THE BIG BREAKDOWN

It has been a week since Michael saw Alexis for the last time. Ever since the game, she has been silent. Luke overstepped his words big time. Usually, he's more held back, and Michael has no idea what has gotten to him. But as America's most unhinged dickhead, we shouldn't be surprised. It's just ironic how he's constantly reacting to things he has no knowledge about.

Once a dickhead, always a dickhead. That was the sound of Michael's irrational thoughts. And god, he isn't entirely wrong.

The thing that's been annoying Michael the most is that Alex has been ignoring all his texts, even his calls and voicemails. He hadn't been able to go to her place, mostly because he knows her schedule and his, and some weeks they don't add up, such as this one. She is crazy busy this week. Michael's been all fed up with soccer, and those practices are killing him. They've been training longer than usual since the announcement of the big game.

Besides, she usually reacts within a second. Yes, he is worried about his best friend. Nobody should've talked about her parents. Not to defend Luke, but he doesn't know the situation. He doesn't know shit about her for sure.

Yet, ignoring isn't the way to go. Especially not since Michael has done nothing wrong. He stood up for her when she walked away. To him, he had a choice to leave her like that or defend her dignity, and of course, he chose the second.

What has been bothering Michael the most is that she hasn't asked me to pick her up from work once. Nor did he get any messages if she got home safe or not. She always does that. She knows that Michael worries about her. Even though she's a grown-up woman, he'd rather have her tell him she's okay and safe. Then again, Michael basically wants to know everything she's doing.

Besides, it's a dick move not to text him if she got home safe. She had done that ever since shit with her parents went down.

And with a week of having full-on radio silence, Michael's pretty done with it. He hadn't even seen her at school. Maybe she's good at avoiding him. They don't have any classes together, but still.

Within minutes Michael's inside his car, on his way to her house. She probably won't even be there since she hates the place. She doesn't know yet, but Michael's been looking for an apartment for her. Mostly so she can have her home and leave all the people behind she used to call family. Michael's willing to be her roommate if it happens to be a big apartment. He won't say no if she offers it, but it depends on if she even wants a roommate and if she wants that roommate to be her best friend.

She needs closure—a new start.

Fuck.

Michael had an appointment about an apartment today. The time on the dashboard tells him he would still be on time if he goes there now. With a deep sigh, he goes there. It's just a tiny stop before he goes to the place to be. As he's finally at the apartment complex, Michael approaches the correct apartment.

"Michael?" He turns around to look into the familiar eyes of Ashton. A smile grows on Ashton's face when he guesses it right. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for this one apartment since I want to find a place for Alex, but since there's also a roommate, I just wanted to make sure." Ashton smiles as he looks his teammate up and down. "Why are you here?"

"I am the roommate leading you around," he comments. He opens the door and lets them both in. "So, I haven't cleaned just yet because I always try to get rid of buyers," he chuckles. "Mostly, they don't want it when they see it."

"You don't seem like the type to be messy," Michael comments.

"I am not." Michael tries to see through the mess, but it's getting hard. "But people don't want a 'messy' roommate. Considering I like Alex, I don't mind. I didn't know she wanted a place." The next second, Michael almost trips over a piece of clothing, which makes Ashton laugh.

God, Ashton hates it when there are people who are possible candidates for sharing his room. He never liked sharing a place, mainly because he isn't a fan of some stranger he suddenly has to see all day. For his sake, what if they took off with his stuff? Ain't no way he's going to let that happen.

"You waited for that moment, didn't you?" He nods, amused, and opens another door. "Would this be her room?" He nods once again. Michael walks around the room, and a smile grows on his face. She would love this. It has the perfect view over the city. It almost makes him wonder why Ashton didn't choose this room. His room doesn't even have windows in it.

Idiot.

"D'you think she would like it?" Ashton asks him. Michael nods vigorously.

"So you do want a roommate?" He shuffles in the room awkwardly. "She's not just a girl you fuck around with," Michael warns him. "If she likes this place, don't treat her like shit." As much as he tries to threaten his teammate, it is not working. Michael was never one to intimidate someone else. If it ever happened to work, he must've been crazy mad.

"Don't worry about that," he says, scratching his head. "But if she asks me, I won't hesitate." The dirty blonde-haired guy's eyes roll almost automatically. Alexis is one of the prettiest girls he knows. He tends to hear that from the team as well. Everybody (but Luke, of course) wants to get laid by her. Honestly, Michael can't stand the way they talk about her sometimes. But maybe, it's jealousy.

Alexis is a gorgeous girl. Her hair always looks perfect; it falls wavy down her shoulders. Her make-up always looks flawless; even without it, her skin is perfect. Lately, she's been wearing many fake lashes and feels naked without them. It does suit her, though. The other day Michael woke up with one of her lashes on his face. They both don't talk about it.

She is one of the sweetest girls he knows, considering she's been through a lot. She still tends to be one of the rays of sunshine in anyone else's life. It takes a lot of energy to uphold that. It has been a while since she broke down, and he feels like that moment is coming soon.

Fuck. That's why. How could he be so stupid?

"I'm sorry, I have to be somewhere. Can I text you about this?" He nods, and before Michael realizes what he's doing, he's inside the car on his way to her place. His heart is pounding in his chest as he races towards her house. How could he have been so stupid not to think about that sooner?

As Michael has finally parked his car in front of her house, he steps out and knocks on the door. She hates the sound of the bell, and he has stopped using it since she told Michael. He presses the bell after a minute or two, but she still hasn't responded.

