Confiding in You ϟ a.i.

Chapter 60

==Maddie's POV==

I sit across from Michael on a stool in front of the cash register of the pet store, my chin resting on my crossed arms on the counter. Following Ashton around PacSun was either boring or annoying, depending on whether or not there were preteen girls in the store.

Sitting with Michael is much better. No one comes into the pet store the day after Christmas.

It's just been me and him, lazily eating oreos and talking about random things, which is the most lighthearted experience I've had in a while. The cute puppies and kittens surrounding us certainly help the cause.

"You want to know something funny?" He leans back in his seat, stuffing a cookie in his mouth. He rubs the crumbs off of his hands before he starts talking with his mouth full, "My mom got me bleach and hairdye for Christmas."

I smile down at the package of Oreos, trying to forget how utterly lame and boring my Christmas was and focus entirely on Michael. In order to recover, I need to forget about all of these things and focus on other people.

"Aw, but I like the brown," I look up at him and he falls forward, all four legs of the chair on the ground now.

He runs his hands through his hair, grinning at me, "I wasn't sure about it, but I kind of like it too."

"What color did she buy you?"

"Bright-ass blue," He nods, showing his approval, "I'll have to dye it when I get bored of brown."

I pick up another cookie and nibble on it while Michael taps on the glass countertop. It's scuffed from all of the times he put his feet up there.

Noticing, he tries to rub the scuffs off, but fails. As if it will help, he pulls his keys from his pocket and tries to scrape them away, only to scratch the surface. He sighs, dropping his shoulders and tossing his keys onto the counter.

"Did you see Milly for Christmas?" I ask.

I haven't seen her, mainly because I've been avoiding her. Lately, it has been feeling as if the only reason she is associating with me at all is to get to Cooper. Unless we're hanging out at my house, she doesn't want to hang out at all.

She isn't even being discreet about it anymore.

Puffing his cheeks up and blowing the air out, Michael shakes his head, "I haven't spoken to her in almost a week."

"What?" I ask, "Why?"

It's one thing for me and Milly to stop talking -- I barely know her. But Michael and her have been friends since they were kids. That's almost as weird as it was when Cooper and Ashton weren't talking to each other. It just doesn't seem right.

"Well..." he trails off, laughing, "Nevermind."

"You can't do that!" I say, throwing a cookie at him, "Tell me."

"You just wasted a perfectly good Oreo," he bends down to pick it up and throw it in the trash before leaning forward with his chin in his hands. He sighs, "You have to promise not to tell Ashton. He'd either kill me or make fun of me."

I hold my pinky up and he takes it in his own, "Promise."

"I slept with Milly," he says simply before we even unlock our pinky fingers.

I sit straight up, my mouth forming in the shape of an 'O' and nearly falling out of my chair. I couldn't have heard that right. This is funny and unbelievable at the same time.

Sure, I could see him willingly having sex with Milly. He's had a crush on her for years, maybe as long as they were friends. But Milly? Not a chance. She's far too invested in Cooper to even think about Michael that way.