MUKE short stories

bad omens ♪ 7

"Do you need more paint, Mr. Hood?"

"What? No, thank you, girls." Calum tried not to blush as Ashton and Luke laughed at him.

In preparation for the drama club's play, Luke organized an afternoon with friends and family, where his students invited their close ones to help them prepare for their show. There were props to paint, costumes to sew, and tickets to design.

It was a fun way to both show the parents what their kids were doing after school and a lot of workloads removed from Luke's shoulders.

Luke took Ashton and Calum with him and Calum was a favorite among his students. He knew he'll keep hearing about him in class, they'll all stalk him on social media and ask Luke embarrassing questions about him.

"Do you guys want to grab a drink later?" Luke asked. "I'm paying."

"Not in a rush to get home?" Ashton asked.

He rolled his eyes. Ever since the confrontation Ashton staged in front of Michael, Luke has been refusing to talk to him about his ex-husband.

"Michael has asked to use the backyard to hang out with his team and I think they wouldn't mind the privacy." Luke made sure to not say his name too loudly. However, he doubted any of his students would think the Michael in question was Michael Clifford.

"And I wasn't invited?" Calum asked. "Damn, I thought I left a good first impression."

It was Ashton's turn to roll his eyes.

"You did. As long as he's concerned, you'll have free tickets for his Sydney shows for the rest of his career."

Calum grinned and got back to painting.

"What you'll do with our break coming?" Ashton asked to change the topic.

They had a week off school and the three of them didn't plan any trips like they usually did. Calum's sister was coming home from London and Ashton promised his mum to help with some projects at home.

"Sleep, go to Mum and Dad's, I have one concert I want to go to..."

"Not with Tyler I hope?" Calum said.

"No," Luke said sharply. "But I am talking to this other guy. He isn't in a relationship, I checked. Stop looking at me like. But the concert is quite hardcore and it's not the music he's interested in."

"Good, you should go on more than one date. You need to get laid."

"Shhh," Both Luke and Ashton said quietly. Calum seemed to forget they were still in school.

♪

When Luke got home there was a note on the fridge from Michael, asking him to eat some of the leftovers.

He saw the get-together in the backyard was over and because he was a little bit drunk, decided that it was a good time for a swim.

Luke didn't know how long he was swimming when he heard Michael call his name.

"You've been here for over an hour. You'll freeze."