CALUM

Everyone I've ever known has loved Luke to pieces.

My parents, especially. I think the fact that I'm dating Luke is the only part of me that they like. I'm not surprised, considering Luke's charisma and charm would knock anyone out of the water. But it also has to do with the fact that they've seen me as a disappointment my entire life. Mali was clearly their favorite of the two, adoring her success in the music industry and her endless amount of talent and beauty.

I'm the one that they usually "forget" to introduce when they're at important dinners, or the one that they never talk to their friends on the phone. It's almost like I don't exist in their eyes. That's how it's always been. That is, until I met Luke.

My parents love Luke. Luke has money, plenty of it, since Luke's dad is the governor. Luke is beautiful and charming every time my parents come over. The perfect boyfriend, they call him. And Luke is great, amazing actually. He would buy me anything I wanted as soon as I asked, throws lavish parties for holidays and birthdays. He's sure to give me fancy jewelry and clothing on every occasion necessary, and doesn't hesitate to drive me anywhere I would like in his expensive, almost obnoxious car. Wouldn't you call that the perfect boyfriend?

Sometimes I hate myself for not being thankful enough. Luke is the first person who has shown me he cares about me, considering I grew up without any of that in my house. He showed me love and compassion, and I have the audacity to question it every once in awhile. I should be so grateful for him, enjoying the expensive things he gives me and not second guessing our entire relationship.

I do admit, he scares me sometimes. Especially when he gets angry and starts pushing me around. Whenever he does, though, there's a reason behind it, and it's always my fault, so I can't complain about that. Bruises are acceptable when you are the cause for them, right? That's what Luke tells me, and it makes fine sense to me.

Luke loves me though. I know he does. He pulls me close to him every night when we go to sleep and kisses me with fiery intensity. He loves me, says so as well. Says he couldn't live without me. How could I ever part ways withsomeone like that?

~*~

"I hate visiting her," Luke mumbles unhappily, fixing his collared shirt in the mirror. I stand behind him, already dressed in my long sleeved button down and skinny jeans. "She's hardly a mother. She didn't raise me."

"She doesn't seem too bad," I say truthfully. Luke sighs, shaking his head.

"She left my dad and took custody of both my brothers. That's not exactly a good thing to do," Luke points out. He finishes tidying himself up and he tugs at his hair a bit, trying to make it look at least a bit acceptable.

Luke hates visiting his mother. He's never had a good relationship with the woman, despite how hard she tries to develop one with him. Luke constantly pushes her away, just as strong-willed as his father.

I, personally, don't mind visiting Liz, his mum. She's extremely friendly. The kind of mother you would read about in books. Her personality is vastly different from Andy's in every single way possible. He's loud and demanding, she's soft and lenient. Polar opposites.

"Whatever," Luke huffs finally. He turns around and grabs his keys off the table. "Let's go."

I follow Luke out the door of the house, waiting as he locks the door behind us. Luke wraps his arm around my shoulders as we walk to his car, footsteps stepping over gravel and grass. Luke opens the door for me, like he always does, and I slide in carefully. I wait as Luke gets in beside me and starts the car, pulling out of the driveway and out onto the road.

Liz doesn't live far, fortunately. Only an hour away, which isn't too long in comparison to other trips. After the divorce and the trial to decide who gets custody, Liz moved out of Andy's house and into her own, but not too far away. She still wanted to be close enough to watch Luke grow up, although Andy prevented her from seeing most of it.

Luke drives in silence, and I know better than to talk to him when he's driving to his mum's. He's never in a good mood, and I understand that. Not specifically to Liz, but towards parents in general. I hate going and seeing mine, considering they pay a greater welcome towards Luke than to me.

When we pull up to Liz's house, a weight lifts off my chest. Despite how much Luke hates this family, I can't help but find a liking of it. Luke cuts the engine and I open the door, hurrying out of the car as Luke does the same. He comes around and grabs my hand, walking with me up to the front porch. I can feel how tense Luke is by the stiffness of his fingers, and I squeeze his hand in an effort to calm him.

I knock on the door for Luke, waiting for a few moments before hearing a few deep voices through the door. The lock clicks and the door swings open, revealing an older and taller version of Luke in the doorframe.

"Luke, Calum!" Jack greets happily. He opens the door wider. "Come on in!"

Luke grumbles something under his breath and pulls me into the house, nudging past Jack without a glance. I look back at him, flashing a smile at him as Luke pulls me into the kitchen. Jack follows us, sticking his hands in his pocket.

In the kitchen, the air is warm, the smell of bread baking in the oven filling the air. Liz sees us walk in, a bright smile on her face. She has her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, dressed in a floral top and jeans.

"Oh, it's so wonderful to see you two!" Liz greets happily, moving forward and hugging Luke before he has a chance to react. Luke scowls, but gives her a half-hearted hug anyway. Liz lets go and looks to me, smiling big before giving me a hug as well. I hug her back tight, feeling welcomed.

Ben walks into the kitchen, eyes brightening when he sees Luke. "Luke! Hey, it's good to see you!"

Luke clenches his jaw and doesn't say anything, avoiding eye contact of his brother. I glance at him, seeing Ben's smile fade ever so slightly. He looks at me and winks cheerfully.

"Good to see you too, Calum," he says. Before I can respond, Luke grabs my arm.

