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calpalirwin · 4 years

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Pretty Girl, Handsome Boy

A/N: So Mikey has felt a little underappreciated in my opinion, so I did something about it. Enjoy!

And away, and away we go!

~~~

“Ah, shit! Fucker…” you grumbled, setting your controller down in frustration as you waited to respawn.

“Whoa, you’re a chick?”

“Fuck!” you grumbled again, fiddling with your headset. You hated when people found out you were a girl in the gaming universe, but you had forgotten to mute your mic before playing.

The chat at the bottom of the game starting blowing up in the realization of a girl in their midst. The same shit you were used to- comments ranging from about how it made sense how much you sucked now to more lewd comments about other things you could suck.

“Fuck this,” you said, picking up your controller to take yourself out of the game and find a new match. You reached up to hit the switch on your mic to mute yourself.

A notification popped up in the corner of your screen to let you know someone by the tag Mikerowave_X had messaged you.

“The fuck?” you said aloud, opening the notification. Why did that tag sound familiar?

Sorry about those assholes, the message read.

Nah, it’s all good, you typed back, forgot I wasn’t muted.

They’re still assholes. You were playing just fine. Better than some of them, even.

Haha, thanks.

I’m Mike, btw.

I could tell. Clever name. What’s the X for?

It’s a Final Fantasy thing, lol.

Sick! I’m Y/N.

Nice to meet ya, Y/N.

Nice to meet you too, Mike.

What else do you play?

Oh, loads of stuff. I’m not too picky.

Cool. We should play sometime.

For sure. I use the same gamer tag on all my accounts so just hit me up, you typed, not quite sure why you were opening yourself up to play with someone you didn’t know, but figuring if push came to shove you could always block the dude. But something told you you wouldn’t need to; that this Mike character was a good guy.

You down to play something now or were you going offline for the day?

Nah, I was just switching matches. Can’t really play once people find out I’m a girl. Ruins it for me.

Is that why none of us can find the girl gamers on these things?

Just a gamer, Mike. A girl yeah. But a gamer just like you. We don’t call you guy gamers.

Shit, my bad. But you’re for real a girl?

Nah, I’m a middle aged dude with the voice of a prepubescent boy. Yes I’m a girl.

Just checking, damn… can’t be too careful these days.

Says the one who’s prob a middle aged dude himself…

Lol, I’m 24. Swear.

Prove it.

For real? Hang tight then.

A few moments later a picture of a boy with a hat covering his blonde hair, with the greenest eyes you’ve ever seen and beard stubble flashed on your screen, his phone with the date and time next to him for added proof. My mate took it so we could timestamp it for ya, the message below the picture said.

Damn… you typed, immediately recognizing him, all the pieces of the puzzle clicking together: his gamer tag, the use of X being a Final Fantasy reference. No fuckin way...

Haha, like what you see?

As far as nerds go, yeah, you’re kinda hot, you responded trying to keep your cool.

Lol, I got a song by that name. Well almost.

Yeah, I know.

Oh? You good?

I’m a little stunned, you admitted.

Lol why?

Cuz you’re Michael fuckin Clifford

It’s Gordon actually. But yeah, so?

Michael fuckin Clifford is messaging me… fuckin hell this is wild!

Shh, don’t blow my cover. I’m just a gamer, yeah?

Just a gamer, yeah, okay.

Can I get a pic of you? Shit, not like that… I just meant… ah fuck…

Lol, it’s fine. Gimme a sec. If Michael fuckin Clifford wanted a picture of you, you were gonna give him a picture. You tried to do a cute, goofy pose with your tongue poking out, making sure your TV screen with the date and time was visible in the background. Shit, that’s awful, you typed as you sent the picture to him.

Damn…

Haha, like what you see? you teased, using his words against him

Very much so, Y/N, very much so. How old are you, btw?

Same as you, 24.

Yeah?

What, wanna see my license for proof? I don’t lie, Mike.

Nah, you just hide that you’re a girl.

I don’t hide it. It’s visible on my profile. I just keep a gender neutral gamer tag. Keeps the assholes away.

Damn, defensive. I was joking Y/N.

Oh… so you serious about playing a game sometime?

Hell yeah, I’m serious. But, I actually gotta go. Famous duty calls.

Oh, alright. See you around then.

See ya, pretty girl.

Bye, handsome boy.

