Addy sighed, leaning up against the wall as she spun the padlock on her scratched up junior year locker. It was time for lunch, and her head was pounding from sitting through boring classes all day.
"Hey, Ellis." Addy's head snapped up as her locker door swung closed, revealing Michael Clifford standing there, his arms crossed over his chest and his hair was freshly dyed a new shade of blue. He was dressed in his usual leather jacket, with a Metallica shirt on underneath and the same ripped black skinny jeans he'd been wearing since the first day of sophomore year. His lips were pulled into a smirk and his eyes were hid behing a pair of black sunglasses.
"Clifford," Addy said, turning and walking down the hallway towards the cafeteria. The area was empty except for a few freshman who were walking to fifth period, but they paid no attention to Michael and Addy. Addy only made it a few feet before she heard Michael's footsteps on the tile floor behind her and felt him put a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait up, jesus," he said, stopping her in her tracks. She spun around and raised an eyebrow at him, now crossing her arms over her chest and trying desperately not to crack a smile at him. She had to admit she was nervous to see him again after that night, in fear that he'd never acknowledge her existence again. Her heart felt like it was on fire right there in front of Michael. Being around him made her adrenaline levels rise, because she knew that every aspect of them being together was wrong, except for the fact that she'd never felt anything so incredibly right in her life. It scared her more than anything that she was feeling this way about him - she'd never had any experience with love before. Was this even love? They'd only hung out once before. How the hell could this be love? The sound of Michael's voice brought Addy's spinning mind to an abrupt halt.
"Come on," he said, taking her hand gently in his larger, calloused one and leading her away from the cafeteria entrance towards the back of the school. They walked through the halls and out towards the parking lot.
"Michael, what the hell?" Addy asked, following after him. She didn't pull her arm away, though, knowing that wherever they were going she wanted to be a part of it. To be honest she was excited to go on another adventure with Michael; screw her afternoon classes. All she wanted was to be with him. Part of her wondered if this really was another adventure, or if this was gonna lead to some talk about how they could never be seen together again. She really hoped it was the first one. He opened the door to the back entrance and led them both out, walking up to his old beat up car. He'd let go of her hand by this time, deciding that holding hands wasn't exactly his thing. It felt like his thing when it was Addy's hand he was holding, though.
"I'm taking you out for lunch," he stated blandly, like she should have already known that. He left her standing by the passenger side of the car and walked around the front, opening the driver's door for himself and getting in. She just stood there for a few seconds, her heartbeat speeding up. She knew Michael did this all the time - left campus to go somewhere at lunch. It was totally against the rules and he knew it, but the teachers just stopped caring since he was always back on time. "You coming?" he asked, rolling down the window and staring patiently at her from behind the black lenses of his sunglasses. She quickly regained her thoughts and nodded, pulling open the passenger door and getting in. Addy had absolutely no idea what to say once she was sat in the car, so a sort of uncomfortable silence filled it. She stayed silent, looking down at her nails that were covered in chipped black polish. Michael started the car engine and sat there for a second, studying Addy's face before snapping himself out of it, grabbing the wheel with one hand and pulling out of the mostly empty lot. Once he started driving he reached down to eject the CD from the radio in the car. A blank disk was pushed from the tray and he grabbed it, setting it down on the center console and reaching down to open the glove box. He popped it open to reveal cigarettes, a lighter, tissues, a road map and a thin CD case.
"I made this the other day," he mumbled, fumbling to get the disk out of the case and push it into the CD slot. The word "her" was scribbled messily on the disk, something that Michael half hoped Addy would see and half hoped she wouldn't. She did. He didn't tell her that she was a song he'd been trying for his whole life to write. He also didn't tell her that he'd made the mix CD after their "date" - there were a million love songs that came to mind when he thought about Addy. He glanced up for a second when the traffic light turned green, stepping on the gas and pressing random buttons on the radio until it said "Track 1" and an unfamiliar song started playing. It was old school rock, which Addy had never really been into, but it was good and it lessened the awkward air between them.
"Really? I didn't know you liked music and burned CDs?" she asked, a bit taken aback. I mean, everyone loved music, but Michael just seemed different. That night in the car when he'd shut the radio off had still confused Addy, but she knew enough not to ask. Michael just nodded, keeping his eyes glued to the road.
"My electric guitar is in the back seat," he said, poiting behind him. Addy turned around to see a huge black guitar case laid across the seats and smiled to herself. She played the ukulele, which was something that usually surprised people when they found out. She wasn't sure why, though, because it was a fairly easy instrument and Addy liked music as well. Her parents raved about her when she started learning the ukulele, because their "precious daughter" had picked up a unique and unusual talent. That's what Addy felt like her whole life was now: pleasing her parents by doing things they could brag about at their work dinners. She almost laughed aloud when she thought about their faces if they ever found out she did this with Michael. See what they have left to brag about when their "precious daughter" gets a piercing without their permission and ditches school with a near stranger to go somewhere else. It made her eyes light up when she thought about pissing off her parents a little bit. This was fun, and she wasn't about to let her parents stop her from doing things like this with Michael.
"My dad used to play electric guitar a really long time ago." Michael raised an eyebrow, chuckling to himself. Addy's dad didn't really come across as the type to let loose on the electric guitar. Everyone in the entire town knew Addy's parents as classy jerks who cared more about their social status than the fact that their family wasn't really keeping it together. As an only child this sucked a lot, because her parents assumed they'd raised her to be "responsible enough to handle herself" and never ask any questions. She was raised pretty well, she'd give them that, but sometimes she wished her parents cared a little more about being family oriented than being rich and socially popular.
"Really? He doesn't strike me as a rockstar." Addy was laughing now, too, aware of how ridiculous the idea of her dad playing in a rock band would be. He had quickly turned from a carefree, talented, music loving guy to an uptight, pristine business man who loved classical music. It kind of broke Addy's heart knowing that her mom was a big part of the reason he gave up on his talents.
"Why do you play?" Addy asked suddenly, wondering if Michael had any motivation. Maybe he was in a secret band that Addy didn't know about, or maybe he just really had a passion for music. Either way, Addy was impressed and slightly more attracted to him now. Michael bit his lip for a second, holding back a smile. He'd always thought about being in a band but decided that no one around this town was talented enough or tolerable enough to perform in a band with him. As arrogant as it sounds, he was good and he definitely knew it. He played acoustic guitar too, and sang a little bit on the side. He felt a little dorky for being this really hardcore dude who loved sex and leather but also played slow acoustic love songs on the side. That's why, to keep up his image, he chose to pick up the electric guitar as well. He laughed a little before answering.
"Guys play rock music for two reasons, Addy Ellis. One, to get laid. Two, because they have anger. And to be honest, I'm a little bit of both right now."
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reckless | mgc
Fanfiction"Guys play rock music for two reasons. One, to get laid. Two, because they have anger. And to be honest, I'm a little bit of both right now."
