#muke clemmings au

[all-the-fanfics-bc-im-indecisive]

I M P O R T A N T(kinda)

okay y’all I need your help we got a situation

So I’m working on an AU right now and in this AU Michael has a girlfriend. I imagine this girlfriend as Crystal, but now I’m questioning myself because I genuinely love Crystal and I think she’s a really sweet, genuine person, and something just feels wrong about making her the girlfriend in this situation like idk I feel like trash making her the girlfriend and I also feel like it could stir up some drama which is just the last thing I want. HOWEVER I hate hate hate when people just add in a random character like Vanessa™ or some shit(don’t ask me why I honestly don’t know). So I wanna get your opinion on what the heck I should do PLS ANSWER I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO SHOULD I JUST CALL THIS GIRLFRIEND CRYSTAL OR IS THAT A TRASHY THING TO DO I NEED LIKE AT LEAST ONE PERSON TO ANSWER PLS I’M DESPERATE k thanks love you x

[muke-network]

Chapters: 30/30  Status: Complete Fandom: 5 Seconds of Summer Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Michael Clifford & Calum Hood/Ashton Irwin Characters: Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin, Mali Koa Hood, Halsey, plus more. Additional Tags: 5 Seconds of Summer - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Werewolf AU, Explicit Sexual Content, Muke - Freeform, Cashton, side ship Mali/Halsey, Mentions of Suicide Attempt Summary: Luke and Ashton’s worlds are completely turned upside down when they move to Eugene, Oregon to start what’s meant to be the best years of their lives in college.

For Michael and Calum, it means navigating two different lives and how to be a part of two very different worlds.

In a place full of secrets and potential war brewing between supernatural creatures, each boy will have to learn how to survive their double lives and fight for their place within both.

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve| Thirteen | Fourteen | Fifteen | Sixteen | Seventeen | Eighteen | Nineteen|Twenty | Twenty-One | Twenty-Two | Twenty-Three | Twenty-Four | Twenty-Five | Twenty-Six | Twenty-Seven | Twenty-Eight | Twenty-Nine | Thirty

[mtrenchdeathofme]

‴Fæville‴ AU where Luke is a demi-girl fæ royalty and Michael is their annointed Knight-of-Valour.

[starirwin]

plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting around for someone to bring you flowers || a.i

[sweetestcalum]

pairing: luke hemmings x michael clifford

a/n: this is kinda short and kinda shitty, but i just got this cute idea and had to write it! hope you enjoy :)

--

Luke’s day was already going horribly. He woke up late and almost missed his Psychology midterm, he left his phone at home, he spilled his coffee all over his shirt, and now his fucking car wouldn’t start.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, the sleeve of his shirt riding up to reveal his soulmate tattoo. Everyone had a tattoo of the first words their soulmate would say to them, and while some people had ‘Hey’ or some cheesy pick up line, Luke’s said ‘Watch out!’. He was an absolute klutz, so his tattoo wasn’t too surprising, but Luke hated the thought of embarrassing himself in front of his soulmate. He smiled at the tattoo and then sighed again.

Luke decided he would just have to walk back home and stop at Calum’s dorm on the way to call a tow truck, since he’d forgotten his phone. He chuckled to himself, wondering if this day could get any worse. He grabbed his old iPod out of the car and put his headphones in, ready to tune out the world.

The walk back wasn’t as horrible as Luke had assumed it would be, but it was long and he was pretty bored. He cranked up the volume on his music and began dancing around on the sidewalk, not really caring who was watching.

Suddenly someone screamed, “Watch out!” into Luke’s ear and a strong arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him into the doorway of the closest building. Just then a car swerved onto the pavement right where he had been standing.

“Fuck!” Luke yelled, grabbing onto the arm around his waist. Then he could hear chuckles behind him. He turned to see a boy a couple inches shorter than him with blonde, shaggy hair and a wide grin.

“Are you seriously laughing? I almost died! You saved my life!” Luke was absolutely bewildered and slightly pissed at this stranger, even though he was kind of cute.

“Hey can I see your arm?” The boy asked, smiling charmingly up at Luke once he’d finally stopped laughing. Luke frowned and then held out his arm, shivering slightly when the boy touched his wrist.

“Wait-” Luke didn’t even get the chance to finish his sentence before the boy held out his own wrist to reveal the word ‘Fuck’ tattooed on his pale skin.

“Hey there, soulmate,” He said, grinning wildly at Luke. “I’m Michael,”

“I’m Luke,” He replied, staring at Michael in shock.

