Opposites • Cake

13

a/n: sensitive topics in this chapter, please take care when reading and if you are triggered by drugs/abuse please be extra cautious x

Calum felt wracked with guilt. It had been a week and a half since he had started taking things slowly with the blond haired boy he liked so much, and he still hadn't told him about the night at the party.

He couldn't get the image of finding Luke underneath that guy, and the sinking feeling in his stomach when he realised that he had been given something. Roofies weren't news to Calum, and he knew a lot of guys on the football team, or in that circle, either sold them or bought them to give to people. The boy didn't associate with those people.

He dreaded to think what could have happened if he hadn't went looking for the boy, and the idea of his sweet, innocent boy being violated in ways like that made me feel sick.

He watched his boy drawing away, cross legged on Calum's bed with the sleeves of his jumper pushed up to his elbows, his bracelets exposed on his wrists as he held one of his new pencils delicately between his fingers.

"Stop biting your nails, Calum. I'm trying to draw you." Luke muttered, his eyes sparkling in Calum's direction only making his guilt flow deeper.

He had to tell him at some point, he just didn't know how to say it. He wanted to protect the boy from the horrors of the world, make sure he never even knew that sort of thing existed, but in reality Calum knew that he wouldn't always be around to protect him and keep him safe, and so the blond boy needed to know how to fend for himself.

"Almost done, you don't need to sit still for much longer." Luke said gently, his pencil etching away at the pad when he noticed Calum beginning to fidget. If anything he was proud of the boy for sitting still as long as he already had.

"Baby, can I talk to you?"

Luke continued to sketch. "After this."

Calum slumped down in his chair, biting his nails again. After an agonising 5 minutes, Luke put his pencil down. "Okay, what's up?"

Calum got up and went to sit next to Luke on the bed. "Okay, I'm only telling you this because I'm worried that I won't always be there to protect you and I need you to be careful, okay?"

"Okay..." Luke said hesitantly, placing a hand on Calum's knee.

"At that first party we went to together, the one where we kissed for the first time, and you got really drunk you know?" Calum paused, and Luke nodded gently for him to go on. "I think someone gave you something other than alcohol."

Luke frowned, his nose wrinkling up. "What do you mean?"

"Like, drugs, baby." Calum said, worrying his lip between his teeth.

Luke frowned more, tilting his head to one side. "Well, why do you think that?"

"I went looking for you, I couldn't find you anywhere downstairs so I went upstairs to see if you were in the bathroom, but I was passing by a bedroom and I just had this feeling, you know? So I went in and you were there and there was a guy on top of you-" Calum said quickly.

"Oh my god." Luke said, his eyes wide.

"You were okay though, thank God. I don't know the guy well but I had got there in time, I was about ready to smash his fucking smug face in before Ashton stopped me and told me it would cause more trouble than it's worth." Calum breathed, and moved closer to Luke. "I knew you had been given something because I took you downstairs and you started crying, and then a second later you would start laughing hysterically. It was so scary I didn't know what to do. Every time I see him in the corridor he does this disgusting smile at me and the anger comes back and each time it's worse. Each time I think about what could have happened if I wasn't there. I don't even want to fucking think about it Luke cause I won't always be there to protect you. I need you to promise me you'll be more careful next time. Please." Calum rambled, cupping Luke's cheek in his hand and tilting his gaze up to meet his own.