Seven Devils // lashton/muke

chapter eleven

"Mike, the boxes!"

"Mom, I know!" He shouted from his room as he kicked his shoes off, groaning as he realized he couldn't just go straight to sleep.

He threw his jacket on the bed and the unbuckled his belt, pausing as he remembered there's always a second party. "Ghost boy?" He asked, and when he didn't get a reply, he kicked off his skinny jeans and switched them for a pair of shorts.

He heard a shriek half way through getting his left leg through the fabric and he looked around. "Look, if I'm changing, don't look."

"Sorry."

Michael face palmed before pulling his sweats on, wondering how the fuck he got stuck with a perverted gay ghost as a roommate. He opened the door and then walked out, seeing his mom standing there.

"Ma! Hey..." He trailed off and his mom looked into his room.

"Were you talking to someone?" She asked and Michael scratched his neck awkwardly as he tried to up a lie.

"I'm face-timing Ash-"

"This was a boy's voice, honey." She pointed out and Michael looked around. "Are you talking to a boy? And you haven't told me about him?"

"I just got off the phone with him." Michael lied quickly. "Sorry, ma. Next time, I'll introduce you."

"You better." She set her finger on his nose and he pushed her hand off of him. "Your dad and I are going to sleep. Don't be noisy?"

"Promise." Michael nodded and she kissed his head. He huffed as she walked away and then turned around to see Luke on his bed with a shit eating grin.

"Honey..." Luke mimicked Michael's mother and he scowled loudly at the ghost boy. "Don't be noisy, honey."

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes as he swung the door open. "Don't antagonize me."

He made his way to the spare room, finding towers of boxes around and dusty furniture. Michael groaned as he saw it all, and then looked beside him to see Luke staring at it all. "Is this your shit?"

"Yeah." He nodded as he approached a box. "Only... my shit." He added as he opened it, finding a spelling bee trophy from like the fifth grade.

"You really were a geek. Spelling bee?" Michael snickered as he picked up a box. "You wanna go through this before I stash them away, forever hidden from daylight and forgotten from memory?"

"Yeah, actually. I do. I never had the guts to go through these." Luke admitted as he continued fishing through the box.

"You don't have guts." Michael scoffed as he set the box down and opened it. "Bro, this is ancient." He gasped as he picked up a bulky gaming system.

"Shut up."

"How old are you?" Michael teased, shutting the door behind him so no one saw floating trophies or books. "Seriously."

"I'd be...  twenty this year."

"Oh, you're not as old as I thought. Lame." Michael chuckled and Luke threw a ball at him. "Love you too, ghosty."

"You're insane."

"Probably." The boy admitted as he opened yo another box, this time with a large leather case inside of it. "She's beautiful."

"What? Did you find pictures?" Luke asked, and Michael could see him flashing visibly. He wasn't quite there, but he wasn't quite gone.

Michael dug the case out and then held it up, blowing it off soon after and wiping it with his hand. He found that it was a guitar case, and he looked over to where Luke was once standing. "Is this..."

"They... never took it." Luke whispered and Michael opened it fully, taking in the guitar in all of his dusty, yet vintage beauty.

A black pick guard and a warm mahogany wood body with customized frets of rainbow hearts and silver toned tuning pegs. Spiderwebs filled the inside, and the strings looked like they needed to be changed, but it was beautiful. He loved it.

"If this house wasn't haunted, I would have taken this and not thought a second more of it." Michael admitted and he watched as the guitar lifted. "Dude, spiders."

"Don't be a wuss."

Michael scoffed and then folded his arms over his chest, watching as Luke's invisible body held the guitar up. "You're lucky you're dead." Michael shivered as he looked at his arms to make sure there were no insects on him. "I'm gonna die."

Soon, the sound of an untuned guitar rang through the room and Michael cringed at each wrong note. It physically hurt him for such a beautiful instrument to sound like complete and utter shit.

"Can you play?"

"I um... I'm learning." Michael answered and Michael heard the doorknob jingle. He immediately reached for the instrument, and he looked as the door swing open.

"Mikey? You okay in here?"

"Look what I found." Michael told his dad and then held up the guitar. "Isn't it pretty?"

"It is. Now you can replace the one that one asshole smashed." His dad nodded and looked at it. "Want me to clean it up?"

"Please?" Michael asked and his dad took it. "I'll be done soon."

"Alright. Stop snooping before you find something scarring." The adult scolded and Michael nodded, but didn't listen. As soon as the door shit, he began looking through the boxes.

"You'll take care of her, right?" He heard Luke's voice and Michael turned around to see the blond standing there.

"Course." He smiled and Luke bent down beside him. "Trust me."

"I can't stop you if you don't." Luke shrugged and then looked through more boxes with him. "You should really get to moving them, not looking through them."

"Is this you?" Michael asked as he pulled out another polaroid. "Aw, you're cute." He hushed as he saw the baby picture.

"Give me that."

Luke tried grabbing it from him but Michael shook his head, holding it away from him as he took in the small blond dressed as Elvis. "You're adorable." He pouted and then widened his eyes as the tall blond fell on top of him.

They tumbled on to the floor, and Michael groaned loudly as his head hit the floor. There was a weight on top of him and he looked, finding Luke sitting there and reaching for the photo in his hand.

"Give it." Luke complained one last time and then looked at it, shoving it into a box beside him. "Don't look at those."

Michael looked up at Luke, his face flaring up as he realized how this may look if someone walked in. "Luke..." He mumbled and then grabbed the blond's thigh. "You're sitting on my-"

"Oh." Luke looked at him and then reached to get up. "I'm sorry."

Michael sat up and then watched as Luke stood, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "I wish you were alive." Michael muttered to himself and then looked at his lap.

"I do too."

Oh shit he heard, Michael thought to himself as he tried to ignore the kid's gaze. He didn't want to think about him and the awkward position they were in. Or even the awkward thoughts he's been having.