Mixtape | Malum

XXXI

Calum's parents wouldn't leave him alone. He spent the entire day trying to avoid talking to people, but he wasn't getting anywhere with it. Due to being a soccer player and having such a high level of popularity, he had little to no free time. Yet he somehow managed to break the rules by spending moreandmore time with Michael. He was starting to regret everything, worse than he did when he left.

"Calum, come on, you have a team meeting at two, practice at three, a game at six, and a dinner date at nine," Joy spoke away, sipping the wine in her fancy glass cup that only made the brunette feel worse about himself. All they had was money, and money was the only thing that could define them, as they had awful personalities and wasted away their youth by believing that life is nothing without a piece of paper.

"What do you mean I have a dinner date?"

"Oh son," David spoke with such bluntness, a small fake smile plastering across his face, "I found you a pretty girl that you may take interest in."

"No thanks," Calum spat, his tone of voice laced and edged with agitation, yet his parents continued to ignore it the way they ignored his feelings. No, he didn't come out as bisexual, and he definitely wasn't planning on doing so for a while. But the fact that he asked what if, and they acted like the possibilities were unlikely, made his chest ache. It wasn't fair that other kids and teenagers and adults and human beings had perfect lives, accepting parents that didn't control everything they did, and knew when something was wrong with their mental health. For Calum, it seemed as though they cared about nothing aside from soccer and making sure he had a proper girlfriend.

"You're going on the date, Calum, whether you like it or not."

"You'll love her, dear."

"Can I at least get a name so we have a proper greeting?"

"No, not until the time has come. Patience is key, son. We raised you better than that."

It was all the brunette had to hear before he rolled his eyes, stormed back into his room to immediately watch the video that Michael uploaded on YouTube. He had quite a lot of DIYS to catch up on, yet looking for Michael's video was the first thing he did. And he watched it, letting the tears fall down his cheeks as he realized that the lilac boy was talking about him, and that only made matters worse and unfortunate.

"It's one thirty, get dressed so we can get you to your meeting on time!" Joy yelled from the bottom of the stairs, and the Maori only sighed, because this isn't how he wanted to live his life. He was sad, unhappy with the way he treated others, and he wanted to do something about it. But as long as he was living under the roof of his parents, there was absolutely nothing he could do to make even a slight difference.

-

Calum wasn't nervous for his date. In fact, he hardly showed any emotions. Joy made him pick out an awful outfit, which was far too fancy for his liking. Tuxedos weren't comfortable in his opinion, nor were the loafers he had on his feet. And the tie was yellow, one of his least favorite colors. He had no idea what his mother was thinking.

When he arrived to the restaurant, he expected to see a model with the way his parents described her. He expected to see a female with glossy, red lips that weren't chapped at all, long, flowing hair, a hundred dollar sparkling dress that made the entire world around her look down at their outfits in shame, and high heel stilettos. But instead, he saw the complete opposite, only prettier.

"H-Hey, my name is Calum, nice to meet you."

The girl in front of him laughed, and it seemed like a laughter he has heard before, but one he couldn't quite recognize as easily. She shook her head before telling the brunette to sit down, which confused him even more. Why did he recognize her voice?