Michael Clifford Imagines/Preferences

Nobody Can Hurt You in the Fort

Trigger warning: alcohol abuse/alcoholic

You were sitting in your room listening to music when you heard the garage door slam. You pulled out one of your headphone and then you heard your mother yell, "where the hell is everyone!" You popped your head out of your room, "I'm right here!" She glared at you and walked past you, not that it was unusual. She normally came home drunk, and she wasn't a particularly nice drunk. She dropped her bags to the floor in her room and slammed the door shut. You knew your dad was in there, and he was going to be angry about her drinking again.

You didn't want to leave your room in fear that she would lash out at you. Sometimes when she came home she would burst into your room and insult you for hours until you cried, it was difficult. You put your ear to your door to see if you could hear anything down the hall. You heard muffled talking, which progressed into yelling. Your dad and mom were screaming about all their past problems. Normally this would die down after a couple minutes, but you sat there for an hour and a half while they yelled. You reached the point where you couldn't ignore it anymore, and it was driving you crazy, so you decided to drive over to Michael's apartment. Even if he wasn't there, Ashton probably wouldn't mind you staying there for a bit.

You texted your dad that you were going to take off for a bit, and he replied right away saying he thought that that was a good idea. You took the old truck from the garage and drove to Michael's place. When you parked your car, Ashton was just leaving. He noticed the tears in your eyes, "Hey y/n, everything okay?" You tried to smile and your voice broke, "Is - um - is Michael home?" Ashton, knowing you probably needed your boyfriend pointed toward the apartment and nodded. You made your way upstairs and knocked on the door gently."

As soon as Michael opened the door, a tear came rolling down your cheek. You spoke quietly, "Can I have a hug?" He quickly pulled you into a hug and held you as you cried. You explained to him what had happened and he insisted that you spend the night with him. He set out two sleeping bags in the middle of the apartment, and then he started building a fort while you picked out a movie. He strung lights around the fort and a put a few glow in the dark stars inside too. He lent you one of his t-shirts to sleep in and then he changed into his pajamas.

When you climbed into the fort he was waiting there ready to cuddle. You snuggled up close to him and laid down to watch the movie you picked. Halfway through it, you turned away from the screen and faced Michael.

He smiled, "How you feeling?"

You gave him a weak smile, "better, still worried though."

He brought you closer and kissed you softly before he whispered, "I know."

You just laid there for a few minutes, content with everything. And then you heard the door close and Ashton laughed, "Did we miss something?" You poked your head out of the fort, "we?" That's when you noticed Ashton, Luke, and Calum all standing there with giant grins on their faces.

Calum held up a bag, "We heard you weren't feeling great, so we brought chips and apple cider."

Luke said in a sing-song voice, "your faaaaavorite."

You glanced over at Michael, he smiled and held up his phone, "Sometimes you need a few friends to help your feel better."

You giggled, "You know me so well."

You and Michael scooted over in the fort to welcome in your new guests. Things weren't perfect at home, but in the fort, nobody could hurt you.