Beside You: A Michael Clifford Fanfic

Chapter 14- We Need To Make The Most Of It

   At 10 a.m., the emmense light seeping through the curtains shed itself onto every inch of the room. It was the light that woke me up. His arm was still resting on my waist, but I could tell that he was sleeping. I opened my eyes, and immediately squinted them back down to almost closed. I don't know why a November day would be so bright. After a few minutes, my eyes adjusted to it, and I could get a full view of Michael, lying before me. His eyelids fluttering. His body motionless. I curled in closer to him, and he picked up his arm and brought it to himself; still asleep. I wedged my body under his arm, facing away from him. I pulled the blankets up over my eyes, in hopes of drowning out the sunlight. It worked to an extent. shortly after shuttng my eyes, I felt movement on my back and Michael's lips hit my ear.

   "Goodmorning, beautiful." A smile inched its way across my face, and I hastily flipped myself around to face him. I kissed him in response. 

   "Goodmorning, Mikey." 

   "Did you know you talk in your sleep, Liv?" DID I KNOW I WHAT? I could feel my face getting redder and redder. I didn't even want to look at Michael's face; I was so embarrassed. But I looked anyway. He looked like he wanted to laugh.

   "Liiiiiiv," he groaned, putting his hands on my cheeks, "Don't be embarrassed, babe. It was actually really cute. I mean it was loud, and you sure as hell woke me up. But you quieted down." What had I said? Oh fuck. I probably said something really embarrassing. I looked back up at Michael, and his expression had turned from happy, to very solemn.

   "I...It's just, umm, the things you said...Olivia, nobody has ever thought of me the way you do. You weren't saying anything embarrassing. It was...sweet. Olivia, it meant a lot to me."

   "Babe, what did I say?" 

   "Well, you were saying my name over and over at first, but after you quieted down, you said the things you'd do for me, and how much I meant to you. Olivia, I just wanted you to know that I think you're the most beautiful person I have ever seen. I love everything about you. I love all of you. I love the way you hold my hand when you don't know what else to say. I love you way you twirl the ends of your hair when you get nervous. And your voice, babe. If I could never hear another sound for the rest of my life besides your laugh and your voice, I'd be perfectly content with that. I ju-"

   "Michael, stop. I love you so much. But why?" 

   "Why what, Liv?"

   "Why now? Why are you saying all of this now? It's so much to take in." His eyes welled up, and became red. He was holding back tears.

   "Olivia, I can't stay here with you forever. I told you about my family back in Sydney. I'm just here on holiday, babe. I have to go back in a week, right before you go back to school. I don't want to lose you just because of the distance. Olivia, you mean more to me than I ever thought was possilbe."

   I felt like screaming. I wanted to hit him. It wasn't fair. He built up all of these feelings, just to take them all down. God only knows how much love I was willing to give Michael. But he was leaving. Thousands of miles between us. This was disappointment and heartbreak at its finest. The tears started rushing down my face. Michael started crying, too and pulled me into him. I wanted to push away, but I didn't even have the strength to.

   "Olivia, babe, please. Please don't cry. We'll make the most of what we've got. A thousand miles apart or cheek to cheek, I still love you. I won't let this ruin what we've got, Liv. We still have a week together here." He put his hand down to my cheek and wiped off my tears. I guess we would have to make the best of the time we had left together. I sure as hell wouldn't let him going back to Australia ruin everything we've worked for. 

   "Alright." I smiled through the tears. "We can do this, Mikey." He forced a smile back at me and sat up in the bed. 

   "How about you spend our last week together here, with me?"

   I nodded.