November Rain // muke

chapter twenty-four

Michael

"Happy birthday, baby bear." Michael's mom spoke, and the teen blushed as the woman hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "My son's so old."

"I'm only eighteen mama." Michael reminded and then rubbed his eye. "I'm not that old."

"Of course you are." She laughed and kissed his head. "Your friends are in the living room. Three lovely boys."

Michael jumped out of bed and before he could walk to his door, his mom stopped him. "Ah ah ah, you are not going downstairs in a DragonBall Z shirt and briefs."

"Am I really eighteen today?" Michael asked and the two shared a laugh. "I'll be down in ten."

"Counting on it." His mom nodded. "I'll order pizza for you guys. Anything special?"

"Just pepperoni with some Pepsi for the side, please mama?"

"Anything for the birthday boy." She hummed and then left the room. Michael immediately switched his shirt for a plain black tee and then he yanked a pair of black jeans on.

After pulled his patched and torn denim jacket on and lacing on a pair of Doc Martens, he brushed his teeth and then ran to the living room where he saw Ashton, Calum, and Luke on the couch. They all seemed invested on a meme off of Calum's Instagram explore page, and only looked up after Michael cleared his throat.

"Happy birthday loser!" Calum shouted and the other two turned to him as they shared hugs. He may have snuck a few kisses when he hugged Luke, but his mom didn't need to know that. "We put our gifts by the dining table."

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll love them." Ashton chuckled and they all sat down on the couch. "So, how does it feel being eighteen?"

"Same as being seventeen really, just more anxiety on the future." Michael admitted and Luke took a seat on his lap, crossing his legs and then smiling as the other two groaned about not wanting to look like a couple of single losers. "Are you comfy there, babe?" He ignored their friend's complaints.

"Yeah." Luke nodded and hummed, fixing Michael's fringe slightly. "Can you open our gifts now? Please?"

"Do you want me to do it right now?"

"Mhm." Luke nodded quickly and Michael laughed as he agreed. Luks ran to the kitchen table, and then began picking up the bag and boxes. "Open mine last."

"You guys didn't even have to get me anything, you know that?" Michael told them, picking up a blue bag Luke handed him. "I didn't even expect you guys to come, let alone buy me stuff. I'm really only worth like two dollars and fifty cents."

"Well, we spent our money on you and we hope you like it, and I promise it was more than just two-fifty." Ashton smiled and Michael began taking the paper out from inside the bag. He was met with a few band tees and a pair of jeans, which made him smile.

He looked at the tag and then looked at Ashton. "You're an emo fucker who never wears anything but black, but that's okay because I'm the same. It's a real good thing everything comes in black." Ashton laughed and they shared another hug.

"Thank you, Ash. I didn't even know you knew I liked I Prevail and Attila." Michael looked at the shirts after pulling away.

"I kinda just took note of what posters you have in your room and what albums you have stacked in the garage." Ashton smiled and Michael just nodded, his heart warming as he heard how much Ashton pays attention to what he likes.

"How are you gonna tell if he's wearing his new jeans or his old jeans?" Calum asked and Ashton snorted at his comment.

"I don't, I just gotta hope he changes his pants every now and then." He told him and Michael shook his head as he chuckled.

"I promise that I change my clothes." Michael assured him and then was handed a box. "Is this from Calum? Oh no, I'm scared of this."

"Don't be." He smiled and then reached into the pocket of his bomber jacket. "This is for you too."

A plastic bag was tossed at him and he looked at it, laughing loudly as he picked it up. "Are these -"

"Gummy dicks? Yes they are." He nodded and Michael opened them, picking one out to eye. It was red and it said the red tasted like cherry. "I thought of you when I saw them online."

"God, you're amazing." Michael grinned before biting the tip off. "They don't taste too bad either."

"I hope not." Calum chuckled and Michael lifted the lid off the box he had, finding that it was a new pair of Vans. "Your's are ragged looking. I know it's your aesthetic and shit, but come on man."

"I've been meaning to get a new pair, thanks Cal. You're a real one." Michael smiled and they shared a hug after he set the gifts down beside him.

"Now it's Luke's fat ass gift." Ashton pointed out and the smile Luke had on his face made him look so proud of himself. "I'm sure he went all the way out. He always does."

"Luke is spoiled and will buy you a yacht if you asked." Calum snickered and Michael met Luke's blue eyes.

"I hope not. You need that money for college, don't you, flower?" Michael asked and Luke nodded.

"Yeah, but it's okay. My parents would give an arm and a leg just to get me out of the house." Luke shrugged as he pushed the gift to Michael. "Open it."

Michael unwrapped the box and then found that he needed a knife to open it anymore. "Let me go get a kn-"

"No wait, here."

Calum handed him a pocket knife and they all stared at him. Why the hell does he have a pocket knife on him? "Hey, I knew you'd need it."

"Sounds fake... but okay." Michael nodded hesitantly and flipped it open before opening the box fully.

He unboxed the gift and then went wide eyed as he saw a handle on the top and dials. "Luke..."

"Mike..." The blonde was rocking on the balls of his feet, Michael could see it before he looked up at him.

"I swear to God,"

"Which one? The one you don't believe in?" Ashton but in and Michael narrowed his eyes at his friend. "I'll just uh... go help your mom with the pizza. That must be her who closed the front door."

"Yeah, you go do that." Michael nodded before pulling the object from the box. He rested it by his feet and then eyed the amplifier, not quite believing the gift he just got.

"Do you like it? Is it the one you wanted? I don't know much about music and equiptment and stuff." Luke trailed off and Michael nodded quickly.

"Yeah, fuck yes, it's the amp of my freaking dreams Luke. Oh my god..." Michael rambled, his eyes running over the item before looking at his boyfriend.

"Can I get a kiss?"

"Just one?" Michael asked as he stood up, immediately tackling the blonde in his arms and squeezing him before he began pampering him with kiss after kiss. "I love you. I love you. I love you."

Luke was laughing and Michael easy smiling as his lips lingered on Luke's for a longer period of time then the other spots of his face. "Mm, love you too Mike." Luke laughed and a throat cleared.

They all turned to Michael's mom and an he just smiled at the couple, making Michael's heart warm. "Don't kill your boyfriend." She teased him and Michael held Luke tighter as she and Ashton placed the boxes of pizza on the table.

Yeah, so maybe this the best birthday in the history of birthdays, and Michael wouldn't trade today for anything in the world.