hospital gowns. [muke] (REVISING)

vii - the first night.

it was different living in a new house. i had stayed in the same house since my dad and i moved away from mom when i was 3. again, i had found myself having to readjust to a whole new house. i turned on the tv, trying to figure out how the television remote and everything else in the room worked. i looked at the time in the corner of the tv. it was 2:15am and i was still wide awake, so i had decided to find michael's room and see if he was still up.

i got out of bed and opened my bedroom door, hearing michael's voice shouting from down the hall.

"fuck you man!" yeah, it was definitely michael.

"suck a fucking dick, oh my god." i followed the sounds of his shouting downstairs, holding back giggles at his profanity.

"oh i will, ya cunt." i furrowed my eyebrows and pushed open the door to michael's bedroom, peeking my head in to see him sitting in front of his tv, with an xbox controller in his hands. he had a hoodie pulled over his head and his back to the door, which meant he had no idea he was there.

i just stared at michael as i quietly stepped into his room, standing in front of the door and continuing to listen to him curse out whoever was on the other side of his headset.

"fuck you, calum," he laughed. "you worthless piece of shit!" michael raised his voice towards the end of his sentence and i immediately felt my body tense up. michael sounded just like my father, and my brain was filled with bad memories, kicking into overdrive. i backed up, running into the door and letting out a soft whimper as the door knob pressed against my side. if michael didn't know i was there before, he definitely did now.

"shit." he muttered, standing up and speaking into the mic. "cal, man listen, i gotta go." michael pulled off his headset before i rushed out of the bedroom. i heard michael calling after me, but i ignored him. i raced to find my room in what felt like a maze of a hallway and once i recognized my room, i quickly closed the door and locked it. i crawled into bed and pulled the covers over me, closing my eyes and counting to ten, my voice extremely shaky.

i heard a knock on the door by the time i reached two, followed by a soft voice. "lukey, please," michael mumbled. "i didn't know you were in the room, please open the door."

i let out a deep breath and pulled my knees closer to my chest, closing my eyes tight. i heard clicking noises, followed by the door opening. my breathing sped up as i felt the weight of michael sitting on the edge of my bed, and the feeling of his hand rubbing my back through the blanket.

"i am so sorry." he whispered. i calmed down slightly and let my muscles relax as the covers were lifted off of me, and another warm presence pressed against me. it was michael.

michael wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled my smaller body against to his, and i was suddenly okay. i wasn't shaking, i wasn't crying, and i wasn't riddled with anxiety. there were no negative feelings. i don't know how michael always calmed me down, but he did. i closed my eyes and once michael pressed a kiss to my nape of my neck, i quickly drifted off to sleep in michael's arms, with a smile on my lips.