“Well Luke, I’d like to take you on a date. There’s a little bakery a couple blocks from here, we could get something to eat and chat a bit?” Luke was a bit taken aback by Michael’s forwardness.

“Uh sure,” He replied, gesturing for Michael to lead the way.

They walked in comfortable silence for a couple minutes before Luke just couldn’t stand it.

“I can't believe you’ve had the word ‘fuck’ tattooed on your arm for your whole life,” Luke said finally, causing Michael burst into laughter and they both knew they’d get along very well

[ghostsofhood]

Married Muke

+ For anon

Requests are open :)

[duke5sos]

i wanna get stuck in your head

by drunklukes on ao3

pairing: clemmings 

rating: ga

words: 5449

He slips out a five dollar bill, the only cash he has on him, and drops it into the guitar case. The guitar player looks up and smiles at Michael, his blue eyes lighting up with gratitude that he can’t voice in the middle of the song. Michael walks away before the song is over.

or all of your memories are digitally stored in your head and michael can't stop watching his interactions with the blue eyed busker he sees every day

tags: black mirror inspired, pining, unrequited crush, emotional infidelity

part one of the inspired by black mirror series

[wastedheartmuke]

BEHIND THE BARS/>

Michael and Luke share a history but they also share a prison cell.

[all-the-fanfics-bc-im-indecisive]

Rooftop | Muke AU

Summary: Michael takes a break from his best friend’s terrible college party and goes to get some air up on the rooftop, where he meets a puffy-eyed boy who’s ready to throw his life away.

Word count: 2,136

Warnings: Talk of suicide and mental illness, mentions of substance abuse

A/N: I’m not incredibly proud of this story but it’s all I really have and it’s not the worst. Also please tell me if I’ve said something wrong or if you think this is romanticising mental illnesses at all!! I tried to make it as real as possible but, although I struggle with a lot of mental illnesses, I’ve never come extremely close to suicide. So if you think I’m simplifying suicide too much or making it sound a lot better than it is, please tell me so I can fix it!

-

Michael looks around the overcrowded apartment. He hovers at the TV, avoiding the sweaty teenagers, drunk off their asses from watered down beer.

Calum is nowhere to be seen. Michael tries to spot him in the large crowd, with no luck. He guesses the boy is off chugging down a can of crappy alcohol or getting high with some minors upstairs.

He doesn't know why he allowed his best friend to throw this dumb party. He dreads having to clean the mess up afterwards, and he barely knows anyone in the apartment.

The air begins to feel hot and thick as more people pile into the apartment, and Michael starts to sweat. He takes a few deep breaths before beginning to push through the people closing in around him.

Thankfully, most of the people Calum invited were college freshmen or high school seniors, so Michael can see over their heads pretty easily.

He makes his way to the front door, avoiding everyone who tries to grind on him as he walks past. He almost gets a cup of punch thrown on him, but jumps out of the way just in time. He sighs in relief. He has a white shirt on, and absolutely does not want to be half naked in a crowd of horny teenagers.

Finally, he's at the front door. He slips out into the hallway as quickly as he can, immediately taking in a huge gulp of air. He's always hated parties. Even his birthday parties. It's not even the overcrowding. Drop him in a festival ground? He feels right at home. Throw him into an overpacked concert? Brilliant. But parties? Absolutely not.

He shakes his head and walks off through the hallway.

Humming to himself, he makes his way to the rooftop. The stairs are a pain in the ass, but he trusts them more than the rickety old elevator. And anyway, it's worth it. The view from the rooftop is incredible.

He walks up the stairs for what feels like an hour, sighing in relief when he reaches the door at the top step.

He pushes open the heavy door and smiles at the cool, fresh air. Even if it smells like city smog, it's a hell of a lot better than sweat, beer, and Calum's dirty laundry.

His smile drops instantly. His heart jumps into his throat.

A boy stands on the ledge overlooking the bustling road below, his toes peeking over the edge.

His hands cradle the back of his neck as he gulps in air. His intentions of being on the roof are obvious.

Slowly, Michael creeps over to the shivering boy, wondering if he can somehow grab him before he does anything drastic. But of course, he has no idea how to tiptoe and accidentally shuffles his feet along the cement, causing the boy to jump three feet in the air(which sends a wave of anxiety through Michael's body as the boy is dangerously close to the edge already)and turn quickly to face Michael.

Tears stream down his face. He sobs loudly to himself, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his denim jacket. He backs away slightly, taking a tiny step towards the edge.

"Hey, hey." Michael says softly, holding his hands up.

"G-go away." The boy stutters, hiccuping. "I'm serious, go away."

"I'm sorry." Michael replies. "I just came to get some air."

