Melting His Jet Black Heart [cake au] ✔

18.

Chapter 18

"Calum, open your eyes... Could we get him some water?" Luke asked, exasperated. He'd placed Calum's head on top of his own lap and was stroking his hair fondly, almost too fondly. A man bent down to give Luke the water and Luke helped pour a little into Calum's parted lips.

Slowly but surely, Calum's eyes opened – the area under them were sagging a little and they looked very dry. Luke automatically smiled when he saw the open eyes, but frowned again when he saw how tired they looked. "L-Luke...? What... what are you doing here...?"

"Shh. It's okay Cal. Have some more water, you're so dehydrated." He took his hands and felt how cold they were, grasping them even tighter in attempt to transfer some of his own excessive heat. Calum got up with difficulty and picked up the cup of water, downing it in one. "Are you feeling okay?"

He shook his head. "I wanna go home."

"Okay, let's go. Thanks for your help everyone," he replied, looking at the staff and the few gym users who'd stayed to see what was going on. "C'mon, I'll help you up."

It was quite a touching moment for the spectators, to see the muscular tanned boy lean on the skinny blonde one, and as they walked out some praised them with words and applause. The staff member who'd called Luke whispered to him, "You're a good boyfriend. He's very lucky to have you. Make sure he gets lots of rest today, okay?" Usually, Luke would've hated people jumping to conclusions but just this once he accepted it with a grin and listened to his own heart speed up.

"What happened to me?" Calum groaned wearily.

"Apparently you'd been running for a really long time and eventually you collapsed. They called me for some reason and I hurried over. Let's go, yeah?" he suggested as they walked towards the exit. Calum barely managed a nod before shutting his eyes and leaning on Luke.

"Thanks," he murmured whilst Luke grinned like the sun.

~

"Now, is there anything else you need?"

Calum shook his head tiredly. "I'm good."

"Awesome. Now I think your sister will be home in a few hours – I've texted her and left some snacks on the dining table if you get hungry. Okay?" Luke stood from his kneeling position by Calum's bed and checked his phone. It was two pm – he could still rush back to school and fit in one more lesson before the day was over.

But Calum wanted otherwise. With a firm hand he grasped Luke's arm, opening his eyes. "Could you... could you stay?"

Luke's heart skipped a beat, and he could feel the blood sprinting to his cheeks, swirling about and even making him feel the slightest bit faint. "O-of course. Here, close your eyes, I'm right here."

He did as he told, and to Luke's surprise, pulled his arm so that his own face was touching his thigh. "Thanks Luke." Then he pulled a bit harder, downwards this time, so that Luke fell onto his duvet.

"Wait - what are you doing?!"

"I'm cold."

At this point Luke could hardly breathe let alone move closer, so he did what his heart wanted rather than his brain, and unaware of the consequences, joined Calum under the covers. Although Calum's face was turned away, he had a beautiful smile permanently stuck to his face and Luke had the same. Calum turned around so they were facing each other, and shut his eyes, finally going to sleep after the exhausting day – the exhausting week, days of mindlessly going to the gym, building up muscle that he vowed to never use again. Luke stared at how relaxed Calum looked finally, and thought of the kiss again. His eyebrows tended to be furrowed but now they were tranquil, each strand resting calmly on his soft skin. Before he knew it, he'd fallen asleep too with the weight of Calum's neck on his forearm.

~

Any sister would be surprised coming home to see their little brother in bed with another boy; but Mali knew how much Luke meant to Calum, whether or not Calum said anything about it. Calum had never told her about his sexuality but to be honest, Mali didn't care. As long as her little brother was happy, she would be too.

She checked the time and decided to wake the two up since Luke's mother was likely to be worried that her son wasn't home despite it being seven in the evening. "Hey Cal? Luke? You guys wanna wake up?" she whispered, tapping on their shoulders. Calum woke first, jolting upright and looking around with wide eyes, whilst Luke took his time to rouse. When Calum saw Luke next to him, he blushed and got out, hurrying to the living room where his red face wouldn't be noticed. Mali helped Luke sit up, smiling. "You must've been really tired! You guys slept for ages."

A few seconds later, Luke also realised what had happened. "Oh..." He yawned. "What's the time?"

"Seven."

"Seven?! Jeez, I need to go! Erm... oh dear... make sure Calum eats a lot tonight yeah? Don't want him fainting again in the gym! Oh and tell him to come to school, we all miss him!" he shouted, halfway down the corridor again. He glanced at Calum whose head was in his hands, before hurrying out the door with his bag.

His feelings were running wild and there was nothing he could do about it.

On the other hand, Calum wanted to punch himself for letting his guard down, letting someone sleep next to him. He couldn't get rid of the feeling of waking up on someone else's arm, nor the fact that the first face he saw was Luke's sleeping one. His feelings felt dirty and the only way to get rid of them was to clean them. How, though? He didn't want to cut. He didn't want to exercise.

Mali came in, giving him a small smile. "Luke's such a lovely boy. Did he bring you all the way back from the gym?" He nodded curtly. "You must be hungry. I'll make you some dinner, okay?"

Reluctantly he nodded again, deciding that before getting rid of those feelings he ought to get healthy once more.

***

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Kimmy xx