changes • cake

1.1

Luke was hastily shoving sundry habiliments into his plain backpack, breathing heavy and scattered. Michael was hovering above him with a concerned look on his face, eyebrows furrowed, placing a hand on the skinny boys shoulder. “Baby, breath. It’s okay. He can't force you to stay.” His voice was soft and it should’ve been comforting to the blond, but all he could think about was Jeremy’s boots against the carpet when he would walk in in less than ten minutes.

He had gone out for a boxing match that morning, giving Luke just enough time to pack a bag and leave with Michael while he was gone. Unfortunately, the boy had fallen asleep—meaning he woke up twenty minutes before Jeremy was supposed to be home by Michael knocking on the locked front door. His fringe was still a mess in front of his bruised and tired eyes, fingerprints remaining etched onto the pale skin of his wrist as he tugged his shoes on, barely even bothering to tie the laces together.

Michael tugged him off the floor, Luke shoving his phone in his pocket as the duo reached the wooden door. “I think you need some ice cream. What about we go to—“ Michael stopped immediately when watching the door handle move, the chirping of keys being able to be heard from behind it.

Luke basically looked like he was already about to cry, tossing the bag to the side and taking a step back, trying to make it not look like he was planning on leaving. Michael got the hint, pulling him by the bar and attempting to act natural when the tall man with fresh marks on his biceps and jaw walked into the small apartment with another boxer on tow. Luke immediately cowered in on himself—arms crossed, shoulders tense and eyes at his feet.

Jeremy barely gave a passing glance to Luke’s best friend, letting one hand run through the blond hair. “Hey, baby.” He hummed. Luke didn’t look up. “Did you clean the room up like I asked you to this morning?” Ashton had settled into leaning against the wall, phone in hand and head down, rapidly texting someone unknown. He seemed like he was trying to ignore what was happening.

Meanwhile, Michael was cringing at the sight. Luke was soft spoken, definitely. But he had never seen him look so weak and terrified before, albeit knowing him like the back of his hand for years. Luke was strong minded. He was kind and brave and even if he was insecure, he never let that overcome his need to stand up for himself.

But this—Michael had realized—wasn’t Luke. This was Jeremy’s toy.

Luke simply nodded, making Jeremy raise an eyebrow and lifted the others chin up a bit too roughly, almost making the red head flinch. “What was that?”

“Yes-yes I did, sir.” He answered quickly before moving away from his grip after giving him the answer he wanted. Jeremy nodded and walked around to the other side of the bar. Luke was blinking back tears of embarrassment, hating that Michael was watching the pathetic sight with such pity in his eyes. He reached out and touched his elbow.

“Come on baby, lets go. We can get your bags later.” He mumbled quietly in the blonds ear. He felt a pair of hazel eyes on him, looking up and furrowing his eyebrows when seeing Ashtons gaze right at the sight. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clearing his throat and dropping his eyes to his phone again. Luke glanced up at him, lips parting to give him an answer before the brunette interrupted.