colors ; michael clifford [book 1]

e l e v e n

Michael woke up fully clothed on his bedroom floor. At first, he was confused, blinking as he looked around the room filled with empty bottles. His head was pounding and he felt sick to his stomach. What happened last night?

But then he felt the presence of someone's head on his chest. He looked down to see an equally clothed Layla and everything came rushing back to him.

The kiss.

And he remembered realising how completely and utterly in love with her he was. Michael, the badass punk with all the tattoos and piercings, had fallen for the tiny, dainty Layla. He was in love with her.

He groaned as his head pounded, and the noise must have woken Layla up, as he watched her eyelids flutter open.

The headache wasn't enough to confuse Layla. She could remember everything about what happened the night before. Everything.

"Oh, h-hi," she stuttered, anxiously gazing up at Michael. She was worried he regretted the kiss. Worried that she would lose him.

But what Michael did next surprised her greatly.

He leaned down very slowly, and planted a kiss on the tip of her nose. He could tell she was nervous, and he was too. He almost laughed. They were obviously meant for each other. "Morning," he mumbled in reply.

Layla blushed deeply as Michael's breath fanned over her face, swelling sweetly of alcohol. She couldn't quite believe it. She was still just as infatuated with him as she always had been, and it seemed he returned her feelings.

Without another word, she leaned up quickly and kissed his lips with hers. He immediately kissed her back in a short, loving smooch, and his neck craned to get better access of her lips.

"I really like you, Michael," Layla murmured, avoiding the part where she told him she loved him.

"I really like you too," Michael whispered, avoiding the part where he told her he loved her.

Layla burst out in giggles and Michael chuckled, rolling his eyes at her. She placed a gentle kiss to his collar bone, the only place she could reach and he smiled down at her.

"Are you hungry?" Michael asked, eager to please his. . . well, whatever she was to him now.

Layla nodded eagerly. "Starving. And really, really thirsty." Even Michael's kisses couldn't take away her hangover.

"Alright, blue," Michael said with a smile. "Let me go get you something."

He left the room, and Layla slowly got to her feet, looking around. She'd never been in here before last night, and it was exactly what she'd pictured it as. Fairly small, but band posters covered every inch of every wall. She smiled to herself, until something caught her eye.

A blue tub.

She walked over and snatched it up, looking at the label stuck to the front. These were. . . these were anti-depressants.

"I'm b-"

Layla slowly turned her head to the door, where Michael was standing with a plate of toast and two glasses of water. He groaned, seeing the bottle in her hand. He hadn't meant for her to find out, not like this. Actually, he wasn't even planning to tell her at all.

"Michael? Are these anti-depressants?" Layla asked, raising her full brows at him and frowning. She wasn't angry that he hadn't told her, she was just upset that he could feel this way. That her Michael could be depressed.

"Yeah," he mumbled, licking his dry lips and setting the food and water down.

"Are you depressed?" she asked slowly, still confused. He would've told her if he was depressed, wouldn't he?

"Why else would I have anti-depressants in my room?" Michael sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and preparing himself for the possible outcomes. Maybe Layla would be alright with it, but then again maybe she would be angry that he hadn't told her.

"I'm not angry," Layla said quickly, causing Michael to breath a sigh of relief. "I just. . . I don't want you to feel sad. Ever."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm a long way from okay but. . . you make it bearable, even if you are a pain in the ass."

Layla rolled her eyes and walked over to him, curling into his side.

"Thank you for being you, Layla," Michael whispered into her hair. "Thank you for being you."