cool » l. hemmings

ix.

⇉ luke ⇇

"I know you know who she is, Michelle," I said. I'd dragged her upstairs into my room, where she was now sitting in my desk chair, me across from her on my bed. My hands were running through my hair again, trying to find a way to explain myself.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugged her shoulders and looked around my room aimlessly. There were clothes and wrappers everywhere, I'm kind of embarrassed for her to be in here. Last time I'd brought her just happened to be a day after I decided to clean it a bit.

"Yes you do. And she knows you. Michael knows her, and Michael knows me."

Of course I hadn't known that Michelle was friends with Michael. But I've known who Michael is for almost two years. Not in the most pleasant of ways, either. When we moved to this neighborhood it took me until I saw him waiting for Michelle afterschool a few weeks ago to realize that he was the Michael she was friends with.

"You know, I think I do remember her now. I went to school with someone who looked exactly like her," Michelle placed her finger on her chin mockingly. "Michael dated someone who looked exactly like her. And, you know what? Michael was cheated on by someone who looked exactly like her, too!" she faked a surprised expression, then looking at me with the most serious look I'd ever seen. The tone of her voice made me wince, not prepared for the reaction even though I should've been.

"And she's still dating that someone."

I laughed nervously, looking down at the dirty carpet of my floor. "Yeah, she is, isn't she? I think we should talk about that." I could hear her scoff at me, probably rolling her eyes with it, too.

She had every right to be bitter about it; she'd become friends with the person who ruined her best friends relationship. In all honesty, I never wanted to. But, me being me, I went through with it. And now here we are.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice was normal, but slightly angry. "I was actually kind of starting to like you, Luke. You seemed alright, so why not?"

I hadn't even hurt her directly and she was upset. I'd like to see what she was like when someone did hurt her directly. Actually, no - I wouldn't, I'd probably hurt myself seeing her hurt, too.

I can't say that. But I did.

I also couldn't say I was actually, in a way, happy that my mother had told me to get Brooke to leave. It was weird; when I saw Michelle in the kitchen I almost didn't want to pay attention to the fact that my girlfriend was standing two inches away from me, looking at someone she already had a history with and who I had become close friends with. All I wanted to pay attention to was Michelle. The fact that I could keep a conversation with her, or sometimes just be in the same room as her, and still be entertained and interested was what made Michelle so special - it was hard for me to do that with anyone.

"Because I didn't know you were friends with him."

"You knew after I told you."

"But," I stopped myself. I had nothing to say to properly explain myself. "I didn't want to ruin anything."

"Can you tell me why you did it at least? Brooke? Doesn't seem like the type of girl you'd go after."

Right, because I've realized that the girl I'd go after would be you. "It was when she first moved to Melbourne. At a party a few weeks after school break started. I swear I didn't even know Michael existed then. I didn't know who he was for a whole three months." I had no excuse for the other three months after that when they were still together. I had no excuse for why I stayed with her when I found out she was cheating on me.