the boxer // lrh au

thirty two ; overreacting

luke turns around to look at me and i scramble my head for the right words to say.

"don't go."

don't go? that's the best you could do bella? two whole words to really express your emotions huh.

i have got to be the stupidest person on this planet.

though my two meek words did absolutely nothing to calm my own tension down, luke visibly relaxed as his shoulders lowered and he finally looked at me.

"in all my years of living, i never thought that my best friend's little sister would be the one to make me feel something." luke mutters underneath his breath, turning back around and exiting the apartment.

confusion. luke left with all my unanswered questions and a whole bunch of confusion. since when did luke hemmings feel something for me? i am the most ordinary girl. i'm sure he's met hundreds of other girls who were prettier, put together, had nicer bodies. yet luke hemmings had the audacity to come into my apartment while i looked like a thirteen-year-old and tell me that i made him feel something.

i don't make people like luke feeling anything unless it's annoyance, and that was the truth.

so here i am, at one in the morning, utterly confused, and not tired at all anymore.

and there were only two people i wanted to talk to, yet i know one of them i couldn't talk to considering he is my brother's best friend and confiding in him would be a death wish.

so i was left with calling michael clifford at ungodly hours in the morning and shouting.

-

"who does he think he is?!" i shout into the phone, eating michael's favorite ice cream. eating it almost made it feel like he was there with me.

"i don't know bella but i think you're overreacting," michael says on the other line, yawning.

"overreacting?"

michael clifford, in all my years of being friends with him, has never told me that i have overreacted. that is his department of friendship. he was, in fact, in theatre.

"yes bella, overreacting. it's one in the morning. for all you know, he could have been drunk."

i frown at his words and analyze the newly given information. i didn't want to tell michael that i knew he wasn't drunk. i didn't want to tell him that he walked straight to my couch with ease and that his hands were cold to the touch and that when i grabbed his wrist, i could feel his pulse beating rapidly even though drinking alcohol would've slowed it down.

"yeah, maybe," i whisper through the phone.

"get some rest love, you don't need to be stressing over this. luke will probably call you tomorrow and clarify what he was talking about."

i let michael's words soothe me even though i had a feeling luke wouldn't be calling me anytime soon. people like luke had things to do, people to see. i was at the bottom of his priority list.

"thank you mikey. i'll see you tomorrow?" i ask, hoping he'll come over. even though tyler would be home and calum will most likely be with him, i wanted my best friend to be with me.

"of course love. i'll be there as soon as you wake up. love you lots. sleep tight." he says before hanging up.

and then, i was alone again.

-

"wake up dummy."

i have been awake for a total of 15 minutes but what michael doesn't know won't hurt him. i am a light sleeper as michael knows yet he knows it takes hours to actually get me out of the bed.

"no," i mutter, pulling the blanket over my head.

"luke texted you." i hear michael say from under the covers.

nice try michael clifford. you may play smart but i know luke did not text me.

"nice try," i mumble, slowly feeling myself going back to sleep again.

michael clears his throat and i roll my eyes. what is he planning?

"hey bells, just wanted to say forget about what happened yesterday. i was being weird. lets just go back to not talking to each other. would be easier for tyler and me both."

is he joking?

"michael clifford you better not be playing with me right now." at this point i was hiding underneath the covers in hopes of praying that luke really didn't text me. he can't come in and say all these things about him changing and feeling things for me and then decide that he didn't want to talk to me.

"he has a very bland name in your phone. do you only have cool names for tyler, calum, and i?" michael asks. i just knew he had a smirk on his face.

i toss the covers off my face and glare at michael.

"phone?" i hold my hand out so he can give me my phone so i can see for sure if luke had really texted me.

michael graciously hands it over and i scroll through the notifications on my lock screen. i didn't have a lot considering my only friends practically lived in my apartment but i did have a few snapchat and youtube notifications.

pathetic, i know.

just as my heart rate was slowing down from not seeing luke's name pop up on my phone anymore, i see a text message notification from none other than- the devil himself.

"are you kidding me? what was he even doing up at five in the morning?" i murmur, pulling the covers over my head again.

"hey bella, don't be sad. it's okay. i thought you wanted luke to not talk to you again. for tyler's benefit." michael gets into bed with me, getting underneath the sheets with me and wrapping his arms around me.

"i know but he can't do this. it's not fair." i say into michael's chest.

"wait," michael says, pulling away from. "do you like luke?" he asks, genuinly curious.

"i shouldn't."

"but do you?"

"i think so, yeah." i hear myself say before i can stop myself.