Shattered: Broken Series // Michael Clifford (book 2)

Chapter 9

(Kate's POV)

"ATL isn't punk. They're fantastic, but not that punk." I huff as my legs lay on Luke's stomach. We are currently sitting across from one another on my couch, sharing a bag of potato chips.
"NO! ATL IS A PUNK BAND! JUST LIKE OURS WAS!" Luke yells, quickly dropping his head as he finishes.
"What?" My eyes grow wide as I piece some things together.
"Me, Ash, Cal, and Michael we were in a band."
"I had no clue Luke."
"Wait, you didn't know we were in a band?" Luke's fingers slowly grab another chip from the bag.
"No. Michael never told me."
"Really? Before he moved here, we were a pretty bad ass band. He's a really good singer. God we were all so close. Until Calum..." His voice cracks slightly as he talks about Cal.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. And I know Michael's a good singer. And a fucking amazing player too." I laugh, and smile about Michael, which I haven't done for a long time. I steal the bag from Luke as he stares at me.
"You've heard him play?"
"Yeah."
"Kate, no one has ever heard him play but the boys and me. You must mean a lot to him."
"Well yeah, I thought I did."
"No, Kate. You can't loose him that easily. You can't just give up. You love him."
"Loved." One sole tear drops onto my cheek.
"Kate. You do love him. I can see it. Even though, he may not remember you or what you had, doesn't mean you just give up." Silence fills my living room, until he speaks up.
"Have you seen 50 First Dates?" I shake my head no, and he gives me a disapproving look.
"This guy has fallen in love with a girl who's mind restarts every morning when she wakes up. She can only remember things before she got in a car crash, and everything after that just resets to the day of the crash. This guy tries so damn hard to get her to remember him, but since he met her before the accident, it doesn't work. It's like he's a stranger every time he meets her."
"What kind of point are you trying to make here Luke?" I roll my eyes, sick of his shit.
"You didn't let me finish. He keeps trying everyday to end up with her, and after a long time, he does. Yes she doesn't remember, but still. He has a family with her, even though she can't remember. Because you love someone, you can't let whatever obstacle you have get in the way of true love. You have to fight. You can't give up. I won't let you." Now Luke is looking me dead in the eyes, and I could not be more impressed.
"Damn boy, you can really get deep."
"Oh yes I can." He smirks as I catch his innuendo.
"Shut up Luke. Now how am I gonna do this?" He lightly taps his chin before answering.
"Just do it. He's home now. Tell him."
"Wait he's home?" I remove my feet from Luke's stomach and sit up.
"Yeah. GO KATE GO!"
"Okay okay!" I yell, grabbing my bag before quickly opening the door.
"THIS IS SO AWESOME! WE CAN BE FUCK BUDDY FRIENDS!" Luke cheers while waving goodbye to me.
"WE FUCKED ONCE THATS DIFFERENT LUCAS."
"SO FAR! I WILL BE WAITING!" My jaw drops, and Luke starts laughing uncontrollably.
-
My hand shakes as I press down on the doorbell. After it rings, the door creaks open to reveal a surprised Michael.
"Hey."
"Um... Hi Kate. Come in." His smile seemed forced as he welcomes me in, but I continue.
"I'm really so-"
"No, it's my fault. I'm sorry. I came off like an ass, and I didn't mean it. I like you Kate, but just not in that way." I'm forced to take a deep breath, but it's hard considering I'm drowning in sudden sadness at his words.
"I respect that. Friends?"
"Friends." He shakes my outstretched hand. We plop down on his couch, silence filling the open room and the space between us.
"So. I promised you something."
"What?"
"Come on!" I jump up from the couch and grab his hand, pulling him out the door. We hop in the car and he stares at me, but quickly looks away.

(Michael's POV)
While she drives, she taps a beat on the steering wheel with her nails, but her eyes stay focused on the road. She seems so different, so full of joy, even after what I said to her. I'm glad she's happy, but the unknown source of her happiness makes me wonder. My eyes can't seem to stop looking at her as she drives, her blonde curls bobbing when the car hits a bump. I'm pulled out of my thoughts as we arrive at the worn down shop. The place she picks is none other than a tattoo parlor.
"Oh no."
"Yes, Michael. You've gotten one before."
"So! I don't remember that! I don't even get what to the moon means." I point to the tattoo on my arm and her head sinks, as if what I just said hurt her.
"And back for you." She mumbles under her breath, as if she doesn't want me to hear. I ignore the statement and hop out of the car.
"Don't worry, I will get one too." I nod at her promise, happy I won't be alone.
"Hello! Oh it's you two again! You guys were so cute last time you came here with your friend." This girl comes out from behind the counter, and I can tell Kate's cheeks are red.
"We're just friends." I try to smile, still confused about what is going on.
"Oh. Okay... So! Follow me guys." She waves us toward the back, and guides us to a room.
"Ladies first!" I snicker to Kate, slightly shaking from the sight of the needle.
"Nope. Not gonna happen Clifford." The use of my last name again triggers something, but I still can't remember anything important. Kate gives me a slight push toward the chair, but I give in and sit in the seat. A man comes in with black gloves on, giving me a slight smile as he lowers himself onto the stool beside me.
"What would you like kid?" I now notice the man has a huge sleeve of tattoos, ones ranging from skulls to flowers.
"Um... I don't know. Just like an x on my middle finger will be fine." The man nods in agreement, and begins to cover the needle in ink. As it pierces my skin, I try to stay calm, but it hurts like hell. As he wipes off the excess ink and puts a bandage on it, I take a deep breath, glad that it's over. Kate takes my place in the chair as I watch her speak to the man about what she wants. They speak in hush tones, so I am unable to make out what they are saying. In no time, that same needle that went into my skin is in Kate's. I can see some tears rolling down her cheeks, so I go over to her and hold her hand without hesitation. She gives me a slight smile and squeezes it, sudden pain resulting in my hand. Kate takes a bit longer, as hers is bigger and on her ankle. After the pain is done for both me and Kate, we thank the man and head to the counter.