He takes a step forward, but freezes when the boy backs away from him.

"Whoa, it's okay." he says, trying his best to keep his voice soft. If he so much as looked at this boy the wrong way, he would be soaring off the side of the building.

"What's your name?" He asks, staying firmly in his spot.

The boy doesn't reply, he just stares at Michael through huge, swollen eyes. Michael repeats the question.

"I...Luke."

"Luke." Michael smiles. "That's a nice name. I'm Michael."

Luke's face goes red as more tears pour out of his eyes.

"Can I ask why you're up here, Luke?"

He shrinks into his jacket.

"It's okay. You can tell me." Michael tries to soothe him as best he can.

"I-I..." He sniffles and chokes on a sob. "I can't."

"That's okay." Michael's heart races, his brain running a million miles an hour. "But I need you to step off the ledge, alright?"

Luke shuffles his feet closer to the edge of the building. He shakes his head.

Shit, shit, shit. Michael scolds himself.

"I promise, if you come down, it'll all be okay." Words fall out of his mouth. He can't think of what to say to help this poor boy.

"You don't know that!" Luke yells.

"No, no. I do." Michael says in a whisper.

The wind whips around the two. Luke's hair flies into his face.

"Trust me, I do." He smiles softly. "I wanted to do the exact same thing, three years ago."

Luke shakes his head again. "You don't understand." He lets out a single sob.

"I do. I was running up the stairs to the top of the apartment where me and my mom lived when my friend caught me and stopped me." Michael rushes.

Luke seems to have frozen in place, listening to Michael. He takes a deep breath, praying the boy stays where he is until he can find a way to get him down.

"Every single university that I applied for rejected me. After six years of fighting to get all A's, putting my grades before my mental health, taking extracurriculars and working two jobs just to prove I was good enough, it turned out I wasn't." He explains. Luke's feet stay where they are. Michael continues his story.   "School, university, and work had always been the most important things in my life, and then I had nothing. I thought if I didn't get into university, I had no purpose. No future.

"So, after weeks of crying in my room, destroying furniture and tearing up denial letters, I decided that I'd rather be dead than worthless. So I grabbed my cigarettes and a handful of painkillers and ran off."

Luke watches Michael intently, as if he's not the one on the edge of the building.

"I sent my best friend a text telling him not to be surprised if I wasn't at school the next day, but I guess he knew me too well. He darted over from his house next door, and the next thing I knew, he was grabbing me, pulling me down the stairs, wrestling the painkillers out of my hand."

Luke takes a deep, shaky breath.

"He screamed at me for being an idiot. We were both crying, sobbing into each other's arms. I told him I had no purpose, he told me that that was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. Finally, and hour and a half later, I let him drag me back to my apartment."

Michael sighs, quickly wiping his eyes and shaking his head.

"He cancelled his first year of university for me. Promised me he wouldn't leave my side until I got help. I went to therapy, so much therapy, saw psychologists, took a bunch of anti-depressants. I even stopped smoking. By the time I got on my feet, it was half way through the year. And that whole time my best friend was helping me make more university applications, making me send them out everywhere, even though I had no faith in myself. And then, after I had gotten out of therapy, he packed our stuff and we flew over to the UK. For the rest of the year, we travelled Europe."

There's a long silence. The two boys seem to have forgotten the situation they're in.

"And when we got home a few days before Christmas, I got a letter from NYU. An acceptance letter. We were so happy. We cried and screamed and poured cheap champagne all over each other. And he was going to Brooklyn College, which meant we could share an apartment."

Michael looks up. Luke stares directly into his eyes.

"I've been in uni for two years. I'm studying music composition and game design and gender and sexuality studies and I've never been happier. And that's because I didn't die that night. Do you know how much I would've missed out on? If I'd done it? I wouldn't have seen how incredible Europe is, or gone to any insane college parties. I wouldn't have met the amazing people I have now. I might've even killed my best friend. I don't know."

He finishes his story in a rush and suddenly it's as if time has unfrozen itself. The wind picks up again, Michael can hear the roar of the busy road below, Luke shuffles his feet back and forth.

"Please come down." Michael says softly.

Once again, Luke shakes his head. "No, I...I can't. You got better, your life got better, but mine won't."

Michael takes a deep breath. "How do you know? You won't be able to find out if you jump."

Luke is so close to the edge, his heels dangle dangerously off. He doesn't bother wiping away the tears that fall down his face and neck.

"Who's the most important person in your life?" Michael asks frantically while still trying his best to act calm. "Who do you love more than anything?"

Luke sniffles.

"My mom." He says quietly after a minute.

