I'm Supposed To Hate You ||Malum AU||

Chapter 20

"Was that really necessary Calum?" Ashton demanded as Calum barged into the boys bathroom angrily. "Did you have to scene back there?"

"Yes."

"You could have been nicer to Michael, he was trying to apologise."

"There you go again taking Michael's side!" Calum exclaimed, throwing his hands above his head angrily. "He thinks of himself enough, you don't need to do it for him."

"I am not taking Michael's side!" Ashton replied in a defensive tone, leaning against the wall.

"Sounds like you are." Calum mumbled stubbornly. "He was trying to apologise, you could have been nicer."

"Well, he was."

"Only because Luke told him too." Calum retorted. "You don't know the full story and you're trying to tell me how to react."

"Then tell me what happened Calum." Ashton snapped, gripping his hair in frustration.

"He brought up my dad, and when I told him to drop if he kept going. I haven't spoken about my dad since I moved here from New Zealand for a reason, and I'm not having him or anyone else bring it up."

"Oh."

The two stared at each other, standing at opposite sides of the bathroom in silence.

"I'm sorry Cal." Ashton mumbled. "I had no right to tell you how to react. I was just trying to stop you from getting into trouble again. I don't want you to be kicked of the team forever."

"Well, thanks for looking out for me, but next time, trust me enough to know I have a reason. I don't pick fights for fun."

Ashton nods, smiling understandingly at Calum. He didn't have anything to say in response, Calum was likely to explode if he was in a bad mood with Michael, well, worse than usual.

"Let's get to class buddy."
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"He hates me." Michael groaned, pulling at the ends of his fading hair.

"He always hates you." Luke replied, doodling absentmindedly on his jotter.

"Not this much. Usually he can at least look at me, and tolerate my bullshit."

"Well at least you've accepted you're the problem." Luke teased. Michael punched his arm.

"It's going to be so awkward when we get home. I hate awkward silences, they're...deafening." Michael grumbled, resting his head on the desk.

"Stop whining. He'll come round, he always does. It's as if neither of you can function if you're not bugging him."

"In order to function we have to be dysfunctional, is that what you're saying." Michael asked, raising his head off the desk again.

"You're just full of poetic sayings today aren't you? Maybe Calum should be mad at you all the time."

"He is Lukey, he is." Michael sighed. "Usually I'm happy about that, because making him mad is fun, but he's not even showing up to class so he doesn't have to see me.."

"Unfortunately, that's where you are wrong." Luke told him, pouting towards the door. Calum walked in, avoiding Michael's eyes as he did. Ashton walked in behind him and glared in his general direction.

"See, even Ashton hates me." Michael groaned quietly. "Lukey."

"Quit being a baby Mikey." Michael groaned loudly, hitting his head off the desk. "I'm sure Ashton doesn't really hate you."

"He does," Calum muttered from in from of them. "He definitely does and he doesn't want to see his face ever again but unfortunately we don't have that luxury."

"Calum," Ashton hissed. "Be mad at him in silence, you're asking for a fight."

"He won't get one." Michael mumbled. "I'll take any insult he throws at me today. I deserve it."

"You called me a drama queen." Calum spat.

"I'm tying to apologise."

"Guys, stop it." Ashton said. "Just ignore each other and let it settle. I'm sure you'll be able to talk rationally when you get home."

"Yeah right." Calum snorted but shut up anyway, shifting in his seat. Michael sighed, running his hand through his hair as he sat up. Luke smiled at him sadly.

"If it's any consolation, I don't hate you Mikey." Luke smiled.

"Thanks Lukey."
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"What happened between those two?" Thomas asked Ashton at lunch, nodding towards Michael and Calum who were sitting at opposite ends of the table, scowling at their food.

"It's complicated." Ashton muttered.

"It's never simple Ash, life doesn't work like that." Thomas sighed. "They look like they hate life."

"That's because they do, well at least Calum does."

"Why?"

"Did you not hear about their argument this morning?" Ashton asked incredulously. Thomas shook his head. "Well, Michael apologised for something he said last night, nobody knows what it was, and then Calum turned round and told him to stuff his apology and now their not talking to each other, not even insults."

"Wow, that is a major fallout."

"Calum has barely said anything all day." Ashton sighed. "It's annoying, but there's nothing I can do to cheer him up, I've tried everything I know."

"Michael hasn't been much better," Luke added, joining in their conversation from the other side of Ashton. "He's really upset because he knows he fucked up and he knows that Calum really really hates him. He's been such a downer all day."

"So you're telling me, that Calum's mad at Michael, and Michaels upset about that? I don't believe it." Thomas exclaimed, grinning at Ashton and Luke.

"What?" They said together, wearing identical confused expressions.

"This fits my theory," Thomas explained. "Michael and Calum claim to hate each other, but if they did, they wouldn't be so down about not talking. They need to fight to function. Not talking to the other is making the them feel shit. Guys, Malum is real."

"Don't let them hear you say that Tom, might not go down well." Luke warned.

"Don't you see it?" Thomas grinned. "I'm never wrong about these things, they've gone over the fine line between love and hate."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just saying, you'd be asking for a fight if you told them that." Luke reasoned.

"I wasn't planning on telling them." Thomas grinned. "I'm just waiting until they start dating and I get to say I told you so to them. It's going to be great."