(Kate's POV)
"It's on me." The same girl from before nods in my direction. She comes closer, then whispers something into my ear.
"I'm sorry hun. I know how hard it is to fake a smile." The lady seems hurt as well as her blue eyes look into mine. She gives me a slight pat on the shoulder before letting us out.
"What was that about Kate?"
"Nothing, Michael. It's fine." Once again, I flash one of my fake smiles.
-
The ride home is mostly silent until the end when Michael speaks.
"I'm hungry."
"So am I." We both rub our stomachs, and laugh at how in sync we were.
"McDonalds?"
"Anything for you my brave man." I scruff his hair as he swats at my hand.
"Yeah, it should be anything cause it hurt like hell."
"You got a small x. It wasn't that bad Michael." I huff as we pull into the drive thru.
"So! You got my hand to hold."
"But you were shaking more then I was." I attempt to regain my focus as I order for us, then receive our food. In minutes, Michael has already wolfed down a Big Mac and large fries, while I am still working on over half of my hamburger.
"How do you even eat so fast?"
"Why do you eat so slow?" He raises his eyebrow, knowing he's trying to push my buttons.
"Why are you an ass?"
"Why are you a bitch?" I roll my eyes before shooting him a comeback.
"Bitch is another name for a dog, dogs pee on trees, trees are nature, nature is beautiful. Therefore you just called me beautiful. So thank you Michael."
"What are you? Four?" He laughs.
"YEAH FOUR INCHES DEEP IN YOUR MOM!" I yell, and his eyes grow wide.
"Woah Kate! Calm down will ya?"
"You didn't see that vine?" My cheeks begin to turn a rosy red.
"Nope."
"Well... This is awkward." I give a light giggle as we arrive at his house. Michael thanks me for a great day, and gets out of the car with the empty McDonald's bag. I wave goodbye to him, and he waves back. For a second, I want to just run up and kiss him, but knowing full well what would happen, I decide against it.
-
"LUCAS WHERE THE HELL YOU AT!" I yell from inside the house.
"IM IN YOUR PANTRY! WHERE ELSE WOULD I BE?"
"IN MY BATHROOM JACKING OFF!" Eventually I make my way to the kitchen, now observing a boy holding more food than my family could eat in one sitting.
"You have a point there Kaitlin."
"That I do. And don't call me Kaitlin, Lucas."
"Hey, if you can call me Lucas, I can call you Kaitlin. Comprendo por favor?" Luke rips open a cheese stick, still keeping his attention on me.
"Nõ." I spit, adding the accent.
"Man I was expecting like a paragraph in Spanish. You suck man." I flip him off in return, earning a grin from him.
"So... How was it?"
"Fine. I got a tattoo!" My hand brushes over the new ink, located on my right ankle.
"LEMME SEE BITCH!"
"I CANT SHOW YOU BITCH!" I shout back, imitating his girly tone.
"Why not?" Luke gives me the pouty lip as I snatch a cookie from his pile of snacks.
"Cause he said to keep it on for 24 hours."
"Will you show me then?"
"Maybe." I sneer.
-
"I HATE YOU BUT I WANNA WATCH A MOVIE SO I'M GONNA PUT OFF HATING YOU UNTIL THE MOVIE IS FINISHED!" Luke marches into my living room, and motions me over to sit with him on the couch.
"Okay. So what are we watching Mr. pissy-pants?"
"First of all, you call me that again, I'm gonna smack you. Second, I'm feeling Disney. You okay with that?" Luke snuggles into the couch, and I grab a blanket to wrap us up in.
"Hell yeah."

(A/N: sorry, kind of a filler here. But let me assure you NOTHING IS GOING ON WITH LATE OKAY THEY ARE JUST FRIENDS NOTHING MORE! But second, I am running out of ideas for this, so this book will only be 21 chapters about. I'm sorry to disappoint you guys :/ but don't forget to vote and comment! Love you all <3 Callie x)