Anonymous || Malum ✓

twenty-four

Michael was dead. Calum couldn't stop the tears that were rolling down his face as he saw his lover lifelessly lying on the hospital bed. It was all his fault.

Calum had killed him.

Okay that was a lie. This is not the chapter just yet. I'm just trying to scare 1995mgc  You may now continue.

***

The soothing voice of Troye Sivan filled Calum's bathroom as he sang along to the words of "Talk Me Down". The song was going to be his next cover and he was listening to it to make sure he'd remember all the words. He had wanted to cover it for a long time. Troye Sivan was a boy that Calum was utterly obsessed with and would do anything to meet him. It wasn't as bad as his obsession with Ed Sheeran but it was close.

He was in the shower currently, the warm, steady beat of the water hitting his back. He was humming along to the song as he washed the shampoo out of his hair. Calum had washed his dark auburn locks maybe four times already but he still felt as if the In-N-Out grease was seeped into his roots.

The brown boy had a seven hour shift but it was cut short. His boss didn't need him after the third hour and for that, Calum was blessed.

He didn't hate working at his job all the time but there were days when he despised it. Today was one of those days. He had a customer fight with him for an hour because he forgot to give them a side of fries. He had offered to replace it but the customer wasn't having it.

Also, the boy had felt a bit lonely. Michael had left for New York City for a charity show and it let Calum actually hang out with his friend Tessa who he hadn't seen in a few decades. Or at least it had felt like it. He had been hanging out with Michael and only Michael the past three and a half months. Not that he minded. He liked Michael. A lot.

The pale boy previously mentioned would be home by seven that night, giving Calum a solid six hours to record his video, edit it and post it before his boyfriend got home.

Calum was just lucky that he was finally home and he could relax a bit before he recorded his cover. He just had to finish scrubbing off the smell of French fries and overused hamburger grease and he would be on his way to record.

The song was on its fifth loop when Calum had finally finished showering. His voice was finally warmed up and he was ready to record. The small boy finished his shower and made his way out so that he could get dressed into a pair of sweatpants and the familiar white, long-sleeve shirt that he wore every time he recorded.

The brown boy contemplated drying his hair but knowing his hair wouldn't be seen in his YouTube video, he decided against it. He did a once over of himself in his full-length mirror, knowing he couldn't look any worse or any better- and decided to head out to his main bedroom.

Calum was humming along to "Talk Me Down" and would occasionally sing a few of the words out loud. He liked being in a relatively spacious apartment so that he could sing as loudly as he wanted.

The brown boy opened his bathroom door, the force being a bit more than he expected and the opposite door knob hit his wall forcefully. There was already an indent from the other times he had thrown it open and this just added to the mark.

Calum didn't care, he had already lost his deposit anyways when he changed his bedroom wall colors.

He wasn't even a step out the door when he froze in his steps. There was someone in his room. Someone who he thought was going to be home six hours later. Someone who didn't know his secret and who was holding his prized Ed Sheeran sticker-covered guitar. The one that was the key trait in his YouTube videos.

"It's-it's not what it looks like," Calum awkwardly stuttered out.

Michael Clifford- his boyfriend, his lover, his best friend, and his biggest fan- was standing in his bedroom with the guitar he used to make his Anonymous covers.

Calum felt as if he was gonna throw up. His chest had collapsed and he felt sick. He didn't want Michael to find out like this. His sight was fogging and although he never cried, Calum was sure that he would. He had wanted to keep this secret and now it was all out in the open. Michael knew who he was and it didn't feel as relieving as he thought it would.

The brown boy felt awful.

"Did you just use me? Was that all I was to you? A few months of fame?" Michael asked softly, his voice cracking as he spoke. He was angry and sad and a mix of the too. Calum had lied to him for so long and just led him on.

"You could've trusted me but I guess I was just a part of your game," the taller boy then added.

Things he had told Anonymous, he had told Calum.

With the slight anger and most sadness, Michael let the guitar fall the ground. He wasn't sure if he doing it intentionally or not. (Not as if the pale boy would be mad that he had somehow intentionally done so.)

The taller boy turned away and walked quickly out of the room, taking off running once he was out of Calum's eyesight.

Calum was sure his heart was in one thousand pieces at the bottoms of his stomach as he reached down and grabbed the familiar wooden acoustic. He held onto the neck of the guitar, seeing the broken strings and the body barely hanging on.

Both boys were hurt and they didn't know how to communicate it to the other properly.

***

:-)

Don't kill me pls just wait

-Lee