Bad Dreams //mgc

20.

*Cara's POV*

It's now Sunday afternoon and time to head back down to DC. No one has said anything about last night, thankfully, but my dad keeps looking at me with concern. I can't tell him, I know he'll blame me, but I just smile at him to let him know I'm okay. He has really warmed up to Michael, too. Everyone has.

We finished loading up the car and were saying our goodbyes when James ran to Michael. He scooped James in his arms and I saw tears in James' eyes. "You're coming back, right Mikey?" he asked. A smile formed on Michael's face and he said, "You betcha bud!" James smiled and hugged him tight. "I'll miss you. Thank you for playing in the snow!" We all laughed as Michael set him down and told him, "I had fun. I'll miss you too. We'll see you soon though, ok?" He nodded before coming over to me.

I scooped him up for a hug and he giggled quietly in my ear, "He likes you!" I hugged him tight and whispered, "I like him too!" and put my finger to my lips. "Shhh our secret!" He giggled again and I set him down.

An uncomfortable silence fell on us until Calum yelled, "SHOTGUN!" and hopped in the car. Only Calum! We laughed, said one last goodbye and started the drive home.

Michael grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers together in the back seat and I leaned over, resting my head on his shoulder. "Thank you". He knew I was talking about not only last night, but for the entire weekend. He smiled at me and kissed the top of my head. The electricity sparked again. I hope that never goes away. I think I'm falling for him. My head starts telling me not to, but I shut it off. Let your heart feel what it feels.

****

*Michael's POV*

The girls just dropped us off at our house we rent with Luke and Ashton. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much the past few days. We go inside, drop our bags in the hall and plop on the couch. We're suddenly attacked by our two enormous band mates. Somehow I got stuck on the bottom of this dogpile. But I must admit, I did miss these idiots!

After a few minutes of wrestling around, we all plopped back on the couches and started talking about our weekend.

"Please tell me you guys got some this weekend!" Ashton says.

"Cara's parents have that house like a prison. I had to sleep in her brothers bunkbed in his room!" Calum starts whining. He's such a baby sometimes.

"That's because you had your FOOT around my waist, and punched me in the face in your sleep, you dumbass!" I laughed at him. He scowled.

"By the way MIKEY, how did you end up in Cara's bed this morning?! I couldn't believe her dad smiled at you when you came out of her room! What the fuck's up with that?"

I knew this would come up eventually. I had just hoped Ashton and Luke wouldn't be around when he mentioned it. "She had another nightmare last night. Regan came and got me to help calm her down. Her dad didn't mind that, I guess."

"At least one of you got some! Was it worth it?" Ashton asked me. That pissed me off. I know he could see it, but he kept going, pushing me further. "I told you she's a mess! She's got a fine ass, though. I wouldn't mind some of that..."

"Ashton, stop," Luke spoke up, as he put his hand on my arm. He knows too well how quickly my temper flares up.

"Its the truth, though! All she wants is attention. She'll probably never speak to you again now that she got what she wanted from you!" I couldn't take it anymore. He has no idea what she's been through. That was crossing the line. Before I realized what I was doing, I was in front of Ashton and punched him square in the face.

"What the fuck, mate?" he squealed, clenching his cheek.

"YOU DONT HAVE A FUCKING CLUE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! DON'T EVER TALK ABOUT CARA THAT WAY AGAIN!" I screamed and stormed to my bedroom.

A few minutes later, there was a light knock on my door and I heard Calum say that Cara was on her way over.

Fuck. She's going to be angry. She's going to hate me. I don't know what came over me. Ash is one of my best mates. Although he can be an ass at times, he never means any harm. He's one of the most compassionate guys I know.

Another light knock sounded on my door and I heard Cara whisper my name. I unlocked and opened my door, turning immediately back around and sat on the edge of my bed. Without hesitation, she sat next to me, lacing our hands together immediately. How can she be so kind when I'm such a dickhead?

She remained silent for a few minutes before speaking, quietly, "You okay Mikey?" God I love how my name sounds coming out of her mouth. I sighed before telling her, "I don't know what came over me. I just... Ashton starting talking shit about you, things he doesn't understand, and I just, well, snapped."

"I'm sorry," she said sadly.

"What? Why are you sorry? I'm the one that punched my best friend in the face!"

"I - I shouldn't have burdoned you with my problems. I should have kept it to myself. You deserve better than someone as broken as me."

"No, no, Cara! Don't ever say that angel!" I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her into my side. "You are amazing, you are strong, you're beautiful, and your heart is so full of love it's unbelievable. You've been dealt some really horrible cards in life, but that does not define you. I know you don't trust people, and I kinda understand why. Yeah, I don't know everything, and that's okay. You can tell me whenever you're ready, or not at all. Its up to you. But whatever else has happened to you isn't going to make me love you any less." Oh shit. I do love her, she didn't need to hear that, but I'm not taking that back. "I am here for you, Cara, whatever you need, and I always will be," I continued.

"You- you mean that?" she stutters.

"Every single word."

We sat in silence for awhile before I spoke again. "I know you don't know him very well, but Ashton is a great listener, and he might be someone you could talk to about your mom. His dad left when he was little, and he had to step up to take care of his brother and sister. He can relate, you know." She hugged me tightly after that.

"I think I need to apologize to him." I said as I started to untangle her arms from my waist, but she grabbed my wrists instead to stop me. She leaned in slowly and pressed her lips to mine and my body exploded. I instantly kissed her back, wrapping my arm around her waist, pulling her in closer. She pulled away and started to blush. I rested my forehead on hers while our breathing returned to normal, a smile on my face.

"Let's go talk to Ash," she said and we left my bedroom.