Kill Me.

Things had progressed strangely with Callum lately. Lee wasn’t sure if they were getting closer or not, because sometimes, Callum would act relatively pleasantly around him, in an almost friendly manner, and other times, the older boy was as cold and distant as ever. Callum kept sending him mixed signals, and Lee didn’t know what to make of it. Every second he wasn’t working, he was pondering this issue, and so far, he’d come to no decisive conclusion.

Lee sighed, shifting through the pile of papers on his desk. He dutifully worked his way through the giant stack of folders and documents that had been placed on his desk that morning, and by the time he’d finished, his head was pounding and his fingers ached from clicking away at his computer’s keyboard all day. He seemed to be having more work to do recently, he noted, shoving the last folder into his “completed” pile. It was becoming unbearable, even for him. He’d done so much today, he felt as if his head was about to explode.

He sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. At least he was done for the day, he thought quietly to himself. He opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was well past five now, and he should’ve been able to go home much sooner, but it was still a relief to be done for the day. He shut down his computer and grabbed his things, standing and heading for the door.

He passed Callum’s office on the way out and noticed that the lights were still on. He paused for a moment by the door, wondering if he should go in, before deciding to just go for it. He reached for the doorknob and pushed the door open.

“Knock, knock,” he called out to announce his presence as he stepped into the office.

Callum hardly even glanced away from his work to acknowledge the younger boy. “What?” Callum demanded, flicking through a folder irately and putting it aside without really looking at it.

Lee smiled and settled himself in the empty chair on the opposite side of the desk from Callum. “I just finished my work for the day, and y’know, I thought I’d come by to say hi,” he said in his usual chipper manner. “And I wanted to see if you were done too. I thought maybe we could hang out or something.”

Callum tore his eyes away from the papers in front of him and gave Lee a look that clearly read he wasn’t too keen on the idea.

“W-well, I mean, you don’t have to i-if you don’t want to,” Lee said quickly. “I-it’s just an offer.”

Callum stared blankly at Lee for a moment or two longer before turning back to let his eyes scan over the papers he was holding in his hands.

“Yes, well, that sounds lovely,” he said in his usual brisk way, “But as you can see, I have loads of work to do before I can leave.” He gestured to the heaps of papers and folders stacked precariously on his desk and added, “Besides, my sister’s been bugging me to go hang out with her. If I don’t agree, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Oh,” Lee said, shoulders slumping in disappointment. He’d really hoped Callum would say yes, even though he didn’t really expect him to. He pouted quietly for a moment before his face blossomed into a smile once more.

“I could help you with some of this, if you want,” Lee offered, though the throbbing in his skull told him it was a bad idea. He was already too overworked and he knew it, but he wanted to spend more time with Callum and this seemed to be the only way.

Callum turned and gave Lee a scrutinizing look before looking away and mumbling, “Go home, Lee. Don’t worry about me. You look like you could do with some rest.”

Lee’s smile faltered. He sighed, knowing he wouldn’t win, and stood, bidding Callum goodbye, hoping he didn’t sound too let down, before heading out the door.

When he arrived at home, he was greeted with the usual silence and emptiness that was his apartment and frowned. He threw his jacket carelessly on the couch in the living room and went to go find something to eat for dinner. After fixing himself something simple to eat, he sank down on the couch and turned the TV on, flipping through channels aimlessly for something halfway decent to watch.

He’d finished his dinner, the dirty dishes laying on the coffee table his feet were propped up on, and was watching something he couldn’t really care less about when a knock from his front door sounded. Lee looked around for a moment, befuddled, but stood to answer the door when whoever was standing on the other side of it knocked again, this time more insistently.

Lee unlocked the door and twisted the knob, wondering who could possibly be coming to see him. He yanked the door open to a very irritated-looking Callum.

“Oh!” Lee said in surprise. “Callum, what are you doing here?”

Callum sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up in odd directions, a look that somehow, he managed to pull off with grace.

“My sister and her friends were being completely insufferable, as always,” he said casually, perfectly composed. “I couldn’t stand hanging out with them any longer. I didn’t want to go home and couldn’t think of anywhere else I wanted to be, so here I am.”

Callum’s voice dropped off and it was quiet for a moment, because Lee didn’t really know what to do or say in response, he was so surprised. This was the first time Callum had come looking for him like this; usually they just ran into each other or Lee went to go find Callum. And the fact that Callum actually wanted to be here and nowhere else only added to Lee’s confusion. He just didn’t get it. Really, where was all this coming from?

“Can I come in?” Callum asked finally, that familiar annoyed edge sneaking into his voice.

Lee blinked a few times, as if bringing himself back to reality. “Oh… yeah,” he said, stepping back to allow Callum to step into the apartment. “Sure.”