((I just took some hardcore NyQuil for my cold so if I pass out and accidentally post this halfway through.... Blame that snotty ass little fuck at my school that kept coughing on me.
-Mel))
Calum wakes with a start, confused and startled. He squints, trying to make out Michael's figure in the bed next to him in an attempt to see if he's fucking around or something. Michael's breathing is even and deep, though, so he's obviously asleep and not the reason Calum had woken up. The bright red numbers on the clock say that it's 2:46, which confuses Calum and even more.
He crawls out of bed, stretching up onto his tip toes to pop his joints and stretch his muscles. Once his head stops swirling and his eyes adjust to the dark of the room, he makes his way towards the door, trying to be as quiet as physically possible. The hallway light isn't on, but the one in the bathroom is. Calum pads his way towards the cracked open door, rubbing a hand sleepily down his face.
Calum reaches his arm out when he gets close enough and slowly pushes the door open. Ashton's sitting on the floor with his knees bracketing the toilet bowl, trembling like the room is freezing. A violent shudder racks his body suddenly, and he's sobbing then gagging into the toilet. He coughs a few times, Calum's nose wrinkles up a bit, then sobs loudly and continues trembling.
"Ashy?" Calum says softly, frowning at the sweat beading up at the back of Ashton's neck and the curve of his shoulders. Ashton cringes and goes to turn around, then starts gagging again. Calum's quicker this time. He closes the door behind him and darts forward to rub Ashton's back. His hand stops a centimeter before the boy's back, instantly freezing up when seeing Ashton retch something vile into the toilet again.
"Can I touch you?" Calum asks gently.
"No!" Ashton jerks forward, away from Calum, and presses his chest to the toilet forcefully. Calum holds his hands up in surrender and steps over to sit on the lip of the tub, watching as Ashton's giant eyes follow his every movement. He crosses his ankles and looks back, observing how sick Ashton looks.
His face is covered in sweat, practically dropping and making his face shine. His skin itself is ashen, almost pale and flooded with a dark, dangerous gray color that makes Calum cringe. There's pink splotches on his cheeks and forehead, though, small spots of blush to remind Calum that Ashton still has blood pumping through him.
"God, I'm so- so fucking- I'm just so disgusting!" Ashton rasps out, voice rough and cursing.
"Hey, it's fine," Calum amends gently. "You're sick, baby, everyone gets sick." Ashton mutters something angrily under his breath that Calum can't quite hear. Calum tries to sort out all the questions he's got swirling in his brain, deciding to go with the easiest one first. "Why didn't you use the bathroom in your bedroom?"
Ashton shrugs, leaning his face against the side of the toilet and closing his eyes lightly. His lips drop open for a second before he whispers, "Didn't want to wake up Luke." Calum nods in understanding. His fingers ache with the need to hold Ashton or rub Ashton's head or kiss Ashton warm cheeks.
"Did you eat something bad?" Calum asks after a few seconds of silence.
Ashton shakes his head, eyes squinting as more tears cover them suddenly. He turns his head so his nose and forehead are pressed against the toilet bowl (Calum cringes), and let's out a loud sob. He's still trembling and shaking uncontrollably, but now thick sobs are racking his body as well.
Calum sighs, feeling a bit like crying himself, and slouches down. He places his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. "Oh, Ash," he whispers.
"I'm sorry," Ashton cries. "I'm just- I'm- I can't right now- I'm so sorry, Cal."
Calum's heart breaks a little bit. He does what he can and leans forward to flush the toilet, watching Ashton jerk his head up to watch whatever the fuck was in his stomach swirl down the drain. Calum's still sleepy and it's too early for any of this. He retracts his hand, just as Ashton starts gagging again. There's nothing left for him to throw up, so he just spits and coughs for a few seconds. It's gross and horrifying and heart breaking, and it makes Calum want to cry. When Ashton's done, he leans his face against the toilet bowl again and resumes his crying and sniffling.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Calum tries gently. Ashton shakes his head almost frantically, squeezing his eyes shut and pursing his lips slightly. "Ash, come on. You can tell me what's wrong, you can trust me."
