Breakdown

Monday morning, sure enough, Michael's hair was back to normal. Coraline cocked an eyebrow at him as she met him on the sidewalk, lacing her fingers in his. "Don't say anything about it," he shot her a sideways grin as she eyed the section of hair was was barely tinged blue. She tugged at her skirt, as her guitar case was pulling it up ever so slightly, soon feeling her socks slowly slide down her calves. One thing she knew she wasn't going to miss was the horrid school uniforms. Sure, it made getting ready easy but she just wanted to be comfortable for once. Her grip on Michael's hand tightened as they walked and he glanced down then back up at her worried face.

"You okay, Cor?" Her hazel eyes danced up to meet the intense blue eyes staring down at her.

"Oh, uh, yeah! I'm okay." Her teeth found the inside of her lip, pulling at the skin absentmindedly.

"So... can we get Macca's after school and go back to your place for an intense jam session?" He was still smiling, not phased by Coraline's mood.

"Sure," she smiled as Michael swung their hands. He pulled her closer to his side, resting his arm over her shoulders. Her hands were pushed into the pockets of her blazer, eyes trained on the ground before them. Neither said a word, but it wasn't an awkward silence by any means. At some point, Michael dipped his head down, letting his tongue touch her cheek. She finally cracked a smile, following it with a small laugh. "Mikey, that's gross." He smiled and ruffled her hair with his free when stopped at the bus stop.

"You enjoy my germs, Cor," she scoffed playfully and shoved his chest. In his dreams. The bus slowly rolled up and they walked for the door at the same time, Coraline pushing him out of the way playfully with her guitar case. His hands found their way around her and he lifted her off the stairs of the bus and rushed on himself, leaving Coraline to hold her sides in laughter. Receiving a stern look from the driver, she soon clambered onto the vehicle and apologized. Michael sat towards the back, giggling in his seat. When she took a seat beside him, she swung her case heavily, shoving him against the window. At that, she laughed. He glared playfully and acted as if he was upset.

The closer they got to her school, the less Coraline wanted to go. Michael noticed how uncomfortable she was getting and his smile dropped, one arm crossing her shoulders. Crowds just made her nervous and Mondays were normally the worst after a weekend of mostly solitude, Michael and the rest of the guys. It made it even worse that Michael went to a different school. She took a deep breath, leaning her head against his shoulder. Along with the anxiety she was feeling, her guilt was eating her alive. She had to tell Michael soon. After all, her father was leaving in less that a month and it would be just her and the house keeper. He was bound to get curious as to where her father and Margeret had gone off to for so long anyway.

"Mikey... there's something I-"

"Mikey, man how's it going!" A tall blonde boy had gotten on the bus and practically ran at the two. His blue eyes landed on Coraline and widened. "Oh, sorry... I didn't know you were talking."

"No, it's fine..." she mumbled, eyes dropping back to her hands in her lap.

"Luke, this is my best friend Coraline. Cora, this is Luke. He's the singer I was telling you about." Her hazel eyes eyed him, then his hand that was outstretched. He wanted to shake it but she just couldn't urge herself to. He was the reason that Michael didn't go to the music club meetings anymore. Although she was happy for him, she usually tuned him out when he talked about the band. It hurt her to think that one day he could make it big and just forget about her.

"Pleasure," she spoke in a hushed whisper as the bus jolted to a stop. "Bye Mikey, I'll meet you at Maccas," she wrapped her arms around herself and took large strides towards the door, gnawing at her bottom lip.

It just wasn't fair.

And she knew she was being selfish, but he was her best friend. Her Michael. Girls didn't come between them, as he usually treated them as temporary from the start. He was always fearful over actually developing feelings for girls so he had a tendency to distance himself. This was different though... He had so much hope in his voice when he talked about the two boys he had met, believing they'd make it somewhere. She prayed he would, knowing that he himself had enough talent to make it anywhere in life, but she didn't want to lose him.

"I should probably just let it go..." she breathed, throat tight. After all, the further they grew, the easier it would be to tell Michael she was leaving.