Faker | Muke

Chapter Thirty-Five

Michael stood in front of the stove, mindlessly stirring around the soup he's been trying to heat up without burning it... like he did twenty minutes ago to the first pot. He's lost in thought constantly, thinking about where he went wrong and ruined everything and had the only person he loves taken away.

Jennifer requested a meeting with him this morning, but Michael didn't show up. The thought of doing anything anymore was torture to him. He saw Luke in everything wherever he went. The blond boy knew now about what went down, what Michael went through to keep him safe and out of the trouble their management has put Michael through, but here he is, still left alone waiting for Luke to come back to him.

Everyday Michael wakes up to see pictures of Luke and his girlfriend flooding the internet and it makes his stomach churn. It's so foreign to see Luke with anyone else but himself. To see the boy he fell in love with so long ago cling to someone else's hand, to kiss their cheek, to hold them so delicately in the public eye.

Michael only wants the best for Luke and if him being with someone else is what will happen, Michael will support him through everything. Even if that means sitting in a church pew years down the road to attend Luke's wedding then so be it. Michael will suffer through it all to see Luke happy and enjoying life.

"What's got you so lost in thought?" Troye asked, grabbing a bottle of juice out of fridge and jumping up to sit on the counter.

Michael hadn't seen much of the brunet recently, him having being on a few trips across the country with his own boyfriend. Besides, the public eye seems to see them now as past lovers and anything between will stir up some drama if they were to leave the house together. Not that their management would mind, but it wasn't something the two wanted to start up again.

Michael let out a long sigh, removing his sauce pan off the heat and turning the stove off. He'd leave his soup to cool before consuming it. "Luke. I told him everything, but he's still with his girlfriend."

"I'm sorry." Troye said sincerely, giving Michael a sad look. He got to come out with a happy ending, but Michael's left mopping around. Waiting. Waiting for Luke to maybe change his mind and show the faux blond some form of hope.

"Don't be." Michael gave the brunet a tight smile, moving back around to ladle some soup into a bowl. "It's all my fault anyway. If only I had told him sooner... Maybe I could've avoided all of this."

"Don't beat yourself up. You didn't know he'd move on so fast to someone else. I didn't see that one coming either, but now you need to keep reminding him that your love still stands so he knows. That reminder and that promise to him that you'll never leave will be so reassuring." Troye said truthfully, patting the spot next to on the counter for Michael to hop up on. Michael followed suit, situating himself before before slurping his soup. "Plus, have you see those paparazzi photos of him and that girl? It pretty much screams sketchy."

Michael stopped slurping his soup, looking over and staring Troye down with his brows furrowed in thought. "Uh, what?"

Troye giggled, patting Michael on the back before continuing his explanation. "It looks set up. Yeah they're at heavily populated areas in LA, but there's never actually paparazzi there unless they've been paid or someone tipped them off."

"What are you saying?" Michael asked, bewildered by Troyes statement. But it all started to make sense. The way it happened so fast between Luke and Hailey, the way she appeared out of thin air, the way there's always high quality photos of them. Nothing that fans every take, no, it was the good stuff. The photos that continue to rip Michael's out and crumble it to shreds.

"What I'm saying is she must be working for someone. It's all too similar to our situation except Luke's still in the dark and doesn't know." Troye shrugged, sliding down off the countertop. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat more about these theories, but I have a date with Connor in an hour and who knows how long it'll take me to get there at rush hour."

Michael nodded, saying his goodbyes to the brunet, but stayed sitting in the kitchen. His soup now cold and forgotten, he was once again lost in thought over Troye words. How true they sounded to him. He's had to deal with all of these stunts for the past while, he should've noticed something seemed off, but who's he to say it is when it could possibly not be one at all.

Hailey could be faking it. Not that he would be surprised.

Except now, once Luke finds out the truth–if that truly is the case–he's going to left heartbroken once again.

Continuing to leave them to be pawns in Jennifer's game.

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(Ignore any mistakes I didn't edit oops)

Hmmmm 🤔

Thoughts?

Hailey most likely fake dating Luke?

Michael mopping around?

Troye making a reappearance lol?

OKAY, so my first day of college is tomorrow so my schedule is about to get crazy. I don't know when I'll have time to update, but I'll try my very best to get once in every once in awhile. Like I'm hoping twice a month. Because this story will be coming to close very soon so I want to finish it before the end of the year. Please don't give up on me omg

I love you guys, thanks for being patient with updates and still continuing to love this story as much as I love writing it.