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

Chapter 44

Tears poured down Calum's cheeks as he leaned against the door of the cubicle, sobbing loudly as the reality of his situation washed over him like a wave. Everybody knew the one thing he didn't want them to know. It was going to be just like the last time all over again.

12 year old Calum stumbled through the corridors, keeping his eyes on the floor. Older students watched him with narrowed eyes, intimidating him further. His former best friend Nathan stood at the end of the corridor, glaring at him. Some students turned around and walked away when he approached, others dropped their folders in fear.

Why couldn't they see he was just as scared as they were?

Calum's chest heaved. He ran his shaking hands through his hair, cursing Michael Clifford under his breath.

"Miss, I'm not going to be in class tomorrow." Calum said nervously after his Maths teacher told them they had a test the next day.

"Why, visiting Daddy in prison?" A boy piped up from the back of the class, making the rest of the class laugh. Calum looked down at his desk so the other kids couldn't see the tears brimming in his eyes.

"Shut up!" Calum shouted as his class continued to laugh.

Calum could hear his heart beat pounding in his chest. His ears were ringing and his head was spinning. The toilet door opened and Calum heard footsteps coming inside.

"Calum?" Calum recognised his best friend's voice. "Cal, it's Ashton. I know you're in here."

"Leave me alone Ash." Calum replied, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

"Cal, come out from in there and talk to us. Shutting yourself away isn't going to solve anything."

"I can't Ash." Calum mumbled with tears filling his eyes again. "I can't go out there and face them when they all know...they all know.."

"If you don't come out, I'll force my way in. Which one is it going to be?" Ashton told him calmly. Calum sighed and stood up, pushing the door open slowly. Ashton smiled sadly at him, his hazel eyes filled with concern for his broken best friend.

"I'm so sorry Ash." Calum whispered.

"What are you sorry for? You've done nothing wrong."

"I - I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Calum stuttered, looking down at the floor. "Y-you hate me now d-don't you?"

"Why on earth would I hate you Cal?"

"I-I.."

Calum wanted to cry as his best friend turned away from him when he walked into class. It was the first day he'd been at school since his dad has been arrested, and was looking forward to seeing his best friend.

"Hi Nathan." Calum said, hoping that Nathan just hadn't noticed it was him.

"What do you want?" Nathan replied rudely, glaring at Calum.

"I- What's going on? Why are you mad at me?"

"We all know about your dad Calum. No one wants you around here. They don't want to be associated with a murderer's son."

"But- I didn't want him to kill all of those people. It's not my fault." Calum argued, fighting the lump that had formed in his throat.

"That doesn't change what your dad did Calum. Find a new best friend. I want nothing to do with you."

Calum's eyes brimmed with tears as he struggled to form a sentence. Ashton's brow creased into a frown.

"This is why you moved from New Zealand isn't it?" Ashton asked gently. Calum nodded.

"People were talking, people at school hated me and m-my best friend was the first one to turn on me." Calum mumbled. "Please don't hate me Ash."

Ashton's heart broke a little as he looked into Calum's pleading brown eyes.

"Calum Thomas Hood, I am not going to throw away 5 years of friendship over something your dad did before I even knew you." Calum let out a loud sob and threw his arms around Ashton, resting his head on his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay Calum." Ashton said comfortingly, stroking Calum's hair.

"It's not Ashton." Calum mumbled defeatedly. "I kept that a secret for a reason. I-I.. They're all going to hate me. I won't be able to do anything without scaring someone. People will stop making eye contact with me. Rumours will grow. That's what happened last time."

"I won't let anyone give you shit for this Calum, I promise." Ashton told him confidently. "Whatever happens, you'll always have me by your side, okay."

"You're the best Ash."
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Calum endured endless staring and whispering throughout the entire day. Younger students shuffled nervously as he passed and students in his year sent him suspicious glances in class. He held his head high and pretended he didn't notice, that he didn't care, but inside, he was slowly being crushed. It hurt, watching kids who'd known him for years look away quickly when he made eye contact. It hurt to know that the whispering that followed him in the corridors was judging him. It hurt to know that people who had thought him a friendly face just days before we're now afraid of him.

And it was all Michael's fault.

Rumours grew and got twisted, becoming horror stories of Calum's dad's actions; how Calum had known all along and not said anything; how Calum was just the same, his moments of anger twisted to be vicious attacks from a violent killer in the making. It was hard to keep his expression emotionless when all he wanted to do was scream and cry.

Needless to say as he walked out of school that evening, he wasn't in the best mood.

And that was when Michael decided to approach.

"Hey." Michael said cautiously, appearing by Calum's side.

"Hey?" Calum laughed bitterly, raising an eyebrow at Michael. "I yell at you in front of the whole school and you still think it's a good idea to say hey! Are you fucking mental?"

"I was checking on you." Michael replied quietly, realising he'd misjudged the situation completely.

"It gets better." Calum exclaimed sarcastically. "You're checking on me. Well I'm honoured, really. I'm glad that after revealing my secret to the whole school and pretty much fucking up my life, you still have the decency to check up on me."

"Calum, it wasn't me."

"You've already said and guess what, I still don't believe you." Calum spat, stopping in his tracks and facing Michael. "What are you getting from this? Some sort of satisfaction knowing you've successfully made my life hell and you want to rub that in my face?"

"No." Michael replied quietly, shifting uncomfortably under Calum's gaze.

"I was actually beginning to like you Michael." Calum told him with tears in his eyes. "You were growing on me. More than I want to admit but you've gone and thrown that away. Stay away from me Clifford, I don't want you anywhere near me. I wish I'd never even met you."

Calum shot Michael a final hurt-filled glare before storming off. Michael watched him leave with tears forming in his eyes and a pain in his chest before walking in the opposite direction.

It hurt to write this. I might actually cry.