"Let's sit down," Luke says, a tone of finality in his voice. I allow myself to my pulled away from Luke's brothers as we sit down at the kitchen table. Jack and Ben follow shortly, sitting down beside us. I'm amazed at how they are still friendly after Luke has nearly ignored all of their greetings.

"So brother, it's been a while!" Jack says. "How's your computer engineering job?"

"Successful," Luke says, pride in his voice. Jack blinks at him for a second before nodding.

"That's great," he says, his smile fading slightly. Luke sits back in his chair and crosses his arms as Liz passes out plates to us. Luke hands me mine before taking his own, not saying anything else.

"Well, dinner is ready!" Liz announces. Jack and Ben cheer half heartedly and move to the counter to make their plates. I begin to stand up as well, but Luke stops me.

"I'll make yours," he says, taking my plate from my hands and standing up himself. He leaves for the counter and I am left alone at the table. I wrap my arms around myself and slide down a little in my seat, wishing Luke would be nicer to his brothers. They were raised so differently, but it doesn't mean he has to be so sour towards them.

Liz takes the seat beside me, sitting down with her plate in front of her. She gives me a smile and sits back as Luke returns, handing me my plate and sitting down with his. I thank him softly as Jack and Ben sit down as well. We all begin to eat, Jack and Ben making occasional small talk with additional comments from Liz. Luke doesn't speak.

Luke finishes early and places his right hand on my thigh. He leaves it there, and I quickly finish eating and push away my plate.

As we all finish up, Liz suddenly squints at my face. She tilts her head and asks, "What's that under your eye, Calum? Did you get hurt?"

I immediately know what she's talking about. A black eye that I did my best to cover up, left over from a previous night when I made Luke upset. Makeup doesn't fix everything, I suppose.

Luke's hand digs into my thigh after she asks the question, his nails digging painfully into my skin. A warning.

"I ran into one of my coworkers at work. I'm just clumsy," I tell her. She furrows her eyebrows for a moment, but nods and seems to believe it. Luke's hand relaxes slightly, but his hand remains a heavy weight on my leg.

"Well, I'd better start cleaning up. Calum, why don't you help me?" Liz suggests. I nod quickly, happy to help. Before Luke can protest, Liz says, "Luke, why don't you go with your brothers and watch some TV in the den?"

Luke hesitates for a second, but obliges. He pulls his hand away from my leg and stands up, following his two brothers out of the kitchen. I quickly stand up, helping Liz gather the plates and carry them to the sink.

"I'll wash, you dry," Liz says with a smile. She hands me a washcloth. I take it, stationing myself beside her at the sink. The faucet turns on, filling any silence that thickened the air. She starts washing the dishes quietly, and hands me a cleaned skillet to dry. I take it and start drying it.

"Luke treating you well?" Liz asks nonchalantly. She laughs a little. "He can be a bit intense sometimes."
"Of course. He's a wonderful boyfriend," I say honestly, continuing to dry the skillet. Liz nods, handing me another dish.

"You know you can talk to me about any boy troubles, you know," Liz tells me. She gives me a sideways glance, her smile seeming a bit forced. "I may understand more than you think."

I turn and look at her, my hands stilling for a moment. Her eyes are sure, her words proving true. Before I can say anything else, Luke appears in the doorway.

"It's getting late. We're heading out," he says. Liz turns off the faucet, turning around and drying her hands. I leave the sink, moving to Luke's side. He puts his arm around my waist.

"So soon?" Liz asks playfully, smiling at her son. She steps forward and gives Luke another hug. I can sense Luke's irritation, even more so as Liz reaches up and kisses her son's cheek.

Luke immediately pulls away, his jaw clenching. His arm tenses. "Time to go."

Liz remains unscathed, her smile strong as she turns to me. "Goodbye, Calum." I give her a parting wave as Luke tugs me in the other direction, back towards the front of the house. We pass the den on the way, where Jack and Ben sit watching TV. They turn, both saying their friendly goodbyes and "hope to see you soon"s.

Once we are outside of the house, Luke releases a breath, shaking his head. We both hurry down the steps and back to Luke's car, where we slip inside without a word. Luke doesn't start talking until he starts driving back home.

"That entire family infuriates me," Luke grumbles, scowling. I lean back against the seat, growing tired. Luke's angry attitude does nothing but wear me out.

"I'm sorry," I say, upset that Luke feels so differently towards his other side of the family. It hurts to hear, considering they are so nice to him. Luke glances over at me and sighs, reaching over and patting my leg.

"I know baby," Luke says. "Sorry for the bad attitude. Let's just sleep when we get home, yeah?"

I nod gratefully. Luke smiles and laughs a little, squeezing my hand before placing his back on the wheel. I close my eyes, curling against the window in an effort to doze off. A sharp pain erupted from the bruise on my ribcage, but I ignore it, like I always do. Luke holds my hand for the rest of the drive home, rubbing circles over my skin.

It's these sides of Luke that I love, that I fell in love with years ago. This sweet, loving, affectionate side of him that I fall in love with every day. It's absolutely lovely, and I drift off to sleep with the feeling of Luke's warm hand holding mine.

---
A/N: look how on track i am im so happy

so guys what is your favorite 5sos ship? and who do you like to bottom and top?

i love little calum in cashton and little luke in muke, i can't choose :)

thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. please vote & comment, & tell me what you thought about this chapter! i love you so much. have a great day.

bye,,xx