~~~

You played with Mike for the next few months every time he was on. You didn’t admit it in your messages to each other, but your heart sank when you would see he was offline and it did a little jump when he was. Unbeknownst to you, his heart was having the same reaction.

Hey, pretty girl? he typed about 4 months after the first message.

You heart leapt in your throat. You loved that he had deemed you “pretty girl” although again, you’d never admit it.

Yeah, handsome boy? you typed back, using his deemed nickname in response.

We’re getting back in town here in a few days. Was wondering if we could meet up in person?

Really?

Yeah. I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well these past few months. Why not?

I don’t want to disappoint you…

Disappoint me? Aw, pretty girl…

I’m a nerd, handsome boy. What you see is what you get. No surprises.

Pretty girl, that could never disappoint me.

You sighed. Alright, name the time and place and I’ll be there.

~~~

You walked into the arcade, double-checking that you were in the right place. “Pretty girl?” a scruffy voice sounded from behind you.

You turned and looked up at the blonde-haired, green-eyed boy who had his arms open for a hug. “Handsome boy,” you greeted, accepting his hug. You smiled into his chest as his arms enveloped you. Damn he felt good. “So, an arcade, huh?” you asked once you let go of each other.

“Figured it’d make a good first date,” he winked.

“Date?” You quirked an eyebrow at him, hands going to your hips. You weren’t dressed for a date. You had spent the better part of your morning deciding what to wear before opting for a simple black t-shirt and jeans. Every day attire, not first date attire.

“Well yeah? What did you think this was?”

“2 friends meeting up?”

“Pretty girl…” he sighed, rubbing his temple. “Look, I’m not good at these things okay? Ash is the…”

“Wordsmith,” you nodded. “I know. Ash is the wordsmith, Cal’s the squishy cheeks who hates love, Luke’s hungover Jesus, and you’re the gamer. I know.”

He let out a small chuckle, “Yeah. But, I like you, okay? I don’t call just anyone ‘pretty girl’. In fact, you’re the only one I call that.”

“Well, I like you too, Mike, but…”

“But what? Is this too real for you now?” His voice wasn’t angry, it was almost sad. Like he was scared he was losing you. Which he was. He had grown attached to you and he wanted more than a gaming friendship with you. And here he was, ruining it. So typical.

“A little?” you admitted, trying to find the words. “I mean, before… you were handsome boy and I was pretty girl. And… and that was enough for me. But now… you’re here. In front of me. And you’re him. You’re Michael fuckin Clifford…”

“It’s Gordon, actually,” he half-joked. “But, Y/N, that doesn’t change anything. I’m still handsome boy, and you’re still pretty girl. What you see is what you get, right? No surprises?”

“Yeah, but you’re you! Like actually you! And I’m… I’m me. And people like me don’t go on dates with people like you.”

He pursed his lips together, a wave of emotion coursing through him. He was angry, yes. But more than that, he was hurt. Hurt that he had hurt you by trying to get close to you. Hurt himself by making himself vulnerable. Maybe this is why Calum hated love so much. This shit hurt.

You looked up at him, as his face tried to process your words and his feelings towards you. You could see the pain etched in his face. “Mike,” you said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “This has nothing to do with you, okay? I like you. A lot, if I’m being honest. But, I’m scared, okay? I’m not blind to your professional life and what that entails. It was easier before. I could ignore that you were you and just pretend you were just Mike, my friend in the gaming world. But this?” you gestured with your hands. “Well, my world’s spinning a little too fast.”

“I’m still him, Y/N…”

“You are. But you’re also not,” you said sadly, thinking that this is exactly why you weren’t supposed to meet your idols.

“God, that’s such bullshit… I’m me, Y/N!” he shouted suddenly, his voice ringing out around you. “I’m still the dude who messaged you to apologize for assholes who think that just because you’re a girl gives them a free pass to make a pass at you. I’m the same guy you’ve been talking to for months. I’m still the same guy in the picture when you knew who I really was. And I’m still here, in front of you, trying to ask the girl I like on a date.”

“Mike… I…” you sputtered. It was too real. It was too real that he was right here in front of you. The feelings you had for him were too real. This was just… too much too fast.

“Look me in the eye and tell me I’m not the same person you’ve gotten to know these last 4 months,” he challenged you.

“Mike, it’s not that simple, and you know it!” You were doing what you did best, closing yourself off so you couldn’t disappoint anyone.

