I inhaled sharply, almost letting out a gasp. My lips parted as if I was going to say something, but nothing came out. He could tell I was taken aback by his sentence and his look turned apologetic.

"I'm sorry." He spilled out. "I didn't mean to make you feel-"

"No." I stopped him. He looked down as if he was hurt. "No, I meant that you shouldn't-" I then stopped myself from continuing on. I sighed once and placed my hands on either side of his face. He picked his head up at the touch, staring right back at me. "Yes." I nodded my head assuringly. "Yes, I-I do love you." His smile reached his ears, the smile that I had longed for. The smile that I've been waiting to see for what seemed like an eternity.

We crashed into each other at the same time, letting the time nearly stop. He had put everything he had into the kiss as if it was the last one we'd ever share. I could feel the passion and depth which I easily returned. Everything had felt so normal and right and that's when I knew that I had to keep fighting for this. I didn't care that my mom didn't like him or that we both had the chance of getting in trouble by this or that I was moving so soon. Those weren't my focus right now, my only focus was him.

We were undeniably in perfect sync with each other. The moment was too sweet against my lips to not take advantage of so I savored the moment as long as I could. My hands moved from the his cheeks to the back of his neck, pulling myself closer to him. Our hips were right against each others so it's not like I had very much room to move. He followed my action and gripped his arms around my waist tighter and I fell to his chest. He broke away from me sooner than what I had wanted.

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?" He half smiled as the memory of our previous nights washed over him. As much as I wanted to agree, I couldn't. I couldn't risk being caught again and neither could he. Then the fact of him being intoxicated snapped be back into reality.

"I think it's better if I go. You probably won't even remember this." I chuckled, still being centimeters from his face. He kissed my forehead and lingered for a second before pulling back yet again.

"I know what I told you last week." He whispered. "I don't want that."

"I'm moving half-way across the country in a matter of days. We might have to actually be like that." We seemed to be inching back to each other as I noticed the limited space between us. I could feel the his heart beat speed up against my chest as we were still pressed together.

"Well, you can be with me forever. Or if you want you can be with me just for now." His finger tip trailed up and down the side of my arm slowly. His eyes flicked between mine and my lips just as he did before. "What do you think? What does your heart tell you?" I watched his hand on me, trying to find what I really wanted. I sat back up and created space between us. I blinked my eyes a few times, wondering how he was letting this come out of his mouth at a time like this.

"I don't know what I want, Michael." He stopped tracing patterns on me and his face turned serious, almost looking worried.

I was only telling the truth. I honestly didn't know what I wanted. I told myself that I wanted to leave this town with no strings attached, but he had tangled mine up with no hopes of them coming undone. I didn't want to be just friends with him, I wanted so much more, but being hundreds of miles away wasn't going to make this easy. I didn't want him to be tied down and have to spend nights alone because I'm not there to spend time with him. I want someone who is going to love him as much as I do, but I'm afraid of him loving someone else.

"I want you to be happy. And I can't make you happy when I'm so far away." He said nothing and just kept his eyes locked on me. He was waiting for me to continue on, which he knew I would. He knew me all too well. "Of course I want to be with you forever. We're two kids completely indulged in each other and there's no way out." I raised my eye brows at him and I let out a soft laugh. "I want to be able to know that you're going to stick around, but at the same time I don't want you to feel like you're tied down. You need somebody who's going to be by your side through it all." I explained.

"I don't need anything but you." The tone of his voice almost made my heart shatter. I could tell that even when he couldn't think 100% straight that this really is something that he wanted. He was willing to put so much effort into this.

I was speaking as if we could never work out and all he wanted was a go at this. We both had the same intentions and wants, but reality was testing us. Thoughts were beginning to flow through my head, all of Michael and I. I was over thinking things once again and just needed to focus on what was in my hands. Literally.

"I'm sorry." He spoke after a moment of silence. I didn't know what he was apologizing for as I hadn't seen anything he'd done wrong. He grabbed my hands that were resting on his shoulders and interlocked our fingers. "I'm sorry for saying that I didn't want to see you anymore. I'm sorry for making you feel like you weren't wanted by me. I'm sorry if I ever made you doubt the realness of our friendship." He squeezed my hands once as I kept the same expression plastered on my face.

