i'm just a reject : bronnor

7~ This Boy Named Michael Clifford

**BRADLEY**

I waited patiently by the bike shed for Michael to come and meet me, it was the end of the day and I was supposed to be going back to his house to work on our chemistry project.

The scent of cigarette smoke filled my nose, I sniffed I couple of times before I realised where the smell was coming from.

Connor Ball was stood leaning against the bike shed taking a drag of his newly lit cigarette as he stared me up and down. Why was he looking at me? He had told me never to speak to him again this morning.

I gave him a confused look, he simply smirked and exhaled, smoke pouring out of his parted lips. I felt pressured under his gaze, pressured to say something but I was to scared to do so.

I opened my mouth, about so say some thing but I was cut off before I could speak.

"Hey Brad!" Michael yelled as he approached me, he had his bag hung over one shoulder.

"Hi," I greeted him and smiled.

Michael's smiled faded when he glanced past me and saw Connor smirking at us with a cigarette in his mouth. Michael frowned and grabbed my arm, pulling me away from Connor.

"What happened?" He asked in a hushed voice when we were a safe distance away from Connor.

"Huh?" I asked in confusion.

We walked out the front of school, Michael released his grip on my arm.

"Connor Ball? What did he say to y-"

I shook my head frantically, "No, no- he didn't say anything, neither did I?"

"Then why was he looking at you like... that?" Michael sounded concerned.

I shrugged, "I dunno."

Michael looked down at me as we walked, he lived down the road from our school so it only took a couple of minutes to walk there. It was quite big, his bedroom was on the third floor and was decorated nicely with grey walls and band posters plastered everywhere.

I sat on his bed and took out my notebook from my bag as well as a pen, Michael lay down beside me with his laptop rested on his chest.

Suddenly, Michael's phone started ringing, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it, "Hello?"

"Hey," I could hear the other persons voice on the other end of the phone, "Can I come over?"

Michael glanced at me, "N-Not right now."

"Why not?"

"I'm sorta busy right now," Michael said apologetically.

"Oh, what with?" The other boy on the phone asked.

"Homework," Michael sighed.

"I'll help you with it." He said hopefully.

"Um, Calum I don't really need any-"

"I'll be there in ten minutes." Callum said despite Michael's objections.

"No don't-" Michael was cut off by Calum hanging up the call.

He sighed and tucked his phone back into his pocket, running a hand through his blue hair. We worked on the project for about fifteen minutes, we were making a PowerPoint on the atomic structure.

We were interrupted by the noise of somebody walking into the room, I turned to see the asian looking brunette from Michael's table stood in the doorway. I assumed he was Calum.

"Hey Mikey-" He greeted Michael, then saw me, "Who are you?"

"I'm Brad." I smiled.

Calum narrowed his eyes at me, giving a suspicious glare, "What are you doing here?"

I glanced at Michael before speaking, "I'm doing a project with Michael."

Calum folded his arms and looked at Michael with a hurt expression, "Is this why you didn't want me to come round? Because you're with him?"

Michael shook his head speedily, "N-No of course I wanted you to come round-"

"Don't bullshit me Mikey." Calum spat.

"I'm not! I'm just busy, that's all."

"You better not be replacing me," He said to him, and then turned to me with a sour expression, "And you better stay away from Michael."

Calum slammed the door and left, leaving both me and Michael sat in shock.

After a few moments silence I turned to him, "What's his problem?"

Michael simply shrugged, "He gets protective over me, don't take it personally."

I smiled to myself, only because that was the second time Michael had told me not to take something personally.

Me and Michael got on surprisingly well considering he was considered 'punk' and I was about as intimating as a flower. We spent the majority of our time together talking, so we agree to meet up again on Friday that week. He told me to ignore Calum, and that he was just being sensitive lately.

"See you Friday," Michael smirked as he leant against the frame of his front door crossing his arms as he stared down at me.

I nodded and smiled shyly, "Bye Michael."

I could feel Michael's eyes on me as I walked down his drive, I awkwardly wave before I turned the corner. It was pretty dark, my mum wasn't angry at me when I got home though, she was in the middle of making dinner.

"Where've you been?" She smiled warmly as I pulled myself up onto the kitchen counter, still in my uniform.

"At a friend's house." I shrugged.

Mum stirred the spaghetti she was cooking, "Oh, James and... Tristan? Were you with them?"

I shook my head.

She gave me a surprised look, "Oh. Who then?"

I blushed at the thought, "This boy named Michael Clifford."

My mum pursed her lips, as if in deep thought.

"Is that the lad with red hair?" She asked, she sounded a little disapproving.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "It's blue."

She rolled rolled her eyes.

"H-How do you know him?" I asked.

She placed her wooden spoon on the counter beside me and folded her arms,  "I'm friends with his mum."

I snorted and poured myself a glass of water, "Since when were you friends with the mums around here? We've only lived here for a few days."

She smiled proudly, "I've only made a couple of mum friends, I've invited one of them for dinner with us on Saturday."

"Who?" I raised my glass of water to my lips and took a sip.

"Kelly Ball."

I spat my water out across the kitchen, my mum gave me an angered look.

"Kelly Ball?!" I yelled in disbelief.

She nodded slowly.

"D-Does she have a son?" I asked, there was only one person I knew with the last name 'Ball'.

"Yeah, she has two. One's younger and one is your age she said." She said hesitantly.

Oh my god. Why was my mum friends with Connor Ball's mum? And why on earth had she invited her for dinner?

"Why, do you know one of them?" She questioned me.

I nodded, "Y-Yeah I guess you could say that."

She patted my shoulder, "Good, because they're both coming for dinner on Saturday."

My jaw dropped, I stared at her in disbelief. She wasn't serious, was she?

"Now clean that water up." She ordered, gesturing to the wet floor where I had spat.

I knew there was no point in arguing with her, I had to face the fact:

In three days time I'll be having dinner with Connor Ball.