“Bullshit, it isn’t! Look, if this is about you being scared of disappointing me I got news for ya: you don’t. I meant every word I’ve ever said to you.”

“Mike…” you said, your voice breaking. “I can’t be the girl you want me to be. I just can’t, okay?”

“I only ever wanted you to be you…”

“And I am!”

“And that’s enough for me! Can’t you see that? Haven’t I proved that to you?”

“It’s clearly not enough if you want to date me, Mike…”

“Pretty girl, I want to date you because you’re enough. It’s not easy for me to open up to people, okay? I’m not like Ash, I can’t just make myself vulnerable and pass it off as charm. I’m not like Cal who just passes his feelings off as indifference. I’m not a cute dork like Luke. I’m just nerdy ole me who likes nerdy ole you a hell of a lot. You have made these past few months away from home more bearable than I can put into words. Yes, I love my job. I love what I do, and wouldn’t trade it for anything. But it gets lonely. And it gets hard. But when I was with you, I felt at home. Like for once in my life there was someone to come home to. And that’s not a feeling I want to let go of. If this is too much, that’s fine. I get it. I have a tendency of coming on a little strong because I don’t know how to open up, so when I do it’s like an avalanche. If we need to go back to just being gaming friends, I guess I’ll find a way to be okay with that. But I like you, okay? You feel like home to me and I just need you to know that.”

“Mike… I don’t think that’s what it means to like someone…” you said, once he was done giving a voice to all the feelings you’d been having yourself. “Pretty sure that’s love.”

“Oh… well, fuck, maybe I love you then, pretty girl.”

“Maybe I love you too, handsome boy,” you said before reaching up to touch his cheek, needing to look at those green eyes of his.

“Maybe?” he said softly, as his gaze locked with yours, the tip of his tongue poking out to wet at his lips.

“Maybe,” you nodded, before your lips touched his.

#pretty girl handsome boy #michael clifford #michael blurb #fuck I'm swerving #vulnerable 5sos boys make me SOFT!!!#5sos #galcal irwin

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i-like-5sos · 4 years

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First Time Saying “I Love You” [4/4 ]

Pairing: Each 5SOS boy X reader

Word count: 3152

Warnings: Absolutely none. Pure fluff.

Summary: Four different scenarios where each of the boys confess their feeling for you for the first time.

Michael

“What did I miss?” You ask as you walk back into your living room and reclaim your spot laying down on the couch across form Michael, resting your legs on his.

“They decided to tear the support beam down and now they’re all pissed cause the upper floor is starting to cave in.” He replies, eyes glued to the renovation show you two put on as a joke earlier in the week because you couldn’t decide what to watch- but are now somehow invested in.

“Morons” you say shaking your head at the TV while laughing.

As the two of you become entranced by the do-it-yourselfers, you both melt deeper into the couch, becoming one with the cushions. A usual occurrence for the two of you, as you both prefer staying in and vegging out with one another to going out and partying. You two have powered through so many series on Netflix that you’re sure you’ll run out of new shows to watch before the end of the year, so it comes as no surprise when the screen shows you other shows you might be interested in as the credits roll on the screen at the end of the season finale of the home renovation show.

“Oh my god. How do they just end a show like that? They literally didn’t even show us what colour paint they picked out for the kitchen.” You complain loudly. “I mean the least they could have done is give us a preview of what’s to come next season. Honestly!”

You ramble on mindlessly about the show as the previews for other shows being to play automatically, only to pause when you hear Michael mumble something softly.

“What?” you ask, trying to recall what he had said.

“Nothing” he smiles softly, his cheeks a slight shade of pink. “I- uh think we should watch this one.” He says quickly, as he searches awkwardly around the couch for the remote and pressing the select button once he finds it under his back.

You turn your attention away from him and try to focus on the introductory credits of the show Michael put on when you suddenly clue into what he had said. I love you. You played it back in your head and you were sure of it. Returning your gaze to the still-blushing boy beside you, you knew heard right. But the moment had passed, and he was now discussing the outfit choice of one of the characters on the television.

