Younower Imagines

A Bet // Mikey Barone

You didn't mean to eavesdrop.

You really didn't. You simply woke up from your nap and trudged downstairs. You heard distinct voices and you figured that the voices belonged to the boys, Bryce, Rory and Tayler - also known as Mikey's best friends.

As you passed the living room, you heard your name being thrown into the conversation.

"You have to tell Y/N, Mikey." Bryce said. "Better now than later."

"I agree with Bryce on this one." Adds Rory.

Your brows furrowed in confusion as you leaned forward a bit, intending to listen more intently, but not enough to get you caught.

"How do I even start a conversation like that? 'Oh. Hey, Y/N. I just wanted to tell you that our two years and a half of our relationship started as a bet?' No fucking way, bro." You heard Mikey say and your heart stuck in your throat.

Your pulse throbbed as short intakes of breath after each other labored your respiration. Your chest tried to expand to accommodate all the chaos in your system.

A bet? You were just a bet for Mikeys amusement? The hard truth sinks on you and your heart shrivels and breaks around a beat as you tried to hold back the tears at bay But you failed, and a small whimper escaped your mouth to suit the harmony of the tears cutting wet ribbons down your cheeks.

Falling into view, you focused your watery gaze on Mikey's back, waiting for him to notice your presence.

You could almost feel his heart, needing and begging, reaching out for yours, but you swallowed your heart down.

He turned around and you couldn't keep track of the explosion of emotions taking over his face.

Happiness turned into shock before turning into apprehension and guilt. Even after what he said - and now he knew that you knew, by the tears staining your cheeks - you were still mesmerized by his eyes and they kept drawing you in, sincerity shone through them as they begged you in turn to wait.

He took a step forward and you took two back, hands outstretched as if to ward him off if he came any closer.

"Y/N..." His voice broke and you wanted to hear no more of it.

"Stop, Michael. Don't talk, alright?" More tears made another appearance as you walked away from him.

You wanted space - space to let out everything that was piling up inside of you at this time, preferably alone.

"I didn't mean for anything to happen this way." Here he went again, talking and clouding your thoughts and just making your heart break even more. "It did start out like that but I fell right in love wi-"

"I said stop, Mikey!" You cried out before he even continued that sentence, aware of the three pairs of eyes watching you both.

Everything he was saying right now was spelling lie, lie, lie for you.

You didn't want to hear any more, convinced that everything coming out of his mouth is a lie waiting to be deciphered.

You turned around and headed towards the door, eager to put as much distance from Mikey as you could.

"Y/N, just listen to me." Mikey pleaded with you as his hand closed around your wrist, and that was the final straw for you.

You turned around and pushed meekly at his chest but he got the message and let you go.

"Shut the fuck up, Mikey! What part of that don't you understand?" You screamed, wiping the tears away harshly.

"I don't want to listen to you, or your explanations or your lies, alright? Leave me alone, dammit!"

"Please, just let -" He tried to persuade you again, but you weren't having it.

"It started out as a lie, Mikey. You can't convince me of anything right now. Anything that starts out as a lie can't hold any truth to it." Looking down at your fisted hand, the gleam of your engagement ring that he gave you just last week catching in the sun.

Taking deep and slow breath, you removed the comfortable metal from your skin and let it drop at his feet as you walked away from him and leaving him and what you thought was your world, behind.

"Nice knowing you, Mikey."