5sos Blurb Book #4

182. malum

'babe.'
it only took that one word for calum to turn in his head towards the raspy voice, meeting eyes with a lens that shuttered once he faced it, michael's sleepy grin spreading behind the black camera.
calum blushed and fumbled with his own, praying for the pink to leave his cheeks as michael smirked softly.
'gorgeous as always.'
'shut up.'
'kay.' he snapped another and chuckled, calum's eyes widening as his cheeks flushed again.
'stop it!' he mumbled and it just made michael smirk, his face splitting into a smile that made calum melt just like the colors in the sunrise.
'i don't photograph skies, and you're way more beautiful than any sky, baby.'
calum blushed and rolled his eyes, plopping down in the sand and tucking himself under michael's arm.
'i think you just made shakespeare roll over in his grave.'
'well, what can i say?'
'your cheesiness is disgusting.'
'you love it.'
'not really.'
michael pouted and yawned. 'i got up at 4 am for you, the least you can do is pretend.'
'the least i can do is say nothing.'
michael grumbled something under his breath and calum chuckled, cuddling further into him and grinning.

pictures.
calum has loved photography ever since he was little, playing with light and color and using an old polaroid to take shots even when there was no film left, screeching when the noise of the camera whirred, pouting when nothing came out.
but mali bought him film one day and that was the start of everything, polaroids to small digitals to a medium sized one to his mum never seeing his sixteen year old self because he worked so much — i need to save up for it mum!! it's expensive!! — and that's how he got his it, his baby.
his baby — a sixteen hundred dollar camera with so many settings and options with three lenses including a zoom one, and calum actually cried when he picked up the box, ignoring the cashier's worried and somewhat what the fuck looks when he was sobbing across from her at the counter.
he just wanted to capture the world with his own two hands, and he decided to do it with the thing he loved most.
but he stopped for coffee one morning, a small shop on the way to the beach, walking in to the smell of rich coffee and muffins — and after ordering he sat down, flicking through his library on his camera with a smile, looking at what he just shot, when he heard someone plop down and sigh a few tables away.
he blinked his eyes up to see a head of blue hair buried in his arms on the table top, hearing a small groan coming out of the body. so he frowned and stood slowly, moving closer to him and eventually sighing and sitting across from him.
'are you okay?'
he was met with green eyes and swallowed at the yellow flecks in them, watching how long eyelashes blinked at him unimpressed. 'never better.' he grumbled.
calum frowned and reached out a hand to touch his arm. 'um, i know we don't know each other--'
the boy chuckled. 'you're calum hood, you're in my photography class.' he mumbled, picking his head up a bit more.
calum's eyes widened and he blushed, retracting his hand. ''m really sorry--'
'don't be, 'm not surprised that someone didn't notice me.' he smirked wryly, ''m not anything special.' and calum frowned.
'don't go talking about yourself like that.' he frowned with sad eyes and michael scoffed, rolling his eyes.
''s a big and tough world out there, you're gonna have to learn sooner or later that it isn't always rainbows and sunshine.'
calum furrowed his eyebrows. 'um..i already know the world isn't like that.'
'then why're all your pictures full of color and light and only happy things?'
'because that's what i like.'
he scoffed. 'everyone likes color and light things, and most people like when they're happy, but only taking pictures of that doesn't exactly give off the impression that you're anything short of ignorant.'
calum furrowed his eyebrows in anger and leaned closer. 'listen here, whoever you are, don't go and start acting like you know me.'
'michael, and it's hard to when you're squealing in front of me every class.'
'okay fucking cookie monster listen--'
'oh i'm listening here calum, what's your defense, that 'm dark and rude and my hair's blue? stating the obvious is also ignorance there, sweetheart. you don't exactly know me.' he smirked and stood up, collecting his camera with him and leaving calum fuming at the table.
they hated each other.
well..
until they realized they had switched cameras and were forced to show their professor each other's work as their own, his reactions to both the same —  you should take pictures like this more often, change it up a bit. this is extremely impressive from your usual work. — and calum needed help with black and white profiles and details while michael needed help in colorful natural things.
what better than to work together after realizing, right?
it was bickering and arguing and full of no, calum, fucking hell how are you even in this class, and also fuck off michael, who takes a picture of an empty alley? because it isn't like they wanted to, but they needed each others help.
but they both got amazing grades on their finals and everything started to melt together from
there.

'i am sorry i made you get up.' calum pouted, blinking at him with big eyes and michael groaned.
'don't give me that face.' he turned his face away.
'mikeyyy.'
'nope.'
calum pouted and kissed his cheek repeatedly, michael biting the side of his lip to keep his smile from growing — and when he went to kiss his cheek again michael turned, his lips meeting his and calum hummed.
''s that what you wanted?'
'mm.' calum hummed in agreement and cuddled back into his side, michael giggling and snaking his arm around his shoulders.
they both looked out at the sunrise, watching as the sky changed to pink and michael chuckled at the thought in his head before he said it out loud.
'i think i like color.'
calum looked up at him 'yeah?'
'mhm.' he smiled and kissed his temple.