Beside You *Muke*

Chapter 14

His lips are soft, swimming against mine and it feels like I'm in a dream. I try to pull away but it is as if a magnetic force is pulling me to his lips. "Michael wha--" I whisper against his plush lips and he silences me by deepening the kiss.

Once we finally had pulled apart, I stare at him with present confusion. "I'm sorry," He says immediately and stands to get up.

"Where're you--? Why're you sorry? I-I liked it, Mikey," I whisper shakily, nerves running like fire through my veins.

"You did?" Michael's voice rises an octave with surprise and I nod my head, looking down at my feet. Michael scoops me up in his arms, twirling the two of us around lightly, sending me into a fit of giggles. "I liked it too," He whispers into my hair once the two of us had sat down again.

I look down at my wrists with mixed emotions. I regretted it because I knew it upset Ashton and Michael but at the same time, I didn't because I needed a release from all of that I was feeling. "I'm sorry," I mumble into my hands, not willing myself to look at either of them. "It's sorta odd," I continue quietly. "I sort of regret relapsing but at the same time, I don't,"

When I look up at Ashton and Michael after minutes of silence, I find both of their faces ashen and worried. My head snaps back down to my lap and Michael gives my hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm here for you no matter what, Lukey," He tells me. "I'm going to help you through this because I care about you and you're my boyfriend now,"

A small smile flits onto my face at his words even though they were so forward and possessive. I didn't mind hearing that.

Boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

Michael was finally mine. He was nobody elses. Only mine. The thought brings me instant joy and I squeeze back, my nerves slowly fading.

Michael and I cuddle close and right as I was about to nod off, I hear Ashton say, "You're good for him, you know,"

"I hope so. I'm so used to people telling me I'm not good enough, I've been hearing that my whole life and all I want to accomplish now is to be good enough for him. For my Lukey. He's mine now. That's such an amazing feeling,"

"Just take care of him, you hear me?"

"Of course. He's fragile. He's the best thing that ever happened to me. I won't let anyone treat him any less than royalty,"

I cuddle closer into Michael's chest, basking in the harmony of being the small spoon and fall asleep to the thought of his wonderful green eyes.

***

I let out a shallow breath as Michael and I stand in my room. My gaze was still locked on my bed, the tangled sheets and blood droplets sprinkling the cover and caramel carpet. This whole scene made shivers run down my spine and there was no way to shake the uneasy feeling. "Lets just get this over with," Michael and I start cleaning my room at a quick and hasty pace. I had started to strip my bed while Michael worked on picking up the clothes from the floor. "Thanks for doing this with me, Mikey," I whisper.

"It's no problem, Luke. What're boyfriends for?" There he goes with that word again. Boyfriendboyfriendboyfriend. The word made my heart flutter and my palms sweat. I usually didn't like titles but this one I didn't mind. "Um, Luke?" Michael calls and I turn toward him, looking confused until I find him holding up my razor.

My eyes widen and I instantly stare down at my shoes. "I-I um," I mumble, tears of embarrassment and humiliation brimming in my eyes. "God, I'm so fucking sorry, Mikey," I whimper, wiping my tears away with the back of my hand.

Michael sets my razor down, coming over to me and wrapping me in his muscled embrace. I melt into it on instinct and my tears soak his flannel clad shirt. "It's okay, Lukey. Your cuts are healing. You haven't used it for a few days. I'm proud of you," He tells me, breath running through my slightly lopsided quiff.

"I'm trying really hard," I admit quietly, not sure what else to say.

"I know you are," He tells me. We continue to clean up my bedroom and somewhere along the line, Michael hightails it to the bathroom. I walk over to my razor which was still moderately new and hold it tight between my fingers, hands shaking. The toilet flushes from the bathroom just down the hall and I shove the shiny piece of metal I was prisoner to into my dresser drawer, not yet ready to throw it away.

So yeah, that was that. You guys really seemed to like the last chapter and hopefully you liked this one as well. I was screaming at the Muke kiss and I was the one who wrote it cx I hope you guys liked this chapter as well even though it was shitty and terribly short. Whatever.

-Shianne xx