Melting His Jet Black Heart [cake au] ✔

32. [Final Chapter]

Chapter 32

Five months later

"No! You can't do that! That's cheating, you hear me?!" Michael yelled, throwing his deck of cards onto the carpet in frustration. The other three shared a laugh, hardly able to stop until Michael had calmed down.

"Michael, just because you lost that doesn't mean I cheated," Luke justified, shaking his head. He was physically in pain, that's how much he was laughing.

"I'm done with card games. Calum, come play FIFA with me," he announced stroppily, taking Calum's wrist and pulling him off the cushion he'd been sitting on.

"What about these two?" Calum asked, pointing at Luke and Ashton.

Michael responded by wrinkling his nose. "They're traitors. They're not allowed." Calum felt bad but smiled at Luke who returned it with a grin, before they left the room.

"I'm so glad things turned out this way," Ashton said to break the silence, tidying up Michael's pile of cards with his massive ones. "He's really come out of his shell Luke, you did a good job."

Luke smiled firmly and shrugged. "It's amazing what love does to people. He was just lacking a bit, that's all. Speaking of love... sorry to hear about you and Bryana."

Ashton sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Things had been going well between them, until Bryana suddenly said she wanted to be single. Ashton didn't understand because in the eyes of their classmates, they were the best couple, and never left each other's sides, however times changed.

"Nah, it's okay. She was a bit out of my limit to begin with – like she could be really unpredictable. Whenever I said 'I want to be beside you' she'd just shove me away and say 'gotta get out'... maybe this is for the best? I dunno." He slid the cards into their pack and tucked the lid into the side, throwing it to the side of his room. "C'mon, let's go join them. Michael's not actually angry at us, is he?"

They chuckled and stood up, putting the cushions in a pile before heading down the stairs of Michael's house to the living room.

"Took you guys long enough!" Michael screeched as soon as they entered the room, chucking two Xbox controllers their way. "Calum and Luke are a team, Ashton you're with me (regrettably)," he announced, whispering the last part even though Ashton heard.

Luke took his place between the legs of his boyfriend, and let Calum wrap his arms around his torso. It began as a quiet game, but soon they all got really into it and it became a heated battle between the pairs.

Towards the end of the game, it seemed as though Luke and Calum would be winning and Michael got more and more agitated, making Ashton angrier and angrier. He hated playing games yet he'd given in to Michael on this occasion, and now he was being ungrateful.

"Yes!!" Luke hollered when the final goal went in, and he turned around, pecking Calum on the lips. Michael groaned, throwing his controlled on the floor.

"Aw fuck it, this is so shitty-"

"Cut it out, Mikey!"

The other three snapped their heads round to Ashton's loud tone, which had surprised them all.

"What...?" Michael said quietly, somewhat afraid at what Ashton was going to say.

Ashton stood up. "You're so competitive! We're just a bung of friends playing a friendly game and you always make such a huge deal out of losing, and I'm sick of it!"

Luke and Calum exchanged worried glances, watching Michael rise to Ashton's level looking very frustrated. "Yeah, well it's not my fault you're such a dad."