Adelaide's Point of View

As Luke began to explain to Ashton, with lots of profanity, about what had happened throughout the course of last night and this morning, I drifted off towards the bedroom to check on Calum.

The door creaked loudly as I slowly pushed it open, revealing an emotionless Calum laying on his back, studying every detail of the ceiling that was above his head. His brown eyes didn't even flicker over in my direction as I crawled along the hills of sheets that smothered our mattress. I sat cross-legged next to him, running my fingers through his black hair and rubbing his head slightly, hoping to remove some of his stress.

"Baby," I whined, folding my lips over into a pout, which finally made him make eye contact with me and make my heart pound against my chest like it always did. "What can I do to help you?"

"Make Luke stop being a dick so I don't have to be mad at him," Calum complained, circling his fingers around my hand that was filing through his hair and tugging on it so I would collapse onto his body. He held me close to him, and I could feel the heat begin to radiate. "What did he say when you talked to him?"

Calum's palms were rubbing my back in a circular motion as I rested my head on his chest like I always did when we were cuddled up into a ball like this. "He feels really bad. He kept apologizing to me and he told me that he doesn't have any feelings for me he was just sad that he hasn't found a love like ours yet. I think Luke is just an emotional drunk, Cal. But he definitely regrets it."

His pouty lips that were still incredibly chapped left a chaste kiss on the top of my head. "Well we are the best couple ever."

"We are," I agreed, giggling to myself. I rolled over and sat on his stomach, my legs on either side of him, so I could have a clear view of his face. "I want to do something for you today, Cal. You deserve some stress relief."

His eyes widened, a mixture of surprise and lust swirling in his irises as his mouth parted open. "Wow, a blowjob before noon? You really are the best girlfriend, Ad."

I laughed loudly, smacking him gently on his arm. "No! Oh my God, you have such a dirty mind. I meant like I want to take you out on a date. Just the two of us, to show you much I love you."

"You can show me how much you love me either way," Calum teased, raising his hopeful eyebrows at me. He chuckled immediately after he said that, the little crinkles forming underneath his eyes which made me happy because he was so happy. "But okay, a date. Where would you like to go?"

"Do you want to go out to lunch? Wait, no, brunch? I think you need to get out of the house for awhile to clear your head," I suggested, leaning down to press my lips against his.

"Stop talking about head," Calum joked, making me burst into hysterics again as I climbed off his body and proceeded in getting dressed for going out. He snaked his arms around my waist as he stood behind me, scanning his closet to find something to wear.

When I found my outfit of choice, one that was consisting of a lightweight sweater, that tickled the skin on my forearms, and a pair of denim shorts that revealed my legs that were losing their sun-kissed effect, since I was no longer soaking up the sun's rays on beaches, I disappeared into the kitchen. Ashton and Luke were both still sitting at the table, slurping their cereal for breakfast.

"Calum and I are going to go out to eat. I think he needs to leave for a little bit to just calm down. He doesn't seem as upset anymore, but maybe after he gets some food he will be in a better mood and will talk things out," I predicted, my voice laced with hope and optimism. I knew the two boys wouldn't be able to keep this fury between them because their bromances were too strong to cause any separation. This was all going to blow over soon.

Ashton stood up from his chair, setting his bowl into the sink which made a clinking noise echo throughout the main level. He pulled me in for a one-shouldered hug. "Don't be too worried about those two, okay? None of our fights have ever lasted more than a few hours. Cal will get over it."

"I know," I agreed, squeezing him tightly before slipping out of our embrace. "Do you guys want me to bring anything back from the restaurant?"

Luke shook his head. "No, we just ate. Thanks though."

I nodded, smiling sheepishly at the blonde boy before directing my gaze to Calum who had just exited our bedroom. "Ready to go?" I asked him.

"Yeah," He responded quietly, his demeanor changing completely now that he was in the same environment as Luke. I intertwined our fingers together when he had made his way over to me, and led him out towards my car. "See you guys later," Calum called over his shoulder in an awkward manner.

--

The diner we had decided to eat at was adorable ("Almost as adorable as you") and hardly anyone else was perched onto the nearby booths. Calum and I rarely got to go out on actual dates like a normal couple, so I had to admit I was overly excited to actually spend time with him like this.

