I'm Not Fine At All 》Michael Clifford

Chapter Seventeen

Riley's POV:

I woke up in possibly the most comfortable position I've ever slept in, my body pressed up against Michael's, my face nestled in his chest as I listened to his heartbeat, and his arms around me keeping me warm, and actually, if I were being honest, probably keeping me from rolling off of the bed. Sweet Michael, always keeping me safe, right? Honestly, I was grateful, because the floor would feel like crap compared to this.

I felt him take a deep breath, then start to shift his weight. Inside my head, I was screaming at him to not move, but even through all of my silent yelling, he rolled onto his back, and pulled me with him. I was now resting on top of him, which was actually okay, but it wasn't the same as we were before. I sighed and made myself comfortable, then looked up as he stretched his arms out and yawned. Then, the eyes that I could never get tired of looking at opened, and glanced down at me.

"Good morning, Princess," He said in a husky voice, and kissed me gently on the forehead. I smiled, and ran my fingers through his hair.

"Good morning, Teddy Bear." I replied, as I kissed his nose, and snuggled deeper into him.

"You may wanna get up," He whispered, but I shook my head.

"I don't ever wanna get up. This is perfect, right here." I replied, and he chuckled.

"But don't you want me to show you around? It is your first official day in Australia!" He said.

"Actually, that was yesterday. Today, it's my first official morning in Australia." I answered, poking his tummy. He full on laughed this time, and I smiled in return.

"Whatever, let's not get a technical about it. Either way, I still need to show you around." I whined and pouted as he released me and rolled over slowly, and slipped his feet out of the bed and onto the floor. He stood up and turned to look at me, where I was curled up in the blankets like a baby. "Come on," He said offering me a hand. I took it slowly, and he hoisted me out of the bed with ease. "Did you sleep alright? No more nightmares?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Timezones were still a killer, but no more nightmares." He smiled and wrapped me in a hug. We stood there next to the bed in the light of the open window, holding each other as if our lives depended on it.

When we finally broke away from one another, I made my way to my room and changed, brushed my teeth and did my hair. Then, after a bit of a mental debate, I ditched the makeup and went downstairs, where Michael and his mother were eating breakfast.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Help yourself to anything you like. I'll be out grocery shopping this morning, but I'll be back later." Karen smiled and put her dishes in the sink, then took her keys and left. I got a small cup of coffee, and a piece of bacon, then sat down next to Michael. He looked at my coffee, then at me with raised eyebrows.

"Not used to eating at four in the afternoon." I said as I sipped the coffee.

"But it's nine in the morning!" He said in a surprised tone.

"But it's four in the afternoon in New York." I replied. He got the "Oh, duh!" look and nodded, then put his arm around my waist and his chin on my head.

"I love you." He whispered. He seemed to enjoy being able to say that freely, and I'll admit that I did too.

"I love you more." So cliché, I know right?

"I love you most." Tangled... he sounded like the movie Tangled. I giggled at the thought, and he looked at me. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Let's go." I said as I finished my bacon and left my half empty coffee cup on the counter.

>>>>>>

The sky was dark, and had clouded over since Michael and I left his house. We walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalks, swinging our arms and talking about random things, enjoying each other's company. He was stopped by a few people at times, some fans, and some people that he already knew.

When we were tired of window shopping, and talking to the seemingly endless flow of people who knew Michael, we made our way to a small park, with long grassy areas and lots of trees. As we sat down beneath a large tree, and Michael leaned up against the trunk, sat down next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder. We heard a bit of thunder in the distance, but ignored it as the breeze brushed past us.

After a moment of silence, he started to hum quietly the tune to You And Me, the Lifehouse song that we sang together back in New York. I smiled and closed my eyes as he began to softly sing the lyrics to the chorus to me.

" Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all of the people
And I don't know why I can't keep my eyes off of you."

All of a sudden, the rain started coming down lightly around us. I felt the wetness in my hair, and looked up at the sky as a much louder clap of thunder hit, and shuddered. Michael started smoothly and ever so softly into the first verse of the song, as the rain picked up more and more with every second.

" What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time."

He stood abruptly, and left me sitting on the grass feeling confused. He held his hand out, and I looked at it with raised eyebrows.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking up to meet his smile.

"Just take my hand. Trust me," He said, the raindrops soaking his red hair and trickling down his nose. I slowly took his hand, and he pulled me up easily, then pulled me close to him and put my hands around his neck, then moved his own hands down to my waist. I realised what he was doing, and backed away quickly, then looked down and whispered,

"I don't dance." He stepped forward and took my hand. "I don't know how."

"I don't either," He replied with a light smile. I smiled back and put my arms back around his neck as he put his back around my waist. He started singing again, and we moved back and forth slowly to his voice. I was grinning like an idiot at the extreme cheesiness between us at that moment. Slow dancing in the rain to no music, unless you counted Michael singing, which I didn't, because halfway through the song he stopped singing, when I wrapped my arms all the way around his neck stood on my tippy toes as we swayed back and forth. We stayed that way for the longest time, just wrapped up in each other.

The moment was ruined, when the clouds decided to flash us out and the lightning began to strike closely. The thunder hit too, much louder than before, and I jumped as Michael tightened his grip around me.

"Maybe we should find somewhere to get," He said as I pulled my head back to look at him. And as though mother nature was agreeing with him, another bolt of lightning hit close by, causing us both to jump, then laugh at our reactions.

"I think so too." I replied.

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Author's Note >
HOLY NACHOS ALMOST 250 READS THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH YOU PEOPLE ARE THE BEST I SWEAR! This is so much further than I ever thought this book would go! I can't explain how freaking pumped I am rn. I may die of excitement!!
Don't yall stop being awesome! ♡♡♡
Ri ~