WAVES

twelve * forbidden love

Once upon a time,
Is how this story shall start.
There lived a mermaid prince,
That captured this man's heart.
~

It was such a heartbreaking sight to see Michael and Natalia reunite after a whole month of not seeing each other. Calum usually isn't the type to get affected by dramas, but seeing the obvious hurt and newfound hope in the lady's face, which Michael must be mirroring right now, is just too much. There must be a tear in his heart somehow.

Five minutes have passed and he was torn between two things. To just continue standing there, watch them interact with one another or to walk towards them and tell them that they should go somewhere more private. Passersby have been throwing them judging glances because of their tear-stained cheeks, red noses and loud sobs. Really, Calum doesn't get why people have to be so rude all the time.

Earlier, he had his eyes squinted on a group of nosy high schoolers who began snickering upon seeing the two looking ridiculous while crying, pathetically shaking in one of the park benches. Michael and Natalia are currently in their vulnerable state. The both of them do not deserve to be made fun of, especially with the shit they went through. They're still facing one of the toughest times in their lives and what they need is support, not judgment from people they don't even know. Even if the two were oblivious to what was happening around them, being focused on one another's presence.

Calum sighed heavily and started walking towards the pair while thinking of a place they could go to instead of staying in this lively town.

Michael noticed his walking figure in the corner of his eye, and he quickly sat up straighter, looking so small, so fragile, and mostly ashamed of crying in front of the brunette. It's not the first time that the brunette has seen him cry. He always went to Calum's bedroom after every single dream he had so there's actually nothing to be ashamed of now, but if there's one important thing to know about him, it's that he hates being so weak. Crying is a sign of yet again weakness, and he's done nothing but show how weak and powerless he is in front of him. Frankly, he's so tired of it. But despite that, Calum only gave him a reassuring smile, as if saying that it's okay, he's not doing anything wrong at all, being the understanding man that he is. The merman must have understood, judging by the slight tug of his lips upward.

"W-who is he?" Natalia's shaky yet loud voice snapped them out of their thoughts. She's staring at Calum with a straight face, and the brunette feels uncomfortable with the way her brown eyes are looking directly at his. She looked like she was staring right at his very soul, finding out the deepest parts of him that he doesn't want anybody to know. So it's expected that he's the first to break eye contact, choosing to casually slip his hands in his pockets just for the sake of doing something else.

Michael perked up at the chance of introducing the man who saved him to his best friend, wave after wave of good memories running through his head. He even paused to try and list the things Calum had done for him, turning to Calum but frowning when finding out that he wasn't looking their way. "Um, this is Calum. He's my good friend. He took me in and helped me the first time I stepped foot on land. He's done so much for me that I can't even enumerate it right now, but I'm very, very thankful to have met him and to have him in my life."

Calum's cheeks heated up. He looked down on the pavement to hide his crimson blush, trying to convince himself that Michael did not just say that in a tone that sounded like an indirect confession. Michael doesn't know these things, it must not be it, he's innocent. Right.