jumpscare ✓

👻 : TWENTY THREE!

"LET HIM IN."

The door clicks open again to reveal Luke stood, watching Tyler warily, and Michael curled up in the duvet. He looks as though he's been crying his eyes out, and Luke keeps looking back at him, as if to keep an eye on him.

"Is this the person everyone saw you with?" Luke asks, and Michael nods once. "I'll leave you two to it."

In an attempt to not disturb him too much, Tyler sits down gently, his leg touching Michael's, and wraps his arm around the other boy's shoulders. They don't say anything; it's easiest to just sit quietly and let Michael stare at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mikey." He says softly, and rather than recoil, like Tyler expected, Michael shuffles a little closer to him. It's extremely disconcerting, feeling his breath lightly on his arm, but Tyler just holds still, trying not to smile too obviously.

"Can we watch a film?" Michael asks in reply, pointing towards the screen hinged on the wall. "Sinister's on Netflix. I've been meaning to watch it."

The other boy just nods, clicking the TV on and loading Netflix up, before Michael watches him type in the film's title and turn it on.

It's easy for the two of them to get lost in the gore and violence and jumpscares, and so neither of them really notice Tyler's head on Michael's shoulder, or Michael's arm around Tyler's waist. They're both too engrossed in the film to notice.

Michael jumps and exhales in shock at all the right places, but it doesn't take a genius to realise his mind is elsewhere. When the credits roll and Bughuul jumps up, he doesn't even react, just reaches over and shuts the TV off.

"Michael? Mikey? You OK--"

"I'm going to go to sleep." Michael interrupts, shuffling down in the bed and turning to face away from Tyler. He doesn't seem to realise it's seven at night, that Luke and Ashton are out at bars and clubs right now, and maybe Luke has his fingers in some girl's hair in the neon, and Ashton is chatting someone up.

Maybe Tyler would love to be there. Maybe Michael would too. Maybe they'd be hooking up with each other, with the air tasting like strawberries and vodka and regret as they dance as close to each other as they can with the lights dyeing the two of them purple and pink and blue.

In a different timeline, they would be. But instead, they're in this dark hotel room, Michael breathing quietly and Tyler trying so, so hard not to brush his hair back. Because this is Michael Clifford, a celebrity, and here he is, panicking because Tyler was caught on camera talking to him.

He lies down behind Michael, arms holding the other boy closer to him. Their neon dream can wait for now.