ungodly hour | c.h [on hold]

02. what's your name?

WHAT'S YOUR NAME?

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"What the fuck?"

Vivienne's wide eyes were fixated on the stranger that she had just crashed into, his intimidating aura causing her to take a step back in uncertainty.

He was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts, with a black duffel bag slung over his shoulder. His face, which she thought to be much more attractive than she would care to admit, was littered with bruises of varying colors, raising several red flags for the girl. "I — I am so sorry," she spoke nervously.

His dark eyes moved from the flustered girl to Michael. "Clifford," he deadpanned toward the blond standing beside her. Her eyebrows instantly raised as she glanced at him, confused as to how her friend knew the man standing in front of them.

"Calum," Michael nodded curtly, his voice tense.

The stranger's — Calum's — eyes darted back to Vivienne, who was still staring gobsmacked at Michael. "Watch where you're going next time, baby," he directed toward her, smug undertones evident in his beautifully accented voice. Before she could even think about replying, he turned around and began to walk toward a run down Jeep on the opposite side of the street.

"Baby? What the hell?" Vivienne mumbled in confusion. Her attention was on Calum until Michael's annoyed groan pulled her gaze from him.

"I hate that guy," he said as he shook his head.

"How do you know him?" She questioned, stealing several glances toward the dark haired boy with the hope that her friend didn't notice.

Shaking his head, Michael began walking to his car while she followed close behind. "He's friends with Luke—" she cocked her head and gave him a look of confusion, as she didn't know who Luke was. "—who's friends with Ashton."

"And why do you hate him?"

"What's with the interrogation?" He asked, irritation laced in his voice.

A small frown weighed at the corners of her lips as she pulled the car door open. She didn't intend to annoy her friend — curiosity simply got the best of her. "I don't know," she mumbled, mindlessly fumbling with her chapstick in her coat pocket.

Michael sighed. "Hey, I'm sorry. I just — he's not a good guy, okay? And I don't like him."

This answer wasn't what Vivienne was looking for, but seeing as it was the only one she would receive, she nodded slowly and accepted it. "Okay."

Letting out another small sigh, Michael started the car and drove her back to her dorm building. He offered to go back up with her and hang out, but she declined, explaining to him that she had some more things to do in preparation for the first day of classes on Tuesday. He gave her a small nod and bid her a goodbye before driving away, leaving her standing on the sidewalk by her lonesome.

As soon as she entered her room, she tossed her jacket to the floor and jumped onto her bed, shutting her eyes as her head rested on the thick pillow covered in a light pink pillow case. Although she knew Michael would lecture her about it if he ever knew, she couldn't help but let her mind wander to the bruise riddled boy she'd encountered not even twenty minutes ago.

Baby.

The pet name elicited a sense of curiosity more than anything else. She wondered how he'd received all of the bruises, or why his face was blanketed with them, or if he had any more that were shielded by his dark clothing. A plethora of different scenarios coursed through her mind as she attempted to conjure up her own solution, as she knew she wouldn't learn the actual story behind the physical injuries.