after class :: malum

fourteen ☼

   March came and went.

   April came and went.

   The bond between Calum and Michael grew even stronger.

   Even though it should have been the other way around, Calum had Michael wrapped around his finger.

   Michael could no longer resist those chocolate brown eyes, those small and delicate fingers. He simply could not.

   Michael would -- and already did -- cross his limits for the almost-seventeen-year-old.

   For two weeks back, he took Calum's virginity in the bathroom during a parent / teacher meeting.

   He couldn't comprehend why Calum was so eager to do it then and there.

   Guilt ate away at his insides when they exited five minutes apart from each other to avoid any attention being attracted to them.

   Either way, he stepped out confident (looking, not feeling) and spoke to Calum's parents with pride, not afraid to mention that Calum was one of his favourite students.

   His mum worriedly mentioned, "Calum's English marks aren't really up to standard."

   He momentarily glanced at the younger boy, seeing a pout play on his lips, before he smiled and assured Momma Hood that he's going to make sure Calum will receive better marks soon.

   That was enough to make Calum's pout turn into a small smile.

   That was enough to make Michael fall in even deeper.

   It was a hot Tuesday afternoon -- three forty seven, to be exact -- and Calum was lounging around in the classroom as Michael graded papers. As usual.

   Calum hummed an unfamiliar tune. Unfamiliar, because Michael didn't listen to music often, and he definitely didn't listen to the current popular stuff.

   Michael pulled out Calum's essay next, almost dead in the middle of the huge pile of essays.

   His eyes scanned the messy handwriting and the small heart doodled at the bottom of the page.

   The very next moment, he placed it at the bottom of the stack and took out another one instead.

   He didn't want to grade Calum's work right in front of him, he'd become too nervous.

   "What did I get for my essay?"

   Without looking up, Michael cleared his throat and replied, "Haven't marked it yet."

   He could feel Calum's eyes burn into his head as he abruptly stopped fidgeting with a pen, all his attention on Michael now.

   "You were about to."

   Michael sighed, pushing his glasses further up to prevent them from falling off completely.

   "I'm not grading your papers in front of you." He looked up and his breath almost caught in his throat at the sight of Calum's content smile.

   "I was just kidding," the younger boy chuckled slightly and continued to fidget with the pen, chewing his gum rather loudly.