"This wasn't your fault. I knew you didn't want to cause any more trouble. I understand."

"That's not the reason I told you that though. I couldn't give two shits about if I get in trouble, especially if I'm with you." He confessed. I gave him a confused look, wondering what else could be the cause for his actions. "I was scared." He shrugged his shoulders and began playing with my fingers. "I was scared of my feelings towards you. I thought you were just going to be whisked away from me by some guy with a cooler car and bigger muscles." I laughed at his description and let him ramble on more. "I thought that giving me space from you would make some of the feelings disappear, but the only made we want you more. Obviously that didn't work, I mean look where we are now." I looked down, remembering that my legs were still on either side of him. I blushed and began to swing my legs off of him, finally standing up on the concrete. He stood up with me and planted his self right in front me.

He seemed taller to me, or maybe it was just I haven't been this close to him in a while. I could feel his stare on me as I closed the door behind me. I kept my head down and looked at my feet, suddenly feeling flustered. My hands were behind my bank as I leaned up against it. I bit my lip as I tried to find what to say next.

"I'm glad you told me the real reason." I muttered. I finally looked back up at him to find him smiling.

"I'm glad you haven't ran away yet." He giggled. I joined in with him and suddenly wrapped my arms tightly around his torso. He was obviously surprised at my action, as he didn't wrap himself around me until a few seconds later. I let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding in. I had surprisingly missed clinging onto each other.

"I'll stay tonight." I said against his chest. "I'll I also stay with you forever, only because I know you want me to." He didn't say anything back. He simply intertwined our fingers and pulled my towards his front door.

"Empty house." He stated as he let me step inside first. I felt like I'd been here too many times, yet not enough. I was never going to grow old of our nights spent together. He started to tug me towards the stairs while I tugged him towards the kitchen.

"Do you really want to go to sleep without few glasses of water and ibuprofen?" I questioned sarcastically.

"I'm not even that-"

"Yes you are. Now come on." I dragged him behind me and felt him subtly trip a few times.

I sat him down on a bar stool and told him to stay put. I slid two glasses of water towards him and dug through the cabinets for any type of pain killers. I popped two in my hand and dropped them in his own.

"Take these, drink those, and don't go so overboard next time." I ruffled his hair which he immediately brought a hand up to to fix. He glared at me over the rim of the glass that he was now drinking water from, not amused with my motherly behavior. "What were you even up to tonight? You showed up at nearly 1 in the morning at the train tracks and not to mention there was no car and you were drunk. It was so sketch."

"I was at Ashton's." He swallowed his second ibuprofen and washed it down. "It started out just casual drinking then we did all these stupid games and then we got in a fight and I stormed out of his house to go get some fresh air then that's when you came in."

"What were you guys even fighting about?" I sat down on the stool next to him, curious about his night. He rubbed the back of his neck and tapped his fingers against the counter.

"You." He confessed. "Well not exactly you yourself, but the topic included you. I remember just stammering on about you leaving and me not talking to you then he brought up the time where you two kissed then I guess I got angry about it and left." He rubbed his eyes from either stress or the fact that it was the middle of the night, I couldn't exactly tell.

"Sorry." I said as I scrunched up my nose.

"It's not your fault, but you are right." He hopped off his chair and stood behind mine, draping his arms over my shoulders and chest. "I shouldn't have been doing that. At least not that much." His hands found mine again and he rested his chin on the top of my head. Even when I was sitting on a tall bar stool he still managed to tower over me. Whenever his height came into play I always felt so little and vulnerable, but it honestly didn't bother me.

"How about we get you upstairs?" I tilted my head back to face him, even though I was basically seeing him upside down. He smirked down at the sight of my head against his chest and watched my lips as they pulled into a half smile. He leaned down, placing a small kiss to them. The musky smell of mint and hint of smoke on him returned to my senses as he pulled back.

He untangled himself from me, but didn't let go of my hand. He helped me off the stool, not that I needed it. I had been so used to being thrown around the past week that him treating me so carefully, something that I used to dislike, was now nice to have.

