Pompeii ➳ muke

fourteen

a bonus chapter -

Luke is interrupted from his novel as a tabloid newspaper is thrust into his line of vision, blocking the pages of the paperback book he's holding.

"What the hell, Calum?" Luke groans, dog-earring his current page and closing the book.

"Do you want to explain this to me?" The raven haired boy exclaims, "When were you going to tell me?"

Confused, Luke takes the tabloid and scans across the front cover.

Michael Clifford: Coming Out?

Luke thinks this must be some sort of joke. The story the article tells is far from true. No one believes this, do they?

"This article is a lie. None of this is true," the blond says, handing the paper back to his friend. He can hardly stand to look at it a second longer. He has always despised the tabloids, stating that all they sell are lies, and he surely isn't wrong.

Calum scoffs, "Untrue? So you're telling me that you haven't been spending time with the Michael Clifford. You know, the front man of Arcadia. You know, just my favorite band in this entire world. Those photos are of someone else, right? Because he sure as hell looks a lot like you, doesn't he?"

The blond shakes his head in disbelief, how could this have become such a mess so quickly? He wishes he had never gone to The Rave that night. If he hadn't then none of this would have happened.

"Calum, I am so sorry, okay? This is not what it looks like though. Please, let me explain."

Calum sighs, sitting down on Luke's bed beside him. For the next half hour, Luke explains everything. From the night after the show all the way up until the last time he had seen Michael. Calum listens intently, trying his very best to soak in the situation and all of the details his friend is giving him.

When Luke is finished Calum has finally calmed so much that he finally asks, "So, when do I get to meet him?"

Luke rolls his eyes, "This is all too much for me, honestly. I don't think I want to see him again if this is how it's going to be. He's a really nice guy, Cal, he really is, but I don't know if it's worth it. If he's worth it. At this point, we're just friends. Now would be the best time to walk away, it's easier now. I don't even know if I like him any more than just platonically. How am I supposed to decide that if the media is going to continually interfere? I don't know what to do."