spotlight :: malum

: eight :

Michael woke up to the sound of Calum talking on the phone, green eyes fluttering open as his vision focused from what was once a blurry view of the raven haired boy shuffling through the contents of his suitcase throwing a shirt behind him or socks every once in awhile as he halted his movements to flail an arm out as he spoke.

"It's not what it looks like! I was hiding from the damn pap not making out with Mich-" There was a pause, the boy's hand burying into his messy bed hair as he listened to whoever was on the other end blabber for a couple seconds. "No, Luke, I do not like him, can you shut the hell up?" His tone surprised Michael. The disgust in Calum's voice taking him back as if he was revolted at the idea of liking Michael and it hurt a little. I mean, what should he expect from the guy who could get anyone with a snap of his fingers. He's bound to have high standards.

Michael doesn't even like Calum that way he just thought they were getting along now but something like that was setting him off hearing Calum shoot down the idea of crushing on him. Was Michael that bad?

"Besides, that girl wanted to hook up with me, almost took up the offer." Calum's hand went back to digging through the items in his suitcase, slumping his shoulders as Luke spoke something unheard to Michael on the other line but considering the fact the faint sound of yelling was heard, their conversation must not be going smoothly. "What do you mean I can't hook up with anyone? You're not my mum, bro."

Michael shook his head at that. Calum's such a hormonal teen it's insane. He's heard of his constant sleeping around but Michael always tried his best to leave those judgmental news reporters words behind. It was so weird. Just last night he witnessed Calum have an intimate moment with him, singing in his car and talking about emotional stuff together however in the blink of an eye Calum's back to his bad reputation and pop star ways. It's like the flick of a switch had him back to his famous persona and Michael slowly felt himself losing progress in helping Calum out. He despised this side of Calum, it wasn't the usual boy he's used to, it's the Calum Hood that gossip magazines describe him as.

The brunette finally stood from his spot on the ground, facing towards Michael's window as he stared at something outside, the sun peeked it's way through the white shades and slowly crept onto the wooden floorboards, cascading across Calum's features as he shook his head at whatever Luke said.

"I'm not talking about this right now, just pick me up in half an hour, bye." The boy's voice was raspy in the morning, turning around with his eyes holding obvious bags under them. He locked his phone shut, waiting till the screen turned black to glance his head up and catch sight of an awake Michael.

"Good, you're up." The brunette seemed clueless that Michael had heard that last snippet of his phone conversation. "I'm gonna use your shower, we leave in thirty, okay?" Just like that he shut the door and ventured off downstairs, leaving Michael dumbfounded in bed with a very confused face and small understanding of what just happened.

Calum had zero clue about how Michael overheard the whole conversation with Luke. Sure it wasn't like he gave away some top secret information but saying stuff behind someone's back is enough to have a small ounce of trust lost in their friendship. Was it even a friendship? Calum's only using Michael's help and advice for a week so he'll be gone before he knows it so they can't get that close to be considered friends, right?

Skipping past the boring process of getting dressed Michael shimmied into skinny jeans and a black sweater that thankfully covered the grossly purple bruise. He popped a painkiller into his mouth and sipped on some water from where he stood in the kitchen, the bathroom right beside him as Calum's falsettos echoed behind the sound of the shower running.

The real question was pertaining towards whether or not Michael should break the ice and say he heard the phone conversation. It can't be that big of a deal though, half of that conversation wasn't even about him. Wouldn't it be a little weird to bring it up too? That's it, Michael's just going to let this slide.