Adelaide's Point of View

Shock must have been clearly evident on all of my features. I could feel my breathing rate quicken at the mention of the two of them previously being companions. It didn't add up to me. Michael spoke so poorly of Calum. I couldn't imagine those words of spite coming out towards someone you used to love.

"Yeah, he was my best friend. Not anymore, Mum," Calum grumbled in annoyance, pushing his plate away from him and closer to the center of the gigantic table.

Joy wiped her eyes, ridding herself of the tears that were stil lingering against her wrinkled skin. "I just don't understand, Calum. You used to have so many friends. Now you only have two."

Calum placed one hand on my shoulder. "You mean three," He declared, sending me a fake and sarcastic smile. I tried my best to return the expression, but my jaw was still hanging open in response to the news of the previous friendship.

"Well that's nice and all but Calum what have you done? They surely all couldn't have just turned their back on you just because of the incident. You must have distanced yourself from them too, right? Did you take your anger out them? Is that what happened? Did you start the fight with Michael?"

His hand dropped from my shoulder immediately and he rose out of his chair, his jaw clenched tightly and one of his veins protruding out of his neck in pure furiousity. "Mum! I know I'm an asshole but that doesn't make it okay for you to treat me like one! I'm still your son! Why don't you offer me any support with anything?"

"Calum Thomas," Mr. Hood barked, reaching out to grab ahold of his arm. Joy was crying again, this time much louder.

Calum wiggled out of his grasp, his eyes glaring at his parents with fury. "You know what? I'm sick of being treated like a piece of crap around here. I'm sorry I'm such a screw up, okay?"

He bolted out of the room, the stomping of his feet echoing throughout the entire first floor. I contemplated what I should do. I glanced at Mali for help, considering I was too awestruck to even think, and she nodded her head towards the exit. "Um, thank you for the lovely meal. It was delicious. I'm sorry this evening turned out this way, but it was really nice to meet you. I think I'm going to go calm him down."

Joy snickered, shaking her head back and forth. "It's not even worth a try, Adelaide. He doesnt listen to anyone. He's just going to distance himself from you, dear, and then maybe he'll come back without any warning. It's just what he does. He doesn't let anyone in, not even me anymore."

"I think she shoud try, Mum," Mali piped up, shrugging her shoulders. "They have a very good relationship. I think Addy is the only one Calum actually listens to. I mean, have you seen how happy he's been lately? Besides now, of course, but I definitely think Addy can help him."

"It's worth a shot, Addy. Just be careful. He has a bit of a temper," Steven informed me.

I nodded my head and awkwardly scooted out of the house, composing myself to the best of my ability. This was a different side of Calum that I've never seen before. It didn't seem like anger to me, I genuinely believe he is just so hurt by misaccusations that he acts out aggresively. I was quite infuriated by his mother's words as well, and I'm not sure what the source of those words are, but I do know that if I wasn't so uncomfortable I would have stepped in.

Finding Calum outside was not difficult. I could hear screams and various swear words from just around the corner of his house. He was muttering things under his breath and then would feverishly kick the filled trash bin, leaving a mess of aluminum can spilling out from the top. His biceps were popping out with his fists tightly clasped together, and although it would typically frighten me, I actually found his strength attractive.

"Calum," I called assertively, trying my best to gain his attention.

He spun around instantly at the sound of my voice. His eyes softened at the sight of me and he began shaking his head repeatedly. "Addy, please go away. Please just leave me alone. I obviously just disappoint and hurt everyone, and I don't want to do that to you. Please go inside, Addy. I don't want you to see me like this."

"I'm not going anywhere," I decided, taking steps closer to this pained boy. I slowly bent down and picked up one of the metal trash cans, then wiped the dirt off of my hands by rubbing it onto my dress. "I told you I would never leave. And you have never hurt or disppointed me, Cal."

"But I'm scared for the day that I will," He replied, his brown eyes looking glassier than ever. I felt my heart clench at the sight of him aching. I still don't understand the reason to the lack of love in his household.

I carefully extended my hand out and intertwined our fingers together. "Hey, remember one of the first things you said to me? You told me that I had nothing to be afraid of. And the same thing applies to you."

A small smile grew on the corner of his lips as his tall body hovered of mine. "I understand why you're not too fond of your mother now. She does make some good food though," I joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

He chuckled and the sound put a grin on my face. I loved seeing him happy. "Not as good as those cheese and crackers though. I mean, I'm so impressed. I had no idea you were such an amazing chef."

I burst into laughter, hitting his arm playfully as he teased my lame appetizer. A comfortable silence fell upon us, the two of us sharing a smile. I had the urge to hug him, and that's exactly what I did. His strong arms reluctantly wrapped around me, pulling my body closer towards his chest. I nestled my head into his broad chest, inhaling his familiar musky scent and feeling the faint rise and fall from his breathing beneath me. He didn't let go, he just kept holding onto me as if he needed the embrace more than anything in the world.

I tilted my head back to get a clear view of his face, still keeping my hands tightly locked behind his toned body. "Do you want to sleepover again?"

"Absolutely," Calum responded, planting a kiss onto my forehead. I let my eyelids flutter, soaking up the touch of his lips against my skin.

The two of us broke apart, huddling inside of my empty house. I desperately wanted to go up to Mrs. Hood and gloat that I was able to calm Calum down, because I actually knew how to speak to him. I'm unaware of how I became so comfortable around him, but I'm so glad we made such a quick connection.

Calum made his way up to my bedroom as soon as he stepped foot inside. I was amused as I followed closely behind him, watching as he slowly lifted his shirt over his head, revealing those abdominals that I found way more attractive and enticing than I would like to admit. He smirked at me as he recognized that I was drooling over his smooth muscles and a faint blush appeared upon my cheeks in embarassment.

