Everyone knew not to look and definitely not to touch the beautiful man named Michael Clifford. He was the precious baby of the notorious Calum Hood after all. But (un)fortunately for Luke Hemmings and Ashton Irwin, they simply didn't listen.
...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
☻♡
22 - Insecurities
Sitting in the backseat and behind Calum, Michael was silent and stuck in his thoughts while he waited for the other two to meet him and Calum in the car.
Calum was sat in the driver's seat with his attentive eyes watching his surroundings. He was on alert for obvious reasons, not allowing any chance for mishap to happen to him and his beauty.
Once the time passed by he saw Luke and Ashton approach the car, resulting in Luke sitting in the back with Michael and Ashton sitting in the front next to Calum.
"Who was that?" Calum asked Ashton instantly.
"You're asking me like I know the answer to the question."
"If you think that I'm going to believe that us meeting in a random spot by the outskirts and then being attacked there is a coincidence then you're more of a dumbass than I originally thought."
"I don't know who they are or why they attacked us." Ashton deadpanned while he glared at the brunette.
"I don't believe you."
"I don't fucking care if you believe me or not. It wasn't me and that's all you need to know. Do you really think I would have put any possible harm onto Michael?"
Calum remained silent once Ashton asked this, leaving them in some sort of a glaring contest. Because unfortunately for Calum, Ashton had a valid point.
Ashton started all of this because he wanted Michael as his own. There would be no reason or motive for him to be responsible for the attack unless Michael wasn't there.
"The most important question here is if you're okay." Luke cut the others off, looking to the side and at Michael expectantly, seeing the beauty zoned out and looking outside of the window.
"I'm fine." He muttered not even being bothered to look back at Luke or the others. Luke warily looked at the other two who were looking at the sulking Michael.
Michael just didn't have the energy to be himself when around the three of them together anymore. The only one who he felt comfortable with was Luke when the two were alone.
Calum was being an asshole and he didn't want to talk to him. Ashton only made things worse, so he couldn't risk talking to him.
But Luke always seemed to understand him. The other cared so much about him and it made his heart constantly flutter. But it only worked when they were alone because then Calum would notice and he would only get angrier.
"Beautiful one, are you hurt?" Ashton asked worriedly.
"No. I'm fine."
"Why are you acting like that then?" Luke asked.
"I'm not acting like anything. Just leave me alone."
Calum turned back around in his seat and he felt his heart ache. Michael only got like this when he wasn't feeling good about himself. Even people like Michael had their insecurities, and they were coming out in the moment.
He knew that it was because of him and his recent attitude. He also knew that he needed to fix it. He needed to fix it now before Michael progressed down an even more negative headspace.
So Calum silently got out of the car and opened the backseat that was behind the driver's seat, which was where Michael was sitting.
Calum looked into the sad, green eyes when he gently cupped his cheeks into his hands. He placed a soft kiss onto Michael's forehead and brought his right hand up to play with his hair in a relaxing manner.
"I'm sorry."
The two words were simple, but they meant a lot to Michael. It took a lot from Calum to apologize, leaving him to only do it if he rurally fucked up and actually felt sorry.
Michael nodded his head and leaned in to bring the brunette in a large and needed hug.
"I love you. So much." The brunette stated and easily accepted the hug from his lover.
"Love you more, Cal."
"You're not hurt. Are you?"
"No." Michael answered quietly, not wanting Calum to ever let go of him. Even if they had their lows and their fights, Michael never wanted to live without the other.
Ashton and Luke could only watch the interaction in silence. Ashton didn't mind having to watch the man he was interested in be all over another. It only fueled his want for him more.
But deep down Ashton appreciated how much Calum cared for Michael. The love for the beauty is obvious in his brown eyes everytime Calum would even glance at Michael. For that, Ashton could hold a little amount of respect for the business man.
But Luke was different. Everytime he saw Michael in Calum's arms, the pain would only progressively get worse. It made him more and more jealous and envious. But he still wanted to see Michael happy, even if it was in another man's arms.
"I'll figure this all out and I'll take care of you. Always."
"I know." Michael hummed into Calum's neck, placing a soft and loving kiss onto the skin.
Calum leaned back and away from the touch, but he sent Michael a loving and promising look. No matter how much they argued or fought and no matter how out of line each were, they would ultimately still be there for each other.
They would always take care of each other and love each other. That would never end.
He closed Michael's door and got back into the front seat, looking at Ashton expectantly, "I'm trusting you here because I don't think you're capable of putting Michael's life in danger. We can either work together on this or work together on this separately. But I'm assuming that you're going to want to figure out who could have got him hurt and what they want."
"Oh I'm going to figure out who they are, what they want, and how they knew where we were. And I'm going to make each of them pay for putting his beautiful self in harm's way."
"That's what I thought."
"But this is my world here, Calum. You're not needed or reliable. You're not as powerful as I am. I'm running this or else you can work by yourself."
"I guess that answers it then." Calum said with a glare, "Back to playing sides. At least I have the numbers."
Ashton smirked knowingly because he knew that Luke was now back on his side, even if the blonde didn't admit that he was. But like hell would he would let go of the leverage of having Luke inside of that mansion and being able to be so close to Michael.
It was looking good for the gangster without anyone knowing it yet...except for him.