"What's she gonna think tomorrow? When the cops come to her door and tell her what happened? Did you leave her a note?"

"No." He whispers.

"What if she blames herself? What if she thinks she's done something wrong? She'll have to explain what happened a million times over when someone asks where you've gone. She won't know what to do with herself."

"Sh-she'd pick herself up. She always does." Luke's voice cracks.

"Do you want to put her through that? All the medication, the therapy?"

"I-I..."

"She might pick herself up, but it's not gonna happen overnight. After my mom found out what happened, she became an alcoholic, and she had to go to AA for almost two years. She still struggles now. And I didn't even get as far as the roof. She's so scared. She locks the bathroom cabinets with padlocks, she doesn't let me near the knives in the kitchen, and any time I'm home, she's checking on me constantly. Every few minutes, she runs into my room, just to make sure I'm okay. All I did was grab some pills and spontaneously run to the roof and now she's terrified that I'm gonna do it again.

"I don't want anyone to go through what my mom had to. It sucks, watching someone hurt themselves over something you did. It really sucks. Don't make your mom do what I made mine do. Don't let her waste away like that."

Luke doesn't move. He sobs loudly, his eyes not straying from Michael's face.

"I'm scared." He cries loudly. "I'm scared of what'll happen if I come down."

"Just keep your eyes on me." Michael says soothingly. "Can I come over to you? Please?"

Hastily, he takes a small step forward. Luke stays. He takes another step. Luke still stays.

"You're okay. Just take a little step towards me."

Slowly, Luke shuffles his feet along the concrete. It's only a few minuscule steps, but Michael's stomach begins to stop twisting into ferocious knots.

"That's it." He says with an encouraging smile. He takes a few more steps towards the boy. "Just keep looking at me. Don't focus on anything else."

Luke nods and takes a few more steps forward. He slowly gets closer to Michael.

As soon as he can reach him, Michael quickly stretches out his arms and grabs Luke by his jacket, pulling him as close as he can. Relief floods through him. He sighs, muttering a barely audible 'thank god' under his breath.

Luke's head hits his chest and he begins to sob into Michael's shirt. Michael stands there, stroking his hair as if the two have known each other for a lifetime.

"You're okay, you're okay." He repeats over and over.

Luke's sobbing has turned into a strange mix of crying and strangled screaming. His nails dig into Michael's back painfully, but Michael can barely feel it, absorbed in making sure the boy can't get out of his grip in any way, though he doesn't seem like he wants to anyway.

They stand there for ages. Luke's throat burns from screaming, his eyes almost sealed shut from the mix of new and old tears, Michael is almost certain the little stinging crescent moons on his back are bleeding and his back aches from bending down to hold on to the smaller boy, but neither of them care.

After Luke's screaming has died down somewhat, Michael takes a long, deep breath.

"Do you live in the apartment?" He asks quietly.

Luke nods simply, gulping in air.

Slowly, the two make their way off the rooftop and down the stairs, clinging on to each other for dear life.

-

Australian suicide hotline: 13 11 14

American suicide hotline: 1-800-273-8255

U.K suicide hotline: 08457-90-90-90

Canadian suicide hotline: 1-800-448-1833

New Zealand suicide hotline: 5222-999/0800-111-777

French suicide hotline: 01-45-39-40-00

If you’re from any other country, please look up your national suicide hotline online and call if you need help. And talk to your close friends/family about what you’re going through. Get the help you need.

[mukeclemmingsisotp]

Can we just discuss Surfer! Michael and Mountain Biker! Luke?? I just think they'd be adorable living in L.A. and constantly being busy with surf competitions and bike races and adorableness

[all-the-fanfics-bc-im-indecisive]

Mosh-pit | Muke AU

Summary: A drunk, terrified Luke is trapped in a mosh-pit at a festival. Thankfully, a red haired stranger pulls him out and helps him through a panic attack.

Word count: 911

Warnings: Minor panic attack, some violence.

A/N: Eyyy I’m actually quite proud of this one!! It’s a little shorter than my other ones but I think it’s pretty adorable, if not a little creepy.  Also I really need some new ideas for more fics soooo please send me any prompts or anything you want me to write okay bye thanks. Based off a prompt I found from @graciedaydreams

-

Luke thought this would be fun. He thought he'd be dancing with his friends to songs he's never heard, and flirting with the singers backstage, and watching the sun set on the hill, screaming the lyrics of bohemian rhapsody and come on Eileen drunkenly.

But instead of screaming 80's songs at the sunset, he's being pushed and shoved around in a giant mosh-pit by two drunk, dancing brutes, on the verge of a panic attack, blood running out of his nose and filling his mouth, slightly tipsy from the three bottles of beer he's drained.