He was sitting across from me, his large hands holding up the laminated menu with his brown irises skimming over every option to eat. His eyebrows were pushed together, making little wrinkles form, and he was in deep concentration as he bit down on the lips I have grown accustomed to kissing. Calum was gorgeous even when he was doing stupidly average things and it pissed me off that a human actually has the ability to be attractive without trying to be.

"You're really pretty," I blurted out, shifting my head over to drink some of the free water they were obligated to give us out of the straw, because I was too lazy to lift the cup up off the table and take a sip.

An amused grin spread across Calum's face as he set down the menu. "What?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, placing my elbows onto the table and letting my chin rest in the palm of my hands, smiling at the dreamy boy like a real life heart-eye emoji. "You are really pretty. I don't tell you that enough. But it's true."

"Pretty? I'm a man, Ad," Calum declared with a loud huff, although his chubby cheeks were lit up with a faint blush.

"Men can be pretty," I insisted. "I mean, you're hot too but like you have bone structure that most girls would kill for and I'm honestly quite offended by it."

Calum blinked rapidly, as a puzzled expression plastered over his face. He pursed his lips together, stifling out a light chuckle. "Are you- is this like your attempt at flirting with me?"

"Is it working?"

"Not really," Calum admitted, drinking some of his own water while shooting me a smile. "I think you should keep trying though. Here, let's pretend this is our first date ever, since we never really had an official one, and you have to win me over."

"What?" I repeated, laughing at how much of an idiot he was. I was glad this playful side of him has returned and he seemed to be thoroughly distracted by the drama that was previously surrounding us. "Why can't it be the other way around?"

"Please, babe, I know it was love at first sight for you," Calum said in a cocky tone, pretending to flip his hair over his shoulder like a snobby girl.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Definitely not. I thought you were an ass at first. And then you confused me a lot."

"And now you are just confused about how I got such a nice ass, right?" Calum joked, making that goofy grin he always sports when he says something stupid reappear. "It's all about the squats, baby." 

"I hate you," I mumbled in between giggles. But it was a complete lie. In fact, this little exchange made me love him even more. It reminded me that he was my best friend and my boyfriend, and I couldn't be more thankful to develop a relationship like that with him.

The waiter approached our table to take our order and my jaw dropped at the sight of him. This waiter wasn't just some random guy. It was Matty, the only other boy I've ever truly dated besides Calum. We were together throughout high school and ended things on good terms when we went our separate paths for different colleges, and I probably haven't seen him in over a year.

"Matty! I had no idea you worked here!" I squealed, leaping out of my chair to hug him. He chuckled as he reluctantly wrapped his arms around me and he felt more buff than the last time I have seen him. "How have you been, bud? I haven't seen you in ages."

Matty shrugged as we broke apart from the short and friendly embrace. His shaggy dirty blonde hair was still covering his forehead and he looked almost exactly the same. "I've been good, Addy. Margo told me you went to Australia. That must have been cool."

"It was amazing! That's actually where I met Calum," I spoke, finally acknowledging his presence as he sat there, dumbfounded in the booth. "Calum this is Matty, Matty this is my boyfriend, Calum."

"I go by Matt now, actually," Matty told him, sticking his hand out for Calum to shake, and sending him a small smile. "It's nice to meet you, man. Hopefully we can all hang-out soon now that Addy is back in America. I mean, if that's not weird."

"We definitely have to! We can get the old gang back together for a party or something. Hopefully it won't be as much of a disaster as Kristin Tanner's party after prom," I reminisced, making us share a laugh as we remembered the train-wreck the celebration was. "Aw, it's so good to see you again, Matty. How is your family?"

"They ae doing well. My mom still gushes about how you were the best girlfriend I had and that I should try to get in touch with you again."

"She was always a sweetheart," I cooed, remembering how much his mother used to adore me and woud make the best chocolate cake ever. It was very innappropriate for him to bring that up with Calum here, but I guess he was just trying to make some sort of relevant conversation.

Calum's gaze flickered to me. "Uh, what?"

"Oh, Addy and I dated for a few years in high school s'all. Nothing too serious though. I'm seeing someone else anyways, no worries bro," Matty said in a happy tone, but Calum's lips didn't even curve up into a fake smile. Matty cleared his throat uncomfortably and grinned at me. "So, what can I get for you guys to eat today?"

