Deception (Michael Clifford)

Ten

I stand in front of Michael in complete state of shock, trembling with disbelief.
My heart threatens to beat right out of my chest as the realisation hits me, kicking my right in the gut and drawing out every last scrap of oxygen from my lungs. All the images flash through my mind of that encounter in the alley way, all the pieces fall into place. How could I not realise it sooner? From the day I set eyes on this boy I've had flashes of déjà vu, feeling like I've met him before, and yet it took me till now to realise it was him that saved me that night. His hair, his posture, the way that's he's been staring at me this whole time. He knew. He knew, yet he didn't say a word. I stare at him in front of me. Standing with his hands held rigidly by his sides, the veins in his arms snaking around the muscles and throbbing up his neck. The crimson red fringe shadows his face, hanging over his verdant green eyes as he pins me down beneath his gaze. I draw in a shaky breath.
"You..." I finally manage to speak, and he doesn't react, just flexes his hands a little by his side and twitches his eye, "In the alley... How could... why?" I stutter, the words tumbling out of my mouth like a waterfall. I don't even know where to start. I think about that night, walking down the sidewalk, the sickly glow from the street lights, that red fire hydrant, luring me in with its deadly promise of safety.
"Don't act like you had no idea," he scoffs, "you've been staring at me all week," he hisses with a scathing voice. I open my mouth to reply but no words come out. Instead I blink at him dumbly, is he serious!? I find my voice.
"I've been staring at you? I had no- are you serious!?" I retort, trembling up at him defiantly, "How the hell was I supposed to know it was you!? I was attacked in a dark alley way at night!" I raise my voice slightly to emphasise the point.
"What is your problem?" He asks, stepping forward slightly, "Hm?" I swallow nervously, but remain where I am. Taking in shallow breaths.
"I've been in a lot more unnerving situations than coming face to face with you," I lower my voice slightly and take a step forward also, "so if your trying to intimidate me, it's not going to work." I tell him shakily, staring right into his eyes and holding my ground. He clenches his jaw, the air between us crackles with tension and our eyes battle for dominance. He's taller than me, so I have to strain my neck to look up at him and we stay like this for what seems like an eternity. Suddenly he lets out a small chuckle, still holding my gaze but smirking devilishly.
"You have no idea what your getting into," he almost whispers, so close to my face that I feel his breath on my skin, sending shivers up my spine. What does he mean by that? The tone of his voice turns my blood to ice, and I dare not move as he continues to threaten me with piecing green glare. I stare into them defiantly, gleaming with a dark, sinister shade of green, that has replaced the usual light emerald that normally sparkles there. I swallow hard. Its as if all the shadows of his soul have been dredged up and boiled into the most potent and poisonous shade of green possible, then poured into the depths of his eyes. They stare into the silver pools of mine, diving into the darkest depths of my mind, searching, daring. I can feel it. The muscles in his face twitch, and I can sense his shoulders tensing, something in the back of my mind is screaming at me to step back, to turn away and run, but I ignore it. Instead I hold my ground, and he draws in a dangerous breath, I brace myself.

Then something clicks in him, he blinks. Shaking his head like he's shooing a fly, he takes a staggered step back, bringing his hands up to his face. I watch him cautiously and pull my hands into my sides, breathing in shakily. He stands there for a few seconds, like he's just woken up from a dream, and squints, furrowing his eyebrows together, then looks up at me, confusion spreading across his face. He looks down then lifts the hair of his fringe away from his eyes, revealing once again the brilliant, bright emerald trickling back into his eyes. I don't speak, remaining stood with my right foot slightly in front of my left, like a battle stance. He drops his arm slowly back to his side, his eyes conveying a glint of sadness, and that throws me for a second, for that was the last emotion I expected this boy to show. He slowly withdraws, stepping back and swallowing nervously, my mind whirls with confusion. Is this an act? I look more closely at his face for any signs, but observing the way his eyes look at me and glaze over in thought, he seems genuinely caught off guard. Without another word, he breaks away and looks down, shuffling off round the corner with his shoulders slumped and in a state of stunned silence. I track his every move until he disappears from sight, then return my gaze back to the door in which he dragged me through. What the hell just happened? I pull a hand up to rub my eyes in confusion, one minute he's pulling me out the raging sea of fans, then next he's bunching his fists like I'm the worst thing he's set eyes on. The image of the dark, poisonous stare flashes through my mind once more and I have to suppress a shiver. There's something that doesn't sit right with me about him, and I can't put my finger on it. I think back to the day in the radio station lobby, him staring at me from across the room, me holding my ground. Ashton tried to calm him down but something in him just snapped, and he took his anger out on the wall. Whipping round to punch it and storming out of the room without another word. I recall the way his shoulders were tensing and the clench of his jaw when he stood in front of me moments ago. He was about to snap. I didn't see it at first because I was so absorbed by his deadly green gaze, so drawn into his game of defiance, but something inside him was ticking, and so dangerously close to zero. I take a deep breath as I realise how close I was to being his wall. But could he really do that? I shiver at the thought. I can't tell, and I don't ever want to get close enough to find out. There's something he's hiding, or hiding from, and I'm scared to find out what that is.