He spins around, not knowing which way is the way out, trying to get past the huge men on either side of him.

He tries taking some deep breaths as he's crushed against the metal gate separating the crowd from the stage.

Tears stream down his face. The sobs he lets out are swallowed instantly by the screaming mosh-pit.

Stars appear in the corners of his vision as an elbow meets with the side of his head and he cries harder, pushing as hard as he can against the oblivious swarm of people around him.

He can feel his chest tightening painfully and his breath is quickly escaping him.

Just as he's about to fall to the muddy ground in exhaustion and fear, there's an arm locked firmly around his waist. Immediately, he clings onto whoever is holding him steady.

Disorientated, tired and tipsy, he looks up.

A boy not much older than him with furious red hair and a smear of mud on one of his cheeks is screaming over the crowd at the two men previously surrounding Luke.

"Watch who you're fucking stepping on!" He roars before making his way to the exit of the mosh-pit, careful not to lose Luke in the swarm, not like he could if he wanted to. Luke clutches onto his shirt for dear life, sobbing and shaking.

"Get out of my way! Fucking move, asshole!" The boy shouts at erratic drunks, elbowing them out of his path and shoving them with his shoulders.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Luke is onto the soft grass, surrounded by food-stands and fluorescent lights.

His mind races as he tries to pace his breaths, taking in huge gulps of fresh air.

His head throbs painfully and he lets out a shaky groan, more tears slipping out of his eyes.

Suddenly he's being sat down on a hard camping stretcher.

His surroundings spin and he clutches the sides of his head.

A hand lifts his chin up gently and he whimpers as the sleeve of a leather jacket is pressed up against the blood gushing out of his nose.

"You alright there, Darlin'?" The red haired boy asks affectionately, brushing a curl out of Luke's face.

He lets out a shaky sob.

"You're okay. You're safe now. Just take some good, deep breaths." The boy's angry demeanour has completely disappeared.

Luke looks at him through his eyelashes as he begins to get his breathing patterns back to normal. 

Tattoos, piercings, leather jacket. Not the type of person Luke would expect to save someone from a mosh pit.

The boy grabs a tissue and offers it to Luke, who takes it and quickly holds it against his nose.

He watches as the boy kneels and begins to pinch at the bridge of his nose.

"Good. It's not broken."

Luke swallows the blood in his mouth and grimaces at the metallic taste.

"You want some water?" The boy offers.

Luke nods.

"You ever been in a mosh-pit before?"

He shakes his head as the boy fills up a plastic cup under a plastic water jug.

"Here." He hands Luke the cup, who drains it in a few gulps.

"Can you squeeze my hand for me?"

Luke hesitates for a few seconds at the boy's outstretched hand before taking it and squeezing it as hard as he can, his hands still shaking quite violently.

"Is that all?" The boy smiles.

Luke nods.

He chuckles. "You're very talkative."

Luke's face flushes red. He opens his mouth to say something.

"No, no. I was kidding." The boy laughs. "You don't have to say anything. It's probably better if you let your voice rest, anyway."

Luke frowns. "C-c-can I...have some more water?" He croaks out.

"Yeah, of course." The boy fills the cup once more.

"Th-thank you." Luke says, once again draining it.

After a few minutes of silence, he rubs an eye with his knuckle and lets out a yawn like a sleepy toddler.

"You tired?" The boy asks. He nods.

"Do you have a tent or a van you're staying in tonight?"

"M-my friends and I were gonna stay at the hotel a few miles away..." Luke takes a deep breath. "But...they're all drunk...so..."

"So you're stuck here?"

He nods.

"You can sleep in here tonight if you want. I know my bed's kinda shit, but...it's better than sleeping in the middle of a festival ground full of drunk assholes, right?"

Luke is too tired and out of it to say no. He shrugs his denim jacket off and rolls onto the stretcher.

The boy pulls a blanket over him with a laugh. "I'm gonna go grab something to eat. You rest, yeah?"

Luke nods, his eyes closed.

Just as he steps out of the large tent, the boy turns around and pops his head back in. "I'm Michael." He smiles.

"Luke." Luke says softly.

As soon as Michael disappears around a corner, Luke snuggles into the lumpy pillow, which smells like corndogs and cigarettes, and instantly falls asleep.

[all-the-fanfics-bc-im-indecisive]

Ice Cream | Muke AU

Summary: Michael’s school is hosting a fundraiser for the football team, and Michael has his eye on one stall in particular, where a pretty boy in blue is selling ice cream.