We trailed up the stairs and down the hallway without saying a word. The only thing heard was our footsteps that echoed through the huge house. His doorknob clicked and he lightly nudged me into his room with him. He stopped in the center of his room and I sat on the edge of the gray sheets on his bed. He turned around and began digging through his drawers.

"Thought you might want to change." He tossed a t-shirt and pair of black sweats at me that matched mine. I looked down at my own clothes that were now dry from the previous rain. I folded them and set them aside, deciding to put them on later.

He stripped out of his own shirt and quickly replaced it with a plain black one with the sleeves cut off. He started to tug at the waistband of his pants and I threw my hands over my eyes.

"Michael." I groaned. I heard him laughing at my actions and then the drawer shut. "Can I open my eyes yet?" I felt him grip my wrists, to which he then pulled my hands from over my eyes.

"I never said you had to close them." He said cheekily. His hands let go of mine and he placed them on right above my knees. I picked up his hint from his gesture and I loosely slung my arms around his neck.

"You also never mentioned you were putting on a strip show." I teased. He laughed once with me then leaned into me.

Despite the loving kiss we shared before, this one was full of lust and need. I gave into him immediately and let his weight push me back further onto his bed. I scooted backwards, letting him rest in between my legs. I slowly laid down on my back as he supported himself with his arms on either side of me. Even after all this time, I was still able to taste the burning of the vodka on him.

His cold hands roamed under my tank top and up my sides, causing me to jump. I started giggling at my actions which he soon joined in with. He took advantage of my parted lips and I felt his tongue graze across my own. My legs subconsciously wrapped around his waist in an attempt to bring him closer to me.

He tugged at the hem of my shirt and broke the kiss to yank if off of me. His eyes lingered on my exposed torso before flipping us over. My legs found their way to either side of him, just the way I was when we were in my car. I leaned back down to him and reattached our lips.

He became rough, a side of him I hadn't experienced yet. His lips attached to my neck as he made sure to leave a mark with every kiss he left. I felt him nip at my sweet spot which made me slightly roll my hips on his own. He smirked against my skin, making his way down towards my collar bone.

I tugged at his hair as a gesture that encouraged him on. My bottom lip was in between my teeth as I tried to hold back any sound from my mouth. I tilted my head back lightly to give him more access.

The heat between us was increasing and Michael surely noticed it too as he tore off his own shirt. His hands moved up my back, searching for the clasps of my bra. He unhooked it with ease and pulled the straps off my shoulder, tossing the lace garment aside.

Our now naked chests were sticking to each other from a mixture of the non existence space between our bodies and the rising temperature. He pulled back from my lips and latched back onto my shoulder. From the second I saw him I saw that the color had washed from his face and his hair was tousled just a bit more, something I found irresistible on him.

He sat up, still working his lips on my body. His hands that rested around my waist before now sneaked down to my hips, gripping them firmly. He was pressed up tightly on me, as if I was going to escape if he dare let anymore more space come between us. My breath hitched as I felt him fumble with the waist band of my sweatpants.

"Michael." I said quietly, not trying to ruin the moment. His pointer finger on each hand grazed over my hip bones and lazily caressed the skin below it.

"Hmm." He mumbled into my neck. The vibration from his voice tickled me gently. He started flicking at the hem of the thin fabric that kept me covered.

"I don't think this is the right time." I admitted. He immediately stopped his actions and his head became heavier on my shoulder. "Trust me, I want to." I snickered. I pulled back to meet him eye to eye. "It's just I think we should wait until things between us are settled. I don't know how you're going to remember this in the morning."

"I get it." He weakly smiled. A moment passed before I had the realization that I was completely topless. I felt my cheeks heat up as I reached for the t-shirt, that was thankfully in arms reach, that he gave me to wear. I grabbed it and tugged it over my head, finally letting our bodies breathe. "I'll let you change." He said, handing me the sweatpants.

I nodded once, feeling a little guilty about what I just stopped. I rolled off of him as he stood up and left his room. I sat in a mix of confusion and overwhelming joy as I replayed the previous events in my head.

No matter how badly I wanted to move forward with Michael, I couldn't. I would feel like I took advantage of him since he's not exactly sober. I didn't exactly know what he would remember when he woke up tomorrow and I was frightened by the thought. I was scared that he would think that it was one big mistake and that the words he said tonight weren't true.

