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

Chapter 48

Calum's stress levels were rising and it was showing. He went into school the morning after his nightmare with dark circles under his eyes and dishevelled hair. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and crying, and his usually cheeky grin was replaced with a deep scowl.

"Calum, are you okay buddy?" Ashton asked him gently. Calum nodded and tried suppress a yawn.

"Sleepless night?"

"Yeah.." Calum mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I er- I had a..."

"Another nightmare?" Ashton asked quietly, looking around the corridor for anyone who might have heard. Calum nodded, looking down at his feet.

"I..I killed you. And Michael." Calum mumbled, his vision blurring as his eyes brimmed with tears. "I... Michael turned into m-my dad and..."

"Sssshhhh, let's not talk about it. It was just a dream." Ashton said comfortingly, patting Calum's shoulder awkwardly. Calum's bottom lip quivered as he looked up at his best friend. Ashton frowned at him sadly and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

Calum cried into his shoulder, too tired to hug him back. It didn't matter that they were at the edge of a busy corridor, the rest of the student body continued to push past. Calum guessed breaking down in the main corridor would only fuel the rumours but in his physically and emotionally exhausted state he didn't care.

"It's okay Cal," Ashton whispered as he glared at a girl who was staring at them over Calum's shoulder. "It's all going to okay."

"Is it? Is it really?" Calum replied quietly. "I'm crying in the middle of the school corridor after having a nightmare about killing my best friend and crush. I don't think that's okay at all. Not to mention that the entire school is convinced I'm a fucking psychopath."

"I don't think you're a psychopath."

Calum laughed weakly, pulling away from him. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and sent Ashton a small smile.

"You'd be the only one." Calum replied grumpily.

"Maybe I am, but it's a lot better than no one."

Calum's smile stretched into a grin and he shook his head fondly at Ashton.

"What would I do without you Ash."
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Calum opened the toilet door and came face to face with a boy who looked around his age with blonde hair, who jumped backwards in pain as the door had hit his foot.

"I'm so sorry." Calum said, smiling awkwardly.

"No no, it's okay. I wasn't looking where I was going." While the boy seemed to be trying to hide it, Calum
recognised the Kiwi accent.

"Are you from New Zealand?" Calum asked curiously. The boy raised an eyebrow in surprise and then frowned.

"Sorry," Calum continued. "I just noticed the accent and was curious. I used to live in Dunedin."

"Erm..yeah. I moved here recently." He shuffled his feet awkwardly, looking down at the floor. Calum studied his face, his eyebrows creased together.

"Do I know you?" He asked him uncertainly, cocking his head to the side.

"W-what? Me- n-no. We've never met before." Calum narrowed his eyes, unable to shake the feeling of familiarity.

"Oh sorry, I just- you remind me of someone. I just can't remember who."

"Right. I need to get back to class now." The boy said and walked out, leaving Calum to stand with a confused frown on his face. He racked his brain through his class at his old school but most of them had faded to faint memories. Calum was pulled from his thoughts by a yawn and he shrugged, deciding he'd imagined the familiarity in his sleep deprived state.

On his way back to class, the overwhelming feeling of familiarity washed over him again. He was sure he'd seen him before.

"He just reminds you of Luke." Calum muttered to himself. "Blond hair and blue eyes. It just a coincidence that he's Kiwi. You don't know everyone in New Zealand."

Even with his own logical conclusion, something was gnawing at the back of his mind but he had no idea why.
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"Who's the new kid? The kiwi one." Calum asked Thomas and Ashton at lunch the next day.

"Who?" Ashton asked.

"Blond hair, blue eyes, kinda pale."

"You're just describing Luke." Ashton told him, shaking his head and return to his lunch.

"No, I think I know who you mean." Thomas said through a mouthful of pasta. "He's been here for about a month, possibly less. I remember thinking he looked weirdly similar to Luke. I don't know his name though, why?"

"I bumped into him in the bathroom yesterday and I was sure I'd met him before."

"To be fair Calum, you were completely out of it for most of yesterday." Ashton pointed out. "You could have imagined knowing him."

"That's what I thought but I can't stop thinking that I know him. If I knew his name I'd be able to tell if I do or not."

"I think someone on the team might know." Thomas said. "I'll go ask." He pushed himself out of his seat and headed over to the table they used to sit at where all of the footballers and Michael sat. A had an animated discussion with one of them and came back over with a smile on his face.

"His name is Nathan Terry."

"Nathan Terry." Calum repeated, staring straight at Thomas.

"Yeah."

"Shit. Oh no, this isn't good. Fuck fuck Fuck!" Calum mumbled, hiding his face in his hands.

"I'm guessing you know him then?" Thomas said, earning a glare from Ashton.

"Yes, I know him." Calum snapped. Thomas raised his hands in surrender and exchanged glances with Ashton.

"How do you know him Cal?" Ashton asked gently. Calum shook his head, refusing to look at either of them.

"Calum, we're not going to judge you whatever it is."

"I-I can't... I've been blaming M-Michael this whole time..."

"Calum, what are you talking about?" Thomas asked impatiently. "Who is Nathan?"

Calum lifted his head up from his hands and glanced at his friends with teary eyes.

"Nathan, - Nathan is my old best friend."

He stood up, grabbed his bag from under the table and threw it over his shoulder before running from the lunch hall. Ashton and Thomas glanced at each other in shock, abandoning their lunches to run after him.

I'm sorry I didn't update last week I was sick and had writers block.