Chapter Text
“Kiss me.”
Michael froze. His heart began thumping wildly in his chest and he could feel his hands start to clam up. He prayed that Luke couldn’t feel it, and if he could that he wouldn’t mind. The younger boy was staring at him intently, waiting for Michael to do something - waiting for Michael to kiss him.
He took a deep breath and brought his free hand up to cup the side of Luke’s face. It was now or never. Luke’s eyes were glimmering with hope, the light from the sun illuminating even the darkest parts of his eyes until they were a mix of blue and gold. He looked radiant, and Michael couldn’t believe that Luke was here with him, that Luke wanted him back.
He let his thumb trace over Luke’s pale skin before he started to lean in. His eyes slipped shut and all he could do was feel. Luke’s warm breath indicated that he was only a few millimeters away from pressing their lips together. Michael closed the distance, letting his lips meet Luke’s in a gentle kiss. He wasn’t sure if the heat he felt was due to the kiss or sun that was beaming down on them. Perhaps it was both.
When they pulled away, Michael opened up his eyes to look at Luke. The younger boy’s eyes were still shut, and Michael watched as they slowly fluttered open a moment later.
“Wow,” Luke said. He bit his lip and Michael squeezed his hand. “Can we do that again?” Luke asked. Michael laughed but nodded, leaning back in to kiss Luke longer this time, moving their lips together carefully. He felt Luke sigh against his mouth, and he arched his shoulders trying to push himself closer. After a while they broke apart, and Michael dropped his hand from Luke’s face to his thigh.
“Was that okay?” Michael asked. Luke smiled lazily and moved his body so that he could rest his head on Michael’s shoulder, facing the sunset once again.
“Perfect,” Luke replied. Michael laid his head on top of Luke’s, finally feeling at peace entirely for the first time since he’d realized his feelings for Luke. They watched the sun finish slipping beneath the trees in silence, smiling absentmindedly as they recalled the feeling of their lips pressed together.
“You know,” Luke whispered after a while, “that was my first kiss.”
“What?” Michael asked in shock, lifting his head to stare down at Luke. The boy looked up at him and shrugged.
“Are you really that surprised?” Luke asked. “Everyone hated me once they’d found out I was gay. I didn’t exactly have anyone that wanted to join the club with me.” Michael shook his head in disbelief.
“Yeah but I mean, look at you. I thought for sure you’d have had plenty of people that would wanna kiss you,” Michael confessed, blushing as he did so. Luke shrugged again.
“If they did, they didn’t tell me,” Luke said. “I don’t mind though. You make a good first kiss, not that I have anything to compare it to.” He laid his head back on Michael’s shoulder.
“My first kiss wasn’t anything like this,” Michael told him. “I mean, it was nice, sure. But this was definitely better.” He saw Luke smile and he wrapped an arm him so the smaller boy could cuddle up against him.
“Promise?” Luke asked. Michael chuckled and held up his pinky.
“Promise,” he replied. Luke laughed and linked their fingers together briefly. The sun was finally pulled beneath the skyline completely, and soon everything around them went dark.
“Was I the first boy you kissed?” Luke asked after a while. Michael laughed and pressed is face into Luke’s hair.
“Yeah,” he said, “do you feel special?” Luke hummed in affirmation.
“You always make me feel special,” he whispered. Michael grabbed one of Luke’s hands and brought it to his lips, leaving a gentle kiss on his knuckles.
“Be my boyfriend,” Michael said, the question coming out as a statement. “For real this time,” he added with a laugh. Luke turned his head to look up at him.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” Luke teased, “I think I’ll need time to think about it.” Michael rolled his eyes, causing Luke to let out a loud chuckle. “Okay, I’ll be your boyfriend,” he said, lifting his chin to press a soft kiss against the side of Michael’s mouth, “but only if you’ll be mine.”
“Oh, you see, I thought I’d be Calum’s,” Michael teased back. “Of course I’ll be yours,” he said, after Luke rolled his eyes. Michael pulled him in for a proper kiss, enjoying what it felt like to finally have the blue eyed boy in his arms.
***
“I can’t believe you finally did it,” Calum muttered in disbelief. After Michael walked Luke home (and kissed him another three times) he’d called Calum to yell at him until he agreed to meet up with him this late. The two of them were lying on Calum’s bed staring at the ceiling as Michael told him everything that had happened with his journal entry, Luke’s letter, and finally – the kiss. “It seems like just last week you were complaining about not being able to tell him because it would ruin your friendship.”
“That’s because it was last week,” Michael rolled his eyes, “and I didn’t exactly tell him by choice.”
“I’m glad it’s finally out in the open though,” Calum said. “So what happened next, after the kiss?” Michael bit his lip and smirked.
“We kissed again, and then I asked him to be my boyfriend,” Michael answered. Calum shot up off the bed, eyes widening as he stared down at Michael.
“And he said yes?” Calum asked, failing to hide his excitement. Michael loved that Calum was just as thrilled as he was about finally getting together with Luke.
“Yeah,” Michael said, nodding his head.
“Fuck,” Calum whispered. “That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you both.” Michael sat up and smiled.
“Thanks, me too,” he laughed.
”Aren’t you glad it wasn’t a girl?” Calum asked him. Michael frowned, tilting his head questioningly. “On Luke’s first day,” Calum clarified, “when you thought the new student was gonna be a girl.”
“I only thought that because you said it was girl!” Michael laughed, pushing Calum’s arm. “But yeah, I am. I wasn’t at first, but now I can’t picture my life any other way.” Calum smiled.
“I can’t believe you used to hate him,” he said, shaking his head. Michael nodded in agreement.
“Me either,” he said. “It seems so weird to think of a time when he wasn’t one of my best friends.”
“Boyfriend, now,” Calum corrected.
