Saving the Reject | Michael Clifford | Editing

t w e n t y e i g h t ;

Charli

I woke up with a feeling of utmost happiness as I gently lifted my head from Michael's chest.  We hadn't moved much since we fell asleep, still very much wrapped up in each other, his arms around my waist, and mine comfortably across his abdomen.  Under the warming sheets, our legs were tangled together in the most comforting way possible.  This was how I knew that none of it was just a dream.

Michael was still asleep, his chest moving steadily up and down with each breath, his face peaceful.  Smiling at the sleeping boy, I decided that I wanted to do something for him, after all, he has done so much for me.

I stealthily slipped out of his lazy embrace, and out of his extremely comfortable bed.  After quietly making it to the door, I only stopped when I heard Michael shifting in the bed - but he was still asleep, so I proceeded to leave his room.

I still cursed myself - even with how Michael handled it - for forgetting to take my pills last night.  Not only is Michael probably extremely confused, but because of the stupid dreams, I was reminded of everything.  Every single detail of that scarring night.  And if it wasn't for Michael, I'd be going through the pain all over again.

As I reached the kitchen, I began searching for something I could make the boys for breakfast.  I soon decided on my specialty - banana pancakes.  I smiled as I started to hum the famous Jack Johnson song that goes along with this particular food item, laughing slightly at how clever I was.

"Charli?"  I turned around, finding a sleepy Ashton in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt - actually very similar to the clothes of Michael's I was wearing now.  "What are you doing here?"

"Mike let me stay over," I responded, turning my attention back to the cooking pancakes.  "Something about not wanting me to sleep on my couch?  I don't remember, I was half asleep.  Where are the plates?"

Ashton, in the middle of a yawn, pointed to the cabinet directly to the right of the refrigerator.  I followed his guidance and opened the cabinet, pulling out a few plates.  "What are you making?" Ashton questioned, stepping beside me to inspect my pancakes.

"Banana pancakes," I answered, yawning because I had witnessed his yawn.  "The first two are done, do you want them?"

"Yes," he answered immediately.  "That sounds amazing.  No one ever cooks around here."

I laughed a little, placing the two cooked banana-themed pancakes on a plate and handing it to my best friend's boyfriend.  As Ashton began to settle down and eat his breakfast, I poured the batter for two more pancakes onto the griddle, then turned around, facing the tired man-boy.  "So," I started, causing him to look up at me.  "Are we going to discuss what happened yesterday?"

Ashton sighed, putting his fork down.  "Charli, it's too early for this."

"All right, then just listen.  I like you, Ashton," I stated.  "I don't want to have to hate you for hurting my best friend.  Now I don't know what the hell happened between you and Caitlin, but you better recognize your mistake now and commit to not making it with Evie, or break up with her now before she gets too attached."  I narrowed my eyes a bit at him, and he visually gulped.  "And assure you right now that if you play her, or cheat on her, or do anything that leaves her in such pain that I'm afraid she can't handle, I will personally put you in the equivalent amount of physical pain.  I may look small, but after living on the streets for two years by myself, I've picked up a few effective defense tactics."

Ashton was speechless, looking at me fearfully for the first time, and I smiled.

"But, again, I like you Ashton, and as long as you don't hurt Evie, you have nothing to worry about."

Ashton sighed.  "I really like Evie, okay?  I'd never want to see her in pain.  What happened with Caitlin would never happen with Evie, and I've already talked to her about it.  You won't have to worry.  I'll take care of your best friend."

"All right," I nodded, smiling reassuringly.  "I'm glad she's in good hands."

I turned back around, resuming my role of flipping pancakes, when Ashton called out, "Holy shit, these are the best pancakes I've ever had!"  I laughed at his enthusiasm and complete turn around to a lighter subject.

"Well, thank you!"

Moments of silence past as I continued making breakfast, and Ashton continued eating them.  The silent, peaceful moment past as I felt arms snake around my waist, and a chin rest against my shoulder.  I blushed when I saw Michael.

"I thought you left," he whispered, placing a soft, sweet kiss to my clothed shoulder.  All I could do was smile, now.  Since I woke up this morning, I've had this fear in the back of my mind that Michael would think it was a mistake - that he had just kissed me to shut me up so he could go back to sleep.  But that wasn't the case.

Smiling softly, I gently leaned my head against his, flipping another golden brown pancake.

"So is it official yet?" Ashton asked, his voice much louder than Michael's had been.  We turned around, looking at the grinning boy curiously.

"Is what official?" Michael questioned.

"You two," Ashton said enthusiastically.  "Are you guys a thing now?"

I almost wanted to laugh at how weird that sounded, but as Michael looked down at me with an eyebrow raised, I suddenly felt this childish giddy feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah," Michael answered, looking at me instead of Ashton, his green eyes practically twinkling. "I guess we are."

"Cal, you owe me twenty bucks," Ashton said to the sleepy boy who had just entered the room.

"Damn it, you guys couldn't've waited another week?" Calum groaned.

"How long have you guys been betting on us?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Since he first told us about his magnificent tutor," Calum answered, causing me to blush.  "I'm just kind of glad things didn't work out between Luke and Scarlett, otherwise I would've been, what, the seventh wheel?"