the boss ➟ muke ✓

eighteen

5k reads hOLY SHIT thats like,,, a lot, halfway to 10k !

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m i c h a e l

the last thing michael was expecting was to see luke at the mall. he was just having an innocent chat with brooks about why he was never going to eat any meat ever again except for fish and calum was listening in, and then ashton pops out of nowhere with luke by his side.

"hey guys, fancy seeing all of you here!"

"ashton irwin? i haven't seen you in forever," calum got up to give ashton a guy hug, a smile on both of their faces. luke awkwardly hung back, but offered calum a little smile as he pulled away from ashton.

"oh, hi, luke," calum spoke stiffly as he sat back in his seat, "you're michael's boss, correct?" luke just nodded, which made brooks whip his head in luke's direction. michael swallowed a lump in his throat as luke and brooks maintained eye contact, as if challenging the other to look away first. michael placed his hand over brooks' on his thigh, earning brooks' attention. the black haired boy offered brooks a smile, to which he got a closed mouthed one in return.

michael couldn't help but sneak peeks at luke every couple of seconds. he was so used to seeing luke in his business suit with a various tie and white collared shirt, and it was so nice seeing him outside of his work clothes. he honestly looked really nice in simply a nirvana tee and black skinny jeans, with his blonde hair simply ruffled about. although, somehow the blonde in his hair had gone to a darker colour over time.

"quit standing like an idiot and sit down," calum instructed at ashton, gesturing toward the empty seat next to him. ashton gladly sat down next to calum while luke hesitated before taking the seat at the head of the table, his blue eyes avoiding michael at all costs. michael felt brooks' hand tighten on his upper thigh, making the black haired boy chew on his lower lip and glance down.

"so, cal, how have you been?" ashton gushed, placing his chin in the palm of his hands and glancing over at calum. michael watched as his best friend studied ashton with somewhat-wide eyes, drinking in the wavy haired boy.

"not too shabby," calum replied, quickly meeting michael's green eyes before glancing back at ashton's hazel ones, "what about you? it's been a while since we were sitting in chemistry class together trying to copy off of that smart kid who sat in front of both of us."

ashton laughed at the memory, sighing contently before he said, "those were the good old days, huh? and i've been good. luke and i just came here in search for new ties, and it's so funny that we ran into you guys."

"ash, can we go now?" luke asked quietly toward ashton, poking at his best friend's upper arm. the tan boy gave luke an annoyed look while michael looked back over at the blonde, longing clear in his eyes.

"we just got here," ashton argued, glancing back at calum, "we should exchange phone numbers; maybe we can hang out without luke around being a fucking downer."

"sure," calum forced a chuckle, exchanging a look with michael before pulling out his phone and handing it to ashton so that the broader boy could put his number in calum's iphone. luke watched impatiently, his foot tapping against the floor, and michael tried his best to keep his gaze off of luke, but he was finding it difficult. so instead he met brooks' blue eyes and offered his fiancé a small smile.

"we should invite them to our wedding," brooks mouthed to michael, jabbing his thumb in luke and ashton's directions. michael placed his thumb on his lower lip and just shrugged, opening his mouth to respond.