vagabond ; mc

four ;

Dahlia didn't let go of Michael's wrist until they were away from the pizza place, Ashton and the rest of her friends out of sight. "Why did you do that?" Michael asked when she released his hand. "They're your friends. And its clear that Ashton isn't too fond of me, so why?" He asked.

He towered over her. Dahlia didn't realize how tall he actually was until he was standing right in front of her, his green eyes staring down at her through his eyelashes. She didn't know why, and yet she did at the same time. Ashton had angered her, and Michael had done nothing wrong. She did what she felt was best.

"Ashton will warm up to you eventually," she said, avoiding his question. She went to step around him, but Michael moved in front of her, blocking her path.

"That's not an answer," Michael said, his head cocking to the side slightly.

Dahlia sighed, running her fingers through her dark hair as she nibbled on the inside of her lip. "I just wanted him to give you a chance, and he didn't. So I didn't want to stick around him for the rest of the night just for him to judge me, judge you," she explained. "I thought he would love you, and I guess it hurts that he doesn't."

Michael stayed silent, his eyes searching her own. Eventually, the corners of his mouth twitched up into a wry smile. "He's in love with you," he stated simply.

"What?" Dahlia asked, confusion pulling her eyebrows together. "No. Ashton is just a best friend. We're not dating," she argued.

"No," Michael agreed. "But he wishes he was. I saw it in the way he looked at you. I've been all over the world, the culture may differ, but love always looks the same."

Dahlia opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. What Michael was saying made sense. Ashton had always been protective of her, keeping her close. Maybe he felt threatened by Michael.

"So you think he doesn't like you because he likes me?" She questioned, making sure she was understanding him right. Michael nodded. Dahlia shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know," she trailed off.

"It wouldn't be the first time it happened," Michael shrugged nonchalantly, but Dahlia could see the flicker of pain in the green of his eyes. "But you wanted me to play music, so let's do it," he said, sloughing off his guitar case and setting it down on the ground in front of him.

Dahlia took a step backward. She had so many questions running through her mind. What did Michael mean when he said it wasn't the first time it happened and why did he look so hurt? And Ashton, did he really like her? He had always been a best friend, she didn't know if she could see him as something more.

She ran through various memories of her and Ashton, trying to remember if there was something she just hadn't noticed before. There were moments that she had caught Ashton staring at her when they did homework together or when they sat at the same lunch table.

She could tell he didn't think she noticed, but she did. Now she couldn't stop thinking about it now that Michael had said something.

She snapped back into reality when Michael caught her eye. He was picking up his guitar out of the case and slinging the strap over his shoulder. The black strap was frayed and worn, but the guitar was in worse shape. It was an old acoustic, some of the varnish worn off in patches. There was something written on the body of it, but she couldn't make it out. She'd have to ask him about it later.

Michael tested out the strings, strumming them once with a pick. He glanced up, meeting Dahlia's eye, a small smile pulling on his lips. The sun hung low in the sky. It was near sunset, the sky moments away from igniting in shades of red, orange, yellow and pink.