A/N: This was just an idea I had running restlessly through my mind that I had to get down. It's a very short implied Mike/Edward told from Mike's POV. I always thought it was strange how much Edward detested Mike, and this was the outcome of my musings. Hope you enjoy!
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining
My eyes bored holes into them as they laughed together, his arms thrown so casually around her waist, her cheeks tinged pink with self-conscious affection. I felt my mouth twist into a grimace as my heart burned with rage and desire. That should be me. We should be the ones with our hands entwined, sharing such easy kisses.
Then I remembered why that could never be, and I felt my face sink with my spirit. There was a reason, unknown to most, why Edward hated me so. A reason that had nothing to do with his precious Bella – I repressed a sneer at the thought. No, Edward didn't turn a cold shoulder to me because he was threatened – it was because he couldn't face reality; because before Bella came, before they fell in love, Edward had been – albeit secretly – mine. And even to this day, almost two years later, he refused to accept or acknowledge that.
My mind was infiltrated with images of us: lingering kisses in abandoned hallways, hot touches on cold skin, the ripple of his muscles, his moan in my ear, steady breathing growing ragged as passion enveloped us. I longed to sift my fingers through that beautiful silky bronze hair again, to brush the alabaster skin of his cheek, to taste the unnatural sweetness of his full lips, our tongues battling for dominance.
I shook my head in a vain attempt to clear it, blond hair falling in my eyes, obscuring the view of the happy couple. That was what hurt the most: remembering the soft vows of love, the heated kisses and his soft caress, then suddenly being left and ignored like I was just another boy – like we never happened.
I remember it vividly: he corned me in the library, cold and intimidating. He had told me, quickly and unaffected, that he "no longer saw a future for us and wish we would continue on our separate paths." But more than the pain of his indifference to all we had shared, I remember the feeling of hopeless despair he left me with as he just turned on heel and walked away.
That was the only reason I "wanted" Bella. I wanted to hurt him as much as he hurt me, to watch his stunning golden eyes darken in pain as the most important thing of his life was stolen by another – his ex-lover, no less.
With a shaking hand I brushed the tendrils out of my eyes, suddenly working to repress tears. No matter how much I told myself it had been just a fling and I didn't care, I knew deep down I was attempting to deceive myself. The way my heart threatened to fly out of my chest and the tingling warmth that spread from my stomach every time he was near – even now – could only mean one thing: "I love him." The words left a burning feel on my tongue and my stomach flipped. I had never said it before, blatantly outright. It was a double-edged sword: though the words themselves weren't unpleasant, the factor of my unrequited feelings was like a bullet to the gut.
My eyes wandered to them again, and I barely contained myself from jumping in shock as I saw Ed-Cullen staring at me. I looked into his eyes, and the melting topaz orbs softened for a moment – so briefly I thought I imagined it – before hardening and narrowing infinitesimally as he turned his head back to Bella. I felt my whole body quivering as I digested his look, the same look he used to give me when we were together: vague but caring, soft and protective with the slightest hint of a smile playing across his lips, and his eyes kind and concentrated, glowing with repressed mirth, as if he knew my thoughts. It was enough in itself to make my knees go weak.
I dared a look up again, but his attention was elsewhere.
Feeling defeated but relieved, I reminded myself of an expression my mother used to say: Every cloud has a silver lining. I racked my brain for a positive outcome of my situation, coming up empty-handed.
Pain slashed through my chest like a blade.
How could one be happy when he had been forsaken by an angel?