Calum stood up abrubtly. "Um, actually Ashton just texted me that he needed me to come home right away. Something to do with Luke. Ad, you can stay here and catch up with Matt if you want to. It was nice to meet you, I'll catch you guys later."

He made a beeline for the exit and I grimaced instantly. "I'm sorry, Matty. It was good seeing you again. But I have to go."

I chased after Calum, not even bothering to listen to Matty's response, and tugged on his shoulder before he could walk any further. "What the hell, Cal? Were you just going to walk home?"

"Yes, I was. Sorry I don't want to be around you and your ex-boyfriend when you fall in love again," Calum spat. Jesus, this was boy was definitely on his period.

"Get in the car right now," I hissed, practically dragging him towards my vehicle. I didn't want to have this argument in a parking lot. No, I didn't want to have this argument at all. I slammed my door shut and buckled up my seatbelt before speeding away from the diner. "I'm not going to fall in love with him again! I wasn't even in love with him when we dated. It was a stupid high school relationship that was more of a friendship than everything else. Oh my God."

He rolled his eyes at me in utter annoyance. "Well you were all over him and seemed to have missed him very much. How do you expect that to not upset me?"

"We grew up together, Calum! He was my pal long before we ever dated and we mutually ended things. I'm allowed to be excited to see old friends, aren't I? I haven't been in the US all summer and people want to hear about my travels and get in touch," I defended, gripping so tight on the steering wheel to try and suppress my frustration that my knuckles turned white.

"No, that annoying weasel didn't want to just catch up with you! He wants to get back together! I can see it in those little devil eyes of his. He looks at you the way I look at you. So does Luke, so does Michael, so does every freaking boy on the planet," Calum shouted loudly over the sound of my car jerking from side to side as I drove at an unsteady speed.

I scoffed, slamming on the brakes a little too hard as I stopped at a stop sign, making him lunge forward. "How the hell is that my fault?! I don't care about how 'they look at me' because I'm too busy looking at you! Do you not trust me? Do you honestly think I'm going to leave you for someone else?"

Calum crossed his arms across his chest. "I don't know what to think, Ad. First Luke kisses you and now you basically beg to hangout with your ex-boyfriend right in front of me. If my ex-girlfriend was alive you wouldn't like if I did that either, would you?"

"Jesus Christ, Calum! I'm in love with you and only you. I'm sorry if I make you jealous or make you think I'm going to leave you, but I'm not. I'm just a friendly person, okay? I don't want to fight with you."

"I'm not jealous. I'm angry," Calum muttered from the passenger seat, practically growling under his breath.

"You are definitely jealous, don't even deny it," I yelled in complete annoyance as I started to pull out into the intersection.

However, I was so distracted by all of the shouting and the fight that was occurring between us that and my already terrible driving skills that I forgot to glance to the other side of the street, and another vehicle crashed right into the side of us, without even giving me a second to process what was happening.

I let out a blood-curdling scream, feeling sudden aches cover my body and a throbbing pain pounding in mg head. The airbags had puffed up, preventing me from slamming into the glass, but I still couldn't breathe and was so frightened. Everything was hurting and my eyes were still squeezed tight in fear. I slowly opened them, still panting with tears now streaming down my face, and I noticed that my arms were covered in blood.

But with further inspection, I realized that the blood on my skin was not my own. It was blood that was gushing out of Calum's head. And Calum was currently unconscious.

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author's note: this is late ah im sorry i kept falling asleep today instead of writing aND IM SORRY FOR THE END OK OH MY GOD MY BABY IS HURT PLS DONT HATE ME

the end of this story is slowly approaching and im really sad i want to cry this is my favorite thing ive written ever

please dont hate me for this and i know calum and addy are both being annoying and stubborn dont be mean to them they are just stressed i guess i dont know but i love you guys lots you are the best thank you for reading this you all make me happy

dedicated to loserhood for commenting "thank the authors parents for having unprotected sex and her being born" bc honestly that was the funniest and sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me i screenshotted that comment (i screenshot a lot of them tbh uve been warned) and ah im still blushing i cant believe how nice you guys are thank you so much for that babe it made my day, week and year ok