The Fall of the Aftons

130: Michael Afton

Michael sat on the blanket on the floor in front of Noah's bedroom closet, reading Noah's copy of The Outsiders by S.E. Hilton. He was trying to avoid going to sleep--sure, he knew it was bad for him, but he'd rather be sleep-deprived for a day than make his friends and Noah's family freak out when he started screaming from nightmares.

He glanced around him for a moment, looking at everyone. TJ and Analex were sleeping on his sides, a few feet away from him in their sleeping bags. Noah was sleeping in bed because one of his little sisters was borrowing his sleeping bag for the night.

He yawned, exhausted, then sighed. He just wanted to go to sleep... Why does my subconscious insist on having nightmares every time I sleep?

He sighed softly, then looked back at his book, continuing to read when he came across one of Noah's many annotations. Usually, the annotations were related to school assignments or related to memories. But this one, oddly enough was about him. About Michael.

The line read, "'If we don't have each other, we don't have anything.'" Noah's annotation read, "Reminds me of my songbird," with a few scattered music notes and a heart around it.

The annotation itself wasn't much, but the memories behind it were.

Back in fifth grade, Michael joined the "choir club" and the elementary school's band. Noah came over one weekend to hang out, surprised that Michael wasn't there. He had gone to Analex's to practice his band pieces because she had joined the band, too. So Noah went over to join him, and he was amazed by Michael's talent. Once he and Michael had returned to the Aftons' house, he wouldn't stop rambling on and on about Mike's talent. One thing led to another, and eventually, Noah started calling him his "songbird." It quickly became a nickname for him--not one that was used frequently, but it was still a nickname.

Michael dropped the dook as tears sprang to his eyes. Why am I crying...? He sniffled softly, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. This is stupid... It's an annotation he made in seventh grade... It doesn't matter...

A series of three muted thuds sounded, making him flinch. He looked up to see that all three of Noah's cats had left Noah to go to him. They all surrounded him, brushing against him and purring. Spooky, the all-black cat, quickly sat on his lap, purring loudly as she brushed her head against his leg. The calico with a missing hind leg, Twix, waddled circles around him, occasionally rubbing against him. And the black and white cat, Universe, simply laid next to him, his head on his foot as he purred, too.

Michael laughed softly, his voice distorted by his sobbing. "You goofballs... You should be protecting Noah, not checking on me." He gently petted Spooky's head, scratching her behind her ear. "Bunch of sweethearts."

"Mikey?" Noah's voice said quietly. Michael looked up, surprised to see that he was awake. He sat on his bed, looking down at him. He yawned, then frowned. "Why are you crying?"

Michael sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes. "It's nothing," he assured him. "I'm fine."

"If you say so," he mumbled, frowning. He patted the spot next to him. "Come here."

Michael hesitated but gently picked up Spooky as he got up. He took a seat next to Noah on the bed, setting Spooky down. She immediately laid back on his lap, and the other two cats joined her. Noah laughed at the cats' clinginess, and Michael laughed with him.

"So... you want to talk about what happened?" Noah asked, chuckling softly. "You don't have to worry about Lex or TJ hearing it--they're both out for the count." He pointed to the two, who were both in a deep sleep, despite Analex's echoing snores.

He hesitated but shook his head. "No, I'm... I'm okay," he mumbled. "Thanks, though."

Noah nodded in understanding, then scooched over to make room for Michael before lying down. But on his way down, he grinned and grabbed Mike's arm, pulling him down with him. "You need sleep," he determined with a goofy grin. "The floor isn't comfortable. You can sleep up here instead. I don't mind."

"A-Are you sure?" he said nervously, sitting back up. "I don't want to hurt you..."

Noah laughed softly. "How would you hurt me? All you'll be doing is sleeping."

"I've told you before, I flail and scream when I sleep, remember? Because of my nightmares." He chuckled awkwardly. "I don't want to wake all of you up from my screaming. My dad jokes that he can't tell if I'm being murdered or just dreaming most nights, so he always has to get up and check."

Noah stared at him in shock, then covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh! That's just... Wow." He sighed, still trying to contain his laughter. "He can't tell if you're being murdered or not because of how much you scream?"

He laughed a little bit, Noah's laughter too contagious. "Apparently."

Noah proceeded to laugh for a little bit longer, then sighed, finally starting to calm down. "Oh, goodness... That's horrible." He chuckled. "Your dad is definitely something."

Michael burst out into laughter, desperately covering his mouth with both of his hands to stay quiet. He nodded in agreement, sighing once he calmed down. "Oh, man... Yes. Yes, he is something." He laughed softly. "I don't know what, but he's something."

Noah laughed softly. "You've got that right." He sighed softly. "Now, come on. You need your sleep." He dragged Michael close, wrapping his arm around Michael's shoulders. "I'll be right here. If you start having a nightmare, I'll wake you up, okay?"

He hesitated, afraid that Noah wouldn't be able to catch it in time. But he nodded, allowing himself to get comfortable in Noah's embrace. The next thing he knew, he was fast asleep.