"I ju- I just want- Calum- just-" and then he's sobbing hysterically again, and Calum doesn't know what to do. He thinks this is probably a mental breakdown, or something. Ashton's shuddering still. He's trying to talk through his sobs, but all that's coming out is fragments of words and broken stutters. Calum manages to catch "disgusting" and "stop" and what sounds like "touched", before he figures out what must have happened.
"Ashy, baby," he whispers in a calm tone, even though his blood is boiling. Ashton's sobbing and stuttering subside long enough for Calum to whisper, "Did someone try to touch you again?"
Ashton doesn't even respond, just starts gagging and retching again, coughing up blood this time with the force of it. Calum feels like he's on fire. He's so angry, he can't even describe it as angry anymore. The emotion he feels is too strong to be described as angry. Part of him hopes that Ashton's getting sick over the big, scary guy that had pressed him against the wall of the club and kissed his neck. He hopes it hasn't happened again.
"Ashton, talk to me," he demands, probably too harsh, judging by the way Ashton jumps at his tone. It seems to startle him enough that his mouth starts moving and understandable sentences fall out.
"I was at- at the groc- grocery store, and he just-" Ashton cuts off and seals his lips shut, body convulsing with a gag that he manages to keep down in his stomach. "He dr-drag- dragged me into th-the back alley and-"
Calum's heard enough. He stands up abruptly while Ashton starts coughing again. "Ash, get up, we're going to the police station."
"No!" Ashton cries loudly. "No, no, no! I'm okay, Calum, it's okay!"
"No it's not okay!" Calum scoffs, running his fingers through his hair quickly. "He put his hands on you, that's not okay!"
"He was trying to fix me!" Ashton yells, even though his voice is rough and scratchy. Calum almost starts gagging at that. Ashton's justifying what happened, even though he's on the floor, crying and throwing up because of it. It makes him cringe.
He drops to his knees directly behind Ashton, waiting until the older boy turns around before he speaks. "Baby, you're not broken. You're not defective. There's no reason to fix you. What he did was wrong, so wrong, and I want him dead for it."
"It's okay," Ashton whispers. His hands reach for his shirt, grabbing at the hem of the fabric to pull it up a bit. There's dark purple and green bruises laying across the skin on his waist like fingerprints. Calum sucks in a sharp breath and stares at them in horror. The last guy didn't leave bruises, except for on Michael's face.
"I'm going to kill him," Calum whispers. Ashton sniffles and shakes his head, pulling his shirt down again. Calum gets the feeling that those aren't the only bruises.
"I'm okay, Cal," he says quietly, even though he's still shaking and his face is the color of ashes.
Calum shakes his head disapprovingly. "I'm waking up Mikey and Luke, and we're going to the police station, alright? This isn't okay, Ashton. This shouldn't happen."
"I ca-can-can handle it," Ashton stutters.
"No," Calum says firmly. "Go get your shoes and a jacket on." Ashton shakes his head at first, opening his mouth to argue, but shuts it right away when he notices Calum's determined expression. "Wait for us on the couch, alright? We'll be out there in a minute or two. And grab a bucket from under the sink."
Ashton frowns, but pulls himself into a standing position with the help of the sink, while Calum spins around and flings the door open. He flicks the hallway light on as he goes, then the one in Luke and Ashton's room in an attempt to start waking up Luke. He flicks on the one in his and Michael's room as well, instantly grabbing his shoes and sits on Michael's bed to put them on.
"Mikey," he says loudly. Michael whines and pushes his face into the pillow, struggling with the blankets, even though Calum's holding them down. "Michael, you have to wake up."
"No," Michael wails miserably. "Cally, it's only three."
Calum huffs in annoyance, because he's really not in the mood for Michael's shit. "We're going to the police station. Get up, we need your nose as evidence."
Michael pauses, then sits up and rubs his eyes. The blankets fall down his bare chest, while his lips pull into a frown. "Ashton?"
Calum nods, setting his feet back onto the floor. "It happened again."
It must take a few seconds to set it, because Michael just stares at him blankly for a bit. Suddenly, he jerks straight out of bed and makes a low growling noise. He grabs a shirt off the floor and shoves it on, then starts fumbling for his shoes. "I'm going to fucking-" he pauses while tying his shoes as angrily as possible. "-I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I'm going to fucking do something!"
