Affliction | cashton |

Chapter Four: Guns

Calum rose from his bed as a knocking at his door continued to fill his apartment. All he wanted to do was take a nap before he had to meet Michael for dinner, he knew the green eyes boy wanted to prod him with questions about the therapy session and he wanted to be well rested before he had to lie him ass off and say he was 'fine'.

His bare feet padded against the cold floorboards as he exited his bedroom. The hallway seemed longer than usual, the blank white walls were boring and dull, without so much as one picture. Calum's brown eyes were clouded with thoughts about dinner and therapy, he thought about calling his old friends like Dr Wren advised but he couldn't bring himself to even look at the phone let alone pick it up.

"Calum open the door"
His boy stiffened once the deep voice rang through the closed door. Calum stood on his tip toes as he peered through the peep hole, his chest sliding against the door as he stood close to see. His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned over the tall figure standing on his welcome mat. Calum unlocked the three locks on his door and cracked the piece of wood open.

Anxiety filled his body as Ashton gently pushed the door open further and let himself inside. Calum's hands began to slightly tremble, his eyes squeezing shut for a brief second as he realized he hadn't taken his medication like he was supposed to an hour ago. It also doesn't help that he decided to skip out on his morning pill for no apparent reason.

"W-what are you doing here?"
Calum asked as he closed the door. He blamed his anxiety for making him stutter and for the shaking of his hands. He blamed anxiety for most things that he did, which most of them were simply nervous ticks. He milked the extent of his anxiety, wanting so badly to believe it was his anxiety when in reality it was just the fear that clouded his heart.

"I need to give you something"
Ashton said. Calum stared at him as he reached behind his back, his shirt moving with the movement of his hand. Calum's entire boy stiffened as Ashton pulled the small, black object from behind his back, holding it loosely as if it weren't a dangerous weapon.

"Holy fuck, please don't kill me!"
Calum rushed out, placing his hands in front of his face as if Ashton were to try and kill him his hands would act as a shield. Ashton chuckled, but it was a light hearted chuckle rather than a chuckle a serial killer would produce before hacking you to pieces.

"Calum I'm not going to kill you"
Ashton said, placing the small hand gun on the small table beside the door, his body slightly brushing against Calum's as he did so. Ashton kept a close distance. Calum could feel Ashton's breath fanning his face due to the close proximity.

Uncomfortable with the lack
of space between them, Calum pushed
past him and took a few steps back. He crossed his long, skinny arms over his chest as he huffed out a breath.

"What the hell is that for?"
Calum asked, suddenly remembering
why Ashton was here in the first place. Ashton nodded as if he too forgot why he was there.

"Protection"
Calum's anxiety levels raised as
the words slipped from the boys lips.

"Protection from what?"
He questioned

"Things"
The hazel eyed boy
answered briefly

"What kind of things?"
Ashton ran a hand through his hair,
trying to think of the right words.

"Bad things"
he shrugged.

"What kind of bad things?"
Calum asked.

"Bad things Calum. Stop questioning me"
Ashton said, his level of frustration rising. The ebony haired boy stayed quiet, letting his thoughts ring in his ears. Calum's eyes wandered from Ashton, to the floor, and over to the small black handgun on the door side table.

Calum didn't know why tears began streaming down his cheeks. He chewed on his fingernails as he stared at the gun, tears freely falling from his eyes. Maybe it was because he knew he could never bring himself to call his old friends, and maybe that could be the cure to his anxiety. Was there even a cure to anxiety?

Maybe he was crying because Ashton yelled at him and he hasn't taken his pills. Perhaps the tears were long overdue and he just needed to get them out.

"Don't be upset. I'm
sorry for raising my voice"
Ashton said, his voice gentle and soft again. He slowly took a step towards the shorter tan boy, hoping he wouldn't back away. Calum flinched when Ashton brought a hand up to his cheek.

The older boy removed his hand but placed it back on Calum's cheek once his eyes were locked with his. He ran him thumb over the streams of tears, softly wiping them away. Ashton smiled down at Calum as he wiped his tears away.

Calum cleared his throat as he took a step away from him. He wiped the remainder of his tears with the heels of his palms.

"Is that all you needed?"
Calum asked. Ashton sighed, once again running a hand through his messy hair.

"I guess. Be safe"
with that he unlocked the three locks and swung the door open, disappearing into the hallway. Calum was quick to close the door again and lock it. His bare feet stomped against the floor as he ran to his room, breathing was heavily as thoughts ran wild in his head.

Ashton seemed so gentle and caring with the younger boy, that made him confused for some odd reason. Calum could still feel the way Ashton's thumb swiped across his cheek, the older boys touch lingered. Calum's mind wandered back to the bathroom in The Den bar. His cream colored bra that Ashton was practically gawking at. Calum wondered how Ashton would look shirtless. How his lips would feel against his own. How his body would feel pressed up against Calum's between his white cotton sheets.

Calum's thoughts were cut off by the sound of his front door. Rattling and banging, like someone was trying to force their way in through the three locks. Calum took slow, careful steps down the hall. He peeked his head out of the hallway and stared at the front door, flinching every time it would shake. He tip toed towards the door side table and carefully picked up the small handgun that Ashton left no longer than five minutes ago.

He kept the switch on safety and stood
in the entrance of the kitchen. A wall separated the kitchen and the front door. If you were standing in front of the stove you wouldn't be able to see the front door. The door creaked open, Calum's body stiffening as a tall figure stepped inside. He pointed the gun towards the figure, but froze when the lights turned on.

"Calum what the hell?"
Michael jumped in his place as
his eyes landed on the small gun
in his best friends hand.

"Michael what the
hell are you doing here?"
The tan boy asked. He placed the
gun on the kitchen counter and closed
the door himself, locking it securely.

"Why the hell do you have a gun?" Michael retorted.