torn // muke

10

Luke

I waited on the bench for Michael.

I guess you'd say the broken bench in the subway is our spot. It's not very romantic.

I smiled as he walked closer to me, with a backpack on his back, and one in his hand.

"Luke, come with me. We're going somewhere." He said, and I grinned.

I stood up, and he led me to his car.

"Where are we going now?" I asked once I was seated.

"Well, I got rejected today, so we're going somewhere that makes me feel happy. You'll see when we get there." He whispered, and I hid back my smile.

I'm kinda glad Michael and the girl he talked about aren't going out. I want him to myself. That's selfish, and I'm only thinking of myself, but I just can't help it.

The whole car ride there, he gave me small hints where we were going, and I guessed, always getting it wrong.

About an hour later, he parked the car.

It was 5 p.m. and we were on the beach.

Nobody was here, and barely any houses were around.

I smiled as he started running. I ran behind him, and eventually caught up, grabbing onto his hand.

"Can't keep up?" He laughed, looking at our hands.

"Yeah, that's it." I laughed, even though I just wanted an excuse to hold his hand.

We came to a part of the beach that was so beautiful, I had to stop and stare for a second. There were tall rocks everywhere, and there was a little cave in the side of one of those rocks.

Michael let my hand go, and walked over to the cave. I followed him, and smiled when we were in it. It only went back 20 feet, but it was the perfect place for two people to stay.

I smiled, and looked over to Michael who was already looking at me. "Pretty cool, right?" He asked, and I nodded quickly.

"Well, it's getting dark, so I better set up the hammocks." He said, and I looked over at him confused.

He walked further in, and pulled out two hammock stands from behind a rock, along with black hammocks. I kinda wish he would've only had one so I could've slept in his, but I guess this will do.

When he was done, he threw a blanket at me, so I quietly thanked him. I sat the blanket in the hammock, and followed him to wherever he was going.

I watched as he began starting a fire.

"Is there anything you can't do?" I asked, and he laughed.

"One thing. I'm not very good at cooking." He said, and I shrugged. "Fair enough." I said, and he laughed, sitting beside me as the fire grew.

A few minutes of comfortable silence passed before I looked over at Michael.

"Why did that girl reject you?" I asked, and he sighed, looking down at the ground. "That's a good question, but when I asked her, she laughed. She was a really close friend, but she acted like it was the most disgusting thing in the world when I asked." He said quietly.

I scooted closer to Michael, and laid my head on his shoulder. "She's dumb. She doesn't realize how much fun just being with you is. And now I guess she never will. It's a shame." I said, and he laid his head on top of mine.

"Thank you for coming here with me. I'd usually come alone, but I like hanging out with you." He whispered. I blushed, but he thankfully couldn't see it.

"Thank you for being my friend, Michael. I really need you. If I had never met you, I'd still be a cold hearted whore." I said, and laughed a little.

It was comfortably silent as the sun went completely down.

"Luke, I forgot to tell you that it does get pretty cold at night here, so if you need another blanket or anything, just tell me." Michael said as he stood up.

"Okay." Luke said, watching as Michael put out the fire.

They walked back to the ire hammocks, and Michael threw Luke a shirt, and pajama pants.

"I know it's gonna be cold, but I can't sleep in pants." Luke said, and giggled.

Luke took off his clothes, and threw the big shirt over his head. It covered his bum, leaving only the bottom of his boxers to be shown.

"Dork.." Michael laughed, and Luke sat in his hammock that was right beside Michael's. He pulled the blankets up over his legs, and sat criss cross.

"These hammocks are really big." Luke whispered, and felt his nerves build up for no reason at all.

"Yeah, they're made for two people. To me, It's more comfortable to sleep by yourself in a big one." He said, and Luke quickly realized he didn't have any cigarettes.

"Michael?" Luke asked, and Michael glanced over at him.

"Is there a store or anything near by?" Luke asked.

"There's a little convenient store about a mile up that way. Why?" Michael asked.

"I don't know. I just suddenly got nervous and thought about what we would do if something happened. It feels like we're in the middle of nowhere." Luke said.

Michael looked at him with a knowing look. He knew Luke was lying.

"Come here." Michael said, and they both stood up.

Michael pulled out a small box from his bag, and walked over to the fire. They both sat down and Luke watched as Michael lit the cigarette.

Luke leaned back on Michael's shoulder as the black headed boy pressed the cigarette to Luke's lips. Luke took a long drag, and felt his body relax a little.

"I know you're trying to stop, but it's a slow process." Michael said, and Luke nodded.

"It's gonna be okay one day."