"Right," Calum agrees, even though he's not quite sure what Michael's blabbering about. There's not a lot they can do, really. "Go check on Ash in the living room. Make sure he's got a bucket."
"For what?" Michael frowns.
"He's throwing up. A lot," Calum explains. "Get him some tissues too." Michael grits his teeth, but nods sharply and stalks out to find Ashton, while Calum goes to wake up Luke.
Luke's already up, thankfully. He's sitting in bed, tying his shoes, fully dressed. He glances up and smiles sadly at Calum. "I heard what you said to Michael."
Calum nods, happy that he doesn't have to explain everything again. Luke ties his shoes quickly, but pauses when he's finished. He looks up at Calum with huge eyes, glazing over with tears, and frowns.
"Ash is going to be okay, right?" He asks quietly, sounding tiny and vulnerable. He sounds like he doesn't have to sleep in a scrunched up position to fit on the bed. He sounds like a little kid.
"Yeah, Luke," Calum says gently. He doesn't know, though. He doesn't know Luke's definition of okay, or if Ashton will even come close to that any time soon. He just says it so Luke won't cry, honestly. Luke holds out a hand, which Calum grabs to pull him up.
Ashton's on the couch where Calum had told him to wait, in his jacket and shoes, while Michael's fluttering around him and muttering.
"You're warm, right?" He asks, sighing in relief when Ashton nods. "Good, and you've got your bucket. And tissues. Do you need anything else? Water? A snack? How about some crackers?" Ashton shakes his head silently, watching Michael pace back and forth in front of him.
"Luke can drive," Calum suggests, because Luke is probably the least likely to crash at the moment. Sure, he's crying a bit, but he's not panicking and getting angry like Michael or shaking like Calum. Michael glances up and nods in agreement, then sets about gathering Ashton off the couch. Calum opens his mouth to warn Michael not to touch him, but Ashton seems completely fine. He let's Michael grab his hands and gently pull him up, then doesn't even flinch when Michael wraps and arm around his waist.
Calum eyes them suspiciously, but let's it go. If Ashton only wants to touch certain people, Calum's not about to tell him who it can and can't be. Besides, he's still crying a bit, and Michael's delicately avoiding the bruises on Ashton's hip bone.
In the car, Ashton whispers to Michael, practically plastered to the front of his chest in the backseat. He reaches up and presses tiny kisses along Michael's jaw as gently as possible. He doesn't even throw up once, and even his shaking seems a little bit less noticeable.
Ashton gets pulled into an interrogation room at the police station, but he isn't questioned. The police give him a safety blanket for his trembling, a mug full of tea, and a few donuts that he doesn't eat. Michael, Calum, and Luke get to stand on the other side of the one way window, watching him and listening to what he says.
They must have slipped something into his tea, because Ashton's sobbing subsides, and his stutter gets a bit better. The cop doesn't pressure him, only waits for him to speak and asks quiet questions when she thinks Ashton can answer them.
"I was getting milk," Ashton sips his tea and snuggles further into the heavy, black blanket. "Luke likes milk, so I decided to get him some for cereal tomorrow, because we were out. It was going fine, I got the milk and paid, but someone recognized me when I walked outside. She was like, ten or eleven, so I took a picture and signed her sweatshirt. Her mom thanked me, and then we went our separate ways. They went inside and I started to go to my car."
Ashton pauses to take another drink of his tea, while Luke whimpers a little. Calum wraps an arm around his waist and pulls him close, while Michael buried his fingers into Luke's hair and scratches his scalp lightly. Like a dog.
"Some- someone grabbed me, I guess," Ashton continues. His shaking starts up again, enough that he has to put his tea down to avoid spilling it. "They- uh- they-they pulled me into an alley, next to the store an-and pushed me against the-"
Ashton starts crying again, as does Luke a second after he sees Ashton crying. Calum tugs him in instantly, pulling his arms around Luke's waist and letting Luke bury his nose into his neck. Michael's hand drops from his hair and a frown appears on his face, so deep it looks etched in permanently.
"I'll be," he gestures over his shoulder with his thumb and Calum nods, not even bothering to see what's behind them. Michael can take care of himself, he figures.
