High Hopes || Mashton AU

Epilogue 2

A/N: This one is for the person who asked for an epilogue to the epilogue way back
They're probably not active anymore, it's been almost four years. But for anyone still having this book in their library, for anyone who ends up reading this (maybe again), thank you for all the support on this story. It's got a special place in my heart, touching on subjects I've dealt with personally and letting me have a way of describing my feelings and thoughts. I hope it helps people the way it helped me when I wrote it back in the days.

This is epilogue nr. 2
or
the epilogue to the epilogue

About 1,5 years since the Epilogue
(To clarify, the Epilogue took place at the end of the second year of uni. So this takes place halfway the fourth year of uni)

"I didn't mean to kill them."

Luke Hemmings was sitting on the ground in the middle of the room, a mournful look on his face, sad blue eyes peering up at Michael Clifford-who had just stepped into the dorm room. The one he shared with the sad blond in the middle of it.

"How can you not mean to kill?" Michael nearly shrieked, looking at the victims that were scattered around Luke. The flat, lifeless bodies making the bleached blond's stomach twist. He was just as dead as them, he knew.

"I'm sorry!"

"Ashton is going to kill me." Michael muttered, dropping to his knees and reaching for the nearest wilted plant, grimacing as one of its leaves fell off at the slightest touch. "How fucking hard is it to water some plants?"

"I told you I forget! I can't handle plants." Luke wailed, letting himself fall onto his back, magically between the pots with dead plants around him. At least he didn't break them.

With a sigh, Michael shrugged. "I suppose it's better than if I had let them die."

"Hey!" Luke gasped, sitting back up. "Are you telling me you're blaming me for killing Ashton's plants while you would have ended up the same way?!"

"... No." Michael innocently countered, looking away as not to betray himself. He wasn't the best liar.

A huff was heard, before Luke was getting up and gathering the plants. Michael watched him, a more amused look on his face now with a smile that grew with each leaf Luke lost in his attempt to gather the dead plants. "I'm telling Ashton you did this on purpose, by the way. I'm not going down alone."

"Hey!"

"Hey."

Both turned to look at the door, bodies tensing and eyes widening in the slight fear it was Ashton, coming to collect his lively plants. Only to find out they were anything but.

Thankfully, it was Calum.

"Oh, hey Cal." Michael greeted easily, getting up as well and patting down his jeans for imaginary dust. Perhaps the ashes of the plants, he could say.

"What's with all the dead plants?" The dark haired one asked curiously, not bothering to close the dorm room behind himself and easily making himself at home on Luke's bed. He ignored Luke's glare, turning his gaze towards Michael fully.

"Luke killed them while I was away."

"Did not!" Luke protested, setting the plants down in a corner after careful consideration and turning around swiftly to glare at Michael. "You set me up."

"He set you up with dead plants?" Came from Calum, his eyebrows furrowing with his confusion.

Luke narrowed his eyes at Michael, refusing to break his glare. "No. He was already doing a poor job himself, asked me to take care while he'd visit home and basically left them to die at my hands instead of his own."