catfish // mgc

☼ t h i r t y - s e v e n ☼

KittyKat: have u seen ig

KittyKat: pls tell me you've seen ig

Mae: what

Mae: no

KittyKat: omfg

Mae: why???

KittyKat: JUST FUCKING GO LOOK

Mae: alright alright miss caps lock rage calm ur tatas

I rolled my eyes and launched Instagram, scrolling down till I froze on a picture Michael posted 3 hours ago.

Of me.

It was one of the million pictures he took this morning. It was slightly blurry and I was laughing hysterically from the looks of it, and my hand was reaching for Michael's phone. The caption was "you give me somethin to think about, that's not the shit in my head", and I swear to the Lord Jesus in heaven, my heart fucking stopped.

And let me tell you, I've never double tapped on a picture on Instagram so fast in my life.

He didn't tag me in the picture, nor did he mention me in the caption, and oddly enough I was okay with that. I didn't want any direct attention from the fans. Not yet. I refused to scroll through the comments, already seeing a few "WHO THE FUCK IS THAT OH MY GOD????" comments. I wasn't ready for all the hate I knew I'd get.

No one knew that was me in the picture. And there was something oddly thrilling about the fact that no one knew who I was. Everyone knew who Mae was, but no one knew who she looked like, where she lived, her relationship with the boys... Just her name.

KittyKat: PLS TELL ME YOU SAW IT

Mae: I did

Mae: am crying

Mae: can u heAR ME SOBBING

Mae: THIS BOY IS GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME????

KittyKat: he's going to be the death of all of us tbh like I'm not even a Michael girl and I still cried like fuk man

KittyKat: u r #blessed

I jumped when someone burst into the dressing room that I had been sitting in, and my phone flopped out of my hands.

"Maaaae," Calum whined, clambering into the room with his shoulders slumped.

I scooped my phone off the floor and set it down on the table next to me. Cal collapsed on the couch next to me, his head falling into my lap. I fidgeted a little, stunned by his sudden physicalness.

"Uh, what's up?" I asked, my voice squeaking. I laid one of my hands on his chest and put the other on his head, twirling his hair with my fingers once I was comfortable.

I know you all can imagine how hard it is not to squeal every damn second I'm around these boys. I'm not even sure how I've managed to keep my cool at this point. But I guess that just shows how they give off that "judgement free" vibe, and how I can actually be comfortable around someone, for once.

But jeez, clingy Calum. Who would have thought?

"Luke stole my burrito," he pouted, his lip jutting out. I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"Of course he did."

Calum sighed, closing his eyes. I watched his chest rise and fall slowly, indicating that his breathing was even and steady. For a moment, while I played with his hair, I missed the blond highlights he used to have. I always wanted to know why Calum always did things, only to reverse them soon after. Like his lip piercing, for instance. I idly wondered if maybe Calum was scared of commitment, and oddly enough, it made sense a little.

We sat like that for a few minutes before he spoke again.

"Mae?" He spoke, his voice thick with something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Hm?" I hummed, resting my head on the back of the couch. Calum radiated so much heat that it was actually making me sleepy.

"I know you're Mike's girl and everything, I guess," he started, making me open my eyes wide. "But you're really pretty. And you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. We all have our insecurities; no one's perfect."

Calum was now sitting up and facing me, and I stared at him with my mouth open slightly.

That was the last thing I was expecting Calum Hood to say to me.

I laughed awkwardly, tugging on the sleeves of Michael's army jacket.

"Er, thanks?"

Calum gave me a lopsided grin and stood up, holding his hands out. I eyed him skeptically, then grabbed them and he pulled me up and into a hug. I sighed, wrapping my arms around his waist and shoving my face into his chest. That warm, spicy scent of his filled my nostrils and I had to admit that I would always have a soft spot in my heart for my Palum, even if I was a Michael girl.

"Are you going to watch the show?" He asked once he pulled away, holding me by my upper arms.

"Nah, I thought maybe I'd just chill back here, maybe take a nap," I snickered, making him roll his eyes.

"That's actually not a bad idea, I might join you," he winked and I shoved his chest, scoffing and walking past him and towards the door.

"Don't make me question our friendship, Hood."

"You know you love me!"

////////

(a/n)

Calum wyd

i'm getting massive writers block in this story ( as you could most likely tell cause this was probably the worst chapter yet, but i promise the next chapter things will get spicy if u know what i mean ;););) ) cause i've been focused on other things and i can't wrap my mind around catfish lately ugH

anyway how is everyone? we're close to 50k reads holy guacamole i can't even

like, this story sucks ass, why are y'all even reading it like

Don't be a silent reader!