oblivion [michael clifford]

four

GOAL: 10+ votes, I got more votes than I asked for last time. You guys are amazing. I love you all. xxjordanxx

"Hello, Danielle Moore. How are you this evening?" Michael smiled up at me, he was soaked. How long had he been standing out there? He was wearing a dark grey hoodie with dark blue skinny jeans, and black converse. You could see his pink hair drenched from the rain and deflated on his forehead. I felt bad for the kid. It had to have been freezing.
"Fine, thanks. What are you doing here? And why are you standing outside in the rain?" I called down to him.
"You said you would see me soon enough, this is soon enough for me." This boy was already trying to kill me. "And to answer your question about the rain, if I came to the front door, your dad probably hates me and wouldn't let me inside to see you. So this was the plan." He grinned up at me like he was proud of his decision.
I nodded and thought for a second. "So, you're just gonna stand there in the rain?"
"Well I was hoping I could find a way up there, I need to show you something. It's very important."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell you, it's a surprise!" He threw his arms up in the air. I giggled and shook my head.
"Fine." I walked to my closet and on the top shelf above my clothes, I had a fire ladder made for my window. My dad was always worried about fires. We had to have two exits from every room and he didn't want me jumping out of my window, so this was his solution. It was a ladder with wooden solid cylinders attached to two long pieces of rope. I've never had to try it out, but I guess Michael would have to be my guinea pig. I always thought of using it if I needed to sneak out or in this case, sneak someone in. So I guess we would out this damn thing to use now.
I set the ladder on the two, strong, metal pieces that kept whoever was on there from falling. I threw the ladder down and Michael grabbed the end of it. I sat down on the edge of my bed and waited for him to arrive. About a minute later, he appeared at my window, grinning from ear to ear. He tried to pull himself over the windowsill and he slid all too fast. He tumbled onto my floor and made a loud bang. I couldn't contain my laughter. I threw my head back and felt my chest rumble.
"Dani?" My dad called out from downstairs. I stopped my laughter, but still had a smirk on my face. Michael was just sitting there on the floor, blushing like crazy. "You okay up there?"
"Yes, perfectly fine." I replied fast. "Are you okay, Michael?" I questioned him.
"I'm wonderful." He paused and smiled at me. He wouldn't take his eyes off of mine and I felt weird just sitting there so I stood up and stuck my hands in my pockets. Michael stood too and looked around my room. His emerald eyes caught sight of my favorite wall. "Wow. This is amazing." He took a step closer and touched a picture of me and my friends when we were little. "Aww, you were so cute. When was this?"
"6th grade, I believe." I got closer to look at the picture with him. I was wearing light wash, straight legged jeans with a bright pink shirt and my hair was in a really bad state. I had the worst haircut. My bangs were choppy and my hair was to my shoulders. I've come a long way since then. "I only keep that up there because that was when me, Whitney, and Nadine started to like each other more. We were so close."
"What happened?" Michael turned his head to me.
"They grew up, started liking things I didn't. I mean, they're my only friends so it's not like I'm gonna get rid of them just because we aren't alike. But we just don't click as well as we used to."
"You seem way more mature than they are. Don't think just because they like more things other people do, that they've grown up. They've just accepted societies trends and wanted to be like everyone else. You on the other hand.. you're different." He gave me a cute halfway, yet genuine smile.
"Different?" I asked.
"Different, and I mean that in the best way possible." I rolled my eyes and couldn't help but smile. It was an odd compliment, but I couldn't help it, I was blushing. My face was bright red. Michael knew it too. We just stood there giggles like two little school kids when 3rd graders said the other one was cute. I looked over at him and he was just staring. He always did that.
"What? Why are you staring?"
"I can't get enough of the sight." I nudged his shoulder playfully. What a cheese ball. He was really a guy who didn't mind giving compliments. I've known him for about 24 hours and so far, he's complimented me more than anyone in my entire life. It was nice, but a weird feeling was surrounding it. An alien feeling. A feeling that just doesn't come naturally for me.
"What was the surprise anyways?" I asked him, breaking the stares.
"Oh, I almost forgot." He walked over to my computer and took a CD case out of his back pocket. He opened it and it said "For Your Restless Nights" in black sharpie on the silver disk. I smiled at the use of words. He slipped it into to the slot in my computer. A little blue rectangle popped up on the screen and Michael pressed the play button with the mouse.
Soft music erupted from my speakers. A guitar strumming peacefully, creating a gorgeous sound. A beat that sounded like a clock played behind the guitar. A male singer with a deep voice softly sang. Then a girl sang, her voice was so sweet, and equally as small as the boys. The lyrics were so emotional. When the hook came, their voices collided and they sounded so in love. Their words were so passionate and I just wanted to close my eyes forever and listen to this on repeat.
Me and Michael sat there, he was waiting for a response from me. I just stayed put, a little smile being played on my lips. When the song ended, my heart almost had the same feeling these two singers had. They were amazing. They really knew how to play with your emotions. After a few seconds another song played. It was equally as beautiful but Michael paused it before I could get a good listen.
"Hey-"
"I want to know what you think so far, Danielle. What are you thinking?" He questioned me. I wanted to tell him everything that was swimming around in my head. But I couldn't put the words together. They were all jumbled up inside me, and I didn't know how to get them out.
"It was really nice, Michael." I replied to my best ability. I just really wanted to hear what the rest of the CD had on it.
