Arms||Cake AU||

Chapter 7

Disclaimer- contains derogatory language that I do not encourage. Be nice to everyone, and embrace your differences.

Groaning groggily, Calum rolled out bed the next morning, his cheeks still damp with tears. Blood stained his pillow, an ugly red blotch in the middle of his otherwise clean pillow case. His head was pounding and felt like it was too big for his body.

It would be a wiser option to stay off school and rest for the day, but Calum was sure that his mum would lose her temper if he tried to stay off. He'd already skipped one period of the first day of the term, missing the second day wouldn't go down well. Vowing to take a couple of painkillers and drink plenty of water, Calum got ready for school.

"Morning Mum." Calum murmured as he walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning Calum," his mum replied, not looking up from the newspaper in front of her.

"I'm sorry for being so rude yesterday." Calum lied, trying to come across as sincere. He'd thrown on a long sleeved shirt so his mum would complain about his tattoos. Yelling wouldn't do any good for his headache.

"I'm sorry too, Mali was home this weekend and you were stressed. I should have believed you when you said you went to the other classes." Joy said after the initial shock of Calum actually apologising for something. Calum smiled as genuinely as he could at her, and grabbed some painkillers from the top shelf of the cupboard.

Calum's phone lit up and Michael's name flashed onto the screen.

Mikey
I'm outside

Calum replied quickly, telling him he'd be out in a minute, threw the pills down his throat and grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl.

"Michael's outside, bye Mum." Calum chirped as happily as he could, grimacing as pain shot through his forehead.

"Bye Calum and remember, a whole day, okay?"

"Yeah mum." Calum replied as he left the room. As soon as he shut the door, his almost cheery demeanour vanished and he clenched his eyes shut to block out the pain. Hopefully the painkillers would kick in soon.

"Are you alright?" Michael asked as he climbed into the passenger seat of Michael's beat up old car. "You look a little pale."

"My head is killing me." Calum grumbled. Michael smiled sympathetically and offered him a the water bottle sitting in the cup holder.

"Thanks."

"Are you sure you should go to school today? No offence mate but you look like shit."

"I can't skip, mum will go mental and I don't want to deal with her yelling at me. She's already mad cause I missed first period yesterday. I've had some painkillers, I'll get through the day."

"If you say so mate." Michael shrugged and drove away.
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As soon as Calum stepped through the door of the school, he realised that coming to school with a headache was probably the worst idea he'd ever had. After 5 years at the school, he had got used to the noise level in the corridors, but it seemed ten times louder as he wandered through the hallway with Michael.

Calum groaned in pain when someone slammed their locker shut. The sound seemed to echo around his brain, making his head throb painfully. His head pounded with every step he took, despite the painkillers in his system.

"Are you sure you'll be fine Calum?" Michael asked quietly after the bell rang. "You've got music first."

"Yeah, I know." Calum replied. "See you at break." Michael walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Calum stranded in the sea of people heading towards class, letting them lead him to Music. What he needed was a cigarette but he'd ran out the day before.

The water bottle that Michael had given him was still in his hand, now empty as he'd finished it pretty quickly. He turned the corner that took him onto the corridor with the only working water fountain in the school and saw the same lanky blonde boy from the day before being held against the wall by the same jerks.

"Where's your bodyguard today faggot?" Jake Peters sneered in his face. "Who's going to protect you freak? Daddy's money can't help you now, can it?"

"Please, leave me alone. I just want to get to class."

"Of course you do. You've always been a little nerd. My mother was always comparing me to perfect little Luke, but I'm glad I'm not anything like you. I would hate to be a pathetic nerdy faggot who can't even buy himself any friends. I would rather kill myself."

Calum had heard enough. He cleared his throat loudly, forcing himself not to grimace. Jake's attention turned towards him, his eyes widening then narrowing again.

"I thought I made myself clear yesterday when I told you to leave him alone." Calum growled. "Obviously nothing penetrates through that thick skull of yours so I'll say it again. Being gay isn't a reason to beat someone up and if I catch you doing it again, I'll knock your pathetic ass into next week."

Jake rolled his eyes, thinking Calum wouldn't notice. Calum lunged forward and grabbed him by the collar, shoving him roughly against the wall.

"I'm warning you Peters. This boy has done nothing wrong. Being gay isn't wrong. What's wrong is you thinking that you are better than this kid just because you like girls. You're not and if I have to beat you up to prove it, so be it."

"Please don't tell me you're a fag too." Jake snarled, screwing his face up in disgust.

"So what if I am. We both know that I can knock your teeth out either way so I would keep your fat mouth shut if I was you."  Calum let go of Jake's collar, and he scarpered, taking his two cronies with him.

The blond boy remained pressed against the wall, eyeing Calum warily. Calum grimaced as his head throbbed painfully, and he walked off, not acknowledging Luke at all. He needed to get to Music or his mum would get another truancy call.

Luke stood still, breathing heavily to calm himself down. Calum gave off such an intimidating vibe that even though he had saved him twice, Luke was still terrified of him. Calum had a notorious reputation around the school for fighting anyone who pissed him off.

Calum may have saved him, but there was always the slight chance that Luke could be Calum's punchbag next.