LUKE

At school the next day, I barely focus on my assignments. My mind whirled every way during the whole day and I think one of my teachers threatened to call my parents, but I didn't even really listen to her either. It's not as though Ms. Irwin would have cared anyways. Instead, I searched the hallways and classrooms for that boy, Michael, but I didn't see him anywhere. I definitely would have noticed him too, with his hair. Michael isn't exactly someone you can easily miss, it seems. It made me wonder if he dropped out of school. He's definitely not out of college or anything, since he only looked to be my age, if not younger. But when I asked Ashton if he knew anyone named Michael, he said no. Ashton knows everybody in this town, so it really confuses me as to why Michael seems to be invisible here. I try not to dwell on the situation and forget about him, but it's tough.

Tryouts for the basketball team are today, so the second the bell rings I spring out of the classroom I'm in and grab my backpack from my locker. Ashton shows up beside me as I shut my locker and he gives me a huge, cheeky smile. Dimples show on his cheeks.

"Good luck, Luke!" Ashton cheers, slinging his own backpack over his shoulder. "Meet me back at the house when you're done, okay? The results should be up by the time you get home." He looks genuinely excited for me, but I'm so worried I can hardly return the favor.

"Thanks, Ash." I say, giving him a small smile. Ashton does a thumbs up and begins to turn away, so I throw my heavy backpack on my shoulder and begin making my way to the gym.

"Wait, Luke!" Ashton suddenly calls. I turn back around, my heart pumping with anxiety. I'm so nervous about these tryouts. I'm naturally good at sports, but last night was the first time I played in years. What if I embarrass myself or if the guys make fun of me if I don't make it?

"Calum is trying out as well. I think you met him on your first day here, yeah?" Ashton says, and I give him a small nod before rushing through the hallway and down the narrow corridor to the gym. I feel bad for kind of ignoring Ashton but I can't stand to stay still any longer.

The second I open the gym doors, the strong smell of sweat and nerves all combined comes rushing at me. I hurry in and drop my backpack with the others, a few guys walking in behind me and doing the same. I look up from the polished ground and see an assortment of tall boys warming up, obviously trying to impress the coach, who sits quietly in the corner, watching intensely. I shakily walk towards a basketball rack and grab a good looking ball and dribble it out to the court. I step into line with the other guys to shoot a layup.

"Hey, Luke, yeah?" a voice happily chirps in my ear. I look up to see Calum. His dark hair is plastered to his forehead with sweat and he is breathing deeply, but a huge smile is on his face all the while.

"Yeah, it's Luke." I mumble awkwardly. I don't really know the kid very well, but he's really popular and he and Ashton seem to be good friends.

"I'm so glad you decided to try out!" Calum pats me on the shoulder and eyes the coach. "He'll put special attention to you, so make sure you don't mess around or anything. Shoot only when you really think you will make it."

"Why special attention towards me?" I ask, still dribbling the ball. Boys move all around me, shooting around and I pray I don't get hit in the head with one.

"Because you're new here. He hasn't made any assumptions about you yet. And, you're like, really tall." Calum looks up at me and chuckles a little before whirling around and making a layup, the ball swishing straight through the net. The coach watches him approvingly and then turns his beady eyes to me.

I take a deep breath. Here I go.

~*~

Although I hid it very well, that was possibly one of the most stressful and terrifying thing I have ever had to endure. The coach has his bird-like eyes on me nearly the entire time, and I was all sweaty and shaky. I made a couple of really good shots, but I mostly just did a ton of layups.

Apparently it's a "thing" to stay in the locker room after tryouts while the couch decides on the team, so I send a quick text to Ashton letting him know I won't be back at home straight away.

"You did great out there, Luke." Ed says beside me, rubbing a towel over his hair in a failed effort to dry the sweat out of it. My hair is sweaty, and has come out of its quiff, and now lies across my forehead to the side, looking a bit like it did when I was younger.

"Thanks, Ed." I say, leaning back against the sickly green lockers. "You did, too." I'm not very good at making small talk so I close my eyes, signaling to anyone trying to talk to me that I want to be left alone. That moment didn't last very long because suddenly a loud bang sounds from the door and a brash voice starts hollering to us. I open my eyes to find the coach standing in the doorway. Everyone leans in and quiets down.

"I'm calling out the names of who made it." The coach says gruffly and looks down at the piece of paper in his hands.

"Ben Smith."

"Paul Trent."

"Ed Sheeran."

"Calum Hood."

"Luke Hemmings." The name is shrill in my ear and I immediately relax, along with Calum and Ed. They all smile and laugh quietly with joy. I have no idea who else made it besides the four he called out before me, but the locker room is full of excited screaming and cheering. A few boys sneak out the back, grabbing their things, and I feel a bit bad for them.

"Dude, this is awesome!" Ed exclaims. He begins talking to one of the kids who made it, and then Calum joins in, but I'm tired. I walk quietly out the back door and toss my book bag over my back to haul it home. The door shuts with a bang behind me, abruptly shutting off the overwhelmingly loud voices.

The woods outside the locker room are eerily quiet, but I ease myself into the silence, ignoring the clear trails carved through the weeds and walk straight through the overgrowth of plants. I let the only noise be the dead leaves crunching under my boots, and breathe in the clear air, refreshing compared to the stifling air in the sweaty gym.

I check the time on my phone and squint at the glow, reading the numbers. 8:20. I don't have to be back at the Irwin house until nine, so I lean back against a thick tree, sliding down until my butt hits the ground. I sigh deeply and close my eyes.

