We Never Change || Michael Clifford

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ashton’s P.O.V.

 

I wake up the next morning, my head pounding. The girl who was in my room last night already left. I don’t even remember who it was. I rub my eyes and groan. I look over at the clock and see that it’s already two in the afternoon.

I get up and walk down the hall to Lia’s room. I knock, but there’s no answer. I hear snoring through the door. I open the door just a little bit and find Lia hanging off of the bed with her dress still on. Her hair is everywhere, sticking up in every direction, and she’s snoring. Her foot is on Michael’s chest. Michael’s sleeping perfectly still on the bed, not making a sound. Lia obviously had more to drink. I smile to myself.

I close the door and walk down stairs, shooing away the people who haven’t left yet. I get some Ibuprofen out and sort it out for all of us. Calum and Luke are both squished onto the couch, their feet in each other’s faces.

I sigh and sit out on the back porch. I run my hands through my hair and close my eyes. She’s growing up too fast. She was just a little girl yesterday. I mean, it was fine when she didn’t have any friends except Calum and I. Now she has friends, and I wouldn’t be as worried if they were girls. I mean, girls tell everyone everything. But now she’s friends with Michael, who I’m not worried about. He’s a good kid. But Luke. He’s cool and all and I appreciate what he did for Lia but I just can’t handle the thought of her being friends with a guy like him. He acts so badass and he’s clearly not. I’m probably just overthinking. He’s a good kid.

I hear the sliding door open and turn around. Lia’s standing against the wall, a lazy smile on her face. She has one of her ridiculous, fuzzy bath robes on and her hair is up in a ponytail, although it doesn’t look much better than it did down. She yawns and covers her mouth with the bathrobe sleeve. The sleeves are too long for her.

“Morning.” She tells me.

“You’re in an awfully good mood. Nothing happened with Michael, right?”

“No, nothing.” She says with a smile. “You know, Ash, it was the weirdest thing.”

“What was?”

“Michael.”
“Care to be more specific?” I ask, the corners of my mouth lifting up into a smile.

“Scoot over.” She tells me.

“There’s no room on the chair.” I whine.

“Okay.” She sits down on my lap and I laugh.

“Continue.” I tell her.

“So, last night, I got really drunk.” Her eyebrows crease in concentration. “I was completely wasted and I asked Michael if he wanted to dance.”

“Fuck, Lia-”

“Wait. Shh.” She puts her bathrobe on my mouth, so I can’t talk. “So then, I was getting ready to… dance. You know. But then Michael turns me around, and dances with me like we’re in a ballroom dancing competition. I mean, it wasn’t super fancy or anything. It was… sweet. Like he was holding my hand and there was nothing sexual about it, which was weird, considering Michael’s a teenage boy-”

I pull her hand off of my mouth. “Please, stop.” I tell her, spitting out pieces of fuzz that got in my mouth.

She rolls her eyes. “Just listen. It was actually the sweetest thing. I mean, he wasn’t even drunk and he could’ve easily taken advantage of me, but he didn’t.” She says. “It’s so… weird.” Her voice trails off.

“Have you ever thought that maybe he’s just a good guy?” I ask.

“Yeah.” She tells me with a smile. “And then we went upstairs and he put in-”
“Stop!” I yell.

“No!” She yells back, laughing. “You didn’t let me finish! He put in a movie to watch!”

“Fuck. You scared me.” I say, taking a deep breath.

“You’re gonna get a heart attack if you keep your blood pressure this high.” She tells me. “Relax. Anyways, he chose Frozen.” She tells me with a giggle. I raise my eyebrows. “Yes, Frozen. The one with the talking snowman and the snow queen.”

“That’s-”

“Weird. I know. And then, when I was falling asleep, he was actually singing along. Weirdest thing ever.” She says, biting her lip to stop herself from smiling.

“You really like him, huh?” I ask.

“I’ve known him for like two weeks.” She tells me. “I mean, it’s a crush. But I do like him. He’s so weird.”

:”At least you’re not into douchebags.”

“True.” She tells me with a smile. “Good talk, Irwin.”
“Anytime, Lawrence. How about we get inside and wake the guys up?”

“Let me get over my hangover first.” She mutters unhappily. “We don’t have to be dicks and wake them up in a rude way, do we?”

“It’s the Irwin way.” I tell her.

“But I’m not an Irwin.” She sticks her tongue out at me.

I roll my eyes. “Follow me.”

 

~~~

 

Adelia’s P.O.V.

 

I give Ashton a nod and we start beating the pans against each other, making a loud clashing noise throughout the house. Luke and Calum both scream, fall off the couch, and groan.

“Good morning survivors.” Ashton announces in a paper towel roll, using it like a microphone. “Congratulations. None of you got alcohol poisoning or died. You’ve all achieved ‘Level 1 Party Animal’ status. Please collect your reward in the kitchen.”

“The reward is a glass of water and pills and in case you were wondering.” I say, smiling. Ashton smiles down at me and hops off the coffee table.

Luke sits up, rubbing his temples. “Fuck, my head hurts.”

“Go collect your prize ‘Level 1 Party Animal’.” I tease him, smiling.

“Help me up.” I grab his hand and pull him up. He walks into the kitchen.

“Calum, are you alive?” I ask.

“Leave me alone.” He grumbles.

“Not a morning person, now are you?” I poke his cheek and he groans. “Get up and take the Ibuprofen. Go. Shoo.” I nudge him with my foot and he rolls over.

“I’ll take care of him.” Ash says. “Go wake up Michael.”

“Got it.” I tell him. I walk up the stairs and open my bedroom door. Michael is sleeping peacefully. I poke his face. “Michael.” I nudge him. “Mikey.” I frown. “Mike.” I say. He doesn’t move. “Bill. Steve. Marcus. Joe. Bob. Jehoshabeath.” He stays still. Is he dead? I lick my finger and shove it in his ear. He jolts awake.

“What the fuck was that?” He asks, rubbing his ear.

“My finger.” I tell him. “Now get up. It’s time for a celebratory breakfast.”

“Why celebratory?”

“Didn’t you hear?” I ask him with a smile. “You’re a ‘Level 1 Party Animal’.”

SHORT CHAPTER BUT I LIKED THE ENDING OKAY DONT TOUCH ME

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