WAVES

eight ; breathing alive

My spell is passion and it is art
My song can bind a human heart.
And if you chance to know my face
My hold shall be your last embrace.
~

When they arrived back home, Calum was tense and Michael was afraid. Afraid that the brunette was going to disown him and leave him there in the city with no one to turn to, just like how he left him in the coffee shop. It made his blood run cold, and the mere thought of being alone again in the city with the likes of the previous guys lurking around basically had him shivering because he doesn't want that to happen again, doesn't want to meet any new people unless they're related to Calum. Everyone Calum knows are nice people, kindhearted like the man he is; Ashton, Luke and the rest of his co-workers.

Calum places his hoodie in one of the stands by the door and obviously avoids turning his head in Michael's direction, trudging up the stairs with loud, careless steps. Words cut deep, but actions speak quite loud as well.

Michael didn't fail to see the frown on Calum's face and he wished for nothing more than his bright smile to come back, but he remembered that he's the one who caused it in the first place. He's the reason why the brunette looks so guarded and serious and everything he hasn't seen him. So he just stayed there standing in the middle of the living room, guilt eating his insides.

"I- I'm sorry, Cal." He muttered to particularly no one, voice cracking because of too much nervousness. He can't seem to get the bad thoughts out of his head and it's driving him crazy. What is he going to do now?

Meanwhile Calum opened the door to his dim room and hurriedly changed into a much comfier clothing, trying to keep his breathing on check because, really, he feels like exploding then and there. Which is a bad thing because handling a situation with hot temper usually never ends well. So he did what he always do whenever he feels this way.

He slowly closed his eyes and leaned on the frame of his wardrobe, imagining his light reflection on the cerulean colour of the waves gently overlapping one another. Its sound against the edge of the ship, the harsh slap of the wind across his body, the wings of the pelicans flapping as they land on the rails where he's holding onto. He smiles at his favorite thought, and he can feel his heartbeat go back to its normal rate. The sea always seems to calm him down and he's always treated that place as his second home.

He sighed and straightened up, moving in front of the mirror and gazing at his reflection. Truthfully, he doesn't know why he's so worked up over the fact that the merman left him, but he's determined to keep the act up since he started it. That, or he just can't vocalize what he truly feels.

"C-calum?" A soft voice broke him out of his trance, and he turned to find a worried Michael standing awkwardly by the door. "Can I talk to you?"

He sighed again and nodded, pulling the chair from his desk and sitting on it. He raised an eyebrow at the merman, expecting him to say what he wanted to tell him but nothing came out of those cherry red lips.

When it looked like Michael wasn't planning on talking, he sighed exasperatedly and-

"Are you mad?" The pale boy blurted out, sensing Calum's annoyance from across the room. And god, he's so stupid, of course he's mad! Michael wanted to scream at himself and jump back to the ocean due to his embarrassment.

"Of course I am!" Calum exclaimed like it's the stupidest question in the world, which it probably is at the moment, surprising michael. "You just- you can't just leave like that Michael. I swore to help you and protect you, but I wouldn't be able to do that if you run off like that and chase after someone who looks like your friend!"