wasting time » lh ; mc

nine

:: 09 ::

Luke brought a hand up to his sweaty forehead to try and rid of the small droplets along his hairline, leaning on the baseball bat propped at his side. For the past half hour he's been practicing all he knew he could improve for baseball. If he kept it up and actually got kind of decent at it, maybe Coach Clifford would let him try out for the spring season.

"Only swing if you're absolutely sure you can hit the ball, got it?" Michael said from behind him. Again, they were over Luke's and sitting in his backyard. The blonde nodded, pulling the bottom of his shirt up and swiping it across his face.

Luke stands silent, contemplating whether or not the voice the question on his mind. Finally, he takes a breath and says, "Can I ask you about something?"

Like he'd expected, Michael looked at him weird, but sighed and nodded his head. "I guess."

"So, you know that one day when we were talking and you said--"

"We're not talking about it," Michael says immediately. Luke notices him avoiding eye contact and looking harshly to the grass below them.

"I wasn't going to say anything bad," Luke assured. "No matter what you say, Michael, I consider you my friend."

"It's really none of your business."

"Okay, okay. I won't ask about it. But, it's totally fine. My mom had a friend who was gay, he was pretty cool--"

Michael pushed him back toward the middle of the grass, saying with a hard tone, "I don't care. Practice more."

Luke wasn't trying to pry, he just wanted to be friends with Michael. It seemed like they were, so he was just trying to get to know him better. Sure, with this knowledge of Michael being gay, they're not only going to be talking about girls they're into, and also guys that Michael likes; but, still. He'd enjoy the bond of an actual friend for once.

To be fair, Michael is a very self-centered guy and tends to give off the feeling that he doesn't care, but Luke has noticed that's not him at all. Maybe at the beginning, but the more the two have talked, the nicer he's been. It was slow progress that Luke was willing to go through.

"Let's just go inside," he offered. Luke doesn't know if he could deal with anymore practice today, no matter how hard he tried. Which is why, when Michael nodded, he let out a relieved (and tired) breath and walked quickly through the backdoor, Michael following closely behind.

Luke's father grinned at the two, Michael greeting him with a chirpy hello and Luke doing the usual nod as he walked toward the fridge.

"Make any progress yet?" Andrew asked, eyebrow raised in curiosity. Luke couldn't tell if it was genuine interest or if it was something to make conversation with. His dad tended to do that, act more like an almost-friend who asks things just to ask than he did an actual father who truly cared. Which, in some cases, would be a good thing but all Luke wanted was a man he could learn from rather than one that treated him like some kind of bro.

"I think he has," Michael replied. There was a pep in his voice that Luke had noted only ever came up when the boy talked about sports. Why he's noticed, Luke doesn't know. But it's easy to detect, anyway. "My dad might actually let him on the team when the season hits."

"Your dad coaches the baseball team?" the older man engaged in conversation with Michael while Luke groaned. He had searched through the entire fridge and even some of the cupboards that held snacks, and nothing felt appealing to him. So, he came to the conclusion that his after-exercise snack wasn't going to happen today.

Michael nods. "And hockey."

Andrew so obviously perked up at the mention of something in which he could talk about himself, making his son roll his eyes. "He coaches your team?"

"Yeah, it's pretty fun. He's taught me a lot."

"Luke doesn't know anything about hockey at all."

"Hey!" Luke glared. "I'm right here." He hated being talked about like he wasn't in the room, especially in a bad sense. Luke wanted to be noticed, wanted to be paid attention to, but not like this. Even if Michael doesn't mean it, which he's assuming is the case, it was still incredibly annoying.

"I was actually wondering if I could have him for the day this weekend." Luke swiveled back and forth on the kitchen chair, pausing when he heard the sentence to watch with curious eyes as Michael talked with his dad. "Saturday, there's a hockey game and before games we always practice, so maybe Luke could go with me?"

There was an ulterior motive, Luke could tell. When he went to Michael's hockey game the first time, he hadn't asked his parents, because he knew there wouldn't ever be a problem. What the motive was, he didn't know.

"Maybe I could go as well? I've never been to a high school hockey game," Andrew offered, and Luke let his head exaggeratedly fall to the granite counter top of the kitchen table. This isn't happening, Luke won't let it. He can't allow his father to ruin the only friendship he's managed to have since he was about five, even if it is a questionable one at the moment.

"They're nothing special--"

"We wouldn't mind--"

The two teenagers stared at each other, Michael with furrowed eyebrows and Luke with an incredulous expression. Glancing quickly to his father, Luke gripped Michael's arm and pulled him back outside of the house and out of the view of Andrew.

"Please don't offer for him to go," Luke pleaded.

"Why not?"

"Just--please, Michael."

"Do you know how many people would die to spend time with their dad?" And, okay, low blow--even for Michael. Because, Luke is one of those people. Maybe in a different way, but he craves the attention, too.

Instead of showing how his chest felt as if it were tightening, Luke pushed his hair back again and groaned, "He's never wanted to do anything with me!"

"He does now," Michael said. "He seems really excited, Luke." The two glance back at Andrew, who still sat in the same spot, a smile on his face and phone in his hand. Letting out a sigh, Luke shook his head. He knows the only reason his dad is interested in finally spending time with him is because of the sport. Which, in Andrew's defense, is the whole purpose of going, but Luke wants his dad to be hanging out with him because of something he likes, not some sport that Luke has come to hate throughout his short lifetime so far.

There's a lot Michael doesn't know about Luke's family and he, like everyone else, is blinded by his fan-perspective and the media's depiction of Andrew Hemmings. It's not Michael's fault, because Luke's life is something he never involves anyone in and it'll most likely take a while for Michael to understand where he's coming from when he wants to spend actual, real time with his father.

And, again, Luke is willing to wait and work with him. That's what having a friend is about: understanding and opening up and trust. He's never really had anyone to have that bond with; his dad has a mind made out of hockey rinks and his mom always takes his dad's side.

"I--" Luke sighed, looking at his friend's hopeful gaze. "Okay, he can go with us."

When Michael smiles gratefully, approvingly, and says, "Don't doubt it. I'm sure he really wants to, Luke," is the precise time that the blond let his guard down.

• • •

I AM SLACKING SO HARD LATELY SORRY. i've either been sleeping my life away or hangin out w/ this cute boy lmao

said cute boy is the ex of one of my friends and she just happens to have he same exact name as me which is pretty rare i'm literally living inside of a movie i hAte myself

also i'll edit this in the morning + next chapter is pretty cool you might hate me idk michael is still an asshole don't worry