***

Two months after the unacknowledged “I love you” drop, you find yourself almost asleep, laying in Michael’s bed with his arms wrapped around you. Your breathing is soft and steady with his as you hear him softly say your name.

“Are you awake?” He whispers quietly.

Too tired to respond, you just leave him to talk as you focus on listening and trying to stay awake long enough to hear what he has to say.

All is quiet, and you begin to believe he’s given up and will just tell you whatever he has to say in the morning.

“I love you.” He breathes, almost too quiet to hear.

Your eyes open as your heart skips a beat, and you roll over to face him. His arms loosen around you, and as your eyes adjust, you take in the look of shock on his face.

“I- uh… I thought you were asleep” Michael says, clearly embarrassed and very vulnerable having exposed his feelings.

“Michael, I love you too.” You smile, leaning in to kiss him.

Luke

You look around your colourfully lit bedroom as you mindlessly play with the rings on Luke’s hand as the two of you sit together on your bed. You’ve always loved the look of Christmas lights on your walls and the calming feeling they provide.

“I’ve got an idea” Luke says, suddenly breaking the comfortable silence between the two of you.

“What’s that?” You ask, tuning your attention to look at the blue-eyed boy laying on the bed next to you.

“Let’s play Three Truths.” He suggests.

The two of you have been playing Three Truths since you first started talking. You had once suggested that you both play “Two Truths and A Lie” but he had insisted that he didn’t want you both to have to lie to one another, thus Three Truths was born. Together, you and Luke had decided that the only rule for the game was that everything you say must be true, and the other person couldn’t react to what you say until your turn ends. The two of you hadn’t played that game for a while now, but you were always open to learning more about your boyfriend.

“Okay, sure!” You say, excited to hear what he would come up with.

“You go first.” He says with a soft smile.

“I totally wasn’t prepared for this” You shake your head, “but let’s go with um… Okay, I’ve got it. Truth number one: I don’t want to have leftovers for dinner again tomorrow night. I would rather you cook something.” You watch as he shrugs and nods his head. “Truth number two: I sometimes untune your guitars because I think it’s hot watching you tune them… and truth number three: I think I want to dye my hair again.” You twist the rings on his fingers before looking at him again.

“Do you really do that to my guitars?” He asks in disbelief.

“Sometimes.” You flash him an apologetic smile and laugh as he shakes his head.

“What am I going to do with you.” He says, before kissing you on the forehead.

“Luke, it’s your turn.” You point out with enthusiasm.

“Alright… Let me think” His brow furrows as you watch him try to come up with something truthful to say. “Okay, I’ve got it! Truth number one: I ate the last of your chocolate bar this morning while you were asleep.”

“I knew it!” You shout and push him gently with your free hand.

“Hey! No talking! Wait your turn.” He interjected pointedly.

You raise your hands in a signal for him to continue before resting them in Luke’s again.

“As I was saying, truth number two: I actually didn’t mind getting that pedicure with you last week and I think I want to go again… and truth number three-“ He pauses and looks into your eyes before quickly looking down at your hand in his. “Um… truth number three is that I love you.”

Your face lights up as you release your hand from his to grab his face and pull it in for a kiss. He responds by wrapping his arms around you and pulling your body against his, falling back onto the bed. You lay there kissing one another for what feel like an eternity before you break apart and look into his eyes.

“I love you too.” You say, causing a smile to break across Luke’s face before he pulls you back into another kiss.

Calum

Groaning loudly, you slam the front door and begin kicking your shoes off. Your goal: the couch. You plan to lay on the couch all night, ignore the world, and try to pretend that you didn’t just work a day from hell. Your eyes meet the pillow covered couch, and just as you begin to walk over to the only thing that could make your day better, your phone rings. Sighing, you look down to see the familiar nickname and face of you boyfriend, Calum, light up the screen. You instantly smile and soften up the slightest bit. Maybe the couch wasn’t the only thing that could make your day better.

“Hi baby” you say with your best ‘I didn’t just have a shitty day’ voice.

He’s quiet for a moment. “What’s wrong?”

