chapter four

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- michael -


I huffed and groaned at another failed attempt to fall asleep. My body felt heavy and tired, yet my mind was racing. I just couldn't seem to come down from whatever high I was experiencing; song lyrics were flooding my brain and I was finding it difficult to keep my eyes closed. Rolling onto my back, I looked over at the digital clock on my nightstand.


02.39 am.

Are you kidding me?


Reluctantly; I tumbled lazily out of bed. Calum would definitely laugh if he was here, especially since he described me as, and I quote, "a drunk elephant" the last time he witnessed me dragging myself from the comfort of my duvet.

I hadn't been getting much sleep at all recently, what with my parents constantly nagging me to put more focus into school and ditch the 'rock star' alter ego. How many times do I have to tell them? I'm fucking punk rock.

Bypassing the stack of textbooks on the floor, I headed straight for the guitar that stood proudly in the corner of my room. My only comfort. Being careful not to wake my parents, I quietly plucked the strings and sang softly to the tune of Check Yes Juliet by We The Kings. A small smile crept its way onto my lips as I imagined Hailey hearing me sing this; the way her pretty brown eyes would light up as she swayed back and fourth to the beat.

I stopped playing and let out a sigh into my now uncomfortably silent room. Calum's right... I really need to get over this girl.


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"Dude, wake up!" I felt my arm being nudged roughly.


I lifted my head off the desk only to glare at Calum before I buried it inside my arms again.


"Go away." I whined.


"Hah, no." He began jabbing me with his pencil and I swear if I wasn't so tired he'd be on the floor in a second.


"Alright, you can stop." I slapped the pencil away, sitting up straight.


Mrs. Horan was writing some sort of equation on the board and I glanced around to see the whole class looking just as exhausted as I felt. Apart from Hemmings, who was scribbling down each formula like there was no tomorrow. He's annoyingly good at maths, it's just a shame he isn't good at being a decent human being.

I turned back to face the board and let out a yawn.


"Have you been sleeping?" Calum asked me.


I shrugged, "Not really."


"Well you can tell, because the bags under your eyes are almost as dark as the emo nail polish you've been wearing." He smirked.


"Fuck you." I muttered.


"Love you too." He sang.


He's such an annoying little shit.


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I said goodbye to Cal before making my way towards the Music room - finally! A lesson I actually enjoy. The teacher hadn't arrived yet, so I just let myself in and sat at my usual seat. The clock on the wall informed me that I was ten minutes early. I may as well make the most of this. I helped myself to one of the many guitars that were lined up against the back wall, just begging to be shown some attention. I tuned it with ease and began strumming the intro to Therapy by All Time Low.


"My ship went down, in a sea of sound..." I closed my eyes and got lost in the music as I sang with as much passion as I could manage.


I was so lost, in fact, that I didn't hear the door open nor did I hear timid footsteps approaching me. It wasn't until I ended the song and opened my eyes that I saw Hailey (fucking Hailey!) stood in front of me, smiling shyly.


"W-wha-whe... How much d-did you hear?" I was a stuttering mess as I felt my cheeks burning up. Fuck fuck fuck.


"All of it." She smiled. The world hates me.


"Oh."


We stood in silence, awkwardly staring at each other until our teacher, Mr. Crowley, burst through the doors enthusiastically.


"MUUSIIIIIIC!" He sang, earning a giggle from Hailey. "Butts down, books out, chop chop!" He clapped his hands together.


We both darted to our seats, which luckily happened to be on opposite sides of the classroom. I took out my book and attempted to compose myself. My hands were shaking really bad and I could still feel myself blushing. Is this what having a crush feels like? It's pretty intense. Taking a few deep breaths, I finally managed to look up and concentrate on the lesson.

And it may just be my imagination, but I could've sworn I felt a pair of eyes on me the entire time.





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