Close As Strangers // michael clifford

Three

Oh, everyday you feel a little bit farther away. And I don't know what to say.

"Charlie, wake up!"
"Charlie!!!"
"Char!"
"Baby!!!!!"
I don't open my eyes until I hear the sound of Michael's voice, I missed him so. The first voice was Ashton, then it was Calum, after that it was Luke, and finally it was Michael. I haven't seen them in ages. I feel like it's been a year, although it hasn't. Right when I open my eyes I see the four lads with huge smiles on their faces, nearly ear to ear. I see Michael first and jump in his arms instantly. I nearly sob I'm so shocked to see them.
Ashton laughs and creates a group hug. I finally feel at home in their arms, hearing them laugh when I tell my stupid jokes, seeing them smile when I giggle. I miss everything about them, especially Mikey. He lifts my head up so I look up to see him smiling at me. After what seemed like years of staring into his beautiful eyes, he kisses me. As I put my hands on his face they start to fade away. Like sand blowing in the wind. They don't fade slowly, they fade quickly. I blink at them and they're gone.

I wake up. Tears running down my cheeks, heavily breathing, frantic. I reach for my laptop on my bedside table to not find it there so I searched my bed only finding it on the floor. As I waited for my laptop to turn on I grabbed my phone to check it. No messages or missed calls, no mentions on Twitter or retweets, no Facebook comments or friend requests, no Instagram likes or follows, nothing. My computer finally turns on when I find a message from Michael.
"Hey, sunshine. FaceTime me when you receive this please. I miss you, Charlie."
The first thing I do is FaceTime him, he answers nearly instantly. Doesn't even complete one full ring.
His sleepy smiley face comes on my screen, "Charlie," he shouts.
"Mikey!!", I shout back.
"I miss you so much, baby..," Michael says.
"Trust me, I miss you too," I say as another tear runs down my cheek.
"Are you okay?"
I pause before I respond and just look at him. Look at his eyes, the worry in them.
"No.."
Michael says, "Tell me what's wrong."
"I don't know how to describe it, Mikey," I say to my computer screen.
"What's going through your mind?"
"I don't know. I don't know what to say."
He doesn't say anything, he just continues to look at me.
"What are you thinking about?" I ask.
"I don't know, baby. It's just like everyday I feel that we're getting farther and farther away. You know?"
"I understand," I say.
Michael says, "It's like- I don't know Charlie."
"It's hard, Michael, it really is. It's hard to have you away from me. The only thing is that I hate not being able to feel your hands intertwining with mine. But I know that when you come back, it's like you and I are the only people in the world. Like it's only us. Do you know what I mean?"
"I understand exactly how you feel. I love you so much, Charlie."
"I love you more Michael," I respond.
"Not possible."
"Oh, it's so possible, baby."
"What time is it?" Michael asks.
"Eight in the morning here," I answer.
"It's three in the morning here."
"Aren't you tired?" I ask.
"Very, but I heard my computer and had to wait to sleep because I knew it was you," he responds.
"Well, you can sleep now if you want. I love you, sweet dreams."
"I love you too, sunshine," Michael says before he ends the call.

I close my laptop before I lay back on my bed again, with a huge smile on my face. After a few minutes of thinking about Michael I drift back into sleep once again.

A/N -- Heylo! Sorry I haven't updated in months, there's just been a lot of stuff going on with my mom. She was diagnosed with lupus late August and now she was diagnosed with chiari. I don't know much about the two to where I'm practically clueless. So yeah, I'll probably be updating a little more when she has surgery bc I'll be on three hour drives so yeah. Vote and tell people about this if you enjoy it! Love everyone who reads these! Thanks so much.
~ t