Knockout • OT4

8 - Blisters

Calum bit his lip in contemplation.

"Hello?" he questioned wearily, fingers itching to grab and yank the curtain open. Of course, however, he was smarter than that.

When he was greeted with no response however, he allowed his body to move faster than his mind, slowly drawing back the shower curtain.

At first, he wasn't met with anyone- or, anything. Just the head of the shower spitting hot water down at the floor, having it circling the drain.

But then, his dark eyes shifted, noticing something- or, someone that made his body heat in undeniable anger.

But he wasn't angry for the reasons he thought he would be.

Michael was curled into the wall, still dressed in his muscle tank and shorts. His lips were parted and his body laid slack against the tiles lining the walls.

His body was bruised as it usually was. His pretty, red, plump lips split open on the bottom to the left.

Was he.. sleeping? Had someone beat him up in the showers? What the fuck was he doing here and most importantly, how long was he here for?

Calum leant down and quickly scooped up the smaller figure, accidentally getting caught in the hot stream of water.

He winced at the temperature, it was hot.. too hot.

He quickly carried the young fighter out of the showers, rushing to get him to a bench to lay him down and away from the smothering heat.

"Guys- fuck! He- that little fucking twat!" he cursed, standing up straight before frustratedly running his fingers through his hair. Luke and Ashton were quick to Michaels side, eyeing the boy up and down wearily before watching Calum storm around like a worried parent.

They've never seen this look on him before.

"What happened, Cal you gotta talk to us-"

"This little fucker was sleeping- knocked out- fuck, something in the shower! The water was fuckin' smouldering mate, his skin is hot to the touch!" he ranted out, his lungs lacking air at the end of his rambling.

Ashton brushed his fingers over Michaels arm, noticing how red and raw it looked. His eyes trailed down to the rest of the boys body, noticing the exact same contrasting red against his usual pale skin.

That would blister, no doubt.

"Check his bag, see if you can find his phone or something- oh, and grab a clean pair of clothes if he has." mumbled the blonde, kneeling beside the unconscious fighter. He carefully ran his fingers through the damp red hair in an attempt to sweep it away from the boys face.

He didn't miss how the boy leaned into the touch.

He chose to ignore it.

Calum went to the boys bag, rummaging through bandages and other useless stuff in attempts the grab a dry shirt and some sweatpants.

What rolled onto the floor however made his blood boil beyond comprehension.

He bent down, following the small clicks and shakes of a prescription medication bottle. It rolled across the floor, almost tauntingly.

Calum picked it up, his jaw locking as he read what they were, reading that they were prescribed to Michael G. Clifford, from 2018.

"Pain meds.. the kids been poppin' pain meds from fucking 2018?!"

His chest heaved as he tossed them in the trash that sat against the wall, going back to where the two worked on the younger boy.

Speaking of, he didn't noticed how young of a fighter they've been fighting until he stopped to stare for a moment.

His cheeks still held a bit of chub, his face still young looking- no matter how beat he may have been from their training sessions. The fighter hasn't been through or experienced what the other three have, giving him a look of innocence.

Fuck. He felt his heart clench.

"Hood, the clothes?" Ashton nudged, keeping his voice as calm and collected as possible after seeing the roaring anger coming from an already angry man.

"Right.. here they are. Would he be comfortable with us changing him though?" he questioned. Luke and Ashton shared a look before sighing, leaving the folded up clothes beside him but moving to grab some towel that hung abandoned in the locker room.

They draped it over the sleeping fighter, deciding that allowing him to rest would be better than snapping at him and waking him up with an unreasonable amount of anger.

They don't know how much Michael has taken, but they were all undeniably on edge knowing they were responsible for Michael resorting the expired pain medication.

If he couldn't take the heat of the kitchen, he should've got out a long time ago.. not smothering himself with a cloth to the mouth, fighting flames that would undeniably burn him.

"We gonna talk to him when he wakes up?" Ashton questioned quietly, eyes trained to the red headed spitfire that laid beneath him. Calum nodded quickly, cracking his fingers in a way to cope with the anger and stresses of the situation.

"No doubt."

"Or beat his ass."

Luke and Ashton let out an airy chuckle at the violence, something easing in their chests at their usual dynamic returning to them.

For now, they'd let Michael rest. But after? He was truly going to get an ear full.. or a fist full.

—
aw bummer, michael baby getting burned with the karma of taking expired pain meds. TAKE UR MEDS APPROPRIATELY MY LOVES!!

comments and votes are so appreciated!! i'm down to hear any predictions about this story and the four as well <3