Priorities | Malum

〰 27 〰

"Michael, baby, what are these?" Calum shouted as he stood inside of his boyfriends bathroom, watching tons of papers fly out of the cabinets underneath his sink. Michael panicked, eyes widening as soon as he saw the brunette kneeling down to collect them and put them into a tidy pile, but the pale boy only slapped his hand away.

"You can't look at those," Michael shouted sadly, feeling angry for not hiding them somewhere else and feeling angry that Calum didn't tell him he was looking for something in his shared college dorm restroom. It simply irritated him, and roughly, he shoved Calum out of the way and panicked when he heard the sound of something cracking.

"Shit, did I push you that hard?"

"Don't worry about it," Calum spat, his back aching as he was pushed into the edge of the bathtub. He certainly wasn't expecting his boyfriend to have some random outrage after they finally made up. Seems like he's becoming a bit distant, and is finding other things to be his priority aside from Calum.

"I'm so sorry."

"I said don't worry about it," Calum said a little louder, standing up and wincing when his spine was tingling, "I'm going to go lay down."

Michael nodded, collecting all of the papers scattered atop of the tiled floor, panicking that the brunette would see what wasn't meant to be seen. It was embarrassing, and he wasn't sure how Calum would handle it. Besides, it was kind of personal, and he didn't want the love of his life to judge him for it.

"I'll get you some water," Michael stated quietly as he shuffled towards the door, shutting it quietly and rushing to the end of the hallway just to get a fresh, filtered glass of ice water for his boyfriend. When he returned, he noticed that Calum was frowning and gazing up at the ceiling with wandering eyes that made him feel guilty. And the way he scrunched his nose was super cute, but Michael couldn't compliment him after hurting the boy.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Michael sighed, "I'm still sorry for hurting you though. You didn't deserve it."

"Well clearly, there's something you didn't want me to see, so it's whatever."

"Calum, it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing."

"Times like this make me wish I wasn't kicked out of the military," Calum sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stood up with such angst and a headache that made him more exhausted than he was to begin with. Michael just didn't understand.

"Don't say that," Michael whined, plopping down on the edge of the bed, making the part Calum was sitting on rise due to the small amount of balance they had between them. Neither boys were happy at the moment.

"I've never met a person who hides papers in their bathroom."

"Well you have now."

"I don't get why you have to hide them from me. I'm your boyfriend, Michael. I've been yours for years and you can't tell me what they were for and why you had to shove me away?"

"I just. They're embarrassing."

"What's more embarrassing than me?"

"You're not an embarrassment, baby," Michael cooed, wrapping his arms around the tan boys waist, only to receive a sigh in return. This isn't how he wanted to spend his life. He wanted to waste his youth feeling happy. Not the other way around.

"Sure feels like it."

"What do you say we get out of here and go do something? Just like old times?"

"I'm not really in the mood," Calum mumbled, only to have a pleading pale boy in front of him, tugging on his arms as though he were a lost boy waiting to find his mother in the grocery store. "Please, Cally."

"Fine."

-

Old times meant going to an amusement park, or to an arcade where there's a ton of crane machines and video games, or going on an overly long walk that left them exhausted half way through. That's what old times were like. Not this. Not sitting inside of a taxi, four feet apart, gazing out the windows in sadness because there was so much contemplation going on between the two.

That isn't what they wanted.

"I'm sorry for changing."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not the same person anymore. I tried so hard to fit your expectations and I just feel like a fucking failure," Michael stated, ignoring the way the taxi driver looked back at him in bewilderment.

"Baby, shh," Calum sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt and shifting into the middle seat of the back, "I don't have any expectations for you. You're still my little lovebug, no matter what. And I'm always going to consider what we have amazing. You're not a failure, you just do and see and feel things differently than I do and that's perfectly fine. All you need is love, Michael, and I'm here to remind you that I love you so so much."

Michael smiled as Calum leaned in and nuzzled their noses together, lips finding their way into the puzzle piece, anchors practically pulling them down into the sea as their fingers tangled into one another's hair, but they still managed to prevent themselves from drowning and losing that feeling they desperately wanted to feel again.

"You're mine, always, Calum."

"You're mine, forever, Michael."

-

A/N;

What do you guys think the papers were?

3 chapters left and I'm already so done with this story.

I hate that we start off with so much excitement when we start stories and then after a while, they're just not as exciting anymore. They get boring, plain, and the reads and comments and votes start to stop and it's just like why keep writing a story that nobody gives a shit about?

Oh well. I'm going to go watch fireworks in a bit cause apparently they're not doing any tomorrow on the actual holiday 🙃🙃🙃 see you all in the next update, whenever that'll be.

Please comment and vote. Please. 💕