Wrong Number (Cake Hoodings)

81 *

{ e i g h t y o n e }

The first thing he notices is that Coach Hood isn't in his seat, he's towering over Calum's chair with his fist tangled in the collar of Calum's football jersey, the fabric already ripped. His face is shadowed on one side, but his eyes are piercing and dark, slightly tinted with wetness. His teeth are on show, he's baring them and his nose is scrunched up and wrinkled. The sour expression darkens as Luke is spotted, and then it's directed at Luke himself. 

Luke is looking at Calum though. Calum who's usually bright and energetic with smooth tan skin and bright caramel brown eyes. Luke can only see one of those eyes; because the other is swollen shut. His skin seems paler and sickly, his lip has a patch of dried blood on it and he's looking straight back at Luke with a heartbroken expression. Luke should've listened to the message Calum sent him, but somehow, he's glad he didn't. He doesn't think of the reasoning behind his actions before he makes the split decision to step into the room and close the door behind him. 

"No." He hears Calum whisper. 

"Luke Hemmings." Calum's father says, blatantly looking him up and down with distaste. Luke winces when he turns to look at Calum. "This is who you've turned into a faggot for?" Luke is grabbed by the forearm and hoisted forward within seconds. "This fucking twink?!" 

"D...Don't hurt him." 

"I'll damn well hurt whoever I want to! I didn't raise a fucking gay-boy, Calum! You're disgusting!" Luke winces further at his words, and takes in Calum's hurt expression. Again, he should think, but he doesn't. 

"It's not." Luke speaks to Calum. Calum's head shoots up from where he was staring at the floor, wide-eyed staring at Luke (with his good eye) and looking close to tears. Luke shrugs, because Calum's perfectly normal, and he needs to know that. "Disgusting; it's not." He clarifies. Calum blinks and shrugs, before turning to his father, who's been looking between the both of them as they interacted. 

He seems at an angry loss for words, Luke thinks. Like he has no idea how to go about the situation, and Luke takes the time to think about how Calum's dad even knew anything, because they'd surely cleaned this up not even too long ago, and everything seemed okay on the front that coach Hood didn't seem to suspect a thing. Now- he knows for sure, he's completely positive in knowing that Calum is gay and that Luke is somehow involved. Luke lets his mind wonder. 

Did somebody start spreading a new rumor? Did Ashton say something? Michael? Luke's mom? There weren't really many who could spill the beans; less than ten people knew all together, and even then, Luke and Calum liked keeping to themselves. Calum's friends were even sticking up for the boy himself, shooting down every rumor that arose one by one, because even they couldn't believe that star jock and coach Hood's son could possible be anything but a sleep-around, partying, typical teenage boy. 

"Do you even want a family one day, Calum? A wife, kids, relatives?" Coach Hood's voice catches him by surprise. "It's not right. It's not, and I will not stand by it! I have raised you from a little boy, and all of that to waste, for what, for this?" Luke is hoisted forward again and splutters in surprise. "For another boy who think's wearing fucking make-up-... make-up is normal? Girls wear make-up, Calum, girls are sexy, girls are what you are fucking attracted to-"

"No, they aren't!" Luke freezes, and seemingly so does the grown man standing centimeters away from him. "I can't pretend anymore, dad..." Calum looks down twiddling his thumbs. He doesn't look up again as he continues talking. "I'm done trying to be the perfect son for you... I don't even like football, but I've played it all my life for you. I've gone to parties for you, I've gotten good grades for you, I've spent my whole fucking life in your shadow doing whatever you wanted me to do! I've lived my whole fucking life for you and you don't even care!" He looks up, crying. "I don't like football. I don't like parties, or alcohol, or...girls. I don't even like my friends, how sad is that? I'm you, dad, or- I was... I was living your life so much that I didn't even have my own...and then I met Luke, and suddenly I had something that was for me, who I could talk to, and I could tell him things about me that nobody else knew, things that were pulling me apart from the seams. You can try to punch the gay out of me all you want, but it's not going to take away anything that's happened; I've kissed him a lot, I've had sex with him," Luke can't helping blushing and looking away, "I've had my mouth on his dick-" He laughs humorlessly. "I'm gay and I love him. I'm in love with him." When Calum finally looks at Luke, he's stopped crying, but the painful expression is still on his face, his eyes are puffy and blotchy, and it almost looks like he's about to cry again. "I'd give up my life for him." 

and he suddenly puts it all together. 

Who else could convince Calum's father that his son was gay other than Calum himself? The determined yet scared expression on Calum's face as he fled from Luke's house; it wasn't heartbreak, it was him forming a plan to get Luke back. He didn't give up on Luke, he gave up on everything else. Everything. 

Luke's hand twitches and his mouth has dropped open of it's own accord. He may be drooling a little. He may have actual hearts in his eyes. He may be crying. He can't even tell what his own emotions are because his love for the tan boy standing in front of him is blinding him, like a pair of headlights heading straight towards him in the middle of the street on a dark night, unable to let him see anything but the lights, getting closer and closer. 

"Get out," Coach Hood's voice is steady yet quiet. He's not looking at either of them. "Get out and don't you dare come home, Calum. You- you're no longer welcome in my house. Just get out."