Of course he can tell you’re upset. You continue your journey to the couch, and as you sit down, you let out another sigh and begin to tell him about your horrible day at work, your asshole bosses, and your realization of a mistake you’d made yesterday that you had to fix today, causing you to now be a day behind in your work. He listened attentively the entire time and once he knew you were done, he comforted you with the exact words you needed to hear.

“We should go on a hike. Get some of that negative energy out.” He suggests after filling your ears with his reassuring words

You look at the couch under you and pat it a few times, silently saying an ‘until next time’ to it before getting up and agreeing to have Calum pick you up after you’ve changed out of your work clothes.

***

Your fingers are intertwined as the two of you walk through the unfamiliar wooded trail on the outskirts of the city that Calum had found on his phone. If Duke playfully running around smelling all of the new scents on the trees and rocks that surrounded you wasn’t enough to make you smile, the mindless babblings of Calum certainly was. He was always so passionate about whatever he was talking about, even when he was talking about nothing. This was definitely one of those times. You listen to him as he goes off about how hard it must be to be a squirrel in the winter, having to find the food that they had hidden so long ago, especially with all of these other selfish squirrel’s stealing from each other. Normally you would try to step in and try to stand up for the other squirrels, telling him they needed to eat too, but during his ramblings, your mind has wondered back to all the work you still had left to complete, and you just don’t have the energy.

He must have noticed your lack of a rebuttal to his blatant disregard for the other hungry squirrels because he had stopped walking and was now looking at you with an empathetic gaze.

“You still upset about work?” He asked, squeezing your hand softly.

“It was just such a shitty day Cal. I don’t mean to bum you out. I should have just stayed home.” You drop your head and exhale deeply.

“No no, this is exactly what you should have done today.” Calum says, as you feel a tug at your arm. “Come with me.”

You tour behind him in your own pity party of one as he leads you off of the trail, towards a nearby cliffside.

“This is the perfect spot.” He beams, gesturing to the open cliffside in front of you.

“Cal? That’s a little dark, don’t you think?” you say before peering over the edge of the small cliff to the hill of trees below you.

“Are you ser- no ohmigod.” He laughs “Come on, we’re going to try something my mom showed we when I was younger. Whenever I was having a bad day, she would always bring me to places like this and tell me to yell out the first thing that comes to mind, and to keep yelling until there was nothing left to yell about. My throat would always be killing me by the end of it, but I would always feel better. I want you to try it.” He squeezes your hand again and smiles hopefully at you.

You really didn’t want to be here, yelling your pointless work problems out to the world and feeling like a moron, but the smile on your boyfriend’s face and the admission of the personal memory he shared with his mother was enough to make you do anything. You look at him apprehensively before turning your attention to the trees below you.

“I… uh…” You look back at Calum and he smiles softly at you before nodding. “I sometimes hate my job” you say in a not-quite-yelling tone.

“Come on baby, you’ve got to yell it! Here, like this: I wish duke would stop peeing on my shoes every time I leave him alone in the house!” He yells out, making Duke jump a little at the mention of his name before he continued to smell the mossy tree next to Calum.

You let out a chuckle at the purity of his smiling face after he yelled out his complaint.

“Try it again.” He encouraged before kissing your cheek.

You take a deep breath and follow his lead “I am so mad at myself for being so far behind in my work all because I made one small mistake yesterday!”

You feel embarrassed yelling it out, but at the same time you begin to feel slightly better. Although, the smile on Calum’s face could be aiding you just as much.

“There should be an easier way to parallel park!” He shrugs and laughs when you shoot him a confused look.

“My feet hurt from wearing heels all day! Business dress codes are stupid!”

“I’m a little worried we could be eaten by mountain lions on our way back to the car!”

“I’m a little worried about my boyfriend being a moron!” You let out a loud laugh at the scowl Calum gives you.

“It could happen, you know.” He mumbles.

“On a hiking trail next to a big city? I doubt that.” You say giggling softly. “It’s your turn.”

You watch as he begins to smile again, blushing slightly.

“I think I’m falling in love with my girlfriend!” He bites his bottom lip softly before smiling sheepishly at you.

