"Hold my flame and set alight..."

___

It's a cold Seattle night.

And it's raining.

And what makes both of these things even worse is the fact that Calum is standing, arms crossed beneath the underpass of a freeway, trying to keep dry while also trying to light a damp cigarette that isn't really lighting.

"It's your fucking turn," Luke had said that morning when Michael told him they had another job to do--that they had more of Snake's drugs to sell.

And Calum couldn't actually disagree with that.

For the past few weeks, each time Michael had tried to coerce his friends to coming with him on his runs Calum had had an excuse: he was studying. He was busy. He was too far away; out in The Bluffs.

In all honesty, he'd been with Royce.

So now, on the night before his final, all because he didn't have an excuse or a fucking car, Calum stands beside Ash beneath an underpass not too far from The Reptile Room with a wet cigarette between his lips as Michael does what he does and gets more of Snake's drugs off his hands.

But Calum is tired.

"I thought taking care of Emma was the favor," Calum sighs, eyeing the blonde as she watches from the car. "Thought we were done with," he motions his head towards the man handing over the wads of money, "with this."

"Dude," Ashton snorts, "have you realized that we don't even see Snake anymore?"

"I mean," he shrugs, "I haven't been out lately..."

"Well, he's MIA. Emma's always with us, man. Where the fuck's her dad?"

"I don't..." Calum shakes his head. Ashton was right. "I don't even..."

"I know," Ashton nods, watching as Michael shoves his hands into his pockets, money in his fist. "That's 'cause he's doing time."

"What?"

"In jail."

"Yeah, yeah," he rolls his eyes, "I get that, but," Calum shakes his head, disbelief on his face. "But, how?"

"Feds got him. That night we got arrested."

"Since then?"

"Yeah. Crazy, right? Apparently it was an inside job, whoever busted him."

"Lemme guess," Calum narrows his eyes, "that's why we're babysitting Emma."

Ashton only laughs. "Your guess is as good as mine, dude."

Calum scowls. "So, what the fuck? Michael's running his business for him? He's the new Snake?"

Ashton snorts, scuffing his toe against the cement. "From what I heard, he's selling for Emma. He's getting rid of the shit for her. Y'know," he lifts his long fingers and uses air quotes, "to 'keep her outta trouble.'"

Calum shakes his head. He's confused. Confused and cold, honestly. He didn't do this. This, this Snake-thing was Michael. Not Calum.

And he stares into the rain at Emma, the blonde chick curled up in Michael's car who seems to be way more trouble than whatever favor Snake needed was actually worth.

Because Calum is tired.

It's the night before his last final and he needed to study. He had calc tomorrow, and yeah, he was good at math but something in him was actually telling him that he needed to get his shit together and actually go over the material.

Something is telling him that he needed to be like every other seventeen-year-old junior who actually gave a fuck about graduating on time and getting the fuck out of Seattle.

Something is telling him to be a little more like Royce.

And the thought of her, probably in bed, studying, makes him smile. That's where he should be. He should be wherever she is, tucked in her pink room with her so they can do all the things they typically do when she needs help with AP Calc.

___

"I think my brain's about to explode."

Royce looks up from her AP Calc book. Kennedy looks up from her phone. Both girls turn to Lola, who's stretched out on her bedroom floor.

"What?"

"Huh?"

Lola groans, startling her poodle from his nap beside her.

"Freddie," she calls, reaching out to stroke his white fur. "Help me, Freddie. No. More. Math."

Royce snorts. "What time's your final tomorrow, Lols?"

"Eight," Lola deadpans. "Eight. AM," she sighs. "Like a fucking school day. In the fucking gym."

"Same," Kennedy nods. "We're all gonna be together then."

"No," Lola sighs, groaning loudly. "Great. Now, regular calc is gonna be with AP. You smart kids get to see all the dumb ones struggle."

"Or, you get to watch me cry," Royce says. "So, we're all gonna be struggling."

"Either way, I can't do this," she rubs her eyes, rising from the floor. "It's time for a study break. We've been at this shit for hours."

"Yes," Kennedy sighs, throwing down her phone. "I need something to eat."

"Like fries!" Lola exclaims. "I need fries."

"Or," Kennedy laughs, frowning, "like ice cream."

"Which I'm down with," Royce adds. "Let's go to McDonald's and you can get both."

"I'm D," Lola grins. "Because I'm actually starving, and soft serve is delicious."

"Fatass," Kennedy laughs. "Haven't you seen Supersize Me? Or Fast Food Nation?"