The sea of blankets covering the brim of my bed made a cozy nest for Calum to curl up in. His head was already nuzzled into my pillow and he had a sheet pulled tightly around him, his lips pouting at me as I stayed frozen, just effortlessly leaning against the doorway. "Come lay with me," He pleaded.

I giggled. "How are you already tired? It's only like eight o'clock at night."

"I'm not tired. I'm just drained. And I want you to lay with me," Calum demanded, continuing to puff his mouth up.

I rolled my eyes at his whining tone. "Okay, but let me get changed first."

"Just wear my shirt," He responded without hesitation, flipping over onto his other side as if he was becoming impatient.

I contemplated the idea in my head quickly. I knew that I was too lazy to go and retrieve my pajamas from the other room and his clothing was so tempting. I sighed, snatching the lightweight shirt off the floor. Calum's back was facing me, so I was not concerned about getting changed in front of him.

I let the black muscle shirt with the Santa Cruz logo on the front fall over my body and the scent of Calum was so recognizable, however the tank top that I admired looked completely different on me. Maybe it was due to the fact that it curved over the top of my cleavage as opposed to hanging flat across his broad chest. Or maybe it was because his torso was so incredibly long that it fit me like a dress, and I did not have to wear pants because of this, which is always a plus.

As soon as I crawled into the spot next to him, Calum immediately beamed at me with delight. "Aw it looks better on you than it does on me!" He complimented, pinching my cheeks with his fingers.

"You know that's not true," I countered, scooching closer towards him and propping my head up against one hand. My other hand extended out and traced over his tattoo carefully, feeling his warm skin and collar bone in the process. "Did it hurt?"

"When I fell from heaven? Yes, yes it did hurt, Addy." Calum interrupted in a goofy manner. I couldn't even fight my laughter and the two of us shared a small chuckle. His mood had obviously changed. "Um, not really. I mean there was definitely some pain from the needle but nothing too bad."

"Hey, can you tell me more about you and Michael being friends?" I wondered.

Calum stiffened almost automatically. His jaw seemed to accurately portray how tense he was. I always seem to forget that he wasn't too keen on the idea of opening up to people. His playful behavior often blinds me of the fact that he is trying to hide something that I can't decipher. "Nevermind," I muttered. "You don't have to. Sorry."

"No, it's okay," Calum insisted. He swallowed as he formulated his thoughts. "Um, well, we were best friends all throughout school. We were always together, even when I had my girlfriend, I would always be with Michael too. Uh, then the whole incident happened and he never believed anything I said or my side of the story, and we got in a huge fight and never spoke again. At first I missed our friendship but then I realized that if he was a true friend he would have stuck around and not been a complete jerk to me."

I bit my lip, chewing down on the dense skin. "I'm sorry to hear that. Erm, am I ever going to find out what exactly this incident was?"

"Probably not. Or at least not for a long time. It's not important, okay? I will tell you when the time is right," Calum told me, although I was unconvinced that he would ever tell me the truth.

His arms enveloped around me, squeezing me tightly against his half-naked body. I could feel the steady beating of his heart underneath me. A small laugh escaped my mouth as I snuggled in even closer to him. "You know, this isn't helping our whole 'just friends' plan."

"What do you mean, Adelaide Winters? Are you suggesting that best friends don't hug each other?" Calum joked, pretending to be shocked and offended, yet his effort to hide the sarcasm had failed. I nodded my head once. "Well I think they do. But you know what friends don't do?"

"What?" I exclaimed, going along with excited state.

"This."

A pair of lips were suddenly pressed against mine. I kissed him back with the same amount of hunger and desire, letting my fingers roam through his dark hair as his hands explored my body that was covered by his very own shirt. 

After what felt like an eternity filled with endless amounts of butterflies, Calum Hood finally pulled away, a smile placed where my lips just were. A happy silence settled upon us. "Thank you for everything you do for me, Addy."

"It's no problem, Cal. I'm glad you're no longer in such a bad mood."

"Well you make me happy," He announced as if I was oblivious to this. Calum tucked one piece of my hair behind my ear. "You're my best friend, Ad."

"And you're mine."

--

When I awoke the next morning my legs were tangled together with Calum's as if they were sweaters that had been knitted together. A sticky residue was covering his chest due to the heat that had swept over my room. I carefully released myself from his grasp to go get ready, but his hand tugged on my arm before I even had the chance to get out of bed. "Cuddle with me."

"I have to get ready for work," I complained, still a bit surprised to see him awake.

His arms constricted around me and I chuckled. "No. Call in sick and cuddle with me all day."

"I would love to," I admitted. "But I'm unfortunately in desperate need for money at the moment and I don't think my new boss would be too happy if I skipped today."

He groaned loudly, letting go of my body with another huff. I bent down and kissed his cheek delicately. "I'll be back soon if you want to stay here, like in case you don't want to go home yet?"

"Thank you, Addy. I think I might just do that actually. You're bed is so much more comfortable than mine."

I laughed at his comment, turning on my heel to head downstairs. A part of me was warning me that leaving him in my house alone was not the smartest idea, but the other part of me was telling me how badly I wanted to keep him safe. I didn't want him to be upset again.

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Author's Note: merp kind of a filler chapter bUT OMG CALUM AND ADDY ARE SO CUTE I WANT TO BE ADDY SO BADLY LIKE SLEEPOVERS WITH CALUM???? HOW DO I SIGN UP????

Any predictions on the incident?

Ok well i hope you guys enjoyed reading this thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to do so, it means a lot

I update every other day so check back for the next chapter my lil sugarplums

I love you guys so much, have a fantastic day, and thanks again for everything :)

dedicated to cakehugs because she wrote a lovely review of this story and is incredibly sweey