(Edited)

I had been laying on the mattress, staring at the ceiling for the past three hours. It was easy to fall asleep, but once I woke up around three o'clock, I couldn't seem to shut my mind off. So many things happened yesterday that I was struggling to put it all together. I almost revealed my feelings to Michael without even thinking twice about it. I didn't want to say it was a spur of the moment type of thing because I actually thought I might like him. But was it the right time to confess my feelings?

Lilly was right though he was angry with me for leaving that morning and staying away so long, only added salt to the wound. What was strange to me was the fact that I had disappeared countless of times before, so what changed this time? Why did he act differently?

If I had shown my face earlier, it would have caused so many problems; my face was still a bit bruised from the beating I had gotten, and I obviously couldn't have told them the truth. Also, the fact that I would have spilt my guts out to Michael and tell him everything as soon as our eyes met. Even though my face healed, the rest of my body still hurt a little bit; my stomach was luckily not going to scar, but the bruises were still evident. My thighs didn't ache on contact but burned sometimes; at least it was scabbing over.

I was feeling better though; a week was enough time being gone from my only source of sanity. I liked my solitude, but the four walls of the space called my bedroom was driving me insane, if I stayed any longer, I would have done something Id regret. I could physically feel the poisonous thoughts floating around me, shooting me with arrows of death, one slice and it would be over it whispered flying through the air. It was getting to me, tempting me to tip the balance over to the dark side and miraculously every time I was touching the brink of darkness, I would receive a message; my salvation, my friends asking if I was feeling better.

They didn't know it, but they were the reason that I was still breathing, and that made me smile. My train of thoughts was interrupted by a set of eyes looking at me, and from the direction, I felt them coming from, I knew my green-eyed boy was awake. My? I smiled loving the sound of it, if only it were true.

Before I could turn my head and ask him why he was staring, Michael decided to roll off the couch and land right on top of me; his legs landing on the outside caving me in underneath him. His move could have turned out a disaster, and I might have gotten hurt if it weren't for the fact that he held himself up by his hands, our face inches apart. My breath caught in my throat, my toes curling from just the mere sight of him. His jade-green eyes sent a shiver down my spine from our close proximity.

Michael looked down at me, his dimpled smile prominent, and I smiled sheepishly.

"Hi."

"Hi," I whispered back quietly, trying not to wake Ashton up. We stared at each other without saying anything, just enjoying the moment. The silence was killing me, but I loved how perfect our bodies moulded together; his scent clouded my judgment, and I was restraining myself not to kiss him.

I glanced at him from under my lashes and whispered playfully, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Michael chuckled, his chest moving against me. "Well, I had to stop you from burning a hole into the roof." He answered, pushing himself up a bit.

I rolled my eyes sassily, enjoying the lighthearted conversation. "Who said it doesnt deserve it? You dont know what that roof did." I tried to move my arm, but it was pressed up, against Michaels chest. I looked downwards to our position, and I blushed scarlet looking away. It was a very compromising position, and from the looks of it, Michael wasnt bothered by it one bit.

"Whats keeping you up, Princess?" he asked, breaking the silence. His hand tightened around my waist, afraid that I would leave him; a thought I couldnt even fathom. His pet name didnt go unnoticed and send a bunch of butterflies lose in my stomach.

I bit my lip slightly and rubbed small circles on his arm distractingly. "Nothing much, I just..." I stopped talking and looked up at him, his eyes already on me. They were so deep, so pensive like they held all the answers to my questions. "Im really sorry for worrying you." A tear rolled down my cheek, and Michael brushed it away with his thumb.

"Its okay, actually, its not okay, but I forgive you. I dont think I- we could stand to lose you." He said, catching himself quickly. He laid all his weight on the one side and brushed some hair behind my ear with his free hand. I smiled. "Promise me you wont do that again?" he asked hopefully.

I wanted to make that promise to him; I wanted to promise him that everything would be okay, that I would be okay. That I would never disappear like that again, but I knew my situation, and it was a promise I couldnt keep even if I wanted to.

"I-" A loud snore interrupted, saving me from the lie that I was going to tell him. We looked over at the noise, and it was coming from Ashton. He laid on his back with his mouth wide open, drool on the one side of his lips. I scrunched up my nose and cooed at the same time; he was adorable.

Michael tittered a bit. "How something like that gets girls is beyond me." He shook his head in amusement. I was glad for the interruption and wanted to keep it that way.

"I heard that you have your own room, mind showing me?" I asked, pushing him lightly of me. I didnt want to wake our friends up, and there was no way I could go back to sleep. Michael smiled cheekily at me and grabbed my hand, leading us there.

