reckless | mgc

ten

Three hours later, Addy and Michael were still in the back room of the bar hanging out with Ashton. He was actually really cool; Addy learned he played the drums, guitar and sang a bit as well. He had a loud laugh that could light up a room and his sense of humor was something that Addy wished she had. Ashton had exchanged numbers with Addy, (much to Michael's dismay) but it was just because Ashton assumed he should be friends with his cousin's "friend." That was when Addy realized her and Michael hadn't yet switched numbers.

"Hey Michael," Addy said, glancing up at him. They were sitting on the couch and Addy's feet were stretched across his lap. It felt a bit strange, like it was too casual of them to do with each other, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah?" he said, not looking up from his phone screen. He was texting Ashton from about five feet away, too lazy to just talk to him.

"What's your number?" Addy asked, pulling up her contacts and creating a new one for Michael. She handed her phone over to him and he took it, not saying anything. He handed it back after typing for a few seconds, going back to texting Ashton. He had debated putting a heart emoji next to his name but decided that she only thought of him as a friend, so he kept it simple and just typed "Michael". Addy quickly tapped edit, though, and added one herself.

"Want mine?" she asked after a second, noticing that he hadn't asked for hers in return. He just nodded silently again, handing his phone over to her for her to put the number in. He didn't even bother to look over at her.

"Thanks," he said quietly, smiling so small you could barely see it. Addy nodded, going back to messing around with her phone.

"Hey guys, it's like, three thirty. You should probably get going soon, yeah?" Ashton suggested, sitting up against the wall on his phone as well. Michael nodded, standing up and pushing Addy's legs off his lap, grabbing his jacket off the ground and walking over to the door. He put it on and leaned leaned against the wall, taking his bottom lip between his teeth and tapping around on his phone again. Addy stood up and walked over too, confused as to why Michael was acting quiet. She decided not to ask.

"Bye Ashton!" she said, smiling back at him. "Nice to meet you." Ashton stood up, walking over to both of them and smiling too. He pulled Addy in for a hug, (which made Michael roll his eyes) and then pulled Michael in for one as well.

"Yeah, totally! I'll text you guys and maybe we can hang out some other time this week." Michael just nodded, pushing open the door and walking out. He didn't take Addy's hand like he did before. She followed behind, turning back once more to wave at Ashton, who waved back and smiled just before the door slammed shut again.

Michael didn't say goodbye to his uncle or any of the men that were still sitting at the bar, much more drunk than before. He didn't bother to hold the door open for Addy on the way out to the car either. Michael walked quickly over to the driver's side and opened the door, sitting down in the car and slamming it shut, barely even waiting for Addy to reach the car before he put the key in. He didn't start it.

Michael had gotten himself good and angry again. He felt so disgusted with everything. He was stupid for introducing Addy as his girlfriend and she was stupid for thinking Michael only wanted to be friends and Ashton was stupid for being cooler than Michael. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Addy climbed in the passenger side, closing the door quietly and staring down at her hands again. Michael noticed that she did that a lot.

"Why do you always do that? Jesus," Michael asked bitterly. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that. He hadn't meant for this whole thing to come out the way it did.

"What?" Addy asked timidly, confused. She kind of hoped he wouldn't try to speak to her on the way home.

"Nevermind," Michael groaned meanly. Addy didn't understand why he had acted this way all of the sudden. Why was he so upset? She hadn't even said anything that would've set him off.

Michael slammed his hand on the steering wheel, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. He was so upset, because he had no reason to think that they were anything more than friends but he did. They'd only hung out together twice, (three times if you include the party, which didn't really count) and he wasn't even sure he had feelings for her yet. They hadn't even kissed, Jesus. But for some reason, sitting here in the car made him want to scream again. She was literally inches from him now, and he felt like if neither of them talked he'd explode.

"What's wrong?" Addy asked gently, and Michael felt like he'd snapped in half.

"Everything!" he shouted, throwing his hands up in the air and keeping them there, dropping them back to his lap after a few seconds. "Everything is wrong, Ellis." He took a shaky, loud breath and slumped back, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration and defeat.

"What do you mean?" she asked softly, still incredibly confused. She didn't really know what to do. He'd gotten himself all worked up over something, but she had no idea what.

"You!" Michael said loudly after a few seconds, surprising Addy. "You. You come into my life for like, three weeks and suddenly I'm all messed up! You're just a girl, fuck, you aren't supposed to do this kind of thing to me! God, I'm so fucking stupid, how could I have thought you wanted anything besides a friend from me?" Addy tried to cut him off, but he continued.

"Like, Ellis, we haven't even kissed! But here I am, feeling like an idiot because all I can think about is your lips. I want to hate you so bad," he finished, his voice getting quieter after the yelling he'd done before. He turned towards her and just stared, not sure how she would react.

Addy sat in silence, her eyes going wide at his comment. She had nothing to say, so she didn't say anything. Instead, she reached forward quickly and grabbed the sides of Michael's face gently, bringing him closer and hesitating for a second before taking a shaky breath, connecting their lips. He hesitated for a second as well before grabbing her waste, kissing back. She moved her hand around to the nape of his neck, biting down softly on his lip. He groaned a little bit and she ran her thumb up and down the side of his neck, near his jawline. He pushed her backwards gently until she leaned against the door of the car. She kissed him for another second before they pulled apart. They brushed noses once, their eyes still closed before she moved. God, he wished she hadn't.

"There," said Addy blandly, sitting back and shrugging her shoulders. "Now we've kissed."

Michael smirked, shaking his head and laughing softly, sitting back in his seat. He could feel that his cheeks were burning up so he started the car, staring straight ahead. He put his arm around the back of her seat as he pulled out if the parking lot trying to ignore the feeling in his stomach.

"Fuck you."