“He can still be one of my best friends,” Michael chuckled. “In fact, it’s better if he’s both.” Calum hummed in agreement and checked the time.
“It’s getting late,” he told Michael. “You should probably head home soon…unless you’re crashing here?” Michael shook his head.
“No, I told my mom I’d be back. I should go,” Michael said. He went to stand up, but Calum grabbed his arm.
“Before you go,” Calum started, “there’s actually something I wanted to tell you too.” Michael frowned and moved to sit back down so he could look at Calum.
“What is it?” he asked. Calum raised his eyebrows as he took a deep breath.
“I may have asked Ashton to go out sometime,” Calum said, “like, on a date. And he said yes.” Michael grabbed Calum’s shoulders and shook him gently.
“What?! When?! Where?!” Michael rattled off. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Calm down!” Calum shushed him. “I only asked him today. We’re going to a movie this weekend. I was going to tell you at school tomorrow since you hadn’t answered my text earlier.” Michael winced.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he apologized.
“It’s okay,” Calum assured him, “I get it now. It’s not a big deal anyways. We’re just testing things out, seeing where it goes. Very casual.” His face turned a few shades darker as he blushed and added softly, “I’m excited.”
“That’s awesome!” Michael said excitedly. “Maybe if things work out between you two we can double date,” he laughed.
“No way,” Calum said, pushing Michael off of the bed and out the door. “You embarrass me enough already. I don’t need you doing it while I’m on a date.” Michael laughed as he let Calum push him out of the house. They said goodbye and Michael headed home, humming softly as he walked the few blocks separating his and Calum’s houses. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight, but this time it wouldn’t be from bad dreams or anxiety. It was because everything in his life was perfect, and he was too excited to fall asleep and miss even a second. It felt like it was Christmas Eve, when you’re too excited about opening your presents the next day that you can’t fall asleep. The only difference was that it wasn’t Christmas, and Michael already everything he could ever wish for; amazing friends, and a boyfriend who loved him. He didn’t need anything else.
Michael told his mom about Luke that night. He told her about their journal assignment and how they’d both started to like each other. He left out a lot of the details, but he told her that he’d asked Luke to be his boyfriend, and that Luke said yes. She’d smiled and said that she was happy for him before pulling him into a hug. Michael knew she would be fine with it, but it was still nice to know for sure. He felt like there was nothing left to hold him back.
After he said goodnight to his mom, Michael went to his room. He turned out the lights and crawled into bed. He stretched out his legs and folded his arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. It had been a long day, but he wasn’t tired. Maybe it was because of the nap he’d taken during the day, or maybe he was high off adrenaline. Maybe it was both.
Life had a funny way of working itself out. He thought back to the beginning, when Luke was just another face in the classroom, when Luke was someone Michael hated. He thought about how easy things were with Luke once they’d finally given each other a chance. Everything between them always seemed to just work. There wasn’t any stress or games. When they had a problem they talked to each other and they worked things out. They looked out for each other and didn’t let their fears stand in the way of being a good friend. Luke gave Michael’s life a spark, filling in all of the places he hadn’t known were empty. In a few short weeks, Michael had been able to open up to Luke and become close with him in ways he had never been able to with anyone else. Calum was a close second, but Michael didn’t love Calum the way he loved Luke.
Luke had always been different. A month ago, everything was different. There was no project, no late nights, no blue eyes. There was Michael and there was Calum and that was it. He didn’t go to football games or to the beach. He sat at home whenever Calum was busy. He broke a string every time he picked up his guitar. He was an entirely different person a month ago, without Luke.
Now Michael was happier. He left his house more, and he went to football games. He made new friends and found out how brave he could be if it meant protecting someone he loved. He hadn’t broken a guitar string since Luke started helping him learn how to play. He became softer, and kinder. He fell in love. Luke changed everything, but in the best possible way. At least, that’s how Michael saw it. He liked who he was when he was with Luke. He liked the way Luke made him feel. He liked that he made Luke feel the same way.
Michael sighed happily and pulled the covers up around his neck. What had started out as the most terrifying day of his life ended up being one of the best he’d ever had. There was no more wondering if Luke could ever love him back. There was no more questioning when the right time would be, if it would ever come. There were no more nights he would lie awake afraid of what might happen if Luke ever found out and didn’t feel the same – because he did. Luke did feel the same, and Luke was his. He had a boyfriend now, and that thought alone made Michael’s heart skip a beat. He could hold Luke’s hand and kiss him whenever he wanted to. He didn’t have to worry about whether or not they cuddled too much. Everyone at school already thought they were together, so they didn’t even have to come out. It was too perfect to be real, and Michael pinched his hip just in case he was dreaming. He wasn’t.
It was getting late. He reached over to check the time on his phone – 11:46. He still had to get up for school the next day, and for once he was eager to get there early. Michael couldn’t wait to show everyone what dating someone really looked like. He sat his phone down, ready to turn in for the night. Just as he did, he heard the device vibrate against his bedside table. Picking it up, he squinted at the brightness of the screen. When his eyes refocused, he saw that he had two new messages from Luke.
luke :-) [11:47] this might be cheesy, but i just wanted to say goodnight :) <3
luke :-) [11:47] its not too soon for hearts right?
Michael laughed and typed out a reply.
[11:48] never too soon for hearts. goodnight luke, sweet dreams <3
luke :-) [11:48] sweet dreams to u too <3
luke :-) [11:49] hey mikey?
[11:49] yeah?
luke :-) [11:50] im really glad we became friends
[11:51] me too. i love u.
luke :-) [11:51] first a journal, now a text. im gonna need u to tell me that in person one of these days :P
[11:52] i think i can do that :-P
[11:52] the way i see it, we have all the time in the world <3
luke :-) [11:53] good, that’s the way i see it too :) <3