Don't

Eight

"Ergh! This game is so stupid!"

I tapped and pushed at the buttons of the Xbox controller in frustration as my character spins mindlessly in a corner shooting into the air, "what kind of backwards... When I turn my head my eyes follow, I don't carry on looking the other way... Ergh... Why can't the camera just... FUCKING BOLLOCKS!!!" I throw the controller onto the table, my character dying for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Mikey laughs at me, and I can't help but laugh at how insanely bad I was at this game, we laugh for a good five minutes, the laughs becoming silent after a while and just tears falling. We sit back on the sofa, just trying to catch our breaths.

"Thanks Mikey, I really needed this today" I smile at him but when he looks at me, there's something different about it, his eyes aren't shining as bright, and they seem to be searching for something in mine, "what?"

"You leave in less than two weeks, right?"

"Yeah..."

He nods, getting up and grabbing two Coronas from the fridge in his man-cave, handing one to me and sitting back down, this time facing me, "so do you want to tell me why you came over?"

"What, I can't just come invade your personal space and kick your arse at video games?"

"Kick my arse?" He points to the TV.

"Okay so I suck at COD and those kind of games, but I can beat you at any fighting game and you know it!" I take a gulp of my beer and place it on the table before I turn to him.

"Go on" he nods "you can ask me. I know you've been dying to since you got here. I'm actually surprised that you've lasted this long" he picks up a slice of the now cold pizza that we ordered for dinner.

I look down at my hands trying to figure out the best way to word the question before asking it, but I soon realise that there isn't really a good way, so maybe I should just ease into it, "you and Luke are close, right?"

"Well, that's an understatement"

I mentally punch myself at the stupidity of the question but I've started now so... "So, you guys talk about everything, yeah?"

"Yeesss" he waves his hand for me to carry on taking another bite of his pizza.

"Does he... has he... I mean did he ever, you know, talk about me?" I hide my face in my hands, I feel hot, embarrassed and sick to my stomach, I don't really understand why, it's a normal question to ask, isn't it?

"It would be a lot easier to answer if you had asked 'does Luke ever not talk about me'" I look up at him, "seriously he never shuts up. It's like 'Dylan did this, Dylan did that, and then she said this, and then she smiled at that'. Honestly, I don't know how much longer I can take it. Every fucking day! Blah, blah, blah" he makes a gesture with his hand next to his ear like a mouth opening and closing.

"Oh" is all I manage to say, I knew I could count on Mikey to know what was going on but I really wasn't expecting this.

"That's all you have to say 'oh'?"

"I don't know what else to say"

"Do you not want to know why he talks about you so much?" I go to speak but he doesn't let me, "he likes you! Hello! Everyone can see it. Well everyone except you two" I open my mouth but he puts his hand up saying "if I hear the same, 'we're just friends' crap from you that I heard from him, I will not hesitate to kick you out of my house"

I close my mouth looking down, but then I ask "you and Luke have had this conversation?" I look up at him again.

"Today actually" he takes a drink of his Corona after dropping the pizza crust into the box, "while you and Ash were having lunch"

I tense slightly, of course he's seen the pictures, they see everything, "And what did he say?"

"Nothing I didn't already know, then he gave me a dead leg and left"

I laugh slightly, "I can see he loves you very much"

"You know, it's obvious you like him too, why don't you guys just do something about it?"

"What do you mean obvious?" Did it look like I had been throwing myself at Luke or something?

"You can pretend all you want, but your eyes aren't fooling anyone. You just glow when you're around him and the laughing, so much laughing, I mean yeah, Luke's funny but he's not that funny"

"Hey, Luke is funny!" I say defensively

"And that's exactly what he said when I told him I didn't think you were funny"

"Why does no one think I'm funny?" I throw my hands in the air to emphasize my annoyance

"Luke does" he smirks

"That's because he's my friend"

"Calum's your friend and he doesn't think you're funny"

"That's because he's jealous of my funny"

"No, it's because he doesn't like you the way Luke does" he grins

"Mikey enough!" For some reason I can feel tears in my eyes. What even?

He moves closer to me, his voice soft, resting his hand on my arm "you really like him don't you?" A look of concern in his eyes looking at my watery ones.

I move my arm away quickly waving it about, "I don't like him Mikey, he's my friend and I just wanted to know if he's okay because I haven't spoken to him today"

"You don't speak to him for one day and you show up randomly at his friend's house because you're worried. Yeah, I can totally see you hate him" I punch him in the arm "ow, what the fuck was that for?"

"A dead arm to match your dead leg!" I smile and give him a kiss on the cheek, my mood back to normal and get up "laters Mikey. Text me yeah?" He nods still rubbing his arm and I leave quietly.

I take my phone out of my pocket as I close the front door.

To: Prima Ballerina (3:09am)

Hey white girl, you still owe me an ice cream cake!

From: Prima Ballerina (3:09am)

You wish

To: Prima Ballerina (3:10am)

I'm gonna take you down Hemmings. Tomorrow?

From: Prima Ballerina (3:11am)

Sure, I'll pick you up, we can go for lunch before

To: Prima Ballerina (3:12am)

Sounds like a plan, Batman. 1pm?

From: Prima Ballerina (3:12am)

See you then x

I smiled at the phone, the talk he had with Michael obviously helped because he was talking to me again, and my stomach did a little flip when seeing the kiss on Luke's last reply but then I sigh remembering it can't flip.

I can't think about what Mikey said about him liking me, I can't think about how Calum said he was sad that Ash stayed in my room, I can't think about how Ashton said that we just look happier when we're around each other.

I was leaving in less than two weeks, the band was going off to write in the States, then they were going on tour again. It doesn't matter if I like Luke, that's right, if. I don't even really know, it's just so much to take in in less than 24 hours. I'll think about it tomorrow. 

I then realised it was 3am and I had no way of getting home. Well done, Dylan! I open my contacts and press the call button, it rings twice before it's answered,

"Dylan, are you okay, is something wrong?"

I chuckle slightly

"Nothing's wrong Ash, I just need a lift home, if that's okay?"