temporary bliss ➟ muke ✓

eight; give me reason

i am fiending for the sunshine to show our love in a good light. give me reason; i am pleading to the stars.

michael slept alone for the first time in a week or so. when he woke up, he glanced over to the unoccupied space in his bed, expecting to see luke there, but the memories of last night flooded into his mind and he remembered that he had said no to luke for the first time.

concern admittedly gnawed at michael as the faux blond slowly got out of bed and walked to his bathroom. he used the toilet and washed his face with cold water, trying to wake himself up a little bit. the only thing on his mind was luke and he couldn't concentrate on washing his face, much less what he would have for breakfast.

michael paced back into his bedroom, his dark green eyes flickering to the essay he had written on his desk. his teeth took ahold of his lower lip as he sat down at his desk, his eyebrows furrowing together slightly as he read over his essay.

it was supposed to be for his college applications, but michael hadn't gotten around to getting his high school transcripts together. he wasn't even sure if they were still online so he could print it out; his high school probably took him out of the school system by now.

michael's original plan was to take a year off before going to college, but then his parents kicked him out of their house after graduation and he was left to find a small house to situate himself in. with all of his emotional and mental things going on, michael had completely forgotten about applying to any colleges, but he found himself wanting to get his high school transcripts and put together his application for florida atlantic university.

florida was all the way across the country, and michael loved that fact. it would be hard for him to leave calum, ashton, and luke, but a fresh start seemed so damn ideal to michael and he was adoring the idea the more he thought about it. the only problem was that the earliest he could start was the summer term next year, but that was the best he could do.

michael spent that morning reviewing his essay and going online to print out his transcripts. once he realised that the college application process was now online, he put his transcripts in a word document and put a link to it in the online application. he typed up his essay and attached it as a document to the essay question, and then he stared for a long time at his shitty, slow laptop before he hit the big 'submit' button.

finally feeling the slightest bit happy, michael smiled a bit before reaching for his cell phone and pulling up his speed dial. he typed a four and held his phone up to his ear, gnawing on his lower lip still as he waited for his mother to pick up the phone.

his second and third on speed dial was calum and ashton, and luke happened to be his first.

"hello?" michael finally heard his mother's voice on the other side of the phone, making his smile the tiniest bit wider as he released his grip on his lower lip.

"hi, mum," michael spoke softly and a bit nervously, glancing down at his lap as he fiddled with the hem of the t-shirt he had worn to bed. silence greeted him on the other end, so the bleached blond anxiously added, "um, sorry to call unexpectedly. it's been a while since i've talked to you."

"yes, sweetheart, it's been a while," his mum agreed, "so why are you calling?"

"i-i just wanted to let you know that i finally applied to florida atlantic, like you were nagging me to do all last year," michael spoke quietly, as if afraid to speak up any louder. once more, michael was greeted with the deafening silence and he nervously stood up from his desk chair, starting to pace back and forth in the small space in his bedroom.