Secrets [m. clifford]

- epilogue ➳ pt. 2 -

"No, Michael." I call, making him turn quickly.

"What?"

"It's you. It's always been you."

"Are you serious?" He whispers.

"I- I've always loved you and I told you that the last time we saw each other."

"Wh-what does this mean for us?" He questions, moving closer to me.

"I don't know..."

"I mean, maybe we could be a secret again." He quietly says, a smirk on his lips as he pulls me close to him.

"Did that really work out for us?" I quietly chuckle, looking up at him.

He shakes his head, "Ashton won't mind, right? We've been through his before..."

Michael picks me up and sits me on the counter, and I loosely rest my arms around his neck.

"What are we doing?" I whisper as we get even closer.

"Just shut up, fucking kiss me already." He mumbles, making me quickly bring my lips to his.

It quickly gets heated, Michael unbuttons my blouse as I run my hands through his hair.

"Michael, they're right out there." I quietly say as he kisses down my neck.

"Who cares." He whispers.

It doesn't get much farther, since we get interrupted.

"Oh my god!" Calum yells, making Michael and I quickly part.

Michael turns to face Calum, but stands in front of me as I quickly try to do up my blouse.

"What?" Luke asks, rushing into the kitchen.

He stands next to Calum and looks from Cal to Michael and I. It takes Luke a few seconds to figure out what's going on.

"Oh, shit!" He exclaims, laughing once he figures it out.

"Stop! Ashton's gonna-"

"What's happening?" Ashton asks, joining all of us.

"I wish I could just disappear right now." I whisper as I lean forward, closer to Michael.

"No. No! Not again!" Ashton exclaims, groaning as he brings his hands up to cover his face. He lets out a deep breath before removing his hands from his face.

We all just stare at him, all of us too scared to say anything.

I hear the front door open, Sophia's obviously back and I don't want her in on this either.

"My plans didn't go as planned... What's happening here?" Sophia says, also joining us.

She looks around at all of us and her eyes widen, "Were you two going to fuck on the kitchen counter!?"

"Sophia!" I yell.

"Oh my god." Ashton mutters, leaving the room.

"Sorry." She quietly says, forcing a weak smile.

"Do you think I could, you know, maybe talk to Grace without all of you standing here?" Michael asks.

They all nod, walking away.

I sigh, finally getting off the counter.

"Come with me." I say, making him follow me to my room.

I sit on my bed and he closes the door behind him before sitting next to me.

"What are we supposed to do?" I whisper.

"Grace Irwin, I love you. I love you so fucking much. I never stopped loving you, and not fighting for you was so stupid. Our fight was so stupid. Do you know how much I cried after that? A lot. Way too much. But I always loved you, and I still do. I want to go back to how we were. Not the fighting, I want the cuddles, and all that gross cute shit." He says, smiling at the end.

"Michael... I love you... Is this going to work though? We clearly struggled the last time."

"We can do this. It's been a year, we've both grown up. We can both be mature, we can handle this. I know I've done stupid things, you've probably seen it all over social media, and I'm sorry. I just want us again. I didn't realize what I was doing last time, I didn't know what I was losing. I don't want to lose you again. Grace, just give me a chance, give us a chance."

I take a deep breath, "I-I mean... I think we could make this work."

He smiles, "Really?"

I nod, a huge smile forming on my lips, "Really."

He rushes over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and picks me up, spinning me around.

"I swear, I'll do anything and everything to keep you as happy as you could possibly be. Fuck, I'm so happy." He tells me after putting me down.

"You're so cute, I love you so much." I smile.

When we hear cheering and clapping from outside my bedroom, I get up to open the door to see them all standing there.

"It took you long enough!" Calum exclaims, pulling me into a quick hug.

"I thought you'd never get back together, I was so sad." Luke says, entering my room and sitting next to Michael.

"Now none of us have to deal with them being sad over the other anymore! This is awesome!" Sophia adds.

"Now, I know I hated this before," Ashton starts, getting our attention, "I mean, I really hated this. But I won't be like that now. Well, Michael, I might actually kill you if you hurt her like that again, but I won't make any comments about this relationship. I love both of you, I have to be okay with this."

I get up and hug him, "You're such a great brother."

Sitting down next to Michael, I rest my head on his shoulder before intertwining our fingers.

I never thought we'd get back together. I thought he'd find somebody famous, somebody who looks like a model. He should've forgotten about me while he was out touring the world. But he didn't.

Being with Michael in general was so unexpected. I never really thought I'd end up with one of my brother's bandmates, who was also one of his best friends.

Michael is all I ever needed, and I know that now.

There won't be any lying, we won't be keeping any secrets this time.

I know we're ready for this, and I know I'll never leave him again.

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wow what a flop of an epilogue