Melting His Jet Black Heart [cake au] ✔

7.

Chapter 7

A week passed and although Calum wasn't the most talked to person in the year, more people were approaching him. The fact that he spent so much time with Luke now definitely contributed to that; he'd warmed up a little to Luke's openness and even though his answers were still short and he didn't talk about his past, Luke was satisfied that he even got to spend time with him. Calum started eating properly, sitting with Luke and his other friends at lunchtime.

On Friday, Luke invited him to come watch his band rehearse at lunch. He was excited about this opportunity because he'd asked Michael and Ashton to learn the song 'Remembering Sunday' by All Time Low. It was a band favourite but they hadn't practised it in a while, and Luke had told them that they'd be performing it the next week. After maths, both Luke and Calum headed to the music rooms.

"Boy do I find calculus hard! What about you?" Luke asked, putting his hands behind his neck as they walked. The corridors had that usual buzz of excitement for lunch as everyone rushed to the canteen to get a place in the queue.

Calum shook his head. "Can't do it. Never could, never will."

"That's a relief, it's nice to know there's someone else on the same level as me," he laughed. Outside it was freezing, causing Luke to hug himself with his thin arms in attempt to warm himself up; evidently it didn't work. Calum cleared his throat and took off his hoodie.

"Here. You're only wearing a t-shirt but I've got a jumper under this." He handed the hoodie to Luke, who looked incredibly surprised as he accepted it.

"T-thanks..." he murmured with slightly teary eyes. He put the hoodie on. It was so warm; slightly big, but really cosy. He could smell Calum's mellow scent and wanted to indulge in it, but at the same time didn't want to seem creepy. "Wow, this is really warm." They reached the music rooms in no time and Luke reluctantly returned it to Calum. They approached room eight where Michael was tuning up, and Ashton was with his girlfriend Bryana. "Hey guys! Mind if Calum listens in?" Luke asked, looking at the other two.

"Fine with me. Hey – Calum, I'm Michael, remember?" He waved with a massive grin, mentally checking him out. No wonder Luke liked him; those biceps looked sexy as heck. Don't forget those veins that popped out a little from his soft skin... wow. Michael's breath was taken away.

Calum barely smiled, replying with a brief 'yes'. Ashton stood and walked over, patting Calum on the back. "Hey, I'm Ashton. Oh, this is Bry, my girlfriend." Calum's eyes moved to the skinny blonde girl who had melty brown eyes and a short skirt with ankle socks on, despite the cold weather.

"Hey Calum," Bryana greeted. "It's actually Bryana but call me what you want," she said, smiling widely. Calum nodded curtly whilst Luke seated him down in front of them.

"Calum has a really good taste in music, the other day he was playing Arctic Monkeys, and he knows ATL too!" Luke exclaimed as he perched on a desk in the circular room. "So, we're playing Remembering Sunday today. Do you know it Calum?"

He shrugged slightly. "A bit, yeah."

Michael watched the scene unfold from the side, smiling to himself at how much Luke liked him, and how hilariously unresponsive Calum was; unless that was just his character. He didn't know anything about him, so he was simply judging from that first meeting, tracking his every movement like his life depended on it.

"Well sit back and relax!" Michael exclaimed as he picked up his acoustic guitar from its case. "You guys ready?"

Bryana took her place next to Calum and Ashton positioned himself on his Cajon. "They're really good," Bryana whispered to Calum, whose eyes were fixated on Luke preparing to sing; he looked incredibly nervous, almost on the verge of being sick with his pale skin going a little blue and the circles under his eyes deepening slightly. "You heard them in assembly right?"

"Yeah."

She smiled. "Don't talk much do you? Is everything okay?"

"It's complicated..."

"Well; you don't have to tell me about it. We've just met but if you ever wanna chat... come find me and Ashton. Together we give some pretty darn good advice," she reassured, putting a soft hand on his sleeved forearm. "Okay?"

Calum managed a small smile, and then the other three began to play. He sang along in his head and even though he hadn't heard it in a long time, as soon as Luke's harmonious voice filled his ears, he almost wanted to get up with him and sing too.

"He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes..."

Calum mouthed the words silently. His eyes didn't dare to look into Luke's as he strummed, so he stared at his long fingers, which led to his thin wrist and forearm, then his moving elbow and his biceps. His shoulder, his neck and finally... his smile.

He felt like he was being melted from the inside, a fountain of warm gold filling the holes in his cold heart, thawing the icy blocks of the past. His eyes closed as this feeling filled him up; he could even see light through his eyelids. They continued to the second verse. Luke looked over at Calum and smiled even more, and Calum could hear this. Then Luke's eyes widened as he noticed something, but didn't say anything or pause, continuing to sing for Calum with immensely strong feelings, trying to deliver them to him and thaw his heart. Although Calum was proving to be a difficult target so far, Luke's determination could get him anywhere and this time he knew it would work.

Calum felt his jeans tightening and suddenly got worried. Luke's voice had done something to him, something so new and strange that he didn't dare to open his eyes to see what.

Instead, Michael stopped strumming and pointed it out. "Holy frick Calum, is that a boner?!

***

Oopsies :)

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