"Yeah, and you can chill because it's midnight and Mickey D's is like, the only thing open, Kenn."

Royce laughs. "Tobe hates when I eat McDonalds. He's so anti-establishment."

"I can literally hear that boy now."

"Yeah, he's all: 'Royce, your body's a temple, and McDonald's is poison...'"

"And he's right," Kennedy grins, "but I'm gonna cave for a vanilla cone tonight."

"Wanna tell the boys?" Royce suggests. "Y'know...if they're still up studying."

"Which they probably aren't," Kennedy laughs. "But, y'know...it's fine. We're nice. It's good to ask."

Lola lifts a brow. "The boys?"

"Yeah, like," she twirls her hair around a finger, "Calum and Luke and Ash..."

Lola snorts. "Since when do we include them in all our plans? Since when has three become six?"

"Since we're all going to camp."

"Since you've developed this crush on Ashton," Royce retorts. "So miss me with that."

"I don't have a crush on Ashton."

Royce and Kennedy both fall upon her bed, groaning loudly.

"Sure."

"Whatever, Lola."

"I don't!"

"How about you stop pretending like you don't like him. Thanks."

"Denial is the first step to admittance..."

"I just like his hair."

"And he might cry if you say that in front of him, so chill," Royce says. "You heartless little b--"

"I wouldn't," Lola sighs. "Okay? I'm not actually that cold."

Kennedy laughs. "Whatever you say, Ice Princess."

"Ice Princess!?" She exclaims as Royce laughs aloud. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Ice Princess," Kennedy grins. "It's the contact I have for you in my phone."

Lola scrambles towards the bed, sending Freddie from the room. "Let me see!"

And she claws for Kennedy's iPhone. "You're not serious."

"Oh," Kennedy smirks, "but I am."

Lola's mouth falls at the screen. She turns now to Royce. "What am I in your phone?" She gasps.

"Nothing bad," she shrugs cutely. "I'm just prepaving your future. That's all."

"What. Is. It?"

And Royce scrolls to their message chain.

"Mrs. Irwin," she narrows her eyes. "Cute, Royce. Cute."

"I mean, it's the truth, isn't it?"

Lola rolls her eyes, sliding from the bed. "I do not like Ash--"

"Save it, Lola."

"Yeah, seriously girl."

"We don't believe you."

"Just shut the fuck up."

__

"Could you shut the fuck up? I'm actually trying to study."

A wad of paper hits Calum in the head.

"Since when do you study?" Comes Michael's laugh from across the room. "I've never actually seen you study."

"Since I'd like to not repeat 11th Grade," Calum retorts, hating that he has to bum rides around the city with Mikey. "So, shut the fuck up."

Emma laughs from her seat in Michael's lap, that laugh of hers festering beneath Calum's skin.

He hates that he didn't get Michael to take him home after his drop. He hates that he actually thought his friends would help him study.

He also hates that Emma is everywhere he turns.

"He's such a whiny bitch, that one," she says. "You sound like Luke, honestly."

"Wow," Luke nods from the bed. "And just when I thought we could be friends..."

Calum snorts. It's really late and he's thinking about giving up on this studying thing anyway and heading home. He didn't live too far from Michael. He could take a bus at this hour, honestly, but he knew he couldn't just leave Ash and Luke with Mikey and the She Devil.

He wasn't that bad of a friend.

And that's when his phone buzzes.

Poppy: you up?

He grins, texting her back.

CalPal: yeah unfortunately :(

Poppy: gooooodddddd

And that's when his phone rings.

At the sight of his caller ID, he excuses himself from the bedroom, taking the call in the hall.

"Hey."

Her voice is clear in his ear.

"Want some McDonald's?"

He laughs. "Hello to you, too."

"Hi," she giggles too. "You up?"

"Yeah," he nods. "Trying to study, actually."

"Same," Royce adds. "And I'm at Lola's and we're procrastinating, so we're headed to McDonald's for soft serve and wanted to know if you guys wanted anything," she finishes, "Y'know. If you're all together."

"We are," he runs his hands across his face. "Unfortunately."

She laughs. "Okay, cool. We're coming over then."

He chokes. "Over here?"

"Yeah," she says. "Where are you? Text me what you guys want and we'll--"

"Wait, wait," he shakes his head. "Royce, wait."

She stops. "What?"

"I'm at Mikey's," he says.

She falters, "Okay..."

"And Emma's here."

Royce pauses. "Emma?"

"Yeah," he nods. "Tiny. Blonde. Devilish..."

