Sweetheart • muke •

Chapter Eight

•December•

And you decided you wanted to stay with me.

"The whispers turn to shouting
The shouting turns to tears
Your tears turn into laughter
And it takes away our fears"
Michael sang softly as he gently scrubbed soap into lukes hair. Luke's eyes were shut as he leaned into Michael's gentle touch.

"Put your head back, sweetheart"
Michael said, grabbing the plastic cup from beside him. Luke tilted his head back, keeping his eyes closed as Michael dipped the cup into the water then brought it up to lukes head, slowly letting the water pour down as he ran his fingers through the blondes soft hair. Once all of the suds were gone, Michael stood up and grabbed a plush white towel from the cabinet.

"Stand up for me"
Michael whispered gently. Luke opened his eyes and did as he was told, lifting himself from the water. Michael kept his eyes on the blondes face as he wrapped the towel around his shoulders, wrapping his arms around the boys waist as he lifted him out of the tub.

The blonde was tiny.

Not a hint of body fat on his short frame, his bones and ribs jutted out unhealthily. It all made Michael sick to his stomach, he didn't want the beautiful blonde in so much pain.

But he also couldn't ignore the bruises, cuts and scars that littered his body. His back was a canvas for ugly painted scars that puffed out and marked his pretty pale flesh. His stomach was scattered with small cuts, some clean and neat others jagged and messy. These cuts and scars were all covered with black and blue bruises that made Michael's head spin and his heart ache.

"Let's get you some clothes"
Michael said softly, leading the blonde back into his bedroom.

"C-can you sing a-again?"
Luke asked, a soft blush dusting across his cheeks. Michael smiled softly as he rummaged through his drawers.

"Please forgive me if I seem
forward, but I've never been in front
of anything like you, it's the last place I
ever thought I'd be when I woke up this morning. Is it true that you are always this breathtaking? And you're smart and you're willing, and my god this is killing me"
Michael sang in a softer and slower tone than how the song is actually sung, but he continued when he saw the way Luke's eyes fluttered shut and a small smile crept onto his small pink lips. Michael grabbed his smallest pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt that was three sizes too small for himself before turning to luke.

"Put these on and I'll
go make you some soup"
Michael said, laying his clothes out on his bed. He quietly walked out of the room, heading towards the kitchen with a sigh. The boy pulled a can of soup out of the cabinet and a pan from the dishwasher.

After a few minutes, when the soup was just about done, a soft pitter patter of footsteps was heard coming into the kitchen. Michael turned his head and his eyes were met with Luke's baby blue orbs, staring up at him soft and curious. Michael smiled softly as he looked down at his own clothes on Luke, which were obviously way too big for the blonde, despite being his smallest. Luke had to hold the band of the sweatpants to keep them from the falling and the tee short that adorned his upper boy fell to just above his knees.

"Th-thank you, Mikey"
Luke smiled softly. Michael internally melted as the small nickname rolled sweetly off the boys tongue.

"You're welcome, sweetheart"
Michael replied. The older boy poured the soup in a bowl and carried it to the living room. Luke sat down on the couch, allowing Michael to drape a blanket over his shoulders.

"Be careful, it's hot"
Michael said, stirring lukes soup around.

"Thank you"
the blond whispered, tightening the soft blanket around himself. Michael smiled and sat down beside Luke with a small nod. The older boy grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels as luke took small bites of his soup, blowing softly to make it a bit cooler before eating it.

Just as Michael settled on watching Fresh Price of Bel Air, there was a thunderous knocking on the door. Luke gasped, his spoon dropping to the floor as he jumped ontop of Michael in fear.

"Shh. You're ok, sweetheart"
Michael cooed gently. Another loud knocking at the door caused Luke to fist Michael's shirt and stuff his face into the older boys chest.

"Don't wanna go back there.
Don't make me go back"
Luke whimpered.

"Luke, sweetheart I'm not
letting anyone hurt you, okay?"
Michael calmly said, brushing a few damp strands of blonde hairs away from his face. Luke nodded weakly, allowing Michael to get up from the couch. Michael watched Luke recoil back into the couch, clutching a pillow as he watched Michael walk to the door. The older boy looked through the pee hole and sighed when he saw two familiar large figures. The boy opened the door, immediately being bombarded by loud voices.

"Have you seen Luke? I have twenty missed calls from him and I-"

"He's here"
Michael cut off a worried Calum with a calm expression. Calum visibly relaxed, sighing deeply as he tried to walk past Michael. But the older boy stepped in front of the tan boy, blocking his path. Calum furrowed his eyebrows, staring Michael up and down.

"Look he doesn't feel good and
he's still on edge so just be calm, ok?"
Michael said. Calum's eyebrows
raised as he scoffed.

"I've been there for Luke for years, I know how to handle him in situations like this"
Calum said angrily. Now it was Michael's turn to furrowed his eyebrows, shaking his head.

"You don't 'handle him', he isn't an item. Just keep quiet and don't talk too quickly"
Michael rolled his eyes as he let the two boys past.

"Oh my god, Luke, are you ok?"
Michael rolled his eyes as Calum all but yelled a greeting to an already frightened Luke. The blonde nodded his head weakly, allowing Calum to pull him into tight hug. Michael's jaw clenched as he watched Luke wince in pain, but hug Calum back.

"Well thank you, Michael, for taking
care of him but I've got it from here"
Calum said, already beginning to pull
Luke from the couch.

Luke made a small noise as he pulled his hand away from Calum. Calum furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked down at Luke.

"I wanna stay with Mikey"