I heard a knock at the door which I mentally laughed at as he was asking for permission to come into his own room. Before he came in I slipped into the clothes given to me and rushed towards the door. I cracked it slightly and stared up at Michael.

"Do you need something?" I joked, batting my eyelashes.

"I need a lot of things, but I'd prefer if you could just let me in my room." He put emphasis on the word 'my' and nodded towards the inside of his room. I opened the door a few more inches, but stopped him before he could enter.

"What's the password?" He rolled his eyes at my behavior and leaned against the frame.

"How old are we?"

"Wrong." I shut the door on him, holding in my childish laughter.

"I'm going to make you sleep out side if you don't let me in." His voice was muffled through the wooden door and I instantly pulled it back open, greeted by his smug smile.

"Great guess, you got it right." I fake congratulated him, opening the door wide to let him in.

"Of course I did." He looked me up and down then pushed passed me, flopping back down in his bed. I watched him as he scrolled through his phone, typing away. I was curious as to who was up at this hour anyways. I pushed it aside and turned around on my heels to walk out his door, ignoring him as he called my name.

I was back down in the kitchen, repeating the process of when we first got here. I filled up a glass of water and grabbed two pain killers from the cabinet.

I saw this as a simple favor, then the idea of him being a chore more than a friend popped into my mind. I laughed silently, knowing that I was taking care of him a lot, but it never bothered me. Any time spent with him was a good time, even if I was acting like his mother. Or nurse. Either way, I don't mind.

I padded across the hallway and into his room, seeing that he was curled under the blankets. I figured he was asleep, so I silently set the items on his nightstand. I began to turn away when I felt his grip on my wrist. He pulled me until I fell onto the bed next to him.

"Aren't you staying?" He sleepily asked.

"I have the morning shift for work tomorrow. I don't want to wake you up, especially since I know you aren't going to be feeling well." I brushed a few pieces of hair off his forehead. "I'll be downstairs." Sleepy Michael was definitely the best Michael to me.

"Please?" He stuck out his bottom lip. From his hand was still tight around my arm, I figured I didn't really have a way out of this. I put up my hands and looked away from him.

"Fine, fine." I sighed, finally giving in. He didn't answer, he just wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me back until I was laying horizontally across his chest. "I hope you aren't expecting me to sleep like this." I glanced down at out bodies that formed a T shape.

He pulled back the cover, patting the spot next to him. Butterflies erupted in my stomach at the feeling of out bodies twisted together. I wasn't nervous, I never was around him. I believe they were a good kind of butterflies. Like on Christmas morning when you're waiting for everyone to sit around the tree. Or when you see a friend you haven't in a long time.

I thought about how these same butterflies would come back in a couple of months when I would be flying out to see my friends. I would be getting jitters about seeing the most important people in my life.

"I'm going to miss you." It was as if he could read my mind, something that intrigued me so much more about him. I stayed silent, hating the thought of leaving this spot. "So much." He muttered as he started running his fingers over my arms. "Maybe too much." He chuckled. My back was to him, so I couldn't read his expression. I knew from the tone of his voice he sounded disappointed and I didn't want to see his features match that.

He sighed, letting the air he blew out travel down my neck and shoulders. I shifted my weight so I was able to face him. He facial expression was blank, but the his eyes were telling me something else. They were heavy and had a hint of sorrow, but the color and clearness made it seem as if he was happy.

"I'll miss you too." I interrupted the silence, still keeping my eyes locked with his. "Definitely too much." I noticed his jaw tense once then release back to it's normal state. He looked so innocent in the moment, like a kid.

That's exactly what we were though. We were just kids that had been to blinded by out infatuation with each to realize how hard it was going to hit when we're ripped apart from each other. Obviously we were old enough to experience these types of emotions and feelings so we weren't young, but we still had so much of our lives ahead of us. And I wanted him to be there for all the years ahead.

"What are you thinking about?" He whispered. A small smile pulled at the corner of my mouth at the thought of Michael and I actually spending the rest of our lives together. I moved in closer to his chest, sharing the warmth between us. The tone in my voice changed from gloomy to lighthearted as I grinned to myself.

"Nothing."