Paper Thin (muke)

19: movies

LUKE

Luke thought he was dreaming when he heard Michael talking on the phone, hushed tones and the occasional sigh flitting through Luke's unconscious mind.

"No, that's not happening," Michael said, voice quiet and stern, "I already told you- no, Veronica I- People aren't going to get bored."

Luke only realized it wasn't a dream when he rolled over, Michael's side of the bed cool to the touch. That shocked Luke into consciousness, and he peeked an eye open, squinting against the harsh sun rays that shone through the window. Michael was standing in the corner of the room, phone pressed to his ear.

"I'm not doing the interview, okay? I'm perfectly fulfilled just staying behind the scenes." He turned towards Luke and the younger boy pretended to be asleep, shutting his eyes and breathing in and out slowly through parted lips. Michael had a sixth sense for when Luke woke up, always aware of the minute shift in breath pattern.

There was a pause and then he sighed "I'll think about it, okay? No promises though- Okay. Okay bye."

He made his way back over to the bed, slipping carefully under the covers. Luke pretended to wake up, stretching luxuriously and wrapping himself around Michael.

"Good morning." He yawned, nuzzling his face into the older boy's chest.

"Good morning," Michael wrapped his arms around Luke's body, "I didn't wake you with that phone call, did I?"

Luke shook his head. "Who was calling you at," he glanced at the side table alarm clock, "half past seven?"

It was Michael's turn to shake his head, waving it off. "Just work, nothing too important. So, excited for today?"

Luke noticed this wasn't the first time Michael quickly changed the subject when it came to his work. He was beginning to think Michael was some sort of criminal, or maybe even secret agent by how often he was gone at meetings or on secretive phone calls like this morning. This was the first time he'd heard anything about an interview though. He wanted to ask Michael more about it, but didn't want to seem like he was eavesdropping, so he let it go.

"Yeah I guess so," Luke mumbled, shrugging his shoulders as the realization settled in that today was the day he'd be moving back to his apartment. The anxiety was already beginning to settle in his gut. Over the last several weeks he'd only been alone a handful of times, and each time he'd had to take his newly prescribed anxiety medication to prevent from spiraling into an attack. He'd been working with his therapist to address it. For as long as he could remember, Luke had issues with being alone, but never as bad as it was now. If he wasn't with Michael he was with Calum. His therapist said that after all of the trauma he had been through, it wasn't surprising that he'd become codependent when it came to his relationships, and that learning to be alone and be confident supporting himself was the key to overcoming his fear and codependent habits. And Luke wanted to overcome.

"It'll be good for you, to get back to your own space." Michael nudged, trying to dig for how Luke was feeling.

"I know," Luke sighed, "I'm just nervous. I haven't been alone since, well.." he trailed off, his fingers running over the bedsheets. "I know he can't hurt me anymore, but still." And it was true, he couldn't. Liam was in jail until his trial, the judge waived away the idea of bail after seeing the photos of Luke's injuries.

"It's okay to be scared, Lu." Michael started, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Luke's head, "But you'll be alright. Plus you won't even be alone tonight, everyone's coming over for movies and takeout and then Calum is staying the night."