RUN! [Muke/Cashton]

Chapter Twenty-Two.

Monday morning rolled around again marking the beginning of yet another school week. One would think that by now, the routine of getting out of bed and getting ready for school would be easy for someone who has been doing that exact thing each weekday morning for the majority of his life, but Luke still struggled. The boy's hand flailed around, the first part of him to emerge from under his sheets, as he tried to find his cellphone that he had thrown on his bedside table in a hope to stop the alarm that was blaring through the usual early morning quiet. 

He groaned when he somehow managed to get the device to silence. Pulling his head from beneath the covers, Luke emerged from his blanket cocoon squinting at the sunlight pouring through his light-coloured curtains. The boy rolled over onto to his back, glaring up at his baby blue ceiling hoping the obnoxiously bright colour would help him stay awake. 

It took five more seconds of staring at the same spot for Luke's eyes to droop shut, long limbs again sprawled across his covers as he came closer to dreamland. A little more time and the boy would of fully been asleep, but unfortunately for his extra snoozing time, Luke had made friends with the world's most dedicated morning person. Riley's contact filled the boy's screen as each of the girl's rant filled texts were received. He tried his best to understand what the girl was rambling about as each little icon popped on his screen, but his still sleepy brain couldn't keep up with all the expletives and emojis that came with each notification. 

Thankfully the girl's flood of messages did help wake him up a little more and boy was finally able to crawl to the edge of his bed. Luke took a moment to stretch, finding relief with each crack from his joint, before letting his toes touch the cold flooring. He ruffled his already messy bedhead staring at his door. If he didn't get out of bed he would be late for school. Luke didn't really care if he was early for his first class that day, but he knew that if Riley was already this pissed off so early the girl would only be more irritated if he didn't arrive early enough to listen to her woes in person. 

Deciding that he didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of Riley's rampages the blonde dragged himself to the bathroom, bringing his phone along with him. Placing his phone on one of the shelves and out of danger, he cupped his hands under the cold stream of the faucet splashing his face, even getting part of his face that had fell onto his face. He met his eyes in his reflection of his bathroom mirror. The Luke staring back at him reminded him of the boy he used to see when he was still at Raleigh. 

His skin was blotchy,irritated red patches showing evidence of his lack of self care the past few weeks. His regular under eye dark circles seemed amplified, recently it seemed like no amount of sleep was enough to make him feel better. His days were just a cycle that led to him feeling ever more fatigued than he had the day before.

Hanging out with his friends helped a bit. Riley's anecdotes were always amusing and Erika's fight to control her girlfriend was entertaining, though she usually gave as Riley had no filter. Yet, Luke found himself participating in their banter less than before. His eyes would always find Michael, shattering the relief he got and landing it back where he started.

Luke couldn't escape him. 

The teen knew it would be hard to avoid the boy. He was close by in all of his classes, a part of his friend group and his teammate. Track was different now that he had transferred. Disagreements between team members were commonplace at Raleigh, loud arguments and jeering just another part of the locker room back drop. Michael didn't fight him like his others would, didn't push Luke's buttons in the hope for him explode. The boy left him alone, carry on with the rest of the team like nothing significant had occurred between them.

Athletics was the only thing Luke knew himself to be good at. He spent so much time focused on the sport and shaping his life around it now defined him. Some that was all he was, another young sprinter driven by winning, a way to save their school's reputation and gain fame.