she looks so perfect // lh

2.0

i woke up on the couch covered in a blanket with a terrible headache. i could hear voices coming from the kitchen, so i slowly made my way out there to get myself a glass of water. aiden and luke were leaning against the counter chatting as calum cooked something on the stove. bacon and eggs, yum.

"good morning," luke said quietly when there was a lull in coversation. i just waved in response, the pain in my head making it hard to form sentences. aiden laughed about me being a lightweight as we all sat down at the table. calum didn't say anything as he brought out a couple plates for us, he was being unusually quiet. the food helped my hangover a lot, and was actually pretty good.

as we all sat and ate michael and crystal arrived, plopping down in the living room without a word to us. oh hey, big brother, all good out here with my secret boyfriend and best friend's latest squeeze, nothing to see here. i finished my plate quickly before taking a seat on michael's other side.

"hey," i said, earning a smile in response. crystal made small talk with me as everyone else entered the room, but michael just sat on his phone. he was absentmindedly scrolling on twitter, i was pretty sure he wasn't even reading anything he saw.

"what do you guys want to do today?" calum asked, flipping to some football match.

"we actually should get going," michael said to crystal, causing me to roll my eyes.

"we can stay for a little longer," she said noticing my face. michael just gave her a look before going into his room. he came back out with a bag and stood behind crystal, waiting for her to get up.

"where are you going?" i asked him, trying to hide the annoyance in my voice.

"none of your business, nosy," he said, which was obviously the wrong thing to say.

"are you joking? it is, too, my business, michael. what are you doing?"

"katherine, knock it off." michael rolled his eyes at me and it made me stand up from my spot to face him.

"no, i won't 'knock it off.' i didn't choose to move 8 hours away from everyone in my life for you to leave me here without an explanation! what happened to taking care of me?"

"you are so dramatic! you're fine, katie. i didn't see any complaints when my friends took you out partying, huh? when my friends took you, some kid they barely know, to hang out at the beach? so yeah, knock it off." i felt water welling in my eyes as i bit my lip so they wouldn't fall.

"michael..." crystal started, but he quickly cut her off.

"no, she's being a spoiled brat. i mean, seriously, do you think they're doing this babysitting for you or for me?" before i let him finish i ran to my room, letting the door close behind me. once i heard the lock click i let the tears fall. would luke even like me if it weren't for mum forcing michael to take me? would he even have noticed me? doubtful..

i let the knocking on my door go unanswered as i sat on my bed and ran michael's words over in my head. the more i thought about it, the more it made sense.

"katie, please open the door," michael yelled, banging loudly. i just ignored him and crawled under my covers. i felt my phone vibrating repeatedly, luke's name flashing on the screen. i just let it ring as michael continued at the door.

"katherine?" luke's voice came through the door softly, but i just held my breath.

"michael left," he added, knocking lightly again. i got up slowly and unlocked the door for him as he twisted the knob back and forth.

"are you okay?" luke immediately wrapped me in a hug, but i wasn't sure how to respond. i let him hold me for a few seconds longer before pulling away. i couldn't look him in the eyes, michael's comments still in my head.