Jail Birds | Muke AU |

Chapter Five

[Luke's POV]

I wake suddenly, uncomfortably, so that my half-forgotten dream blends and blurs with the reality in front of me.

The gentle sound of something scraping against the wall is the first thing I can distinguish as real, and I realize it's probably what woke me up in the first place.

"Ashton, what the hell are you doing?" I grumble, trying desperately to return to sleep.

"Making another tally," Ashton tells me as the scraping stops.

"What are you talking about?"

"Get up kid. I need to show you something," I hear him jump down from his bunk and I quickly recognize what he's doing, so I roll over and curl into a small ball.

He grabs my shoulders and violently shakes me, "Get up! Rise and shine!" He yells in my ear before pulling me out of my warm bed and onto the cold, hard floor.

I give up trying to sleep and stand when Ashton offers his hand.

He hoists himself onto his bunk, and motions for me to join him. I sit down on his bed, and wonder how his sheets smell so different from mine.

He gestures to the patch of wall just above his bunk, telling me, "These- these are my tallies. Sometimes, they're the only thing keeping me sane. I count them before I go to sleep, knowing that when I wake up I'll add another to my collection,"

I run my fingers over the marks slowly, gently as if they're a secret, a fragile part of Ashton no one else has seen. Maybe, in a way, they are.

"This place has left its mark on me, so I've left my mark on it," He says quietly, turning to me with a timid smile.

We're silent for a while, before the distinguished chorus of wardens' demands begin to echo from down the hallway, signalling the start of the day and breaking our small moment.

Ashton grabs my arm as I'm about to jump off his bed, giving me a long, serious look, "You tell anybody about this and I'll kick your ass, kid,"

* * * * *

"You gonna spend all your time in that goddamn library?" Ashton grumbles as I finish my breakfast.

"Probably. I think it's a good way to pass three years," I tell him, getting up and leaving my tray for washing.

He follows me, "I don't. You've been here two weeks. I think its time I introduce you to some of my friends"

"You have friends?" I pretend to be shocked as I let Ashton lead me out of the crowded canteen, punching me lightly on the arm.

I follow him to the large area outside, with people scattered around, playing basketball or soccer, others playing cards or talking, everything caged in by the tall, ominous wire fence.

You could almost forget we were trapped with all the laughter and chatter in the air. If you look closely, though, everyone looks like its painfully clear in their minds that they're cut off from the rest of the world because of what they've done.

Ashton leads me to possibly the strangest collection of guys I've ever seen. They look like they don't belong side by side, yet somehow fit together. He flops down beside them on the bleachers and I timidly take a seat, the metal frame creaking and groaning under my weight.

"Guys, this is Luke, my new cellmate," He introduces me to each guy in turn, a dictionary of odd nicknames. Most ignore either what he's saying or my entire existence, a few merely nodding at me.

"Shame what happened your old cellmate, though," Tough chuckles deeply, cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Don't scare the kid"

"He's already scared shítless. Aren't you?" Everyone turns to me expectantly.

I try to keep my voice even, "Well, it's not as bad as I thought." I gain confidence, trying to joke around, "But, I gotta say, I wouldn't have committed the crime if I'd known how ugly the guys behind bars were"

There's a moment of silence as they look at me seriously, before breaking into big smiles and laughter. "I like you, kid," is repeated as I'm slapped on the back, my hair ruffled.

And when I look at the guys, who look menacing and dangerous, their smiles change them into completely different people. Into friends, talking and yelling and joking around.

It's almost enough to make me forget where I am, how I met these people. Almost

* * * * *

"What the hell happened to your face?" I exclaim as soon as Michael sits down in front of me.

He leans back on his chair and pretends to look offended, "There's no need to bring my looks into this!"

"Shut up. I meant where did you get all those bruises and cuts?"

"I could ask you the same thing,"

"It's prison. I'm the new guy. Of course I got beat up. Stop avoiding the question, Clifford,"

"It was just- like these guys from this other gang. I don't think they were really trying to hurt me. Only a few fractures, sprained rib and a couple of bruises. They could've killed me if I wanted. I got off lightly,"

"Lightly? Michael, you need to call the cops on these guys"

"Don't worry, I got a few people to... deal with them. And would you please keep your voice down? Some of the guys in here were in that gang, and the last thing I need is them overhearing,"

"Well, sorry for being worried about you," I reply sarcastically, crossing my arms and huffing.

"Hey, its cute that you're worried. Just, you don't need to be. This kinda stuff- it's pretty normal," He pauses, smiling at me hopefully until I reluctantly smile back, "I'm the one who should be worried about you,"

"You don't seem like the type of person to worry,"

"I'm not, but hey, I can make an exception for you," He winks jokingly.

I laugh at the ridiculous face he's pulling, "Are you trying to look sexy? You look constipated,"

He stares at me steadily, before flicking me off, sticking out his tongue. We spend the rest of the visiting time trying to make each other laugh, trying to distract ourselves from our realities, the world outside this cold, grey room.

And for a minute, when I look into his green eyes, I really do forget what I am now.

A Jail Bird.

[A/N]: I'm sorry but I love mentioning the title in the fic.

So I was watching 5onthewall yesterday. 1 and a half hours of a guy spray painting a wall. But of course I watched it all. I'm so whipped for this band.

Anyway, idk when the next update will be bc I'm going on holidays *squeals* but no WiFi *groans*

Please vote and comment bc I really love reading your comments and seeing you vote.

-Cece