Luke
"All I'm asking for is a chance." Michael looked from Calum to Ashton to Luke with desperation. "Please," he begged, leaving Luke still unconvinced.
"We're not doing this to punish you," Luke said patiently. "We're doing this to help you."
He could already tell that Michael had swayed Calum and Ashton before Luke had gotten back and that meant it was going to be even harder for Luke to stand his ground. He wanted to believe Michael but they had to think of him as an addict rather than their friend right now. It was hard to trust him.
"I'm just asking for this last chance," Michael's voice grew louder. His skin looked even more pale against his purple hair. "If I screw it up then you can send me off to rehab and kick me out of the band and never see me again."
"That's not what I want at all, Michael," Luke said quietly. This was part of the problem. Luke wasn't joking when he told Ivy that Michael had been scared of her on the plane. Michael literally thought she was a stalker fan-girl, trying to steal his sperm to make mini-Michael's, or something equally outrageous.
Whether it was a direct effect of the drugs or just a general reflection of his mental health, Michael had grown so paranoid. Two weeks ago, he'd punched Ashton and accused him of conspiring with Luke to kick him out of the band, which was ridiculous. If Michael was clean he would remember how much Ashton admired Michael's musical talent.
"If we agree to this, you can't get upset at us for baby-sitting you," Ashton said, finally offering some help to Luke. "We're going to be watching your every move."
"And the first sign of you using anything," Luke added sternly, "drugs, alcohol, even unprescribed cough syrup," Calum made a face at Luke which he ignored, focusing on Michael, "then you're going to the rehabilitation centre for their intensive twelve week program."
"Okay, dude," Michael said, on the verge of an eyeroll. "I get it."
"Great. Can we get to some banding now?" Calum asked impatiently, at the same time Luke said, "And you'll have to do a daily drug test."
Michael ignored Calum and made a weird face at Luke, "You know, you're supposed to be my friend and my band mate. Not my fucking dad."
He stormed down the hall towards Luke's room and Calum's hand shoved Luke's shoulder, "Daily drug test?" he mocked in Luke's voice, "Did you really have to say that? He agreed to get clean, you should have just left it at that."
"It's not that simple," Luke sighed, trying not to unleash his frustration and yell at Calum. That wouldn't help Michael. "He's an addict, Calum. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can start helping him."
"We want to help him just as much as you do, Luke," Ashton was still pouting. He'd been checking his phone every ten seconds, probably waiting for a text message from Callie.
"Yeah, we want to help him too so stop acting like you're the only one who cares," Calum finished.
"You really want to help him? You two take the first baby-sitting shift. I'm out of here," Luke took the car keys off of the coffee table before pointing to Ashton, "Oh, and instead of pouting twenty-four-seven, just text your girl and admit that you fucked up. The whole self-loathing act is getting a little old."
The two boys were dead silent when Luke stormed out. He didn't know where that little outburst had florished from but it felt good to get it off of his chest. He hated having to be the responsible one. They all knew why they were coming home. They should have known it was going to be difficult.
Outside of his childhood home, Luke noticed the familiar red-haired neighbour leaving her own house across the street. He ducked into his car before she could see him. It was Sophie Green. She'd lived in the house opposite Luke's for as long as he could remember. She also happened to be the first girl Luke made out with.
It was at Calum's 13th birthday party and Luke was so nervous, he accidentally bit her lip. Not in the sensual way that fans often had him doing in their fan-fictions either. Yes, they knew about the fan-fictions. Sometimes Michael would read them aloud to the other boys when they were stuck waiting at the airport or jetlagged in a hotel.
Anyway, to this day Luke was still so embarassed and avoided her at all costs. If only being famous erased awkward memories like that.
He drove around the suburb they grew up in, memories of their childhood and early teens flashing through his mind like a movie. The four boys in his memory were disparate to the four boys they were now.
They'd been away from home too long. It wasn't always like this and Luke hated that they were falling apart. What was the point in having money and fame and travelling the world with your best friends if no one was actually enjoying themselves?
Later that evening, Luke had dinner with his parents and one of his older brothers, Ben. They went to Luke's favourite restaurant and after taking a few photos with some local fans, Luke sat down with his family feeling like a weight had been lifting from him.
"I swear your hair gets higher every time I see you," Ben commented, shovelling spaghetti into his mouth like he hadn't eaten for a week.
"You're just upset because it makes you look even shorter around me," Luke fired back with a laugh. His quiff wasn't even that high today.
"Given that you two haven't seen each other for a while, you could be a little nicer to one another," Their mum said, she had a huge smile on her face though.
"Sorry. I forgot that no one is allowed to pick on your precious baby," Ben laughed and Luke's dad, Andrew, joined in too. Luke was definitely a mummy's boy and he didn't ever bother to pretend otherwise.
"Mumma, could you cut my spaghetti for me?" Luke joked, playing along with it all.
He'd missed this: banter with his brothers, laughing with one another at dinner time. Being with his family is what made him feel most comfortable and at ease. He could finally breathe.
it's so cool to see some of you getting into this story already. i'm really excited for it! Ivy's POV will be the next chapter :)
