FRIENDS

2

When I woke up the next day, Michael was no longer in my bed. The curtains were pulled shut and the door was closed, leaving the room dark and quiet. I made my way into the hallway and the first things I heard were Ashton giggling and Green Day blaring from whichever room they were in.

I followed the noise and ended up in the kitchen with all four boys; Michael, Calum, and Luke sat at the table while Ashton stood in front of the stove, flipping pancakes.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Cal greeted, smiling up at me from his phone screen. I smiled back at my friend.

"What time is it?" I asked, sitting beside Luke. Michael hadn't looked at me yet, let alone said hello.

"It's quarter to one." Luke mumbled, stuffing a spoonful of cheerios in his mouth. My eyes widened in surprise.

"I slept that late?" Luke and Calum nodded; Michael had yet to look up from his phone.

"I figured you needed the sleep." Mikey finally said, putting his phone down on the table. He looked over at me and grinned. "You had a long day yesterday and I thought you deserved the sleep." I nodded my head and smiled softly back at him.

A few minutes later, Ashton placed a heaping pile of pancakes in front of us and we all immediately started grabbing from the stack. I laughed when Luke's pile was bigger than everyone else's; he'd just had two bowls of cereal in the time it took Ashton to cook the pancakes.

"Alright, mates. I'm sorry if these are awful. I mean, you can't fuck pancakes up too badly, can you?" I shrugged my shoulders and took a bite and immediately felt like gagging.

"Ash, these aren't pancakes. These are poison." I groaned, pushing my plate away from me. The boys followed suit and Ashton laughed.

"I'm sorry! I've never been good at cooking, but these guys practically live off of take out and I can't handle it anymore. If I see another In-N-Out milkshake I'm going to go into diabetic shock." I rolled my eyes and made my way over to the fridge to see what they had, hoping I'd be able to make an edible meal. Cooking was a good way to take your mind off of things, and my mind was spiralling after waking up to find Michael crawling into my bed.

I pulled eggs, sausages, and bread out of the fridge and turned towards the boys.

"How about while I'm here, I'll handle the cooking. Because if the rest of your cooking is anything like your pancakes, I am going to die." Ashton blushed and nodded his head before sitting in my spot beside Luke.

Immediately, I started cooking. The boys were off in their own little world, discussing music and song ideas and the things they needed to do before they released a new single, and I was off in my own little world, thinking about Michael.

I had lived next door to Michael my entire life, and he had never been affectionate like that. It was normal for him to hug me, or sit close to me when we watched a horror movie. But never before had he crawled into bed with me and spooned all night long. For the most part, he'd always treated me like he'd treat a sister. He'd comfort me when I needed comforting and he always made it known that he cared about me. But this was new. This had never happened before. And I'd liked it. I had liked it a lot. I mean, why wouldn't I? I had liked Michael for as long as I could remember. It had become more than a crush or an adoration; I was head over heels in love with my best friend. But I'd kept it hidden and I'd done nothing about it.

"You alright, Ivy?" Michael asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. He'd managed to sneak up on me and was now leaning against the counter space beside the stove, watching me as I made the scrambled eggs. He had a strange look on his face, all of his emotions hidden from me. I was unsure about whether or not I should bring it up; I was scared I would make things weird. And honestly, I'd like if it happened again. But I also knew if I kept quiet I'd go crazy.