Word Count: 2,453

Warnings: None

A/N: Hi I’m new here

(P.s, this is loosely based off this fic! ^-^)

-

“Dude, talk to him.”

Michael sucks in the smoke from his cigarette and stares at the boy across the football field.

He shakes his head.

“Michael, come on.” His best friend Calum says, rolling his eyes and blowing out a cloud of smoke from his own cigarette. “That’s Luke Hemmings.” he jabs a finger at the boy handing out ice cream. “Luke Hemmings. Who all the guys for fifty miles are drooling over, who’s face is plastered around the school because he’s a straight A student that teachers fucking adore, and who has never and will never notice you, unless you grow a pair, go over there and talk to him! Because you can, for once and only once.”

Michael watches as Luke laughs at a customer and hands them an ice cream.

He shakes his head again as his heart pounds against his ribcage. “I don’t like ice cream.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a loser.” Calum laughs, pushing himself up off the grass and stamping his cigarette out with his boot.

“What? I’m not aloud to dislike ice cream?” Michael says, glaring. He gets up too, leaning against the tree behind them.

“Look, what I’m saying is, this fundraiser shit’s only on this week, and then you won’t get a chance to talk to him again.”

Michael rolls his eyes.

“If you’re gonna be an idiot, go get me an ice cream.” Calum shoves a gold coin into Michael’s hand.

“I…Fine.” He says, stamping out his cigarette and trudging away into the crowded field.

He plays with the coin in his hand and almost drops it as he gets closer to the ice cream stall. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should just go get a cupcake from the niners’ stall and tell Calum to shove it.

“Hi!”

He turns around quickly.

“H-hi.” His voice shakes as he looks into Luke’s eyes. “Um…can I…get an ice cream?”

Luke laughs and Michael melts.

“Sprinkles or no sprinkles?”

“I-um…sprinkles, please.”

Michael looks the boy up and down. He’s wearing an oversized light blue sweater with the school emblem sewn onto it. It’s obviously from the uniform shop set up a few stalls away. The sweater is paired with black skinny jeans, and Michael quickly looks down at his boots as Luke turns around.

He clears his throat and Michael looks up. “Huh?”

“What kind of cone do you want?”

“Oh…u-um…” Michael fiddles with his rings.

Luke laughs once more and grabs a waffle cone.

Michael scolds himself quietly. Just be cool, idiot. What the hell is wrong with you? He clears his throat and rolls up the sleeves of his leather jacket, showing off his inked arms.

“So, you don’t seem like the type of guy to be supporting the school. Did your parents force you to come?” Luke asks, busying himself with the ice cream.

Michael shakes his head. “N-no. I just decided to be nice, for once.”

“Oh, really? A change of heart?” Luke smiles, swirling the white ice cream perfectly.

“Uh, yeah.”

“That’s nice.” He hands Michael the ice cream, who fumbles with the coin, almost dropping it again, before placing it in Luke’s outstretched hand.

“You know,” Luke says quietly, leaning in close to Michael. “Sprinkles are actually a dollar extra. But don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Michael smiles and turns to walk away.

“Bye, Michael.”

He stops and turns back around. “Y-you know my name?” He asks, watching the boy’s lips curl into a smile.

“Why, don’t you know mine?”

He looks down at his black boots with a smile. “Of course.” he mumbles, immediately regretting it.

Luke laughs, his nose scrunching up, making Michael’s stomach flip.

Michael nods at the grinning boy, biting his bottom lip.

“You know, I would’ve preferred chocolate syrup. I’m not really a sprinkles kind of guy.” Calum says when Michael walks over to him.

“Fuck off.” Michael pushes him away and begins to eat the ice cream.

✰✰✰

The next day is unbearably hot, and Michael wears a plain white shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans, along with his Docs.

He finishes his cigarette and makes his way to the other side of the oval where the ice cream stall is. Calum refused to come, so Michael’s stuck here, alone.

He looks down at the coin, before taking a deep breath and stepping up to the ice cream stall.

His breath catches when he sees Luke, and he instantly wants to run the other way. But it’s too late, Luke’s caught sight of him.

“Back again? Is our ice cream that good?” He smiles.

Michael tries to form a sentence, but just nods.

“Same as yesterday, then?”

He nods again.

As Luke fills up the waffle cone, Michael looks down at his hands, willing himself not to look at the boy’s bare skin where his cropped shirt doesn’t reach.

“T-that’s definitely not from the uniform shop, huh?” He says.

Luke laughs and pulls at the small shirt. “No, I got it made.” He’s wearing his skinny jeans again.

“That’ll be two dollars, please.” He smiles at Michael.

Michael puts the coin on the table.

