Dare || m.c.

October, 2013 {the letter}

Sometimes life throws you curve balls and you have to make the best of it. For Michael, a feisty redhead came into his life like a whirlwind and made a mess of his emotions that he'd worked so hard to keep in check. She questioned everything he did and made him question himself. She propelled him to become a better, stronger person. Because of her, he was happy with his life. Because of her, he had a functioning band. A band that would tour with One Direction on their next tour.

5 Seconds of Summer had somehow been discovered by Louis Tomlinson, who somehow saw potential in them, and somehow got their team convinced to let this rookie band tag along. Michael was ecstatic, but he wasn't sure his band would ever live up the standards that One Direction had already set.

Things couldn't get better for Michael. He had a better relationship with Richard. There was still room for improvement and Michael was working on it. He knew that Richard made Karen happy and did so much for Michael, even though he didn't have to. The least Michael could do was respect Richard and appreciate his efforts.

After four months, Jose still loved him. She'd moved out of Ashton's parents' house and now lived in an apartment with Ashton. That had bothered Michael at first. Instead of living with him, his girlfriend was living with another man. But he soon got over that jealousy when he saw the logistics behind it. Ashton and Jade were splitting the rent because Jade wasn't yet financially strong to pay for it alone and neither was Ashton. And it was better than her living alone or with someone else. At least this way Michael knew that Ashton would never do anything to jeopardize their relationship. And if Jade was living with Michael, she might get real tired of him real fast. And he didn't want that.

Right now she was in the car with him, parked outside what was apparently her biological father's house. In Michael's hand was the letter that Jade had written. She had some things she wanted to say to him, but she didn't want to see him. She didn't want to hear his side of the story. She'd heard enough from Sheila. Michael may have agreed with her, but he had no idea how he would feel in this situation, so he didn't try to tell her to do or not do anything.

"Are you sure he'll be home?" Jade asked, sounding so nervous.

"I'll just slide it in if he's not," Michael replied. He didn't want her to be stressed about this any longer. She looked scared, something he hadn't seen in her in a long time. Her makeup was done, which was still just a lot of black, and her hair fell past her shoulder, almost reaching down to her stomach. Michael leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back."

Patrick lived in a decent house that blended in with every other house on the street. It was simple and boring, just like Michael expected the man living in it to be. When he rang the doorbell, it wasn't a man who answered, but a woman. With jet black hair and deep drown eyes, she also looked boring and her sweatpants didn't help.

"Hi. I'm looking for Patrick," Michael said. He tried to be polite because it wasn't this woman who'd fucked up Jade's life. "Would he happen to be home?"

"Yeah, come on in," the lady smiled and opened the door wide.

Michael didn't move. He didn't come here to go inside, he had no business going inside. "I'm just here to drop something off. Would you mind getting him?"

The woman hesitated before saying, "He'll be out in a second," and then she was gone.

It didn't take long for Patrick to come. He looked much younger than Richard, dressed in a button down shirt and sweatpants, similes to the ones the woman had been wearing. He had light brown hair and a light stubble, but none of this shocked Michael. What left him speechless were the man's eyes. They were a bright green, almost identical to Jade's.