5SOS Oneshots

Demons Hide Behind My Back (Malum/Lashton/Cashton)

A/n: many sorries for many typos
*****
Luke's ears were trained for the sounds of sequential creaks and choked whimpers that slipped through the vents.

He knew they belonged to Ashton, whenever the boy was shaken with nightmares, which occurred nearly every night.

The nights they didn't occur, Ashton didn't sleep at all.

Whenever Luke would hear the smallest sound, he'd hastily slip into Ashton's room across the hall, and smother him with blankets and cuddles.

Although it didn't scare away his demons, it helped him breathe just a little better.

This particular night, there was a game of uno going on between Michael and Calum, and Calum had slipped into the kitchen to down a glass of water for his scratchy throat.

He assumed he'd caught the sore throat Luke had been taking medication for, and as he slipped the delicate glass into the basin, he heard a soft noise.

It was more of a weep than anything, and as Calum moved across the house to its source, he wasn't quite sure what to expect.

He finally pinpointed the sound in Ashton's room, and as he gently pushed the door open, he was met with a sight quite peculiar.

Ashton's curls were peeking out from clouds of blankets, and Luke had both arms wrapped tightly around him.

Calum sort of pieced together the scenario, and after being washed with a mixture of pity and worry, he told Luke to return to bed, promising he'd care for Ashton.

It wasn't hard to convince the drowsy blonde- he was finding it incredibly hard to keep his eyes open after the cough syrup he'd taken.

Calum tried soothing Ashton best he could, and eventually ended with Ashton's he'd buried in his chest.

Of course, he never returned to that uno game.

Michael wasn't quite aware of what had happened last night- he knew Calum and Ashton had been cuddling- because Ashton didn't want anyone else to know about his nightmares.

The brief bits that Michael did know mainly made him think Ashton and Calum were tangled in some form of a relationship, which hurt his heart a little more than he would've liked, because he had been pining Calum for a while.

By the afternoon, Michael was feeling more like a burden than anything.

Perhaps he was too clingy- maybe that's why Calum had left him that night, because he'd done something wrong.

It didn't ease Michael's heart, but made his core churn instead, and he felt sickly by night.

Michael decided not to tell anyone he was feeling poorly, and instead slipped into his room, staring at the stack of uno cards as if they were cursed.

He didn't know, that somewhere in the house Ashton felt as if his whole head was cursed, because of how fast it was spinning.

Ashton felt muddled, he couldn't quite distinguish between Luke and Calums touches, and it didn't matter much.

He just wanted the monsters to go away, wanted his tangled thoughts to organize themselves.

In the moment Calum saw Ashton, just Ashton, and he'd briefly forgotten about Michael.

To be fair, he'd forgotten about everything else too.

Maybe he should've held Michael more important above everything else.

Like clockwork, Calum and Luke spent nearly every night with Ashton.

Like clockwork, Michael's nightmares began.

They weren't bad at first- mostly the fear of no one wanting him because Calum didn't want him.

Then they became a mess.

Michael decided to keep quiet, to muffle his sobs into his pillows, because he knew Calum was with Ashton.

He didn't know where Luke was, but he mostly wanted Calum.

Ashton had beat him to it though, and Michael didn't waste his breath asking for Calums attention, more focused on how to make the demons disappear.

They didn't.

Many nights later, they were all half asleep, barley paying attention to the film on cable.

Michael's eyes had wandered around the room, and he slipped out of his sleepy state when he noticed Ashton and Luke.

Luke was sitting up, while Ashton was slouched against his chest, arms tightly wound around Luke's waist.

Ashton's grip seemed to tighten more and more, until Luke was mumbling soft words of comfort, telling Ashton he was safe.

Even though Ashton was asleep, he seemed to relax, and Luke only pulled him closer, eyes screwing shut as he repeatedly kissed the top of Ashton's head.

Michael's head was turning as he watched the exchange and he swallowed.

He knew what had happened to Ashton.

Nightmares, he got them too.

"Calum"

Michael softly shook the Maori, eyes welling with tears.

"Cal"

This time his voice cracked a bit, and Calum fluttered his eyes open, catching sight of Michael's glassy eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm a horrible person"

Calums thick brows furrowed, and he shifted so Michael was resting on his chest.

"Why, what's going on?"

"I-I thought you a-and...you and Ash were, together, and, I, I, felt bad for myself because I love you, but Ashton's been hurting, a-and I'm sure my own night-nightmares...mine aren't bad, he's-I do-"

"Mike, Mike, breathe"

Calum lifted Michael's chin, examining the forest green eyes.

"It's so hard to breathe when you're holding me"

"It's harder to breathe when I realize I haven't been there for you...god, I didn't know you got nightmares"

"They're about you...it's stupid, A-"

Michael was cut off by a butterfly kiss on his lips, and then another, and then another.

"I-I love you too...maybe we can make the monsters go away?"

"What if they don't Cally?"

"Then I'll hold you, hold you so close that they won't be able to touch you until I let them, and I'll never, ever let anyone hurt you"

Michael shook slightly, taking a deep breath as he snuggled further into Calum, similar to the way Luke was against Ashton.

It felt comforting, to know his insecurities were just that- and not a single word of them was true.

Calum promised he'd keep him safe, and Michael knew, in his arms, he'd always be.
*****
A/n: this wasn't very good, I'm sorry for that