You return his smile and pull him in by the hand, kissing him tenderly.

“I love you” he says against your lips.

“I love you too, Calum.” You reply as his arms wrap around your waste.

Ashton

You gasp out for air after swimming up from the bottom of your backyard pool and look around for your boyfriend. Your eyes lock onto the Ashton-shaped figure quickly emerging from the water a couple of feet from you. You smile widely at the soaking wet raven-haired boy as he treads the water and brushes the hair from his eyes with his hands.

“I win!” you shout enthusiastically and use your arm to splash a wave of water at Ashton.

You watch as he ducks under the water again to avoid your splash. When he resurfaces, he shakes his head.

“Okay that’s not fair. You were supposed to count down with your fingers, not in your head. That was the agreement to letting you count!” He raises his arm back at you indicating the tidal wave of water that will -no doubt- be headed you way any second. “And another thing!” He shouts while simultaneously slashing his arms through the water at you, “What happed to our no splashing deal?!”

“Sorry, Irwin. I’m hearing a lot of excuses but I’m not seeing any winning. If the counting is that big of an issue, you can count… but just the one time.” You stick your tongue out at him as water drips down your face. “Also, no splashing deals are for pansies.”

Just as you see his arms begin to raise to send more water your way, you dive under the water and swim over towards him. You submerge face to face with Ashton and place your hand on his cheek before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

“One more time and we can do something else.” You say smiling and swimming back to your previous spot.

“Deal” He agrees.

The two of you count down from three then begin to swim towards the bottom of the pool at the same time. Once at the bottom you open your eyes to find his looking back at you. You turn your attention to his right hand as he then holds five fingers up, and you nod at him. You watch as he uses his hand to count down from five, and as he his final finger drops, you both use your legs to shoot up off the pool floor up towards the surface of the water. Once there, you quickly wipe the water away from your eyes to see Ashton already above the water, smirking at you.

“How’s that for winning?” He snickers.

“I demand a recount!” You shout.

“No can-do babe. You said it yourself, we’re doing something else now.” He winks before swimming to the shallow end of the pool. “We could play that lip-reading game from last week if you’re up for losing some more.”

“If that’s the game we’re playing then you know I’m not the one that’s going to be losing, right?”

You follow him into the shallow end and smile to yourself. Last week when you had played this game, he couldn’t guess a single thing you had mouthed to him, whereas you had guessed everything he had mouthed with ease.

“We’ll just see about that.” He says, settling into a spot in front of you. “Ladies first.”

The two of you drop under the water and wait a moment for your eyes to adjust. Once you were both ready, you quickly think of something to mouth at him.

“Octopus” you mouth, before blowing bubbles out of your mouth and heading back up.

Once at the surface again you can’t help but laugh at the pure confusion on his face.

“Uh.. ‘On the bus’? He guesses shrugging his shoulders.

You shake your head “Nope! Octopus!” You laugh again as his face deadpans and he rolls his eyes. “Okay your turn!”

You both drop and he mouths what is obviously “potatoes” to you and you both go up for air.

“Potatoes!” You shout.

“You must have some kind of mind reading ability you’ve been hiding from me” he says and nods to confirm your guess.

You drop for a third time and you mouth out the word “cactus”.

“You totally said tip-toe” He says confidently once out of the water again.

“Ashton… do your eyes even work?” You joke “I said Cactus.”

“Oh, whatever.” He laughs “I’m making this one harder for you.”

“Bring it on.”

The two of you duck under the water again, and as the water settles you look at Ashton, waiting for him to mouth his new word. You watch as his mouth moves, and you study the words that he mouths to you carefully. You play it back in your head a couple of times to make sure that you were right about what he had mouthed. Once above the water, you stare at him for a moment before stating your guess out loud.

“I love you?” You ask, slightly weary.

His smile is infectious as he nods at you.

“A little straightforward, aren’t we? Well, I guess I love you too.” He chuckles and swims towards you before cupping your chin in his big hands.

You laugh at the very ‘Ashton’ way of confessing his feelings for you, before kissing him deeply.

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