A few hours passed since we went to his room. We spent it talking and messing around. We got to know each other better by playing twenty questions. Michael was acting weird but the good kind, he pulled me onto his bed and cuddled, talking about anything we could think off. Our time alone that I couldnt get enough off was interrupted by my tummy grumbling.

"Lets go feed you," he said with a chuckle. Michael took my hand, and we descended towards the kitchen but walked into the dining room instead, following the sound of peoples voices.

We entered the dining room with our hands intertwined and stopped dead in our tracks. The guys and Emily were seated around the table, laughing at something a middle-aged man said. Next to him sat a beautiful woman roughly around the same age as him; from the looks of it, they were Jason and Masons parents, the resemblance was uncanny.

"Should we be concerned with your whereabouts for the past three hours?" Mason asked smugly, taking everyones attention away from what they were doing.

Jason smirked at Michael like he knew something the rest of us didnt. "Yes, should we?"

I stood with my back slightly turned from his parents, so I didnt introduce myself just yet. I smiled sweetly at Mason and walked over to him. "Should we be concerned about your disappearance yesterday with a certain best friend of mine in front of your parents?" I whispered next to him. His face paled, and he looked over at his parents. Michael chuckled because he was the only one that heard what I had said to him.

Masons eyes widened, panicked. "No, no concern here!" He shook his head violently and turned to Jason. "Right, Jason?"

Jason looked confused. "What? Of course, we are con-" he stopped abruptly. "Ow, Shit!" he exclaimed in pain. He glared at Mason, who kicked him under the table. "What the hell, man?" Jason yelled, punching Mason on the arm.

"Shit! You assho-" Mason started to retaliate.

"Enough!" A feminine voice interrupted their banter.

Michael and I sat down by this time, both of us smiling. We sat across Emily, Jason and Mason. Ashton sat next to me on my right. The boys parents; their father sat on their side and mother on mine. She smiled at her sons and shook her head. I couldnt stop staring at her, she reminded me of myself, and it freaked me out a little bit. I looked over at the man and realized that the boys resembled their fathers looks and only had their mothers eyes. Ms Loud turned to me with a welcoming smile but stopped when our eyes met. She gasped and held her husbands hand tighter. He looked over at her and saw what she was staring at; his reaction was similar to hers. I fidgeted in my seat, looking around uncomfortably.

Michael squeezed my thigh; he cleared his throat to get their attention. They didnt stop staring at me. "Guys!" he called them. They snapped out of it and chuckled awkwardly.

"Sorry, hun! Its just that you look so much like..." She trailed off, shaking her head and smiled. Her husband rubbed her back and tried to hide the awkward tension with a chuckle.

I felt super awkward, and from the looks of it, I wasnt the only one. Emily, like me, also felt that something was up, she kept sending me questioning glances. The only ones that looked like they knew what was going on were the boys and the parents.

"Mom, Dad, this is our friend Autumn." Jason introduced me. I smiled shyly and gave a small wave. They smiled; it was still timid, but they at least tried. The guys started a conversation, and we all fell in, the tension easing up a bit, but I could still see them looking at me from the corner of my eye. I kept glancing at them every once in a while. Their fathers eyes drew me in; it felt like I was looking in a mirror.

"How do you guys know each other?" Ms Loud asked. I learned her name was Mandy.

"We go to the same school," Ashton answered, filling in for the boys silence. The boys froze at their question; we used to bully her wasnt an answer they could give them. They looked at me, regret-filled their eyes and I winked. It was water under the bridge.

Mandy turned towards me, a small smile on her face. "Autumn, right?" she asked, referring to my name. I shook my head, yes. "Autumn is quite a unique name. How did your parents come up with it?" She took a bite of her toast and passed the jug of juice over to Jason.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "The usual way, I suppose." I was half lying about it; I had an assumption on how I got my name. I had a leaf-shaped birthmark under my left breast, but I wasnt going to tell her that. Her reaction to my name reminded me of the one the boys had the first time they heard my name. They freaked out and called me a liar. I took a bite of my toast and gave her a closed-lip smile.

"We should have another sleepover next weekend, but everyone should be here next time," Jason said, trying to move the attention away from me.

"Definitely, Ill host," Ashton said with a mouth full. I wiggled my nose; he could be so gross.

"Dude!" Ashton chuckled ignoring Michaels scolding.

"So Autumn, where are you from?" Mandy asked.

I swallowed the bacon I was chewing and wiped my mouth clean. "Australia," I told her. "As far as Im aware of," I mumbled. Michael glanced at me, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Ah! That explains the slight ascent." Jonathan, their father, said with a smile joining in on the conversation.

"Yes, sir!"

He waved his hand at me. "None of that sir crap, just call me Jonathan." I nodded and looked over at Jason and Mason for some help. They were interrogating me, and it was annoying me a little bit, Emily was here too, and I knew for a fact that she hadnt met their parents before. So why am I the centre of attention?

