The Fall of the Aftons

129: Michael Afton

Michael stood at the front door, staring at it as he tried to gather the courage to knock on it. He stood there for about five minutes, then finally knocked on the door. Hesitantly, at first, his knocks soft and quiet. But after two minutes of no response, he knocked again, harder this time. A moment later, he heard Noah's voice calling from inside and sighed. So he was home. Good.

He watched as Noah opened the door. "Michael!" Noah said happily, a bright smile on his face. "I wasn't expecting you to come over today! Hi!"

"Hey," he mumbled, looking down. "Sorry for showing up unexpectedly, I just--"

"What happened to your face?" Noah asked worriedly, cutting Michael off. He gently lifted Michael's head and tilted it to the side, inspecting the red spot on his cheek. "Did someone smack you? You look like Sunni in the photos we have of her before her adoption... Her face red from being slapped..."

Michael frowned. "Poor Sunnimae..." he mumbled.

Noah shook his head, grabbing Michael's head again and inspecting his face. "This isn't about Sunni right now, this is about you!"

Michael chuckled. "Noah, I'm okay," he promised, taking Noah's hands off of his head and holding them close.

"Bullshit," he mumbled. "You've got bandages on the back of your head and your cheek is red from someone slapping it. And you're drenched from the rain--sorry about that, you can come in." He dragged Michael inside and closed the door behind him. He sighed as he looked closely at Michael. "Come on, why don't we get you in some dry clothes? You can borrow some of mine."

"Okay," he mumbled, gingerly rubbing the back of his head where his bandages were. "Thanks."

Noah smiled. "Of course," he replied cheerfully. 

~ ~ ~

Michael sat on the edge of Noah's bed, one of his friend's many blankets wrapped around his shoulders, a mug of steaming hot chocolate in his hand as he watched Noah search his closet for clothes. He chuckled when he heard Noah talking to himself. What a goofball...

"Noah, I'm okay," he said softly, chuckling. "I don't need new clothes. I'll be fine if I'm wet for a few hours."

"No, I don't want you to get sick!" he exclaimed softly, continuing to rifle through his closet.

Michael laughed, carefully got off the bed and stood beside Noah. "It's fine. I promise." He chuckled when Noah continued to look for clothes. "Are you looking for something specific? 'Cause if you are, I can help you find it."

Noah sighed. "I don't know. Just something. I can't think. Just something."

"Well, you know that I like hoodies and pants. Do you have any of those?"

He laughed. "Of course. Just because I like to wear skirts doesn't mean that I don't have pants." He dug through his closet, revealing different pairs of pants hung on hangers on the rack. "What size are you? Do you need a belt?"

"I don't know. Thirty? I haven't gone shopping for clothes in centuries."

Noah nodded, acknowledging that he spoke, then pulled out a pair of black cargo pants. "Here's some pants, to start. I don't have any hoodies that'll fit you, though. Are you okay with it being a little baggy?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's fine. I like baggy clothes."

Noah smiled, then pulled out a dark orangish-red hoodie for him. "Here ya go, then. I'll be in the hall if you need me." And he quickly left, closing the door behind him.

Michael quickly got dressed, taking note that he needed to change the bandages on his arms when he got home, and then opened the door for Noah to come in.

"Thanks for letting me borrow some of your clothes," he said, smiling softly.

Noah grinned. "Always happy to help!" He stepped inside, then closed the door behind him, his face turning serious. "Now, I don't mean to be rude by asking so soon, but... who hit you?"

Michael frowned, looking down at his damp socks. "William did," he mumbled.

"What? Why?!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with worry.

"I don't... I don't remember exactly. Evan was trying to stick up for his friend, and William didn't like that. He tried to smack him, but I took the blow. Then when I tried sticking up for Evan, he smacked me. On purpose, I mean."

Noah frowned. "Has this happened before?" he asked quietly.

Michael shook his head. "No, I don't think so. This is the first time."

He sighed softly, relieved. "Okay, that's good." He grabbed Michael's chin, inspecting his red cheek. "Your cheek looks swollen..."

Michael blinked, surprised. "Really?" He reached up and felt his cheek, surprised to feel that it was swollen. "Huh. I knew he hit me hard, but not that hard."

Noah's frown dug deeper into his cheeks. "Do you want an ice pack? To reduce the swelling?"

"Sure," he mumbled.

Noah offered a small smile, then told Michael that he'd be right back before leaving Michael alone in his room. So Michael sat there awkwardly on the edge of the bed, gently kicking his foot against the edge of the bed. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to go home, but he didn't want to ask to stay. There was enough chaos going on in this place--he didn't need to add more with his jumpiness, injuries, and emotional sensitivities. But, gosh, he didn't want to go home...

"Mikey?"

He shrieked and jumped back, panting slightly as he stared at Noah's worried face. "Oh. Hey," he mumbled, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand. "Sorry. I spaced out."

Noah frowned and held out the ice pack, gently pushing it on Michael's cheek. Michael shivered at the sudden coldness of it, but quickly took it, holding it against his swollen cheek.

"Thanks," Michael mumbled.

Noah smiled softly. "No problem." He hopped on the bed, sitting next to Michael, playfully nudging him. "Do you want to stay here for the night? I mean, it's a weekend and all, so..." He grinned. "We haven't hung out after school just the two of us yet, not since I moved back. Only with the gang. So why don't you stay the night?"

"Wasn't Analex and TJ going to come over today?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "Analex has been talking about it all week."

"Oh! Right!" He facepalmed himself, dragging his hand down his face. "Crap, I'm sorry. I need to start making notes for myself so I remember this stuff. You can stay if you want to, but I know you don't like sleeping over with a lot o--"

"I'll stay," Michael mumbled, pressing the ice pack harder into his cheek. "I don't want to go home yet."

Noah grinned. "Great!" He laughed as he pushed his bangs out of his face, revealing his green eye. That's weird... He usually hides his heterochromia... "You can just borrow some of my clothes again, then. I'm sure I've got some pajamas that'll fit you."

He smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"Of course! I love having you over!" Noah laughed softly, pushing his bangs out of his face again when they started to fall back in his face.