Inside the room, Ashton's shivering in his blanket, flicking his glossy eyes around nervously. The cop gestures for him to continue, so he drops his head to look down and starts whispering.
"He push- pushed me against the wall," Ashton says quietly, Calum can barely hear him. "And started to-touching m-me. His hand was over my mouth, so I couldn't y-yell-l." He starts gagging again, instantly darting his hand out to grab the bucket on the edge of the table. Calum closes his eyes, but he can hear the retching still, and it makes his heart burn. He's angry and sad and scared and he wants to kick someone's ass, but he's got a feeling that's what Michael's off doing. The most he can do is be here for Luke, so he rubs his hand down Luke's spine and whispers gentle little reassurances to him.
When Ashton's finished, he sets the bucket down again and wraps himself in the blanket. "Sorry, I- I just feel disgusting. Used, maybe."
The cop nods and writes something down on her pad of paper, gesturing for him to continue. "Whenever you're ready," she says gently.
Ashton nods and takes another sip of his tea. "Yeah, I- I'm okay."
Calum grunts like its funny, but it's really anything but.
"He said he knew who I was," Ashton sets down his tea and wraps himself in the heavy blanket again. "Wanted to- to, you know. Fix me."
The cop sets her pen down and says, "You're asexual." Like she's just now realizing who he is.
Ashton eyes her nervously, looking her over and flicking his eyes towards the window, then back to the cop. Calum tenses, accidentally squishing a whine out of Luke. After a few seconds, Ashton nods and mumbles, "Yeah."
"Alright," she stands up then, tugging at her uniform and sticking her hand out towards Ashton. "Thank you for stopping by, but I think I've heard all that I need to know. We'll be in touch."
Ashton stares at her outstretched hand like there's poison sitting in it. "Don't you want, like, a description? I saw him, I saw his face, I- " he gags again, but managed to keep it down this time.
"Ashton, right?" She sighs and let's her hand drop, realizing that Ashton isn't going to shake it anytime soon. "We get a lot of asexuals in here, kid. If you were normal, you wouldn't be here. This guy, whoever he was, wouldn't have had to touch you, if you hadn't set up a challenge for him."
"Challenge?" Ashton says quietly, glancing up at her in shock and horror.
"That's all he sees you as, a challenge," she explains. "Someone who says they don't like sex must be lying, that's what he thinks. He was just trying to help you out."
Calum feels his blood boiling. If Michael was listening, the cop would be against the wall, choking on her last breaths. Calum's still not sure he won't do it.
His decision comes when the cop looks over Ashton's innocent, terrified expression and says, "You brought this on yourself."
Calum presses a chaste kiss to Luke's cheek, making sure he can stand alone, and then stalks towards the door. The two inside the room turn to look as soon as he throws the door open.
"He didn't fucking bring anything on himself!" He yells, slamming the door shut behind him to avoid attracting attention. "He can't fucking help who he is! You're blaming the fucking victim!"
"Sir, calm down-"
"Calm down?!" Calum yells. "He just got fucking molested and you told him it was his fault! You want me to calm down?!" He gets close enough to swing a punch, but someone's grabbing his arms before he can even try. They grip onto his forearms and pull him back, restraining him until he's stumbling backwards. He spits, taking pride when his spit hits the cop in the cheek and she scoffs.
"Cal, Cal," Ashton says quietly from where he's still sitting in the chair. "Calum, please-"
Calum manages to wiggle his way away from whoever is holding him back and lunges forward. He shoves the cop into the wall and starts swearing again.
He doesn't know why he's doing this. He's passive aggressive. He thinks about hurting people but he doesn't. Until now, that is. He's so angry, so pissed off that someone would even think about saying that to Ashton, or anyone, for that matter. Before he can even swing, something crashes into him and he falls to the ground, smashing his face against the carpet and letting out a grunt of pain.
Calum's reign of terror ends abruptly, with three police officers layered on top of him and Ashton sobbing at the interrogation table.
((A/N:
Question (since I didn't have one last time, here's two in one): what's your otp, within 5sos and outside of them?
Answer: MASHTON AF IF YOU COULDNT TELL. Outside of them, I'm going to have to say Stucky. Because I love Captain America and Bucky is my baby dO NOT HURT HIM.
-M(e)e(k) l(oser)))