Exchange | Malum

⛈"

The sound of a heart monitor always terrified Michael. It left him with nightmares, of a haunting from his past, and he wasn't okay with it. It was like floating in the jet of a black hole and being trapped there. There's no way out, unless it's a dream and there's somebody there to guide you with some nonexistent flashlight or maybe even something better, something more secure. Michael saw him. He had hardly any hair, except for the ones that were raising upon his scalp that would shine underneath the sunlight. He had facial hair, and a beard that didn't really fit, and his eyes were a piercing green. The man was wearing a striped shirt, suspenders over it, and tight black jeans that showed places that should've been covered. Michael was screaming. The man had things all over his hands, stars, the ones that hang up in the sky at night and hide everything else, though this time, they weren't yellow or white or black. They were red, and dripping, and all Michael could think about was Calum -- and how maybe this was his destiny for the rest of eternity.

"Michael, wake up!"

And with drool tracing the sides of his cheeks, he blushed and sat up from the stone he was laying on, and nearly passed out again from the way the Maori was looking at him. "You were shaking. I thought you were having a seizure."

"I saw him in my dream."

"Who?"

Calum seemed confused, and he was testing those emotions. He was laying on the wrong side of the bed, even if it wasn't a bed, and his lips were as plump as the stems on the flowers he planted himself. "My dad, Calum, I swear I saw him."

"Weird," Calum bit his lip, "I saw your mum in a dream too, but she was dying. And she told me I had to be the one to save you. That you need me. . ." He wasn't wrong.

"I don't need anyone," Michael brushed it off, "I just like having somebody to protect me. It feels nice, it feels like I'm safe from all of the danger in the world."

"You know, I'd never let anyone hurt you, right?"

"Are you included in that?" Calum wasn't sure of the answer, so he kept his mouth shut. He just picked the mud off of his boots and flung the mulch out of his curls. Then, he worked his way towards the green eyed lads back and began brushing off the wood-chips that rested on his shirt. "You look tired, a little beaten up too, can I get you anything?"

"Uh, a glass of water please, but I'll only drink it if it has four ice cubes and a green bendy straw."

"Specific, but okay," Calum laughed, and Michael found himself melting over his laugh, swooning over his eyes, falling in love with his everything. He just wanted the brunette all to himself. All to himself.

His love is as deep as the Pacific Ocean when it comes to Calum. [ A/N ; Get this reference ? ]

He knew that Calum would be a while, since his parents would want to discuss something, or they'd lecture him because they weren't getting what they wanted. It was obvious that they were on drugs, but it just got worse by the day. Michael chose to close his eyes. The color in his cheeks were fading into a light purple, Violet, and he wanted to relax. Everything was stiff, his arms, his shoulders, his legs, his neck, even his toes. He could hardly smile without it being forced or hurting.

"What happens if you stop loving me?"

"Why would I ever stop loving you?"

"I don't know," Michael just fiddled with his fingers, "I've always had my doubts."

"Please don't doubt me, Michael, you know how much you mean to me and vise versa," Calum sighed, pressing his chest into the pale boys. "I love you a lot."

"Is that why you're talking to somebody else?"

Michael couldn't even finish his daydream, or hear what Calum had to say about it. He didn't dream up things that weren't realistic. They were always based off of his biggest fears. This lead to Michael standing up, fearfully of course, dusting the mud off of his clothes and following the trail of footsteps Calum left behind to get inside of the Maoris house. He needed to ask, he needed some sort of confirmation that they were okay, that Calum wasn't seeing anybody else but him. They weren't dating, so it didn't matter. But Michael wanted to belong to the boy so bad, and he couldn't do that if he wasn't certain.

When Michael knocked on the door, he expected to see the lads parents smoking a cigarette or doing heroine on the dining table. But instead, Calum was already standing in the doorway with the glass of ice water, following Michaels specifications, and he had this fake smile plastered all over his face. "What's got you so down, baby boy?" Michael didn't know why he said that, but at least it made the Maori blush.

"I uh, nothing is wrong. You're looking a little pale yourself, may I ask why?"

"I had this dream," Michael frowned, "I mean, I guess it wasn't really a dream, but it was something, you know?"

"Another one?" Calum panicked, and he was starting to worry about his crush. He didn't want it to be another daydream about his dad. He knew it'd just hurt his kitten more. "Tell me about it sunshine, you know I'll listen."

"You were just seeing somebody else, and I g-guess I'm just a little scared."

"You trust me, right?"

"I do," Michael smiled as he hung his head low and played with his crushes fingers. "I do trust you, more than I trust anyone else, I just. . . want to make sure that I'm not in the wrong for this. That I'm the only one you like."

"It's not like we're together," Calum stated the obvious, hurting Michael, "though I am only interested in you, kitten. You know I've always been a player until you changed me."

"Did I really change you?"

"Michael!" Calum rolled his eyes. He was getting sick of people doubting him when most of the time, he had good intentions. "You know how into you I am. I wouldn't lie about that. I'm not a liar, just a little fucked up. But when it comes to you, I can't do anything but tell you the truth."

"Well in that case, I wanted to ask you something," Michael said in between shaky breaths, and just the way he was panicking made Calum upset, but he knew that the question was most likely good. And he hoped it was the question they've been avoiding for a while. "Will you be my-"

Michael couldn't even finish his sentence, because he heard something, then he saw something, and within a few seconds, he realized that the cops were piling around Calum's driveway.

-

A/N;

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