Anonymous || Malum ✓

twenty-seven

His hands couldn't stop shaking as he played the beginning notes to a new cover. The red blinking light looked so much more different now that it was eye level and he was looking straight into his lens. After three years of running an anonymous singing account with now a little over a million followers and subscribers, it was time to come clean.

It was the three year anniversary of starting his YouTube account and he was finally coming out. It should've felt like a weight was being lifted off of his shoulders but Calum felt like he was going to puke.

"Calm down baby," a soft voice whispered next to him. Michael leaned and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Do you want me to play the guitar for this cover?" Michael asked, his voice was soft and sweet. He didn't want to scare the trembling boy next to him.

The brown boy hesitantly passed his guitar over to his boyfriend. He knew he should've kept playing the guitar for his first cover showing his face but he was sure that the strings would snap underneath him if he tried.

Calum took a deep breath and slowly started to count down.

"Three. Two. One," he whispered.

Michael started playing the intro to the song and Calum took a deep breath before starting the first verse of the song.

If it weren't for the camera, he'd be laughing loudly at the song that him and his boyfriend of five months were going to sing but this was strangely serious.

"I've always been the kind of boy that hid my face. So afraid to tell the world what I've got to say but I have this dream bright inside of me.
I'm gonna let it show, it's time to let you know. To let you know," Calum sang.

His voice was a bit raspy after having been singing and practicing the song constantly for the past week. He wanted to do well. This was his first video where the audience would see him completely. Calum felt so vulnerable in front of the camera now but he knew that this was just the start to something big.

It had been Michael's idea to sing the Camp Rock song after they had watched it two weeks ago. Calum had been contemplating for the past month on what song he should sing to expose himself when Michael had brought up the song.

It fit Calum perfectly and he couldn't say no when Michael offered to join him on Shane's part as the brown boy sang Mitchie's.

"This is real, this is me. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, now. Gonna let the light, shine on me. Now I've found, who I am. There's no way to hold it in. No more hiding who I want to be. This is me," Calum continued.

He took a deep breath before starting the chorus again, Michael now joining him on the harmonies. They blended so nicely and Calum knew that he'd have to find a way to thank Michael somehow.

The pale boy had been his rock the past ten months even if they had only been dating for five of those months. He taught him that it was okay to be scared but it was more important to triumph past insecurities and be himself. Michael helped him see how talented he was and helped him express himself in ways he had never expected.

Calum couldn't help but watch Michael as they sang and smile. His boyfriend was just as passionate about music as he was and he couldn't help but think about how lucky he was.

Michael was an absolute dream and Calum loved him.

"You're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason that I'm singing. I need to find you, I gotta find you. You're the missing piece I need, the song inside of me. I need to find you, I gotta find you," Michael sang, his voice vibrating throughout the small apartment room.