Exchange | Malum

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Michael woke up in a place he didn't recognize, in arms of long sleeves and cyclones of messy curls attacking his pale, plump cheeks. Atop of his body sat a stack of hundred dollar bills, it totaling to eight hundred, causing his eyes to nearly fall out. How did this happen? He wasn't naked. He was fully clothed. "Calum?"

"Morning," Calum answered in a raspy tone, wrapping his rather muscular arms around Michaels' waist, allowing a squeal to elapse from his pink lips. "What happened last night and how did I get all of this money?"

"Let's not worry about that."

So Michael didn't. He watched as the tanned goddess stranded away from his previous position by standing up, slipping on a pair of jeans to cover his boxers, before holding his hand out for his newly friend to grab. He wanted to believe that he was safe, but was he? "Don't worry, you can trust me." And so he did.

The two roamed to the outside of the building, hand in hand, with spaces curving between their feet. "What day is it?"

"Saturday," Calum yawned, pressing his arm further into Michaels', causing a fire to enlighten inside of his body. He's never felt this way before. "I was hoping we could spend the day together, since we made enough money to get you through today. And we can get back on our feet and try harder tomorrow if-"

"How did we make eight hundred dollars, Calum?" Michael asked with curiosity, loving the way his fingers dangled against tan ones, loving the way he was slowly losing himself to the boy in front of him, loving every moment of his presence. "Now isn't a good time to talk about how. Focus more on why what happened, happened." Michael was so confused. Calum was being weird.

"Right, my mother," Michael added onto the brunettes sentence, releasing his hand from Calum's, "I have to get going. Thanks for whatever happened last night." He left Calum stranded out on the pavement, near one of the alleys. And his mind was going crazy.

What the fuck happened last night?

Calum sighed heavily to himself as he stood on the curb of the sidewalk, steadying his hand out in the air for a taxi to see. He had a little bit of spare change leftover in his wallet for a ride back to his parents place, and supposedly, he could have given the extra money to Michael, because everything counts. But he needed to worry about himself as well.

By the time he arrived home, his mother was standing in the kitchen with crossed limbs and a scowl on her face. "Why didn't you come home last night?"

"I was busy," Calum answered with a shrug of the shoulders, just before reluctantly pulling himself up the stairs to his room, in attempt to avoid the lecture that was lingering upon him, but he failed miserably. He felt restless. What was he going to tell Michael? "Look, I know you're growing into a young adult, which means you're allowed to make your own life decisions, but I still care about where you're off to at night. You could have been kidnapped, Calum!"

He could care less. He only wanted to help Michael. "I'm fine, please close my door on your way out."

While Calum was pondering about what he'd say to Michael when the question comes up again, the pale boy was rushing inside of the hospital with stacks of dollar bills hindering the pockets of his blue jeans. The doctors and nurses were decently confused at his odd behavior. "I have more money to put in for Karen Clifford's surgery," Michael smiled proudly, handing precisely eight hundred dollars and two pennies into the woman sitting at the front desk with a computer. She had a lot of drawers and file cabinets.

"Thank you. If you're here for visiting hours as well, please have a seat in the waiting room while I get in contact with her doctor." Michael nodded, and jotted his way towards the couch, where he found himself laying down and closing his eyes for a split second, only to be dreaming about anything and everything later on.

"Mr. Clifford!"

Michael's eyes jolted wide as he sat up from the couch with a pounding headache. Everything around him was a blur, but surely, he was in the hospital waiting room. That he can remember. "Your mother is upstairs, waiting to see you." Okay was Michaels first thought, but it turns out, he didn't say anything at all, only clung onto his new jacket that smelt like Calum. He really loved that for some reason. It made him happy.

"Hi mommy," Michael sighed happily, running over to his mother and gently grasping around her arms for a hug, as she was attached to a millennium of wires. Her skin was paler than usual, eyelids attempting to close. "I promise I'll make enough money to save your life. I promise."

"I don't want you to worry about me," Karen reiterated with a small laugh and shuffle around her toes, "I want you to promise me that no matter what happens, you'll keep living for me."

"I-"

"Michael Gordon Clifford, you will not take your own life. Please promise me that."

"I can't promise anything," Michael sighed, watching as disappointment and sadness filled his mother's eyes, "I'll try for you, though. And I'll make sure you stay with me. You're not going anywhere."

Karen smiled before drifting off into a deep sleep, and Michael just watched his mother as he continued to think about what could have happened to get him that much money.

He really hoped it wasn't dangerous.

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A/N;

Thoughts?

Still have any idea about where they went?