REHAB [5SOS]

ENTER

ENTER

Luke

He fidgeted with the hem of his flannel, eyes darting from side to side as he walked up the path to the rehabilitation center.

Luke had to remind himself, constantly, that this was good for him, and that going to rehab was a sign of progress, not detriment.

Still, he'd wrinkled his nose at the idea.

Behind him, Michael was kicking a rock down the path, his hands shoved in his pockets, muttering under his breath about the stupidity of it all.

Luke couldn't help but agree.

It was still weird that he and Michael were getting towards friends. After all, Michael was put in the asylum for burning his house down-

"Hey, loser- I mean, Luke, do we actually have to go through with this? They're not gonna know if we ditch, right?" Michael asked, another kick sending the rock skidding down the concrete. His bag bumped against his leg as he did so.

As much as Luke wanted to bail, he knew it'd wouldn't be a good idea. He fiddled with the strap of his bag, which was filled with his things. "You know, it might not be that bad."

Michael snorted. "Not bad? Please. This place is probably as hellish as that asylum."

Luke secretly agreed. Unfortunately, with Michael, he had to be the better person. "Let's just suffer through this," he said.

Michael kicked the rock into Luke's leg. "Oops," he said, grinning widely at Luke.

Luke sighed. "You know, you could be just a little nicer to me. I gave you a ride here-"

"Because I totally wanted to come to rehab. Silly me. I am indebted to you, my lord Luke. I apologize for my indolence," Michael interrupted, grinning when Luke shot him a look.

"Would you rather have come by police car?" Luke asked. "After all, they didn't just release us straight out. We kind of have to go through this."

Michael kicked the rock again. "So, so stupid."

They reached the building. Luke reached out to open the door, but Michael's hand darted out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Wait," he said, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.

Luke looked at Michael, confused. "What?"

"I..." he took another breath, his hand shaking around Luke's wrist. "I... I hate this place more than I hated the asylums," he muttered, his voice so low that Luke had to lean in to catch the words.

Luke was startled. "You've been here before?"

Michael opened his eyes and gave Luke a wry smile. "This ain't my first time around this track," he said. "I'm permanently screwed up." He dropped Luke's arm.

Luke frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

Luke raised an eyebrow at him. "Doesn't seem like it. You grabbed my arm."

"I had to stop you."

"You used to slap my hand away when you tried to do that."

Michael sighed. "I'm trying to be nicer, okay? Don't make it harder." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you care?"

Luke shrugged. "Dunno. Let's just go."

Luke reached for the door again, but once again, Michael grabbed his arm.

"What?"

"Thanks. For not treating me like I treated you," he muttered quickly, reluctantly. "Okay, let's go." He opened the door and walked in, posture tense.

Luke shook his head, confused and followed Michael in. He couldn't understand Michael.

Then again, he'd never been able to.

[A/N: Welcome back]