Silence Is My Only Friend - Michael Afton x Male Reader

Chapter 9 : Roller Coaster

"I can assure you that the... perfect life isn't all that amazing." You mumble ever so quietly, fidgeting with your hands in an anxious manner.

"Pfft, right. Then why are you still pretending?" Michael mutters with a huff, rolling his eyes as he looks away from your direction. Poking fun at...ugh.

"This is the real me, I was never pretending. I just forced myself to...hide parts of myself." You try to explain to Michael, going as quiet as a shadow at the end.

Michael sighs, "That's literally pretending, Y/N." he responds, flicking at the tip of your nose. You flinch slightly, Michael sits back slightly, he bites his lip.

"Look, I don't expect you to understand." You murmur, glancing away from Michael as you mess with your clothes slightly.

"Because I'm not good enough?" Michael asks bluntly, blowing his brown hair out of his face in a bored manner. Michael's hair has gotten a little longer, he probably hasn't gotten a haircut in a while. It fits him though and looks nice at that length...

"That's not what I said." You say, shoving him lightly, not in an aggressive way though, annoyed with his self depreciation.

"It's what you meant though," Michael says, a slight chuckle escaping his lips, why is he laughing? This isn't funny or fun...

"No, it's not, Michael. What are you laughing about..." You huff out, staring at him blankly, clearly done with his antics.

Michael just sighs with a simple grin on his handsome and rugged face, "You're so cute when you're mad, Y/N." Michael says, ruffling your hair which makes you blush slightly before he continues, "You don't have to lie for me, Y/N, I know I really failed in life. It's a fact I'm comfortable with." Michael admits, sitting up before staring into your eyes.

You narrow your eyebrows at Michael slightly, "Why would I lie?" You respond ever so quietly, losing yourself like you're in a maze while staring into his enchanting and alluring dark blue eyes. It's like a glimmering night sky in his eyes, they're similar to his father's but his are so much kinder. It sends a fuzzy feeling in your heart, I guess having your best friend does that.

"Because you're a nice guy, duh?" Michael blankly says, it takes him a second till he answered. His words pulled you out of the trance his hypnotizing beautiful eyes led you into.

You stare at Michael unimpressed as he just teasingly blows you a kiss before chuckling as he grabs his book. The book you were pretending to read, in all seriousness, looks like a book that you'd maybe like. You can't help but notice the way his shirt clings to his tanned skin, Michael's tan has lessened. Probably from working in a small room all day...He gets up to put it away on his book shelf, at this point you barely notice the bandages on his fore arm. The bandages aren't too tight and are slightly falling but you can't see anything. Wait...Were they there earlier, how did you not notice them prior? Are you just blind or something...? You're curious now...

"Hey, Michael?" You say in an attempt to grab Michael's attention. His eyes glance at you for a second before turning back to his bookshelf.

"Hmm?" Michael hums softly in response as he organizes his books.

"What happened to your arm?" You ask, gently grabbing his arm to which he flinches away from rather automatically. Does it hurt? It's probably new...

"I... Nothing, I just hurt myself at work the other day." Michael mutters quietly, fixing the bandages on his fore arm ever so slightly.

"Oh. I thought your dad said you haven't been in a while?" You mumble, a little hurt from his reaction and you feel like he's lying to you...

"And?" Michael says, whistling slightly to himself, is that the tune from Freddy's? Aww...

You shake your head and push your thoughts, "I just thought it was new, that's all. Are you okay?" You ask as you stare at his face, it's been a long time since you've been able to stare at him like that. Maybe that's why you keep doing it today. It's a comforting feeling, somewhat? You really are on a roller coaster of emotions today, aren't you?

"Of course, why wouldn't I be? I have you here." Michael jokes, putting the photo he picked out back into his album. He flips through a couple of pages, this look flashing on his face for a split second that you didn't fully see.

You get up and decide to sit next to Michael, giving him the sweetest smile you can possibly make before gently leaning on him. Still, you'll never admit it but Michael is more or less your favorite person in the whole world. You don't feel like you have to put on a different persona for me to like you or lie to make him happy. You may have had some trouble while trying to reconnect but now that the hard stuff has more or less finished, everything is great. Knock on wood.

You can't help but stare at Michael as his eyes twinkle like the most amazing thing in the world. You think he noticed you staring because now he's staring back at you. You give him an awkward grin and he only chuckles before getting up since he's finished with his shelf. You notice him pick out the wrapped game that has your name on it, you're a little curious.

Michael holds it out to you, "I don't even know if you'll like it, I got it long ago but... it's still for you so..." Michael mumbles, his face bright red from embarrassment. He's not one for blushing or being flustered normally, in the years you've known Michael, you don't think you've ever seen him have a crush.

You snap out of your thoughts and grab the gift, you give Michael a small smile before opening it. You sort of already ruined the surprise but it still means a lot coming from him, you open it slowly, your smile growing twice the size when you see it, "I can't believe you got me, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to accept it." You murmur quietly before pulling Michael into a hug.

He tenses up for a second from the sudden physical attention but melts into it like an ice cream in the sun, "It's fine, you don't need to apologize Y/N." Michael responds as he hugs you back slightly, his voice was really gentle.

"You keep saying that but I still feel like I need to say sorry another hundred of times..." You say with a sigh, squeezing Michael slightly in your arms as if you never wanted to let go.

Having him this close just feels... right. Like all your worries and concerns can disappear and evaporate, even just for a second because you're happy like this. This really makes you regret all the time you wasted working towards others in who have never been satisfied with all the shit you've done for them, specifically them. You've done so much for other people and now you wanna be...selfish. Is it selfish to do things that make you happy? It feels like it but it doesn't feel wrong either, you spent so much time stuck in trance like an idiot. Chasing a neverending dream that wasn't even yours...

You slowly pull away from the hug, and your heart aches a little bit when you do, you wish you didn't have to pull away. But it would be awkward not to, right? You're just barely becoming friends again after so long, do you even deserve Michael's affection at this point? Because you genuinely don't think you do at this point, why would you? You've been a horrible, horrible friend to him and Michael still smiles at you... What good deed did you do in this world that allowed you to keep such an amazing person in your life? The way he looks at you makes you feel fuzzy and comfortable inside, hold up... Oh fuck.

The blushing when he compliments you, they want to be in his arms for forever, and the admiration when you look at him. Staring into his eyes like it's all that matters in this world because you genuinely feel like he is, you'd spend the rest of your life with him if given the choice or option...

Oh no. Not again...