Translucent | VAMPIRE Malum |

Record Greetings

Calum was once again opening and closing. He had enough of the bullshit from his manager, but he couldn't get away from it that easily. In fact, he couldn't get away from it at all. He really needed the money and he couldn't afford to lose his job. It was the closest place to his job and the safest. Other places got robbed and he didn't want to be responsible for losing ten grand out of the cash register — not that they even carry that much at one time. Everything is digital nowadays, so records aren't exactly 'in'.

It was only three in the afternoon, and he was already six hours in. Eventually he was going to go into overtime, but he also didn't really care. The pay was great, and the customers — if there were ever customers, were great too. Always friendly faces. However, the one that walked in as Calum was playing with the buttons on the register wasn't a friendly face.

The blonde male walked between the first two aisles, scanning out the last of what he needed for his 80's collection. Unfortunately, they didn't have what he was looking for, so he thought he'd ask an employee. Of course, upon realizing who the employee was, Michael face—palmed, then took a deep breath.

He walked over to Calum, giving him a small smile. The boy looked calm for some reason, and Michael expected him to be petrified.

"Good to see you," Calum said with a small, warm smile on his face. "The dinner you hosted, it was wonderful. Thank you."

"Wonderful?" Michael laughed. "You literally panicked because Ashton had blood on his face." He scoffed, looking down at the floor. "Wonderful."

"Blood?" Calum asked, suddenly confused. "Did he get into a fight or something?"

"I forgot I compelled you," Michael mumbled in an agitated tone. "Oh wait, you probably don't even know what that means. You're pretty clueless."

Calum put a hand on his hip. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Michael laughed, then hit his hand against the countertop. "Do you have The Beatles vinyl? I wouldn't be surprised if you don't know who they are. Your generation has shitty music."

"For your information, it's not shitty, and secondly, I do know who they are. Grew up on old bands, actually."

"So. . do you have the vinyl?" Michael asked, growing even more impatient and agitated.

"Oh, nope. We sold our last one last week. Don't really have the funds to replace them yet, either. So you could expect them to go back in stock sometime next month. So," Calum pressed his hand against his neck and leaned down, suddenly feeling awkward. "You have anything else in mind or are you just going to stand there and stare at me all day —"

"Stare at you?" Michael laughed again. "Why can't I stare at you?"

"It just makes me uncomfortable," Calum simply said, pretending to dust lint off of his counter even though there was nothing there. "Same reason you probably don't like people staring at you. It's weird."

"Not if you like that person."

Calum looked down, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Like? You like me? That's even weirder."

Michael laughed, cheeks puffing out the slightest. He smiled large afterwards, practically welcoming Calum into his life and secret already. "Why is it weird?"

Calum shrugged, even though he knew the answer. It was simple. "Nobody likes me."

"I do," Michael said quietly, bringing a calm vibe into the room. Calum felt less anxious all of a sudden. "I like you a lot. You're great company, and you're cute. What more could a guy ask for?"