down each step and out the door.

-

I was in stitches. My sides ached from laughing so hard. Michael and I were across from each other, sitting in swivel chairs behind the register. He had just told me a ridiculous story about him and a few friends from his original town.

His foot spun my chair, slowing spinning me which eventually caused me to feel dizzy.

"Okay, stop spinning me. I'm going to puke." I managed to choke out between laughs.

"Oh God." He mumbled in joking manner.

Both of his hands reached under the front of my chair, pulling the edge to his. We easily would've bashed knees, but mine were together and his were apart. He leaned over and placed his elbows on the lower part of my thighs and rested his chin in his hands. He peeked up at me through his light eyelashes, making eye contact for a split second then breaking it by looking back down.

"Your mom comes back soon." He said abruptly. His hands fell from his face as he let his arms carelessly cross over my lap.

"Only two more weeks." I grinned.

"I bet you've been missing her like crazy." He added.

"Yeah, I do. But in all honesty, not as much as I thought I would. I thought I would be curled up in my room all day." I chuckled. "I was lucky enough to find a person to promise me to throw some good things my way" I hinted at him.

He instantly caught on, gazing up at me once again with a lazy smile. I heard the chime of the bell when the door to the shop opened, alerting me someone came in. Before we could move from our position, two bodies ran up to the register we were behind, a tray of coffee in hand.

Lue and Annabel glanced at each other, then back at Michael and I's sitting display.

"Did we interrupt something?" Lue asked out of the corner of her mouth to me.

I felt Michael's thumb start to run back and forth across the side of my thigh that was faced away from my two friends.

"Not at all." I smiled widely. I stood up, pushing Michael off of me. "You guys remember Michael from Ashton's party a while back, right?" I asked turning my attention to him. He gently waved, standing up and leaning against the counter.

"How could we not." Lue said. "After all he did introduce me to Calum."

"Wait, so you're Lue?" Michael asked.

To be honest, all these connections weirded me out.

She simply nodded her head and I looked at her with confusion. I shifted my eyes over to Annabel, who shared the same confusion as me.

"Lue here got asked out by Calum a few nights ago, am I correct?" He blinked his eyes between her and I. She nodded her head once again, this time biting her lip to fight the huge smile.

"LUE!" Annabel and I simultaneously shouted.

"I was going to tell you guys, but I just didn't know when!" She put her hands up in defensive, laughing at our reactions.

I realized that her statement was like my "situation" with Michael. I hadn't told anyone, I didn't feel the need to, but even if I did, what would I say?

I felt myself tense up for an unknown reason. I watched everyone engage in conversation, leaving me to my thoughts. Michael shifted his weight which made him closer to me, our shoulders a few inches apart.

His fingertips brushed against my wrist, trailing down into my palm and intertwining our fingers. His facial expression didn't change, neither did his body language from what Lue and Annabels' eyes could see. The counter came about mid-torso, so they weren't able to see anything.

I took a quick glance at our hands without moving my head. His grip tightened, making me feel secure even though I didn't necessarily need it. Somehow he could tell when I felt uneasy, or when I seem out of my element. I don't know how he did it, but he could sense it. After all, he did tell me he figured me out.

The conversation switched from topic to topic, never staying centered. Our laughs filled the empty bookstore, bonding this way was honestly my favorite way to build our friendships even more.

I brought my remainder of my coffee to my lips, which most people would consider odd for drinking this late into the evening, but at the same time it was only 7. It had lost the hot temperature as I took a sip and brought it back down to the desk.

"Uh...Maddie?" Lue questioned. I picked my drink back up to my lips, taking a bigger sip. "Who gave you those?" She asked in a childish tone as she pointed to my neck, nudging at Annabel.

My eyes grew wide as I choked down my drink, completely forgetting to hide my fading and new hickeys from Michael.

I inhaled sharply, but I couldn't manage to spit anything out. Michael's hand grasped mine tighter and I looked at him, a slight tint to his cheeks. My attention went back to my friends, who were patiently waiting for an answer.

"Well?!" They yelled.

I tilted my head to the side and rolled my eyes, finally pointing my thumb towards Michael without saying a word. My lips turned into a shy smile, hearing their squeals. I looked over at Michael, his cheeks even more pink than before. We let out embarrassed laughs at the second our eyes met.

He let go of my hand, covering his face with them. The sight of him flustered over me was gratifying. He wasn't embarrassed at the fact that it was me, but because I just let people know that, recently, he was hooked to my neck.

"Wait." Lue paused, silencing out commotion. "Did you two..."

Michael and I took a step back from each other, being caught off guard by her implying we slept together.

"No, no, no." He snickered, shaking his head. "It was nothing bad, I promise. I have a lot more respect for her than that."

My head tilted down in attempt to hide my burning cheeks and huge grin.

-

I locked the door to the building after my shift finally ended.

"Bye guys, thanks for entertaining me." Michael sneered as he gave them a hug each. He looked me up and down after he finished his goodbyes. "I'll wait for you in the car." He said nonchalantly.

I waited until I heard his driver's side door close before turning back to Lue and Annabel who were standing outside their own vehicle.

"He's a keeper, Maddie." Annabel said in a genuine tone.

I smiled weakly at her, still unaware of what Michael and I were.

"I'm serious. He's different and we could from the second we walked in and we saw him looking up at you from your lap." She said, gesturing towards Lue.

I hugged them both tightly without word, squeezing tight.

"God, I love you guys. So much." I pulled back with a beaming smile.

"We love you too, and we have to make sure to update Julia." They giggled, me joining in.

Lue made her way to the driver's side, shutting the door and rolling down the windows. Annabel followed her actions, looking up at me as she buckled her seat belt. She nodded towards Michael's car where he was still waiting.

"Go get him."