lock & key » c.h

two

She watched him walk down the hallway, shoulders hunched beneath a dark acid wash hoodie. The weather outside was starting to turn cold, the leaves abandoning the trees as they floated towards the browning grass.

Ever since the day that she cleaned Calum's wounds, they hadn't talked much. And when they did say a few words to each other, it was in passing. Calum would nod at her in the hallway and she would blush, hiking her backpack up a little higher on her shoulders and continuing on.

But now, they were both walking towards their gym class, Calum a few paces in front of her. She was sure that he had no idea she was behind him, for if he was aware she was sure that he would be instep beside her.

Calum's lip and knuckles had healed; only to be broke open again from another fight off school grounds. The word of his fight spread quickly and she felt guilty. She wished she could be there to calm him down, just to get in his line of sight.

And the next day when he walked into school, she knew the rumors were true. Calum's lip was angry and red, dark red scabs marring his pink lips. He had a shadow of a bruise beneath his eye and his knuckles were even worse than before.

The skin was split open, dried blood crusted on the worst parts. She knew that he probably hadn't cleaned them and she itched to do it again. Calum needed to know that someone cared for him.

She quickened her pace, trying to walk next to him but his legs were too long for her to catch up to. She was just about to call out his name – turn the key in the lock – but someone beat her to it.

"Hey, Hood!" Someone called from in front of them as they turned the corner. Calum looked towards the sound, his hands slipping out from his pockets as he did so. Something told her that this wasn't a good sign.

She held her breath as she watched Calum approach the guy, slowing her paces down as they talked. "I heard you've been messing around Lydia," the guy said, cocking his head at the olive-skinned boy.

She knew exactly who the guy was talking about; Lydia Smith. She was the prettiest girl in the whole school with flowing blonde hair that always fell in perfect curls. Her eyes were bright blue like the summer sky and her body was every girl tried to work towards.

She felt a pang of jealously go through her at the thought of Lydia and Calum together. The realization surprised her – when had she come to feel this way about Calum Hood?

Calum tried to scoot past the guy, but he held up a hand to Calum's shoulder, stopping him in his path. She watched on as Calum's jaw clenched, the muscle bulging from the tension and growing anger. "How is she?" The guy asked. "Did you find out how well she is in bed?" He continued with a snicker.

Calum rolled his eyes at his questions. "Or I know," the guy pressed on. "You're fucking that girl in your PE class," he laughed, poking Calum in the chest. She gasped, why was this guy saying her name? "Did she repay you after you saved her?" The guy asked, unable to finish his question.

Time seemed to go in slow motion as she watched Calum snap his arm back, hitting his target with precision. His fist smashed into the guy's jaw, whipping his head to the side as he followed through with the punch, driving his knee into his gut. The guy recovered quickly, wiping the blood from his lip as he threw his own punch at Calum.

But Calum was too quick, dodging the hit and countering with his own. Even though he was good, he still got hit a few times. "Calum!" She found herself exclaiming, throwing off her backpack and sprinting towards them.

A crowd of people had already formed around them, watching the free entertainment. It wouldn't be long before a slew of teachers came to break up the fight and dish out punishments where they belonged. And she knew that Calum would take the brunt of it since he threw the first punch.

"Calum!" She called again, trying to anchor him to her voice as she pushed through the wall of people surrounding them. She broke free from them, pitching herself forward towards Calum and his opponent.

She didn't care if she was going to be getting in the middle of a fight; she needed to calm Calum down. They were circling each other again, getting ready for another round of punches that were guaranteed to hit their mark.

But she determined to stop that. She pushed herself in between them, gasping when she felt a hand curl around her shoulder and push her back. "Stay out of this," the guy said. It was who Calum was fighting, trying to get her away from them.

She was stronger than that. She moved forward again, trying to get in between him and Calum. His deep brown eyes were piercing, never wavering from whom he was fighting. They were hard and angry from beneath his brow.

"Calum," she said, moving forward to cup his cheeks, a murmur of whispers sounding from around them. She didn't care if rumors started about them, it already seemed like there were a few going around. "Calum, look at me," she urged, eyes set on his but it was as if she didn't exist to him.

But slowly, his breaths became deeper and finally, his eyes dropped to hers. The hard edge faded away, the chocolate tone softening as his anger dissipated.

His eyes searched hers as if they were trying to decide if she were real, if she were really standing in front of him in the moment. He uttered her name as she twined their fingers together, feeling the slick wetness of blood on her hand.

She tugged him free of the crowd, racing down the hallway and into the bathroom near the gymnasium. "You've gotta stop doing this," she said once they were alone. Thankfully, Calum got off with few injuries, just broken knuckles once again.

His lip was still intact and no bruises flawed the skin beneath his eyes.

"Why?" Calum asked, his voice seeming smooth like silk. It astounded her that he could sound so calm after being so violent just moments ago. But then she remembered the effect she had on him.

"Because," she huffed, leaning against the long line of sinks lining beneath the mirrored wall. "People care about you, Cal. I care about you, Calum. I can't keep seeing you get into fights and getting hurt."

Calum chuckled as he leaned against the wall, watching as she turned to wash the blood off her hands. "This is just a scratch," he said, glancing at his knuckles. The bleeding had stopped, but what was left behind wasn't the prettiest sight.

"It may be just a scratch to you, Calum," she said, trying to get her point across. "But to others, it isn't."

Calum peeled himself away from the cinderblock, coming to stand just in front of her. "You really care about me?" He asked, and she nodded. She knew she did a bad job of showing it, but he needed to know. "You're not scared of me?" He asked.

"I told you," she said, remembering the day that he stood in her own bathroom and she told him that she didn't believe he was the monster everyone made him out to be. "I wouldn't have broken up the fight if I didn't care."

Calum's lips twitched up into a small smile. She knew he just needed to be reassured, but she had no problem doing that. "You're too good to me," he said, his face inching closer to hers. "I don't deserve you."

"You don't have me yet," she whispered, seeming to lose her breath. He was so close that she saw into the depths of his eyes, how his eyes were made up of a million different shades of brown.

"Not yet," Calum whispered, and pressed his lips against hers.

And the lock opened.