angels//muke

2

ashton pulled into the parking lot of the school and into his assigned spot. as he turned off the car, luke reached into the back and grabbed his and ashton's bookbags. luke stepped out of the car, handing ashton his bag. "thanks, little brother." ashton said, throwing an arm around luke as he walked towards him. "hey! you're only 2 years older than me. and you should be 2 years above me, but your stupid ass failed year 7. who fails year 7?" luke said, laughing. it was true, but secretly luke was thankful for ashton failing. it meant luke had him longer. luke didn't know what he'd do if he didn't have ashton by his side at lunch. and luke loved the way their classes were timed. ashton was able to walk luke to almost all of his classes, and if luke was having one of his bad days, ashton was the kind of friend that would be late to his class just so he could walk the younger boy to his own, attempting to calm him down on the way. ashton wasn't unpopular, either, so luke was thankful that ashton wasn't embarrassed to be seen with him. they had been friends since luke was nine and ashton was eleven. they had similar backgrounds; ashton's father left when he was two,and he was raised by his mother. luke's father left when he was three. but unlike luke's, the majority of ashton's family was still there. they didn't abandon him. luke was used to abandonment. he had been called things like 'bastard','disgrace','accident',and 'mistake' since he was born, due to his parents being very young and unwed at the time of his birth. it's true, luke was unplanned, but his mother would call him her 'surprise gift'. when luke was born, most of his mother's family aside from her parents and sister, cut off all contact with her because of 'the mistake'. andrew, luke's father, didn't want anything to do with liz or luke, but his mother forced him to. she was the only one in his family that didn't disown him because of luke. he and luke were not very close, but when he left, it scarred luke. he never recovered from it. luke had issues of all kinds; depression,abandonment issues, trust issues, anxiety, if you could name it, luke probably had it. ashton helped with those things as much as he could, constantly checking up on his best friend. "luke?" ashton said, as he walked into the school with the younger boy. "yeah?" luke asked. "can i spend the night at your place tomorrow? or you at mine? you need a venting session, luke. i can tell. your mum was telling me about how you've been having panic attacks lately, and that's not good. i just don't want, you know.. it.. to happen again. luke, i love you, okay? and i know you. you need to just let eveything out. it's good for you. trust me" ashton told him.

luke looked down at his vans. ashton was right, luke did need a venting session. those usually consisted of luke telling ashton his recent thoughts, showing his recent cuts, and ashton holding luke for hours while he cried everything out. luke's therapist says it's good to cry. he also thinks ashton is a perfect friend for luke. luke likes his therapist.

"yeah, ash, you can come to my house tomorrow. you're right. i do need one." luke said. "great." ashton smiled. "i'll pack my clothes tonight and leave them in my car,and we'll just go back to yours after school, sound good?"

"sounds good." luke said, smiling.

as ashton walked luke to his first class, ashton was saying something to luke, but it was cut off by luke being pushed into a locker, causing him to fall. then a bottle of red powerade was being poured on him. luke felt tears forming in his eyes as the two boys started laughing.

"oh, poor baby, you going to call your daddy to come get you? oh that's right, he left your ass because he didn't want an ugly faggot for a son. i don't blame him."

the tears started to fall from luke's blue eyes. ashton was squatting next to luke, rubbing his back and making sure he was alright. it only made it worse when ashton would fight for luke, so luke told him to just let everything go. it was hard for ashton, he wanted to kill every person that hurt his best friend, but since luke didn't want any more pain, he let it go.

the two boys walked away from ashton and luke, as ashton helped luke up and walked him into the bathroom and into a stall. they heard the bell ring, they were going to miss their first classes, but they didn't care, he just wanted luke to be okay.

luke sat on the closed toilet, crying. "luke.." ashton said softy, rubbing luke's back. "are you alright?" he asked.

luke sniffled. "my neck hurts." he said. "let me see." ashton said, walking behind the toilet. luke's neck was cut, not bad, but enough to draw blood. "you're bleeding." ashton sighed, grabbing his bag. he kept bandaids and alcohol pads in there, mostly for occasions like this, or if he found luke cutting in the bathroom with an old blade from a pencil sharpener. he cleaned the cut, and placed the large bandage on it gently.

he walked to the sink, wetting a paper towel to clean the powerade from luke. he went back to the toilet, cleaning the red out of luke's blonde hair, hoping it hadn't stained it. it didn't.

"how do you feel?" ashton asked luke, handing him a piece of toilet paper to wipe his tears.

"like shit. worthless shit." luke replied, his voice shaky.

"luke, please tell your mum about this, or i will. she needs to keep an eye on you tonight. i don't want you hurting yourself. please?" ashton asked, rubbing luke's back while hugging him tight.

"i will. she'll probably make me sleep in her bed with her so she can make sure i don't do anything. that's usually what she does." luke replied.

"good." ashton said. "now let's get you to your second class so i can get to mine."

"okay." luke said, walking out of the bathroom towards his classroom.

ashton told luke bye as he opened the door, and luke walked in and sat down.

"they aren't looking at me, thank god." luke thought.

but someone was.

that someone caught his eye.

that someone, was michael clifford.

everyone knew michael clifford. he was one of the only nice popular guys, having a new girlfriend and a new hair color every week.

why was he looking at luke?

"shit. oh shit. he saw me get pushed. oh no, he's going to do something to me. no, no, no. i don't want any more today. please no." luke thought.

as the class ended and luke let his anxiety get the best of him, he gathered his things and began walking outside, where ashton would always meet him with food he had went and got, since his class ended before luke's. he was stopped by a friendly hand on his shoulder. luke turned around with a gasp.

it was michael.

"hey, luke right?" michael asked with a smile.

"y-yeah. luke hemmings." he replied.

"i'm michael." he introduced himself.

"i know." luke laughed nervously. "why are you talking to me? you're popular and i'm a loser." he asked.

"well," michael began. "i see you get bullied a lot, like today. i don't like that. you seem like a really cool guy, and i was wondering if you want to hang out sometime?" he asked.

luke was shocked. "y-yeah! of course? when?" luke asked excitedly.

michael smiled. "today after school maybe? we can go hang at my house." he said.

"definitely, yeah! thank you!" luke said, smiling.

"not a problem," michael laughed. "see you after school! meet me at the front doors, okay? here, put your number in my phone so i can text you." michael said, handing luke his phone, luke doing as he was told.

"okay" luke replied. "see you then!" he told him, making his way toward ashton, who had just shown up outside.

luke felt different. but he liked it. it was.. happy? yes. but a different happy than what he would consider normal.

could he have a crush on michael?

"maybe." luke thought, smiling as he opened the door, walking to ashton.