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

Chapter 51

Embarrassment can sometimes cause people to rash decisions as much as frustration. Both can make a situation much worse than it needs to be and delay a solution. Frustration can cause outbursts of anger when trying to reach a compromise and embarrassment can cause the situation to be avoided until it's too late to fix.

In Michael and Calum's case, both emotions were running high.

Calum, embarrassed from accusing Michael of something he didn't do and chickening out of apologising, avoided Michael at all costs. Michael, already annoyed that Calum didn't trust him in the first place, grew incredibly frustrated with Calum running away from him and not apologising to him.

Due to this, tensions between the two had somehow intensified even further.

Calum wandered into the lunch hall after an exhausting PE lesson and threw himself down into the seat next to Ashton before leaning his head against his shoulder.

"I'm dying Ash." Calum wheezed, holding his side and exhaling dramatically. "The PE department are evil."

"I thought you liked PE?"

"Yes, but I don't like the bleep test. That is the literal spawn of Satan himself and the person who created it should be sacrificed." Calum replied. Ashton rolled his eyes and continued eating his lunch, while Calum continued to lean on his shoulder with his eyes closed.

"I think you better have some food mate." Ashton said quietly a couple of minutes later. "You must have burned a lot during PE. Calum, are you listening to me?"

"I think he's asleep Ash." Luke, who was siting across from him, said. Calum's nose twitched and he peered up at Luke through half open eyes.

"I'm not asleep." He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just resting my eyes."

"So you're asleep." Thomas added, appearing behind Luke with a tray of food. Calum stick his tongue out at him before resting his head in his arms on the table and yawning.

"I really do think you should have some food Cal." Ashton repeated. "Even if it's just a banana or something."

"I'm too tired to eat." Calum mumbled, his voice muffled by his arms.

"Whatever, but it's not my fault if you're hungry later."

Thomas, Luke and Ashton started talking about football. Calum tried to focus on their conversation but he was struggling to process their words. Eventually, he gave up trying and his eyes flickered shut. Before long, he was fast asleep.
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Michael cursed his PE teacher as he left the classroom with a scowl on his face. Because he'd forgotten his kit, for the 3rd time running, he'd been given lines to do while everyone else did PE. He was happy about this when he discovered they were doing the bleep test but he'd been held back into his lunch hour until he'd written all 50 lines.

As he walked along the empty corridors, he could hear the students in the cafeteria laughing and chattering. He kicked an empty coke bottle along the floor angrily and it came to rest at Nathan's feet, who had just walked out of a bathroom nearby.

"What was that for?" He snapped, glaring at Michael.

"It was an accident. Trust me, I wouldn't waste that much energy on you." Michael retorted, casting a darker look in his direction. As he walked past, Nathan fell into step with him, too close for Michael's liking.

"You seem to defend Calum a lot for someone who doesn't even talk to him." Nathan pointed out, scanning Michael's face for a reaction. "What's going on there?"

"What goes on between me and Calum is none of your business, so keep your fucking nose out."

"I'm just curious to what the dynamic is there. You're clearly not friends but you - wait...are you two dating?"

"Of course not." Michael spat, trying to force his features into a look of disgust. Nathan nodded.

"Ah, I see. You like him." Michael couldn't stop the blush that coated his cheeks, giving away his attempts to deny it.

"The plot thickens." Nathan continued, smirking at Michael. Michael, who's mood hadn't been the greatest for days, let his anger get the better of him and shoved Nathan against the wall, holding him by the collar.

"Listen here you little rat. If you don't shut your fucking mouth I will knock your fucking teeth in. I know you're looking for more dirt on Calum. You promised Luke you wouldn't say another word about Calum, and you're not going to, or I'll make sure you don't say another word at all, ever. Now scatter, before I do something I regret."

He let go of Nathan's shirt and he ran off, tripping his own feet in his haste. Michael watched him run along the corridor until he could no longer hear his footsteps against the floorboards. With a scowl still etched on his face, he continued to the cafeteria and made his way to the table.

He'd sat down before he noticed Calum slumped over the table, fast asleep. He almost got up and left again but if the only chance he was going to get to be anywhere near Calum was when he was asleep, he couldn't throw it away. Besides, Calum was kinda adorable when he slept.

"What's with the scowl Mikey?" Luke asked. "And why are you so late?"

"I was held back in PE and I may have just encountered out favourite new guy in the hall."

Ashton furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion, and looked around the others for answers.

"He means Nathan." Luke told him. "What did he want?"

"To know what "the dynamic" was between me and Calum." Michael muttered. "I entertained it for a bit because it's better he harasses me than Calum, but he crossed the line and I might have threatened to silence him for ever if he doesn't keep his mouth shut about him."

"I swear that boy is just asking for a kicking." Luke muttered darkly, shocking Thomas and Ashton, who had never heard Luke say anything so angrily before. They stared at him in disbelief, mouths hanging open slightly.

"What? Calum's my friend too. I'm just as mad as you guys are."

"We can see that."

We're nearing the end of this book 😭😭. I'm so sad, I love these characters. Especially Thomas.

Also, I feel like I haven't included enough pictures of Luke so here you go.