"Dani... I know that's not all you were thinking about while that was playing. I could see it on your face." I glanced up at him. He was serious for once. It's nice to know that someone cares about what you think and persists you to tell them. Even if it is just about a song.
"I loved what they were saying. 'Your mouth is poison. Your mouth is wine.' It's like he knows she's not good for him. But he can't be without her, he loves her taste, her feel." I looked down at my hands and my thumbs danced around each other. I could feel Michael's eyes on me. I knew he was giving me that look again. That look where he can't take his eyes off of you. There was a love/hate relationship with that stare. I hated feeling uncomfortable and like I couldn't do or say anything because he was staring. But the other half of me loved it, loved finally being noticed, loved someone that could just stay like that and not even have a care. "What?" I asked, my eyes darting from side to side.
"Nothing it's just..." He shook his head and turned around in the chair. He pressed the play button for the next song.
We sat there listening to music late at night. When we got to the last song, Michael had put I Will Follow You Into The Dark as the final one. I wasn't sure what to think about this boy, but he sure knew how to impress a girl. Impress someone like me perhaps, I don't think that everyone can connect with a singer as well as I did while listening to those songs on the first try. I couldn't understand the feeling I got from all of them, but I knew it was what they were feeling. I wanted to feel that way for the rest of my life.
"Michael..." I said. "That was the best surprise anyone has ever showed me. To be honest, I wasn't expecting something so amazing. I thought you were going to show me something small or stupid. But no, I underestimated you." Michael smirked and his chest rose as his fists went to his sides. A very heroic pose. I laughed at him and he fell back to normal Michael that could still be mistaken for a superhero. The idea made me laugh.
"What? What are you laughing about?"
"I was just thinking of you being a superhero, an odd thought I know." I confessed. "What do you think your superhero name would be?"
"Hmm..." He pondered for a moment. "Probably Salmon Man. Lots of people think I'm gay because of ya know." He pointed to his hair and smiled.
"I like your hair actually. Is it unusual? Yes, but I tend to have a taste for unorthodox things." His face lit up as the words came out, he beamed at me. After a few seconds, his eyes found their way to the wall to the right of him.
"Hey." He got up and walked over to a picture surrounded by thousands of other, all a very different meaning to me. "Who's this?" He asked. I stood up and walked next to him.
"Oh. That's my mother." I said quietly. She was gorgeous. She had medium length hair, hazel eyes, and small lips curved up in a smile to die for. She could make you feel happy just by looking at her. She was glowing everywhere she went.
"She looks just like you." He said to me. I hear that all of the time. My dad likes to talk about her all of the time, but me just thinking about her makes me want to lose it.
"Thanks." I took a seat on my bed and scooted myself towards the wall. I wanted to distance myself from him to avoid conversation about her. Michael turned to me and must have known how I was feeling. He shuffled over to me and slid himself next to me. He sat there, our backs against the wall. I laid my head on his shoulder and I already knew he was smiling down at me.
"I'm sorry about her, Danielle." He said, I appreciated it. He sounded like he didn't even need to ask me what happened. He just knew by the way I was acting. So far, Michael was a very smart man.
"Yeah, me too." I said as quiet as a mouse. I closed my eyes and started to doze off. I could feel Michael pick me up bridal style and place me right side on the bed. My head gently hit the soft pillow and he pulled the blankets over me. When I felt his absence, I opened my eyes, he was starting to climb out of the window.
"Michael." His head popped up towards me. He waited for an answer, and I hesitated to say something, anything! I sat up and bit my lip. "Don't go." He climbed back over the windowsill and slowly got underneath the covers with me. I laid my head on the left side of his chest and listened to his breathing. I could feel his heart, man was it beating fast. My leg inched closer to his for warmth.
"Wait." He said. "How the hell do you sleep with jeans on?" Oh. I had forgot about those.
"Uhh, I don't." I didn't wanna get up from this. "Will you do me a favor?" He nodded. "Go into the second drawer with my pajamas and hand me a pair of shorts." He shook his head up and down yet once again and got up. He walked over to the dresser and got the shorts as instructed.
"Uhm, I'll just step out of the room." He handed me the shorts.
"What? No. I'll just do it under the covers. My dad and brother might be out there." I unbuttoned my jeans and wiggled them off. Michael had an uncomfortable look on his face. Like he didn't know where to look. So he just put his eyes on the ceiling and rocked on his heels. I giggled at him. I slid the shorts on and patted the bed, signaling Michael to lay down again.
"C'mon, it's over." I smirked at him. I pulled the jeans out from the tangle of blankets and aimed for the laundry basket. I almost made it. Just a few feet short of the hamper. Michael laid himself down next to me once again and we went back to the same position. It felt like I could never get tired of being right here. I've never actually cuddled with a boy. But, I guess this is what that just is. With the right person, you feel as comfortable as you could ever be. I'm not sure why I already felt comfortable about Michael, but I liked feeling this way. Feeling like I could find a piece of myself in someone else. It was always hard for me to find that. Hell, I couldn't even find that in my best friends. This boy is filled with many surprises that I would never expect by just taking a glance at him.
My eyelids began to feel heavy once again and I let them fall. Being in his arms gave me a sweet security. My heart was warmed by his presence. This was one of the most peaceful nights I had ever slept. I could only dream of staying like this for all eternity. And that, well, I wouldn't mind it at all.