"So why did you move here?" She asked, ignoring the look Michael was sending her.

I stiffened. "A change of scenery, I guess." I knew that I was lying to them, but I didnt want to tell them my life story, and I knew for a fact that the boys wouldnt tell them either.

Mandy smiled warmly, not catching onto my lie. "Thats nice, honey, so what about your pa-"

Jason interrupted her. "Whats with the interrogation Ma?" he asked her, slightly irritated.

She rolled her eyes. "Im not interrogating. I just want to get to know her." She shrugged.

"Tell us about your parents, what do they do?" Jonathan asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

My hands trembled, and I placed my cup back onto the table, suddenly losing my appetite. I cleared my throat and stood up slowly. "Im sorry, but I have to get going, thanks for breakfast mam." I gave her a fake smile and looked at her husband, who looked startled by my sudden departure. "It was nice to meet you, sir!" I looked over at my friends and pushed the chair into place. "Ill get started on cleaning up upstairs." I walked out of the dining room, leaving two slightly confused parents and five understanding friends behind.

My five idiots walked into the screening room. It was the funniest sight; four people trying to get through one door all at the same time, three muscular boys and one small girl pushing and pulling each other trying to go first, Michael standing behind them arms folded.

"I was born first!"

"Im prettier!"

"I smell better!"

"Im amazing!"

"I dont give a flying shit about any of you, now move so I can get to Autumn!" Michael exclaimed. He pushed all four in, causing them to topple on top of each other, landing on the floor. Michael smirked and dusted imaginary dust from his hands. He walked over to me, ignoring the angry growls our friends were sending him and I chuckled. He came up to me and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug like he wanted to glue all my broken pieces together. At this exact moment, I realized that last night brought us closer together.

"You are terrible!" I chuckled and buried my face into his neck. His musky forest scent overwhelmed me, filling me with a sense of safeness. I felt him chuckle against me, he kissed my head gently and moved away, looking at our friends on the floor.

Jason stood up and glared at Michael. "Why do you hate me?" he asked, shocked, shouldering a laughing Michael and sat down on the couch.

Emily stood up and dusted herself off. She opened her mouth to scold him but stopped when she saw her boyfriend. I followed where she was looking and saw the weirdest thing, which honestly shouldnt even surprise me. On the floor laid Ashton and Mason. Mason laid with his head on Ashtons stomach and a surprised facial expression all over his face. He swatted his hand in the air to get us to quiet down; we werent even talking. He laid still for a few minutes, trying to listen to Ashtons stomach.

"The whales are communicating," Mason said in an awed tone.

"I wanna hear it!" Ashton said excitedly, shoving Mason off. He tried to put his head closer to his stomach, failing miserably. The room went quiet, you could hear a pin drop, and the sound of Ashtons stomach grumbling filled the room. We all started laughing so hard; I had tears in my eyes. You couldnt find people like this anywhere else.

"How the bloody hell can you still be hungry? You just ate!" Jason asked astounded.

Ashton shrugged and smiled innocently. "Im a growing boy!"

After cleaning everything up and casually saying goodbye to everyone and by that, I mean giving everyone subtle hugs every once in a while. The reason for all of it was because I told them I was leaving and that I wanted to walk. But they told me, very rudely, that I was delusional. So, I did the unexpected and snuck out of the house, but since I knew my friends would freak out, I waited until I was a great distance away and send Michael a text. He was extremely angry with me, but I need this time alone to think and reevaluate my upcoming choices.

This sleepover made life worth living for. It sounds ridiculous that one sleepover could make me want to fight and hang on, but it wasnt the sleepover itself, it was what occurred during it, the people that were in it and all the little things in between. To know that I had people that cared about me, loved me unconditionally and were there for me when I needed them made it all worth it. Then just as fast as that thought came, it disappeared, replaced by guilt. Guilt from all the lies Ive told, from the high walls Ive built around me, but I was scared. The thought of Michael leaving me was horrible. Id rather have them torture me than lose him. That thought alone made me breathless.

I got so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I almost missed the person walking out of my house. Since I was walking across the street, the stranger didnt notice me. He looked familiar. I crouched down behind a bush and slightly peaked over the edge. I squinted my eyes to make sure I wasnt hallucinating. It was him! I havent seen him in almost two years, but his features were unmistakable. Ever since Ive met Dustin, Shawn and James, I had remembered bits and pieces of my past, and his face was the most prominent.

My brain finally caught up with the rest of me. I grabbed my phone and texted James that we should meet up. With my shaking hands and my heartbeat skyrocketing, I sped-walked to my destination. My phone vibrated in my hands, and I almost dropped it out of fright. James asked what was going on. With my throat as dry as sandpaper I texted back, Ryan was at my house.

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