The door opens with a crack, and there she is. Her brown hair hasn't been taken care of. Her eyes are red and puffy, and there are dark circles under her eyes. She has broken down, and he wasn't there for her. Her eyes look up into his, and Michael notices how her guard is let down again, and tears form in her eyes again. He walks inside and closes the door behind him.

"Alex..," he mumbles softly. Her eyes are now directly looking at the ground, not daring to look back up again. "Go shower, and I'll make sure everything is set." She doesn't exchange another word and leaves to go to the bathroom. Once Michael hears the shower run, he grabs the extra mattress from under her bed and brings it downstairs. It fits perfectly in between the L-formed couch.

He walks up and down several times to add additional pillows, blankets, and snacks. It may seem like he's doing a lot, but knowing she had this entire breakdown will mean she needs all the love she can get because she hasn't had enough love.

Once he's upstairs again, he looks into her closet and finds some sweats of himself. He smiles and puts them on. Some of his lost clothes are in her closet; she owns them. Michael makes his way downstairs again and smiles at the cozy place he made. As he sits down, he looks through Netflix to find a movie to watch with her, but he quickly notices that he's on the wrong streaming service. She's more of a Disney girl.

"Mike, it's lovely that you came by, but I-" her eyes fall on where her best friend is sitting, and even though Michael can tell she's not happy, she's thankful. She jumps beside him the second he opens his arm and crawls into it. "I don't deserve you." She mutters under her breath, loud enough for her best friend to hear.

"Al, c'mon," Mike laughs. "I just feel guilty for not noticing it before." She shrugs her shoulder, not knowing what else she can respond with. "I'm here now, okay, and I'll stay here for however long you need." She looks up, and her eyes are teary once again. Yet a broken smile appears on her face, and she kisses Michael's cheek. They both felt guilty and had a reason for it, but they shouldn't feel guilty about the combined reason.

"I love you, Mike." She tells him. A smile appears on his face as well.

"I know you do, ankle biter." He bites his lip to hold back a chuckle. Fuck, she hates the nickname.

"I'm not that small!" She defends herself immediately.

"Love you too."

As she gets comfortable underneath the blankets, she crawls onto him more. She looks like a human burrito, but this is just her. She is a soft-ass baby. He lays down more comfortably, and her head rests on his chest with him moving. His arm is wrapped around her body again, and she hums comfortably. A smile appears on Michael's face at the sight.

"May I ask you something?" He asks her as the movie has finished. She looks up, waiting for the upcoming question. "What triggered it?"

"Your sweet stepbrother," she answers. "I was trying to hide the feeling that I felt like shit and doing very well. And then he came, being all pressed because he saw that Ash and I kissed."

"Wait, what? You guys kissed? How come I don't know about that?" Her cheeks flush while he low-key feels his heart drop. Ashton is a good guy, but he isn't into relationships right now, and Alex is.

"Yeah, I was being somewhat insecure about kissing someone," she tells her best friend. "I don't even remember how it started, but the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine. After that, Luke started his scene and shit." She takes a deep breath. "And the shit he said about my parents and me just didn't hit me well."

"Yeah, he shouldn't have said it." Mike mumbles. "Still don't understand how he's the team captain when all he does is make drama. He should be the one team calming the team down."

Maybe Michael's still salty that they chose Luke over him. Of course, it doesn't necessarily mean a lot, but still. What does he have that Michael doesn't? Except for girls around his dick.

He got this leadership role and didn't act like it. The thing is that the coach doesn't see that. Maybe that's what annoys Michael even more. Yes, they're a team. Yes, they're grown men, but still.

"You seem pretty pissed," Alexis comments. "Did I say something wrong?" Immediately, Michael shakes his head at her words and looks back at the television screen to ease his mind. Alexis drops the subject as well and also looks at the screen. Her eyes follow every movement that's happening on the screen. Michael had unconsciously started a new movie.

"Okay, you're staring at me." Michael notices after a while. And when he looks down to see her, her gaze is still kept on his, but not in the way he'd expected her to. Her eyes are squinted, and her lips have formed a thin line. "You're creeping me out, ankle biter."

Fucking hell, she hates the nickname. But she's small, and he can't help himself. He's the most excellent friend ever to exist. She has a nickname for him, not that he's willing to tell, but she has a good one for him.

"You're just pretty," she mumbles. "And I haven't told you how well you played the last game."

"How does Ashton kiss?" Her eyes widen at the sudden change of subjects. "Thanks for the compliment, but I want to know."

"Kiss my ass, Clifford."

"If you insist." He shrugs before he lifts her. She's yelling immediately, laughter leaving her lips, and screaming for Michael to put her back down.

"I was kidding!" She hiccups.

"Well, I wasn't." He says. Alexis is quick to run away before he does so, but Michael is faster. What else did she expect? To be faster than a soccer player? Ain't no way she will ever be. Michael lifts her and places her over his shoulder. "Lemme taste." They both know his tone is joking, so Alex starts giggling.

"You're disgusting, Bean Pole. Truly."

There it is, the nickname she came up with for Michael, which he hates as much as she hates the nickname he has for her.

*

finally, another chapter! i've been swamped rewriting it all, and there will still be some mistakes that i oversee, so if you do, please let me know!

i hope guys still like it and will continue to like it!! Thank you so much already.

loads of love x