Runaway 》Michael Clifford

6. Lunch

Hear ya go. I said I was gonna update on Mondays but this took me forever to write cause I had terrible writers block. Enjoy. :)

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Michael's POV

I woke up to a clicking sound.

I groaned inwardly. I opened my eyes, squinting as sunlight poured through my window. A giggle broke through the air, followed by the clicking noise.

I opened my eyes fully to find three pairs of bright eyes staring at me. Ashton, Luke and Calum stood at the end of my bed holding their phones. Mischievous smiles were plastered on their faces.

"Ugh, what are you guys doing? What time is it?" I asked sleepily, slightly annoyed that I was awake.

Luke giggled, checking his phone. "It's ten o'clock." Calum's flash went off on his phone. I sat up, forgetting that Vera was wrapped under my arm. "You took pictures of us!?" I screeched looking at the boys. The three dickweeds burst out laughing.

"Relax Mikey, it's not like we're gonna post them." Luke said, trying to contain a giggle but it slipped when Calum spoke. "Well, at least not yet." I groaned and fell back onto the pillow, covering my eyes with my hand. I heard the boys stumble out of my room, giggling all the way. When they were gone, I looked over at Vera, who thankfully was still asleep. She looked so cute and peaceful. I didn't wanna wake her.

Her wavy brown hair was splayed across the pillow and down her back. Her eyelashes fluttered the slightest bit, like she would wake any second. One hand was stuck under the pillow and the other was resting on the space where I laid earlier.

My stomach fluttered as I realized we had cuddled all night. I chuckled quietly at the situation, and how unbelievable it all seemed.

Vera must have heard me because she stirred a bit before opening her eyes.

She looked up at me, a small smile spreading across her pale lips. "Good morning sleepyhead." I smiled down at her. "Good morning." she greeted me. She propped herself up on her elbow and I copied her. "How long have you been awake?" she asked. "A few minutes. The boys were in here taking pictures of us."

Vera sat up and hid her face in her slender hands. She let out a breathy laugh. "Oh my God really? I probably look terrible." She rubbed her eyes and looked up at me smiling.

It was my turn to laugh. "Hey don't worry, you look cute." I tucked a piece of her soft hair behind her ear. My little action emitted a blush from Vera. I got out of the bed and offered her my hand. "Breakfast?" I asked.

She took my hand and followed me down to the kitchen. She took the milk out of the fridge while I took out some bowls and a box of Lucky Charms.

We sat down at the table and ate silently. That is, until Ashton and Luke came bounding into the kitchen. "So Vera, we'll drive you back to your hotel whenever you're ready." Ashton explained grabbing some juice out of the fridge.

Vera nodded. "Great. Thank you so much for letting me stay, I really appreciate it." She looked around at us, flashing a perfect toothy smile.

She then jumped in her seat with excitement. "If you guys and Calum are up for it, I'd love to buy you lunch. The hotel has amazing food." Vera waited for our response, fidgeting with her hands. Luke nodded, a small smile on his face. "I'm down. I'm sure you guys would love to put off going grocery shopping for a few hours."

"Well I'd love to." I said smiling at Vera. "Me too." Ashton chimed. Everyone was smiling and it all seemed to be Vera's doing.

My stomach fluttered at the thought of spending more time with Vera. God, what is this girl doing to me?

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Third Person POV

Vera sat in the back seat of the boy's SUV inbetween Michael and Luke. Calum rode shotgun with Ashton driving. The radio played quietly, a random station selected.

Ashton drove through the Sydney streets, making his way to Vera's hotel. "I can't believe you guys have lived here all your lives. It's beautiful here. And hot." Vera stated looking out the front window and leaning on the shoulder of Calum's seat. She smiled watching the passing people and places. She sighed in content.

Calum turned to face her, an amused look on his face. "So where are you from then?" he asked curiously. Once again, Vera decided to tell the truth. Everyone listened to their conversation intently. "I'm from Winnipeg, in Canada. The weather is totally bipolar there."

The rest of the of the car ride was silent, except for the occasional humming along to a familiar song.

Everyone hopped out after Ashton parked in The Marina hotel's guest parking lot. No one mentioned that it was one of the fancier hotels in Sydney and Vera was grateful. She didn't wanna explain how she alone could afford it, or couldn't afford it.

The boys waited patiently in the lobby while Vera quickly went up to her room. Thankfully, the man from the night before didn't take her purse, so she had her room key and the dozy woman's credit card. She put away her ruined dress and quickly put clean underwear on. Slipping on a pair of denim shorts, and a flowy tank top, she decided to put Michael's Misfits sweater back on, hoping he wouldn't mind. She opted for her blackout Converse and quickly put on a bit of eyeliner and mascara. After putting Michael's skinny jeans in a plastic bag, she grabbed her purse again and made her way back down to the lobby.

"Hey, you ready?" she asked as she approached the boys. They just stood up and nodded, and proceeded to follow the dark haired runaway to the restaurant.

Michael noticed Vera was wearing his sweater again and smiled. He figured he'd let her keep it. It looked better on her anyways. He casually threw his arm around Vera's shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled. The five of them were seated immediately at a round table on the patio, overlooking the marina.

There was an umbrella shielding them from the sun's unapologetic rays. Vera and Michael sat beside eachother with Luke on her other side. They were given lunch menus and ordered their drinks. "Get whatever you want guys." Vera said. Everyone sat in a comfortable silence, scanning their menus. The waiter, Tom, came back with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order.

Once everyone had gotten their food, they ate happily. Calum and Michael made small talk while Ashton inhaled his burger. Luke looked over from his pasta to Vera's chicken salad."That's looks really good." he stated. Vera chuckled. "Mm, it is. Want a bite?" she asked, holding out a piece of chicken with her fork. Luke hesitated before leaning forward and placing his lips around the fork. Vera watched him eat while she took another bite. A smile formed as he chewed. There was lemon juice and parmesan cheese on it. "Mm, that's amazing." Luke exclaimed. Vera nodded in agreement.

"Can I have a bit of your pasta?" Vera asked and Luke picked up a piece with his fork. His tongue darted out to play with his lip ring as he fed Vera. "Wow, that's so good." she stated and went back to her salad. Luke smiled and looked her.

He didn't know what it was about her, but something was pulling him in. He stole subtle glances at her.

Apparently they weren't subtle enough, as Michael noticed and kicked Luke's shin under the table. Luke looked at him, realizing what he was silently telling him.

He knew Michael liked her, especially from the way he found the two cuddled together earlier. She was off limits.

But he couldn't help liking her.

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Longish chapter. It was a bitch to write cause I wasn't really feeling it. I had a dream that Luke and I were together, so I wanted to write a cute scene for him and Vera.

Vote and whatnot, and I'll give you a cookie. :)

-Cristina