luke sipped his drink as he looked over at michael who was working on his second beer.
"thanks for coming here with me. you don't know how much it means." luke said softly, letting his hand fall on michael's.
the older boy shrugged, and smiled. "hey, i'll take any opportunity to be on the lookout for hot guys. we hit the jackpot with this bar." he said, and luke laughed because michael was only joking.
he had to be joking.
"you're hilarious." luke said sarcastically, letting his knees brush against michael's as he scooted closer.
luke sat his cup down, and smiled at michael, holding his hand.
"listen, i really like y-"
luke stopped talking when a guy approached the both of them. he was short, and very toned, making luke just a little insecure when michael looked at him and smiled.
"hey, do you wanna dance?" he asked, and michael looked over at luke, raising his eyebrows a bit.
"sorry, were on a d-"
"i'd love to."
luke's heart fell when he saw michael stand up. he didn't have the strength to let michael's hand go though.
"michael-"
"luke, don't ruin this for me..." michael said softly, and luke let go. "...go find someone in the crowd."
"i was planning on dancing with you, considering we're on a date remember?" luke said, and michael smiled a little.
"not a real date, right? we don't do that, remember." michael said, and luke rolled his eyes and stood up.
"i'm going back to the bus. you can either get in the car with me or be left here. i'm not staying any longer." luke spat, and michael groaned.
"that's so unfair, luke-"
"you wanna talk about unfair? because we can talk about unfair."
michael let go of the smaller boy's hand, and followed behind luke, leaving the building with him.
neither of them said a word the whole way back to the bus, but they both had a lot they wanted to say.
luke had a lot he needed to say, but like always, he kept it in because michael just didn't want him like that.
-
"hey, how was the date?" ashton asked as soon as the two stepped back onto the bus a little after 1 a.m.
"terrible." luke mumbled, and started walking away.
"you're the one who made it so terrible." michael spat back, and luke turned around.
"yeah, sorry for getting upset when you almost ditched me for another guy while we were on a date!" luke yelled, and michael rolled his eyes.
"we weren't seriously on a date, luke." michael said, and luke laughed bitterly, and ashton and calum just stayed quiet.
"well, sorry, but i think i have every right to believe we were on a date when you said yes to one." luke said, and michael shook his head in frustration.
"why is this such a big deal to you?" michael asked, and luke just shook his head.
"just forget it.." luke started and turned to walk out.
"luke, get back in here." ashton called, and luke walked back in, looking at ashton.
"listen, if i'm gonna listen to you guys fight the whole time on this tour it's gonna be for the right reasons. not because you won't tell the truth, luke. now go ahead." ashton said, and luke nervously bit his lip.
"what do you mean 'tell the truth'?" michael asked, and luke's face turned a little red.
he knows he has to tell michael how he feels. he's not mad at ashton for calling him out. he's actually a little relieved.
but he's still scared.
"luke, what is it?" michael asked, genuinely confused, and kind of nervous.
he played his his fingers, and cowered down a little bit. he wanted to say everything he's been feeling, but he just can't.
"luke, it's alright." ashton whispered, and luke nodded a little bit.
"michael, i- um. i-"
"luke, come on, what is it?"
"i'm in love with you."
you could feel how tense it was in the room. tears were in luke's eyes, and they threatened to fall as he looked at michael's face for any hint of rejection.
"what do you mean?" michael whispered.
"i love you, michael."
"okay i love you too, but-"
"i'm in love with you, michael."
a tear finally fell out of luke's eye, and he quickly wiped it as the older boy just stared at him.
"don't do this, luke." michael whispered.
"what? michael, i love y-"
"stop it. this is really unfair. we said at the start that there are no feelings involved." michael mumbled, and luke wiped his eyes.
"i lied." luke cried, and michael shook his head.
"than this is all on you. you can't get mad at me for this." michael said softly, not wanting to hurt luke, but he couldn't be blamed for anything.
"i know, but-"
"but nothing, luke."
