Kill Me.

Lee bit his lip nervously as he hurried across the parking lot for the second time that morning. He’d only just arrived at the office and begun working, but when he’d gone to Callum’s office, thinking he’d say good morning and see if there was anything urgent Callum needed Lee to do, Callum wasn’t there. He’d asked around and found out from some of his coworkers that Callum was in the hospital, though none of them knew why.

Lee knew he shouldn’t just be leaving work like this, but he couldn’t help it. He was worried. With all this craziness with the killer going on, Lee couldn’t help letting his imagination run wild. What if something serious had happened?

Lee couldn’t quite explain why he felt this way about Callum, why he was getting so worked up over this, but he supposed it was because he and Callum were kind of… friends, right? They were friends, and Lee had a right to be worried. Or at least, that’s what he told himself as he sped off towards the nearest hospital, assuming that was where Callum would be.

He got there in no time and parked his car, hurriedly climbing out and slamming the door shut behind him. He almost forgot to lock his car shut in his rush to find Callum, but remembered just in time and then set off again at a pace that could almost be considered running, but not quite. His heart was pounding in his ears for a reason he couldn’t quite put his finger on; all he knew was that he wouldn’t calm until he saw with his own eyes that Callum was okay, unharmed.

He rushed into the lobby and asked the nearest nurse for Callum Stone’s room, only to be told he’d just been discharged. Though that notion eased Lee’s anxiety somewhat – because Callum had to be okay if they were letting him go, right? – but he still wasn’t completely at ease. He wanted to see Callum; he needed to. But now where would he look? He had no idea where Callum lived, and Callum probably wouldn’t be coming to work today. Lee sighed, frustrated. It was just his luck, wasn’t it, that he arrived just after Callum left.

Lee huffed, deciding that since finding Callum was pretty much hopeless now, he might as well get back to work. He didn’t want to be missing for too long; he couldn’t afford to lose his job over something like this. He turned on his heel, planning to get back to his car and drive back to the office, but before he could even take more than one step, he crashed into someone and fell to the ground.

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment and he sputtered out a quick apology. To his surprise, he heard a soft chuckle and then the next thing in his line of sight was an extended hand, offering him help up.

Lee snapped his head up and found, much to his surprise, the very person he’d been looking for all along. Callum had an amused sort of half-smile on his face, giving his features a soft look Lee had never seen before. Lee liked it and knew immediately he wanted to see this look more often.

Lee cautiously took Callum’s hand, almost afraid Callum would snap at him for touching him, but Callum seemed alright with it and pulled the younger boy up to his feet again. Lee smiled in thanks and let go of Callum’s hand right away.

“What are you doing here?” Callum asked, that amusement still evident in his voice. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

Lee smiled shyly and looked down at his shoes. “I heard you were in the hospital,” he admitted quietly, “And I got worried.”

Callum made a noise somewhere halfway between a scoff and a laugh. “You really don’t need to worry about me, you know,” he said. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

Lee stamped his foot down indignantly. “You got sent to the hospital!” he exclaimed. “It must’ve gotten pretty bad for that to have happened. And besides, when is it such a crime for someone to worry about his friend?”

The warmth in Callum’s features left then, and he looked at Lee as if he’d never seen him before. Lee’s breath caught in his throat. Had that been the wrong thing to say? Should he not have called them friends? Did Callum not like that either? He didn’t want Callum to push him away, not now that they were just starting to get closer.

Something flashed through Callum’s eyes, but he looked away before Lee could figure out what it was. The older boy crossed his arms and said, “Well, I’m fine.”

A tense, awkward silence hovered in the air for a moment before Lee pushed it aside and ventured timidly, “What happened?”

Callum shrugged casually. “Some guy tried to steal my wallet, so we kind of got in a little scuffle,” he said nonchalantly, as if this were as ordinary as getting groceries.

Lee’s eyes widened, fear clouding his irises. “What?” he gasped, his hand rising to cover his mouth. “Are you okay? Were you hurt? Where is he now? Did they arrest him?”

“I’m fine,” Callum insisted, beginning to sound exasperated. “Just a scratch. Nothing a couple stitches can’t fix. And I don’t know what happened to that guy. Haven’t seen him since.”

Lee let out a soft “oh!” and impulsively threw his arms around Callum, relieved he was alright. Almost instantly, Lee felt Callum’s body tense up, and he realized his mistake. He quickly pulled away from Callum and looked down at his shoes, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“I-I-I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I-I know you don’t like that. I forgot. I was just so w-worried about you, a-and I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry. I-I promise it won’t happen again; I just—”

He was suddenly cut short by the feeling of a pair of strong arms wrapping around his torso, and then his face was in Callum’s shoulder and he realized Callum was hugging him and he couldn’t believe it. But he smiled anyways and lifted his arms to rest around Callum’s waist. He felt Callum’s breath somewhere near his ear, and though he didn’t want to admit it, something about it made a strange chill travel down Lee’s spine.

“Thank you,” Callum murmured softly.

And then it was over. Callum released him, looking rather awkward, as if he wasn’t used to this kind of thing at all.

“You should get back to the office,” he muttered, turning to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Callum was already on the other side of the doors by the time Lee’s lips moved to form the words “Yeah, see you tomorrow” and Callum had all but disappeared from sight by the time Lee was walking across the parking lot to his car. And as he got in and started the engine so he could get back to work, all he could think was where did that all that come from?