loving luke [muke] 🚫

☆ three ☆

'i fucking hate maths' michael mumbled to himself as he took a sip of the coffee in his hands. he walked into his first period gym class, still grumbling as he let out a quiet yawn. he didn't think it was very fair that he had to change out of his clothes this early in the morning. or more importantly, he had to do physical activity at 7:30 in the morning.

he dragged himself over to where calum was standing, looking as exhausted as he felt. he patted the boy on the shoulder, offering him some coffee. calum grabbed it and sipped it, grimacing at the taste.

'jesus, it's so bitter. you don't use cream?' michael shook his head, drinking more before wiping his mouth.

'all that added shit makes it less coffee, why would you want half coffee and half cream?' calum just shook his head, still trying to get the taste out of his mouth. michael chuckled as the gym doors opened, mr. hemmings walking in. michael noticed his red eyes and the slouch in his walk, but ignored it.

'uh, um, ok michael clifford?' michael raised his hand a bit, saying 'here' a little loud. he watched as the boy wrote on the clipboard. he was standing fairly close to mr. hemmings and he could see the boy's hand shaking. he felt bad and he didn't even know what was going on.

after a few moments of mr. hemmings tripping over words and sounding like he was going to cry, he gave up and just marked everyone else as present before making his way to the top bleacher.

'is he alright?' michael asked to the small group of people around him. they all shruged and went to walk the track or play basketball. michael looked at calum and then back at mr. hemmings before deciding to go up and talk to him. what's the worst that could happen?

'dude, he's probably getting fired. he sucks at his job. don't even bother talking to him' calum stated, and michael scoffed, slapping the boy's arm before making his way toward his teacher.

slowly, he walked up the bleachers, sitting next to mr. hemmings. the boy was so tiny compared to michael. his teacher hadn't even noticed michael, his head was rested in his hands.

'uh, sir?' mr. hemmings shot up and michael felt bad because the boy's eyes were puffy and red and his body was trembling.

'sorry, i just uh, how are you doing?' michael suddenly realized that he didn't exactly have anything to talk about and he was resorting to awkward conversation. michael had, however, decided he wasn't going to ask about the crying. it wasn't really his business.

'i'm fine.' he muttered, trying to make it look like he hadn't just been sobbing his eyes out. michael could see the boys hands were still shaking and he pouted, unsure of what to do.

'you're pretty young.' michael stated, wanting it to come out as more of a question. mr. hemmings nodded and pulled his sleeves over his hands, letting his fingertips be exposed. michael smiled.

'my dad was the old basketball coach so he just got me this job.' michael hummed in response, looking down at the gym. he could tell why his teacher liked sitting up here, he could see the whole gym.

'what, uh, how are you doing?' mr. hemmings asked, trying to keep the conversation going. michael stared at him for a second before answering.

'i'm alright. failing maths but it's fine. that's why i had to switch halfway through' mr. hemmings sighed, but michael noticed how he quickly perked up.

'if you need help or something, i'm actually pretty good at maths.' mr. hemmings said cheerfully. michael chuckled at the slightly childish boy next to him. it was clear the boy was a lot 'younger' than his age.

'i could come by your office today, if you're free' mr. hemmings smiled and nodded, slightly excited to be doing something he didn't completely hate.

'y-yea. just come by after last bell. i'll be there.' michael smiled and nodded.

'thank you mr. hemmings'

'call me luke'