jumpscare ✓

👻 : THIRTY!

LUKE IS THERE ALMOST straightaway, and doesn't hesitate in holding Michael close to him as he cries into his jacket.

"Shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry Luke, I shouldn't have said anything, if I hadn't have come out, Tyler wouldn't hate me and everything would be OK. 'M sorry."

The younger boy just strokes Michael's shoulder as he continues to sob. "No, no, Mikey. It's fine. Please calm down for me, yeah? It's going to be OK."

He nods a little through the haze, sitting up and smiling faintly. "Sorry. Thank you." It all feels so robotical and fake, but most of his smiles are fake now.

The light returns to Luke's eyes as someone knocks lightly on the door, and it opens slightly to reveal Tyler. There's tear tracks down his face, and Michael instantly looks scared at the sight.

"Oh my god, Mikey, are you OK?"

He shakes his head a little, and Luke shuffles across to allow Tyler to hug Michael instead. They sit in pure silence, with the only faint sound being Luke leaving the room and Michael moving around.

"I don't hate you, you know." Tyler mumbles, and Michael smiles a little through his tears. "Couldn't ever hate you."

He sits up a little, so he can look straight at Tyler, before smiling softly again. "How? I've ruined our whole friendship. Just because I'm so goddamn desperate to date someone."

"Shut up, Mikey." Tyler laughs, and before Michael can even open his mouth again, his finger is on his lips. "Be quiet. If you apologise again, I'm not taking you out tonight for katsu. Again. Because I'm nice like that. And I don't hate you."

He stops talking at this, much to Tyler's dismay. In all honesty, he wasn't expecting to have to get food for both of them, but now he supposes he has to.

"Do you want to stream?" Michael asks lightly, hoping his eyes aren't too red and obvious. "I haven't been live for a while. Obviously I don't have my gaming setup, so just talk on Instagram, maybe?"

Tyler shrugs by way of agreement, and watches as Michael lies down on the bed next to him and opens the app. Almost instantly, far too many people are watching them; he can barely read a single message from anyone before it scrolls away.

"Hi! Hey. Good morning!" Michael laughs a little as he keeps the screen close to his face. He's smiling so much that it's hard to believe that he was having a panic attack just a few minutes ago.

user1: hi michael
user2: I MISSED YOU
luke5sos: are you and tyler together yet or what
user3: WAIT WHAT DID LUKE SAY

Tyler blushes violently, shuffling away from the camera as soon as he sees Luke's message. Michael notices this, and maybe Tyler notices his slight sigh right back, but he doesn't let on. And Michael's already learning to live with it.