As Luke leans out to give Michael his ice cream, he chuckles quietly. “You should really drop that smoking habit, by the way. It’s bad for you, if you didn’t know.”

Michael’s face goes red. “How-”

“I can smell it from a mile away, silly.” Luke gives Michael his ice cream and a breathtaking smile to go with it.

✰✰✰

After an hour of nagging him, Michael finally persuaded Calum to come back to the fundraiser.

They sit under the tree like always, Calum with a cigarette between his lips, Michael spinning the gold coin in his hand nervously.

“Can you just go get your ice cream, already? I wanna leave.” Calum whines.

“Shut up.” Michael says.

Today is the same as yesterday. Hot, too hot. Michael wipes away the sweat above his lip and fans himself with his loose black tank top. Today was not a good day to wear all black.

“Just hurry up. It’s too hot here.” Calum thrusts his cigarette towards Michael, who shakes his head. He put on extra deodorant and a spray of cologne before leaving his house this morning, and forced himself not to sneak out the back and have his morning cigarette.

“Really?” Calum asks, surprised at his friend’s refusal.

“What? I don’t feel like one right now.” Michael says, pushing himself off the tree.

“Fine, whatever.” Calum sighs, watching Michael make his way to the ice cream stall.

Two days. He thinks bitterly to himself as he walks down the hill. Two days before I become invisible to Luke Hemmings once again.

Luke’s not wearing anything fancy today. A light blue cotton shirt with the emblem printed large in the centre, tucked into yet another pair of black skinny jeans.

“I didn’t think you were coming.” He says as Michael puts the coin on the table.

“You underestimate my school spirit.” Michael smiles.

“Same as yesterday?” Luke asks, walking over to the ice cream machine.

“Actually, I think I’ll just have a popsicle today.”

He grabs a blue double stick popsicle out of the cooler and pulls off the plastic before handing it to Michael.

“Share one with me?” Michael asks, pointing the ice block towards him.

Luke smiles and takes the other stick, pulling the ice block apart perfectly.

Michael notices Luke’s painted blue nails. “I like your nails.” He says.

“Thank you, I got them done on Monday.” Luke replies, taking his half of the ice block out of his mouth. “I like your tattoos.”

Michael’s skin burns as Luke runs his fingers down his arm, tracing his tattoos.

“Th-thank you.” Michael stutters.

They sit there for a few minutes, not talking, just enjoying each other’s company, until Luke sighs. “I should get back to work.”

Michael straightens up. “Well, I’ll um…I’ll see you tomorrow.” He says, placing the coin on the table.

Luke smiles as he walks away.

✰✰✰

The weather has changed dramatically. It’s windy, dark clouds fill the sky, and the air is absolutely freezing.

Michael shivers and buries himself in his leather jacket as he makes his way down to the football field. He still hasn’t had a cigarette, and though his body aches for one, he repeats Luke’s words in his mind.

Barely anyone is at the fundraiser today.

The wind whips tents and blows styrofoam cups off tables.

Michael sprints across the field and squints against the wind, searching for Luke.

He’s there, wearing the same shirt and black skinny jeans torn at the knees.

“Don’t tell me you want ice cream in this weather.” He laughs when he sees Michael.

Michael shakes his head. “Just felt like donating.” He puts his coin on the table and Luke takes it with a playful scoff.

The wind whips his shirt up, exposing more of his chest, but Michael’s doesn’t notice. He’s too busy looking at his arms. Completely covered with goosebumps, and his entire body shakes.

Immediately, Michael takes his jacket off, exposing his arms to the cold.

“What are you doing?” Luke laughs.

“You need it more than I do.” He offers the shivering boy the jacket.

“No, it’s okay. I’ll manage.” He declines.

Michael rolls his eyes. “Luke, this weather isn’t gonna die down any time soon. Put on the jacket. I’m serious, you need it.”

“Really, I’m fine!” Luke smiles and steps back.

Suddenly, a large gust of wind comes and he wraps his arms around himself.

Michael sighs and steps around the wooden table.

He opens the jacket and Luke gives in, slipping into it gratefully.

He breathes in the scent as Michael zips the jacket all the way up. Coffee and cigarette smoke.

It’s way too big, and fits Luke like a dress, but he doesn’t care. It’s warm, and he likes Michael’s scent. The cigarette smoke doesn’t even make him sick like it usually does with his father.

“Thanks, Michael.” He grins, clutching the jacket sleeves.

Michael’s skin is covered with goosebumps from his neck down to his ankles, but he hides it as best he can from Luke and smiles back.

“I guess you’re gonna have to come back tomorrow to get this back.” Luke says.

