ten

From / Mikey

I have another excuse absence pass for you. When they call you down, just go out the side door. I'll be there.

Luke looked down, reading his phone under the desk. He probably looked like a maniac—just smiling down at his crotch.

A pass from the office came his way five minutes later, though, and he did exactly what he needed to do.

Luke went to his locker first, taking out any binders or paperwork he needed for the weekend. His days in school were inching to an end and he was ecstatic. He couldn't wait to be done, he could almost taste it.

He went down the far stairwell that lead straight to the side exit. He opened the door, finding Michael waiting in his car at the curb.

His head was down, his hand scrolling through his music library trying to find the right playlist.

Luke opened the passenger door, startling his lover.

Michael sat back down when he recognized the blond twink. "Hey, how you doing?"

"Are you going to take me to be stabbed again?"

"No, no. Just figured we needed some time to talk." A heavy Blink-182 song started to play from the speakers as Michael pulled from the parking lot. "Am I taking you out of some important class?"

"I'm less than a month from graduation, nothing matters."

Michael nodded. He tapped a beat on the steering wheel, focusing in and out on some story Luke was saying. He drove them out of town to a frozen yogurt place where no one would know them.

This is what they did. They found places out of town where no one would recognize them. They've been doing this for so long, it doesn't feel wrong anymore.

Michael parked badly, but that was normal. He hopped out first, getting to Luke's side and helping him out before the younger could argue. His truck was tall, and Luke was not. He's almost fallen out of that truck several times.

Mike locked the doors before heading inside.

Luke walked behind him by a single step, keeping his head low yet entwined hands tight. His jeans were black and squeezing his skin in every way, he wondered how much longer he'd even be able to wear such material.

Michael sat Luke down at a table, going to order their usual in frozen yogurt. Mike knew Luke's diet better than Luke knew his own diet. They would most likely be sixty-years-old and Michael would still be ordering for Luke.

He came back with two cups filled to the top, both boys happy to indulge on the cold treat.

The store was empty, the employees in the back once they finished serving Michael. The happy, bright colors lining the walls seemed so sad in such a quiet room.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Michael asked quietly.

Luke knew this conversation was coming. "I don't know, I'm scared."

Hearing his lover admit fear was concerning for Mike. Mike wanted to keep him safe from everything: From paper cuts to murderers. "You're young, Luke," he stated the obvious, "You're really, really young."

"Yeah? Really? I didn't know. Bless your heart for bringing the light to my life." His voice through sarcasm as he stirred his frozen snack around in circles.

Michael let out a small laugh as he took another bite. He looked up at Luke, seeing the dull blue shade in his eyes. "I don't think we should keep it."

Mike never wanted to refer to Luke's pregnancy as Luke's, even though it's technically Luke's body. He didn't want to scare the boy and think he was in it all alone. Michael wanted him to know that he was there, he was going to be there through everything.

Luke knew the words that left Michael's mouth would be coming sooner than later, but it didn't stop his heart from breaking in two. "Is that what you want?"

Mike shrugged, looking down at the metal table once again. "I just want what you want, Lukey. I want you to be happy. I don't want to ruin your life before it has even started."

The seventeen-year-old felt alive with Michael, he felt complete with Michael. Luke thought his life was already started. "Maybe you're right."
"Neither of us are very assertive, are we?" He asked, a smile half-lining his lips once again.

"I—I don't think so. We just ask each other the same thing until someone makes a move." Luke ate a few more bites, fidgeting around in his seat and looking at Mike a few times. "Do you think we can try again in the future?" He asked quietly.

"For sure," he quickly responded, "But very, very far in the future."