repercussions ✓

XXXIII. IGNORE HIM

"WHO'S BTEC FREDDIE MERCURY?"

Michael rolls over in the bed, taking his phone from Matt as he scans the screen quickly. "It's Luke. What's wrong with him?"

Matt shrugs, wrapping his arms back around the younger boy as he smiles into Michael's neck. "Who cares? Cuddle with me, beautiful." There's a small smirk on Michael's face as he obliges, curling up closer to Matt.

"Expected you to hate me." He mumbles as Matt runs his fingers through Michael's pink-blond hair, watching him contently as he lies there in the early morning sunlight.

"Nobody could hate you, Mikey."

He smirks a little, looking up to make eye contact with Matt. "A lot of people manage it, though. Like Ashton soon, and many, many people online." Despite how Matt would expect Michael to be panicking about this a bit more, he seems completely calm and collected.

They lie there in silence, occasionally looking at each other, until Michael's phone starts to buzz and won't stop.

"It's Luke. God, he just doesn't stop, does he?" He exhales, answering the call with a fake smile plastered on his face. "You OK?"

Matt simply watches Michael's end of the conversation until he finally puts it on speakerphone, with a small signal to stay as quiet as he can.

"Michael, no, listen to me for a second. Where are you? You haven't given me a straight fucking answer!"

"I just... went out, Luke. It's fine, I'm coming home now." He's basically shouting at the phone as he attempts to redress himself while still talking to the younger boy.

"Michael, you can't keep just disappearing like this! It's tearing us all apart. Crystal's so confused."

Out of everything Matt has heard, this last sentence is the only thing that seems to register in his head. "Crystal? Michael, what the fuck?"

"Who is that? Is that--"

Michael ends the call faster than Matt has ever seen, before looking at him with what seems like faint guilt. Neither of them wants to think about everything that's gone on over the past night. It all just feels like it didn't actually happen, like they've been watching some sort of twisted film about the three of them - Matt, Michael and Ashton.

"I-I'll see you at some point." Michael says quietly, pulling his rucksack onto his shoulder with a small smile. Matt just nods, watching quietly as Michael leaves his house.

He doesn't know how to feel. Michael is beautiful, Michael is a genuine god compared to him, but... he's cheating on Crystal by doing this.

Matt sighs, lying down on his bed. People who write fanfics and fantasise over dating their idols must be slightly delusional. Why would you even volunteer to get involved in things like this?