Dreams On Fire || ✓

Chapter 17

Date: 12th September, 2016.

Hai,
drop your age and a random fact about you here :)

Mine is, I'm sixteen and swear  a lot.

UNEDITED
(ignore the grammatical errors and typos. Haven't read it after writing.)

It was a month later when Michael walked down the red carpet for The Golden Globe Music Awards that he felt so proud of himself because damn, he had made it so far.

Michael was bursting with joy and Ashton and Calum stood not so far away from him. He grinned at Ashton and Calum, eyes shining with pride.

Sure, they had attended several award shows and won a quite a few of them too, but this was the first time all of them were there as solo artists and not a band.

Michael was way more happier that he should be, thanks to Luke standing next to him, oozing with joy and transferring what he was feeling at the moment.

However, Luke looked terrible.

His deathly pale skin was now almost translucent, you could see his rib bones prominently and his veins and arteries. Red and blueish green lines covered his whole body and you could see his heart's lining if he didn't have a shirt on. It was a dark red blob on the left side of his chest. His cheeks sunk in, making his high cheekbones protrude. His bright blue eyes with once used to shine were now left dull and lifeless, making them seem cold.

He sure did look like a ghost now.

Luke's uptight posture was replaced with slouching shoulders he could barely walk anymore. His eyelids were drooping low but in that moment, however, he seemed to be more alive than Michael and Ashton combined because they surely made him proud.

Luke clutched onto Michael's arm, taking it as a support to walk with. He was tired but he didn't want to admit it. His palms were trembling and so were his legs.

This was the first time in months he was glad he couldn't physically feel because if was to feel something- anything, he would freeze which would make him weaker than he already was.

Soon, they were on their seats- Ashton had purposefully left a seat open for Luke as they sat down.

Luke slouched next to Michael, his head resting on the elder boy's shoulder.

Physical contact didn't bother Michael anymore. As the days passed, Luke would feel weaker and by the end of the day, he couldn't really transfer the coldness to Michael, which he was thankful now.

Luke cried a lot. Michael guesses it's a way to let out all the energy Luke had but none of them were sure of it.

Luke made a point to remind Michael and the band how much they meant to him, he is forever grateful to them.

The lights dimmed down and all the performances started.

The band had always enjoyed these award shows- they got to see what other people had to offer and their talent always baffled them. The award shows played a major role of keeping them on their feet and not let fame get to their heads.

The boys were so pure- so kind. They helped the fans who had breakdowns during their concert and interacted with them as much as they could; specially Ashton.

Ashton was so fucking under appreciated and that mystified the boys a lot. He was there for the 5SOS family when nobody was. He tweeted about how much his fans, no scratch that, family meant to him and how much he loved them. He updated the people about the well being of the band and constantly gave them nothing but love. He uploaded several videos and always went the extra mile for the band.

He chose to make millions happy instead on focusing on his happiness.

He always put the fam first but always was neglected, it was sad. He was a beautiful human inside out but many didn't know that.

Several performances started and finished but not once did Luke's eyes settle on the stage. He was busy looking at the three people who were his entire life and he cried because wherever he went, he was going to miss them the most.

They made his dream happen and he was forever great-full.

Luke thought back to that day in high school when they had come up with their band name in their math class.

They had come a long way since then and their parents and even fans were so proud of the boys.

It was time now. The host stood on the stage, an award in a hand, an envelope with the winners name in another.

There had been five nominations for the best single and even if Michael lost this award, he'd still be content because he finally had a piece of Luke with him, in the form of his first single.

The cheering and claps brought Michael out of his train of thoughts and looked around.

People were cheering for him.

He won.

Luke was so happy that tears fell out of his eyes and his chest was glowing, his face adorned with a genuine smile on this face.

Ashton and Calum hugged Michael, and Michael jogged his way to the stage, climbing the stairs; 'Invisible' playing in the background.

"Hey, first of all, I would like to thank Luke for this", he said, raising the golden trophy which was clutched in his hands with great pride.

Luke smiled, Michael cried.

"I don't know what would I be doing right now if Luke wasn't there. I owe Ash and Calum a big time because after all, the did play a large role in my life. They made me who I am today. I love my mum and dad so much, I'm happy that I've made them proud. Last but not the least, thank you 5SOS fam. I'm so glad that you've been here all the time, watching us grow and now finally chasing our dreams and thank you for making us feel wanted and loved. Thank you." The crowd cheered again, making Michael smile and cry at the same time.

The lilac haired boy retreated to his seat, sitting next to Luke.

This was the happiest day of his life.

"Wanna ditch?" Michael asked and Luke nodded. Michael said his goodbyes to the Ash and Cal, repeating what Luke said, too.

He never knew when would it be the last time he saw that.

Quietly, they stood up and rushed to the exit. Making sure nobody was around, Michael hugged Luke, tears pouring from both of their eyes.

They stayed in the embrace for a long time, whispering how much they meant to each other.

Luke placed a soft kiss on Michael's neck and the latter one pulled away, smiling slightly. He then kissed Luke's forehead, showing how much he cared for his best friend.

Michael, for once, was truly happy in his life after Luke passed away.

"Congratulations. I'm so proud of you." Luke smiled slightly, his eyes drooping close.

That's all he wanted to hear. We wanted to know that people out there were proud of him and the mere thought of it made Michael smile.

"Thanks, Luke." Michael smiled and then, Luke gave up, his eyes closing, taking his consciousness away.

All four of them had saved millions of people and they didn't even know it.

• • • • •

Y'know, I feel like we don't deserve 5SOS. They are so innocent, so pure- angelic. These four aussies are too good for this world.

I love them with all my heart because they've saved me and God, I can't explain how much they mean to me.

All the love,
Pia xx