Inspired by “Is It Love?” — Maria Sur

You always knew Mikey carried storms in his chest. Even now, months after the last fight, the last shouting match, the last disappearing act — he still had the power to pull you in with a single word, a single glance, like gravity you couldn’t escape. When his name appeared on your phone, you hesitated, fingers frozen over the screen. You knew this would end in chaos, but the pull was irresistible. “Hey,” he whispered into the receiver, and the warmth of his voice wrapped around you like smoke. “I… I can’t stay away.”

You could hear it in every uneven breath — the tension, the longing, the mess he was, and somehow, the exact thing you’d been missing. “…I don’t know if this is love, or if I’m just addicted to how you mess with me,” he admitted, and your chest tightened, remembering all the times he’d been your disaster and your solace at the same time.

“…I keep coming back,” he said softly. “I keep letting myself fall for the fire, for the way you make me feel… even when it’s bad.” The line went quiet for a beat, the world shrinking down to the space between your words, between your heartbeats. And you knew — he was holding you close in every pause, every unfinished sentence, every confession he couldn’t yet say out loud. “…Do you still want me around?” Mikey finally asked, voice trembling, raw. “Even if I’m all chaos, even if I hurt you?”