I felt like I'd been stabbed through the chest. I wasn't jealous that there was another girl, but the fact that I let myself get taken advantage of. This is just how our fight was before, I wasn't upset, but just so fueled with anger. It's like there was this gut-wrenching pain in my heart that just urged to be felt.

I saw Michael's shadow creeping around the corner, which made me instantly close my eyes, as if I'd been asleep the whole time. Instead I heard the footsteps come close, then fade away. I heard my front door close and I sat up straight away.

"There's no fucking way he just left." I mumbled to myself. I wandered over to the door and took a deep breath before opening it.

I hated loneliness more than anything in this world. But that's all I ever really was; alone. And I thought he could change that, I trusted him.

I shook the thought roaming my head and opened the door. To my surprise, Michael was sat in a chair on the porch, a cigarette in hand. Me slamming the door broke the silence he had, in which he cocked his head towards me.

He smiled at me, letting the late night/early morning breeze carry the smoke in the opposite direction. "Hey, why are you up?" He questioned, looking slightly worried.

"The real question, why are you up?" I squinted my eyes at him, trying to imply that I already knew what was going on.

"I, uh, couldn't sleep." He took another drag before burning it out on the tray next to him.

"Ohhh." I let the word linger on, creating a more sarcastic tone towards the end.

"Okay, what are you implying is happening?" I rolled my eyes at his oblivious state.

"I know babe. I'll see you tomorrow." I mocked his voice, not very well, but enough to get the point across. His mouth opened as if he was going to say something, but decided not to.

I scoffed at his lack to even deny it. He could have at least made an effort.

"Congrats!" I threw my hands up and actually got myself to laugh at how dumb I as to think things were different. "You've been caught red-fucking-handed, Michael Clifford!" I put my arms back down to my side, letting them slap against my thighs. I snickered and shook my head, I felt tears welling up in my eyes and I bit my lip back to stop it.

"Maddie, I-" He began to say, removing himself from the chair.

"Save it, Michael. I trusted you. Something I couldn't even do for my mother for 5 years. And I trusted you in a matter of two months." I left my lips parted and my eyes felt heavy. I searched for any type of response from him, but I got nothing.

"You promised." He suddenly said.

"Promised what, Michael?"

"You promised to trust me." His voice shook, as if he was choking them out.

"Well I'm human. Sometimes I break promises, I make mistakes. You can't expect me not to." My voice became louder, not even caring about the hours of the night. At this point I didn't care if the whole world heard me.

He tilted his head to the side, keeping a straight face.

"I'm not catching on." I rudely spoke. He looked all the way over and rolled his eyes.

"Think about what you just said, then try to talk to me." He was now standing in front of me by a few feet, his arms laid on his chest.

'I'm human. Sometimes I break promises. I make mistakes.' I stayed silent as the words replayed over in my head. I stared across at him, hoping he got the point that I understood.

"Are you willing to listen?" Michael asked, stepping forward to me. "Because we can this two ways. I can not explain and leave you alone, or I will explain and we can work this out. And I think I know what we both want."

"How do you know what I want?" I shot back at him.

"God dammit, will you just let me explain?!" His voice grew louder and he looked around, hoping no one heard him.

"It's obvious that there's someone-"

"I told you from, what, the first day we met? To trust me. And I know you did, you know you did. And I was a stranger to you." His tone became more strict, more serious about anything I've seen in the past two months. "Do you really want to give all of this up because of something I called a clingy ex-girlfriend? I've been trying to pry her off of me for weeks."

"I felt hurt, okay? All my life, you would think it's something I would get used to, but guess what? I haven't." I yelled back at him taking a step near him.

"Well we don't get to choose if we get hurt. You can't pick what hurts you." His broad framed towered over me and I could smell the smoke that still lingered on him.

"You don't need to pick for me." I growled, pushing his chest backwards. I suddenly felt guilty, but I didn't let it show. He tilted his head back in aggravation.

"I'm not trying to pick for you. I'm just trying to keep the people you do have in your life." His voice settled down, not wanting to continue this argument.

"I don't need your help, Michael!" I stared into his eyes, wanting an explanation as to why things were going like this.

"Well, shit, you may not need me, but I need you!" His voice raised once again.

There was a faint change of heart in me, and I shut up before I messed anything else up. My eyes lingered on him, waiting for him to say something else. He puffed out loudly, rubbing his hands over his face.

"If you haven't noticed, I actually like you Maddie. I never wanted you to think I took advantage of you, because that's not how it was supposed to be, at all. It took me weeks to realize that the feeling I got around you wasn't just because we struggling though the same things, but because you actually made me feel like I was worth something. Like I had a reason to be here. And that's something that's been missing all my life." His voice was hushed, as if he might have said something wrong, but he picked right back up where he left off.

"I don't feel like a fuck up around you, even right now. I don't give two shits that we're screaming at each other on your front porch at 3am because it's still time spent with you."

I was at a loss of words. I wanted to open my mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. I looked at my feet, slightly embarrassed of making such a scene. I changed my view to Michael, who was now only a foot away from me. He rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around my waist, squeezing me tight.

"I don't bite." He giggled into my ear. I got a grip around his neck. I breathed in the smell of mint and cigarette smoke, a scent that was odd and shouldn't been seen as appealing, but it was comforting. "I just get worried easily." He backed away from the hug and cupped my face with his hands.

I grabbed his wrists and pulled them away, but I didn't let go. I smiled at the ground, not wanting him to know that I loved when he did that.

"I know you like when I do that, Maddie. Don't hide it." I warily met his eyes, extremely curious as to how he practically just read my mind. "You always blush when I do things you secretly like. Such as me grabbing your face, or making circles on your waist, or when I'm talking and I catch you not paying attention."

"How did you-" I asked before being interrupted.

"I've figured you out."

-

A/N:

sorry that this was short, but i know what it's like to be left hanging so i gave you a short update :~) thank you if you've read this far and comment and vote, i appreciate it a lot!!