To love you | Malum

Ch. 2 - Labels + Perks

- Michael + Ch. 2 - Labels + Perks -

"Michael Clifford, is it?"

There was always something quirky about my name when other people said it. They phrased it in such an edgeless, undefined tone that it made me sound boring. I was the exotic boy in school, with flailing red hair, and that was not boring to me. But they had their points as to why they viewed me that way and unfortunately, it was impossible to disagree.

Being in a wheelchair means that you're restrained from doing anything that could possibly be entertaining during school hours, and when you're in gym class, well, writing a five page letter on why you're not allowed to participate in any shape or form of physical activity because your teacher is a jackass, just so happens to be one of those things on the list of boring. You can't join in on the relay races, or the bean bag tosses, because somehow, being in a wheelchair means that you have a disability of throwing, and you certainly can't jump rope during free time.

Those are many forms of boring, and being Michael Clifford and simply existing as a nearly eighteen year old male who cannot walk during his last year of high school means that I am exactly what the students here label me. It will always be that way, in this shape, in this form, because I'm an excellent target and an excellent example to not be clumsy. It makes me feel bad sometimes - feeling as though I'm just some distinct rock lingering in the corners of a field, and I can't do anything about it.

My life is the definition of boring, but there's one person that makes it feel less that way, and his name happens to be Calum Hood.

Calum, the star player of the football team, who was definitely not on it when I was, the most popular boy in school for having the ability to drown ten shots of liquor in under one minute at a party, the guy who everyone goes to for advice, but most importantly, the guy who is out of the closet for being completely, one hundred percent into men.

He came out at the beginning of the year by kissing his best friend, Luke Hemmings, in the middle of the hallway during passing period. Of course, everyone was shocked that they would no longer be able to get into his pants - but it's not like they ever had a chance anyway. The girls didn't, and I certainly couldn't stand trying to get a piece of Calum, as he was different and was a polar opposite, yet I still found him attractive, despite knowing the rumors that go around of him being an overly-cocky-dramatic-guy-who-will-beat-your-ass-if-you-fuck-him-over. The rumors are true, because he was played by Ashton Irwin, the second most popular boy in school, and they were both known as the rebellious teenagers who got in a fight in the school parking lot during lunch.

They somehow became friends after that, and now Calum, Luke and Ashton are their own little trio. Except, Ashton is more of a third wheel, since Calum is dating Luke, the third most popular boy in Pleine High School. But Ashton also has a girlfriend, who isn't really welcomed to sit with them at lunch because she's too much of a heterosexual and they'd rather jump off of a twenty foot story building than become friends with her.

I wasn't sure how I knew that, but I sort of knew a lot about Calum. I knew that he had the problem of getting jealous easily, and whenever he didn't get his way, he'd start crying. The thing about Calum Hood is that he tries to build up his walls and act tough in front of everyone in Pleine High school, but he's just as vulnerable as the rest, if not worse.