I mentally wonder what my family is doing right now in America. They told me they went to New York City first, which sounds like a lot of fun. I don't regret my decision of staying here though, surprisingly. I don't exactly like this little town, but the people in it are very nice. Ashton's family is much kinder to me than my own, and its much quieter here than in the city.

My solitude once again doesn't last long, but now I hear a sudden shuffling of feet. I open my eyes just in time to see a white blur duck behind a thick oak tree. The small glow of light from the school makes the area around me slightly visible.

"Hello?" I say aloud, my voice painfully loud in the stillness. Nothing replies back to me. I shakily stand to my feet, watching intensely at the scenery around me. I breathe deeply before opening my mouth.

"Michael?" My voice is hushed as I whisper the name, my heart swelling with hope that maybe it is the boy I've been looking for. It doesn't seem possible that it is, but when I saw him yesterday, it seemed he enjoyed being hidden in the darkness.

I suddenly see a figure move out reluctantly from behind the thick oak tree, and stand directly in the light from the school. The body shape of the figure is familiar, muscular and tall. The body moves his head up and I see his facial features, and I know its Michael. The purple mess of hair on his head concludes my suspicions.

"Michael?" I say, my voice still curving up in a question even though I am sure it is him now. "What are you doing here?" I walk closer to him until I can see him clearly. His eyebrow piercing suits him well and his hair flatters his pale skin perfectly.

"I-I could ask you the same thing." Michael says softly, and I jump a little. I didn't actually think he would speak. He shoves his hands in his pockets, tilting his head up just enough to look at me through his eyelashes.

"It's just a little loud where I live, so I thought I would stay here until I need to go back." I explain. Michael's blue-green eyes don't move from mine as I speak. "Is it loud where you live too? Is that why you're here?" He doesn't make any move that would suggest he even listened to me. He seemed to be in a trance, his eyes so insipid it's as though I can see straight through them.

It's very silent for a while, but I don't mind because Michael is actually standing here in front of me. Michael doesn't seem to be giving any indication that he will answer, so I drag my feet through the dirt, writing 'Luke' out into the soil.

"Something like that." Michael's voice is rough and forced when he answers, and I can sense it's a harsh topic, so I drop it.

"Um...do you go to school?" I ask. "I mean, I haven't seen you around or anything."

"N-no." Michael stutters a little, biting his plump red lip. He blinks a few times before his eyes widen, as though he has come to realization of something. He flips his head around, staring alert into the darkness behind him. He removes his hands from his pockets, but they stay in the air, like he isn't quite sure what to do with them. I notice they are shaking a bit and Michael's breathing becomes audible, picking up in speed.

He suddenly turns back around and I see his face is contorted with fear. He grips the tree behind him before stumbling back a few feet, still facing me. I immediately walk forward, growing nervous.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I probe, my voice dropping a few octaves. Michael looks overwhelmed and terrified, fear etched into his face. He looks at me, but his eyes are somewhere else. I step closer. "Michael?"

"L-Luke, you can't come to this p-part of the woods." Michael stammers, turning around and glancing behind him before walking faster. I ignore his command and follow him deeper into the woods, much to his dismay.

"What are you talking about? What's the difference from these woods to the others?" I ask.

"It's not safe over here, o-okay? That's w-what." Michael stammers, his voice above a whisper now. I smile at his voice and I find myself cherishing it. It's melodic.

"Then why are you over here?" I question. Michael takes a deep breath.

"I-Just.." Michael chews on his lip. He shakes his head, a flew purple strands of hair on his head fluttering in the slight wind. "Don't come back here anymore. You need to...stay away here."

"Are there, like, wild animals or something?"

"J-Just stay away from here, okay? I don't want you to get h-hurt." Michael confesses and dips his head, still not directly answering my question.

"I won't get hurt." I snap.

"You don't know that." Michael jabs back at me. He takes the opportunity to turn around and slip into the darkness, where I can't see him anymore.

"Please, Luke, just leave. I'm sorry." The last part is quiet, so quiet. He doesn't sound angry or rude anymore. He now just sounds...tired. All the while, my name sounds like music leaving his tongue.

I don't know why I'm so curious, but to make the boy happy, I turn around and stalk back towards the school so I can find my way back home.

I don't understand why Michael turned from quiet and motionless to terrified and skittish in five seconds flat. He told me it's not safe to be here, even though it's clear that there are no wild animals in these woods. It made me slightly angry- does he think I'm weak? I had to deal with a ton of bullies in the streets where I used to live, and I know how to beat someone up. My height and strength give me a good advantage. I'm taller than Michael, and I may be skinnier than him but I know for sure I could handle him if the time came.

But he didn't seem angry at me, and it didn't seem like he was trying to put my down. He sounded sort of regretful in a way, sorry that he had to push me away.

I punched a tree as I made my way toward my house, angry and confused at myself. Why do I even care so much? I shouldn't care about that stupid boy that always seem to disrupt me from whatever I'm doing. I shouldn't be so curious about why he always seems to be hiding from everything. Not that there is much to be hiding from.

I approach the house, light spilling from the windows, and I hear the soft hum of noise from inside the thick walls. Standing in the doorway of the home, my hands cupped around the doorknob, I force myself to stop being mad at Michael. No, that won't get me anywhere.

I'll just go back to the woods tomorrow, since it's clear that Michael is hiding something from me, and I'm sick of people lying to me. I'll find him and find out what he's not telling me.

---
A/N i thought this chapter would turn out longer but instead its short and shitty go me

also real life michael keeps dying his hair and i can't keep up so his hair will just be lilac purple for the whole book just sayin

please vote and comment i love you all! *kisses*

(so alex ramos was in this but i dont even like him anymore so i removed him sry not sry) :)