The Dead and The Blind [Lashton]

Day 537

Luke loves Calum. Like, he won't admit it, because Calum would gloat and use the admission to his advantage as much as possible so, secretly, Luke loves Calum.

And, because Luke loves Calum, he keeps his mouth shut when Calum grabs Ashton's sister's laptop off her bed and drags it up to the attic to do some research.

"Hey, Mikey," He's laying on the couch with the laptop on his stomach and Michael all curled up between his legs. Michael sets his chin against Calum's thigh and hums in recognition. "Your parents started a scholarship fund in your name. Isn't that cute?"

Michael scrunches up his nose distastefully and ducks down to rest his cheek against Calum's thigh, fluttering his eyes closed like he's going to take a nap. "That's disgusting, they know I hated school."

"My parents didn't do shit," Calum amends, reaching down to pet at Michael's hair gently. "They moved out as soon as they sold the house and never looked back."

"Tragic," Luke rolls his eyes from the chair, making Calum glance over. "I've been dead for almost two years, I doubt my parents even remember my name."

"They had you for seventeen years," Calum rolls his eyes. "Seventeen is more than two. They remember you."

Luke snorts. "You didn't know my parents."

Calum stares at him for a moment, eyes flicking over Luke's face, before he turns back to the laptop. "How'd little Hemmings die, then?" He starts tapping away at the keyboard and Luke stiffens.

"Reckon he killed himself," Michael suggests quietly, opening his big green eyes to look at Luke. "Pills. Overdose."

"Yeah?" Calum's still running his free hand through Michael's hair. "Yeah, I can see that. Or he tripped down the stairs and impaled himself on the banister, or something. Lit himself on fire while trying to make a bagel, maybe."

"Nah," Luke relaxes at their improbable guesses. "I'm not part of your little suicide club."

Calum quirks an eyebrow when he presses search, then glances up again when it loads. "Were you murdered?" Luke shrugs and chooses not to answer. Calum's going to find out, anyway.

The page loads and Calum clicks on the first link that pops up on Luke's Google search page. Michael's curiosity gets the best of him, as he grabs the laptop away and forces Calum to sit up, then crawls into his lap and waits for the laptop to load. The WiFi sucks in the attic. Calum props his chin over Michael's shoulder and shoots Luke a curious look.

"Fatal shooting?" Michael reads out loud, gaining Calum's attention again. "Luke, you were seriously fucking murdered! This made national news!"

"Yeah," Luke shrugs because he remembers, thank you very much.

"Dude," Calum says quietly.

Luke waits while they read the article, patiently waiting for them to ask questions, because he knows they will. They love learning about Luke's past.

Calum's the first to finish, because Michael's too busy commentating. He looks over to Luke again curiously. "Drug lords and gangs?"

"There's a lot of Luke Hemmings' on this earth," Luke responds. "Thought they murdered the right one, 'cause I was tall and blonde, but they didn't. The one they were looking for fell straight off the radar after they killed me, do everyone just assumed he was me, you know? And I couldn't really argue."

"What'd he do?" Michael asks. "The other Luke, why'd they kill him?"

"As far as I can figure, he murdered the daughter of some drug lord," Luke explains. He's found out bits and pieces over the years, but he still doesn't know they whole story. "The drug lord found me, thought I was the right Luke Hemmings, and murdered me."

"Your body-" Calum looks slightly disgusted when Luke just nods and reaches for the buttons of his shirt.

"Yeah, they properly fucked me up," he nods, tracing one finger over the thin red line around his neck as he struggles with the buttons. "My family came home and found me dead, but the drug guys were still there, so they tied my parents up and knocked my brothers out cold." Luke shrugs off his shirt and presses over each warped, red and white circle on his chest, all six of them. "Shot me six times, that's what I died from. Then, they cut me up and told my parents what they thought I did." Luke traces over each scar on his shoulders, elbows, wrists, and torso.

Michael and Calum watch, clearly entranced and completely thrilled with the story. Luke finishes tracing over the thin scars on his skin and glances up again. "My family moved out the next day, but they told the cops they believed what they were told. They thought I murdered that girl, so. They're dead to me."

Michael lights up significantly and scrambles around in Calum's lap. "Maybe that's why you're here!" He says eagerly. "You know, ghosts are only ghosts because they have unfinished business in their past life! Maybe this is your unfinished business, no one knows you're not a murderer!"

Calum nods eagerly and grabs Michael's hips to stop his squirming. "That's got to be it. You have to bring the actual Luke Hemmings to justice before you pass on."

Luke snorts and shakes his head, but it actually makes a lot of sense. "And how do you suggest I do that?"

As if on cue, there's a thud from directly below them, followed by a loud bark and Ashton yelling, "I didn't take your laptop!"

Michael snaps the laptop shut and grins at Luke. "I have an idea."