fireflies [c.h.+a.i.] [on hold]

introduction

Calum liked to stay awake at night, listening to the quiet sounds of cars on pavements. No, not the way it sounds at night in huge cities, but the way you can hear the tires softly kissing the pavement for three seconds, then it's gone. Calum loved that. He also loved the city at night, and flowers that didn't smell sweet. He loved when the air conditioner came on a night, and the faint buzzing could be heard throughout the house. He loved the sound of the city at night when he was staying at his dad's apartment for the weekend. He loved the way a city looked when you were far away, and you could see the cars headlights moving and the lights of tall buildings flashing proudly.

Sometimes, Calum would go on the maps app on his phone and zoom all the way out, so he could see all seven continents. Then he'd zoom in to a random place and look around through his phone. It may seem creepy, but Calum loved it. It was such a big world, and he was just a small object in the massive planet.

Nights like this, Calum loved. He was currently at his dad's apartment in the city, and he was staring out the window. It was a sixteen story apartment building, and Calum's dad got a room on the very top floor.

He stared, soaking in the beauty of the cars driving on the busy highways, and the way the buildings touched the skies.

There was a light knock on Calum's bedroom door (his Dads apartment had two bedrooms) and he jumped, startled out of his staring.

"Calum, time to get up for school," he heard his dad mumble through the door and Calum looked back out the window.

Had he really been staring that long? He was probably in too much of a daze to realize the sun was peaking up off to the side. He stood up, his left foot asleep from sitting in the chair too long, and opened his door to see his dad smiling at him.

"Were you already up?"

Calum nodded; he never really spoke much, and smiled tiredly at his father.

"Oh. Well get ready, I'll make breakfast."

Calum and his dad's relationship was a bit awkward. Every since his parents got divorced, his relationship with them changed.

He shut his door as his dad walked away and sighed, running a hand through his slightly curly, dark brown hair. He rummaged through his small closet, finding some black skinny jeans and a black sweater, changing out of his t-shirt and sweat pants. After he changed, he went to the bathroom, brushed his hair and teeth, and placed a flower crown delicately on his head. It was his daily morning routine.

He looked into the mirror. Calum had never really liked his appearance. To him, his nose was a bit too big, his cheeks a bit too chubby, and he hated his eye shape, simply because everyone accused him of being Asian, even though he wasn't.

He walked out of his room and to the small kitchen area of the apartment, where a plate of toast and scrambled eggs were waiting for him. His dad was reading the paper from yesterday, and his eyes looked up as Calum sat down.

His father eyed the flower crown- today, they had daisies on them- and sighed.

"Why do you wear those flowers in your hair, boy?" he asked Calum, setting his paper down. Calum just looked at his plate, not answering. His father sighed again. "Speaking would be nice."

"These eggs are good," Calum murmured after nibbling them. Calum took a few bites of toast, and a few more nibbles of eggs, before announcing quietly he was done.

His father drove him to school, and stared as the small boy walked towards a group of two other people, his sleeves over his hands.

One of the boys greeted him with a soft smile, and the other just kissed his cheek. Mr. Hood watched as they walked up to the entrance. A boy with lilac hair - the one that kissed his cheek earlier - purposely let Calum pass him, then smacked his butt.

Mr. Hood rolled his eyes. He swore the two were in a relationship, but the look in Calum's eyes when he brought it up said otherwise.

And honestly, the relationship between Calum and the lilac haired boy, Michael, was just a really good friendship, with a lot of flirting from Michael. And sometimes, it made Calum's heart flutter, because it was good to know someone cared.