A Work of Art ＊ Muke AU

Chapter Four

Luke heard his alarm go off.

"Today is not going to be fun," he said to himself, reminding himself that he had detention later - and his parents didn't know about it.

He sighed and got out of bed, wanting to get to school so he would get it overwith. He also remembered that Michael would be in detention with him. Sure, Luke had already known Michael for a day, but there was something about Michael that made Luke slightly dislike him, and there was something about Luke that made Michael want to get to know him better.

Luke walked downstairs and saw that his parents weren't home, which wasn't much of a surprise. He looked at his phone and saw a text from Tristan.

I'm not going to school today; I'm sick. Do you think you'll be able to get a ride?

Luke quickly typed a reply.

Yeah. I'll take the bus.

The first thing that he thought was that he was most likely going to be late, so he went outside and sprinted for several blocks until he arrived at the bus stop.

Luke walked towards the back of the bus and sat down, feeling very exhausted. He heard a faint, yet familiar voice from behind him whispering "Hi."

He turned around and noticed that the voice belonged to Michael.

Luke's eyes widened and he didn't say anything back.

"Are you okay, Luke?" Michael asked.

"I'm fine," Luke lied. The rest of the ride to school was silent.

Luke stepped off of the bus and quickly walked into the school building.

Michael knew something was going on with Luke - and he was determined to find out what it was.

＊

Luke and Ashton bumped into each other on the way to class. Ashton immediately noticed the upsetting look on Luke's face.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Ashton asked.

"Everything's fine," Luke answered.

"No, it's not fine. I can tell that you're not telling the truth," Ashton said.

"You're right," Luke replied, "I'm not."

The five-minute bell rang and it interrupted their conversation.

"Are you going to work today?" Ashton asked.

"Yeah. I'm going to be a little late, though," Luke answered.

"Why are you going to be late?" Ashton asked.

"I'll explain it to you when I get there," Luke told him, "Bye!"

＊

Luke sighed as he walked out of his sixth period class. He knew that art was next, and he also knew that he would have to see Michael again.

Honestly, Luke didn't quite understand why he didn't like Michael. Despite the fact that he was a bit nosy, Michael actually seemed like a nice guy.

Luke just didn't figure out that he was a nice guy - at least, not yet.

Luke sat down in his seat and caught Michael staring at him. Michael noticed that he had gotten Luke's attention, so he put up his hand in attempt to wave hello to the blond-haired boy. Luke smiled and waved back, trying to be polite.

The two of them turned their heads away, grabbed their palletes and continued to work on their paintings.

"Try not to spill your paint this time, Hemmings," Michael whispered.

Luke glared at Michael and rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the remark and focus on his work.

Luke had to admit, it was quite peaceful being able to work and not be bothered by Michael's sarcastic comments.

If only he realized that Michael wasn't much of a bother after all.