Michael doesn’t stop grinning as he walks away.

✰✰✰

It’s raining. Hard. Harder than it has in ages.

Michael looks down at the football field. There are no stalls set up. It’s completely empty.

He’s wearing a thin black hoodie, and is drenched to his skin.

He sighs and starts walking away. He doesn’t know where to, just around the school.

On Monday, Luke won’t talk to him again. Michael will watch him flirt with some brain-dead jock in class, and will turn away red-faced when he catches him staring at the bare chests of the other guys in the change rooms.

Michael’s gonna become a nobody to him again. Just the kid who gets in a fight with someone in the hallway every so often, or the guy who stinks like cigarettes every time he’s late for class. He knows it, he’s nothing special. He’s not on any team, he doesn’t do extracurriculars, he sucks at school in general. The football team would dunk his head in the toilet or throw him in the pool if they weren’t so afraid of him.

He ends up at the back of the school, leaning back on the brick wall. His hair’s matted and stuck to his head, but he doesn’t bother trying to fix it.

As he puts his hands in his pockets, he touches something. His box of cigarettes. The box is drenched and crushed, but the cigarettes inside are, miraculously, fine.

He searches around for his lighter, eventually finding it in the back pocket of his jeans, and, shielding the flame as best he can from the rain and wind, he lights a cigarette and breathes in the smoke.

He hasn’t had one since Tuesday, and it fills him with relief.

Halfway through the cigarette, a voice startles him.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

He looks up. Luke stands there, an umbrella over his head and Michael’s leather jacket hung neatly over his left arm.

He’s wearing a baggy white sweater with horizontal blue stripes, and a pair of light blue jeans, along with some white Docs.

“Why are you standing in the rain?” He asks. “You’re gonna get sick.”

Michael shrugs and Luke walks over to him, shielding him from the rain with the umbrella.

“You know,” he takes the cigarette from between Michael’s fingers and flicks it onto the ground. “Smoking’s really bad for you.”

“So I’ve been told.” Michael smiles.

Luke holds his hand out and Michael looks at it for a second.

He sighs. “The cigarettes, Michael.”

Slowly, Michael takes the cigarette packet out of his pocket and places it in Luke’s outstretched palm.

“Did you know that cigarettes contain tar?” The boy puts the cigarettes in his jean pocket. “And cyanide?”

Michael chuckles. “I’m not in eighth grade.”

Luke sighs and tuts, hiding his smile.

“It’s freezing out here, what are you doing at school?” He asks, looking Michael up and down. He’s completely drenched, and Luke thanks his mother for forcing him to take an umbrella before he left home.

Michael shrugs, looking down at his feet. “I could ask you the same question.”

“I came this morning with some friends to pack up the stalls, but I figured you’d be around here somewhere, so I stayed behind and they all went home.”

“How’d you know?”

“Just a hunch.” Luke smiles.

“You should probably get home. You’ll get sick if you stay out here too long.” Michael repeats Luke’s words.

“Walk me to my car?” Luke asks him, holding out his hand for Michael to take.

Michael bites his lip, trying to stop his stomach from twisting in knots.

“Come on.” Luke giggles.

Michael quickly grabs the boy’s hand and he grins, entwining their fingers as they walk together.

Luke’s hand is soft, and feels strange against Michael’s calloused palm.

He smiles at how well their hands fit together.

As they’re walking across the basketball courts, the rain picks up, and the umbrella barely shelters them.

Immediately Luke starts running, and Michael follows, not wanting to let go of his hand.

They run until they make it to the sheltered car park, where Luke’s little white Volkswagen is parked.

Both of them stop to catch their breaths, laughing and wiping the rain out of their eyes.

“Thanks for coming these past couple of days.” Luke says after a little while. “No one really bothered to show up except you.”

“I told you, you underestimate my school spirit.” Michael replies, raising his eyebrows.

Luke laughs and lets go of Michael’s hand.

“Here’s your jacket, by the way.” He says, taking the jacket off his arm.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Michael unzips his soaking hoodie and pulls it on. It smells less like cigarettes and coffee now, though the smell lingers, and more like sweet perfume and laundry detergent.

They stand there awkwardly until Luke opens the door of the car.

Before sliding in, he leans up and kisses Michael on the cheek softly.

Michael’s face heats up and he hides his shaky hands behind his back. “I…um-”

“I’ll see you on Monday.” Luke smiles, starting up the engine.

As he drives away, Michael brushes his hand across his face, his stubble poking his fingertips.

His cheek tingles, and he tries his best to hide the large grin spreading across his face. Maybe he won’t be so invisible anymore.