"Oh yeah," she nods. And to his surprise (and dismay), she continues with an, "Okay. That's cool, too. Ask her if she wants anything. We'll get it."

"Royce," he groans. "Nooo."

"What? Why?"

"Because, she's the fucking worst."

"What? How?"

"I mean, she's just..." And he stops himself mid-sentence. He isn't trying to go down this road right now. He's not. He knows that Royce's relationship with her biological mother is far from great and riddled with a history of...well, of the same kinds of things that Emma is surrounded by 24/7.

The same kinds of things he's surrounded by, too.

"She's just what?"

"We're just not friends," he says. "That's all."

And she purses her lips. "Oh, c'mon. That's not a reason to exclude her. It's McDonald's. It's not like we're gonna spend more than $20 on all of us."

"Royce. I hate her."

"Are you being dramatic?" She laughs. "I'm sorry, but you've got to be specific."

"Her..." He runs his free hand through his hair, "Her dad is..."

"Yeah...?"

"He's..."

And Calum lets out a loud sigh. It's like, almost past midnight and he's got a final tomorrow and his mom expects him to actually spend the night and he'd really rather come home.

Long story short, he's not trying to deal with this conversation, too.

"Forget it," he grunts. "I'll ask what she wants."

__

One thing Calum forgot, was that Mikey didn't know about Royce.

Like, he didn't really know about him and her...he wasn't aware that Calum liked her.

Like, actually liked her.

A lot.

Like, it wasn't a topic of conversation. It wasn't something they were discussing. You didn't just sit down with your best mate and tell him about the girl that kind of sort of had him kind of sort of whipped.

That wasn't what you talked about with your mates.

Especially not Michael.

And he forgot that that might be kind of an issue...

...Until the girls got to the house with the food.

"I smell fast food," Ashton sings at once, as the girls are led into the kitchen. "And I'm kinda fucking excited."

"So, what I just heard is that you're fucking excited not only 'cause there's food," Kennedy begins, reaching into the bags, "but because we brought it to you."

"Right, right," he nods, reaching for some of Lola's nuggets. "That's exactly what I said."

"Verbatim," Royce hums as Calum slips his arms around her waist and Lola swats at Ashton's hands.

"She's feisty tonight," Kennedy nods, sitting in Luke's lap at the table. "So be careful, Ash."

"Yeah," Royce eyes Lola, not noticing how Calum keeps licking at her ice cream cone, "She's been a trip tonight."

"She told me," Ashton nods, reaching for her fries. "Also, stop being mean to her."

"Thank you," Lola says, returning Royce's glare. And she whines as Ashton eats more of her food, "Ash! I got you some."

He grins, "You did?"

And she points to his bag of fries. "Yes, monster."

"That's your pet name, Ash," Royce laughs. "Monster."

"I feel so loved," he adds, and that's when Kennedy raises her hands, "Whoa, whoa, whoa," she exclaims. "You told him what?"

"Huh?"

Kennedy chokes on her McFlurry, laughing. "You told Ash we were being mean to you?!"

"I mean," he shrugs, "Ice Princess? That's kind of cold..."

"Ah," Luke grins, tapping his hands on the table, "Ah, I see what you did there!"

"Cold? Ice? Get it?"

Calum laughs in Royce's ear. "That fucking sucked."

She elbows him and he yelps over the boys' laughter. "When the hell did she say that about us, Ash?"

Ashton grins, "I dunno. She texted me earlier--"

"You two text about us?" Kennedy falls back against Luke, folding her arms. "I'm offended."

"Good," Lola replies with a smirk. "You should be."

"They've got secrets," Royce grins. She shrugs slyly. "I'm sure they've got like, inside jokes and shit, too."

"What, them?" Calum exclaims, pointing between Lola and Ashton. "How can you have inside jokes if you're not fucking funny?"

Lola snorts. "Ash wasn't the only one who laughed at that ice princess shit," she flicks a fry at the blonde, "Right, Luke?"

"It was a pity laugh," he shrugs. "See? I do it all the time. Ha. Ha."

"Oh, piss off," Ashton exclaims over the laughter around the table. "I'd like to hear you tell us a joke, mate."

"Sure," he shrugs. And he smiles broadly, "What do you get when you cross a--"

"No," Kennedy exclaims, poking his cheek. "For the love of God, Luke. Do not tell that terrible joke."

And the six of them are cracking up, mostly because it's like, pushing one o'clock and they're all kind of delirious, but also because they actually genuinely sort of maybe really really like each other.

"Hey," Ashton wiggles his eyebrows at Royce as he pours the rest of his fries into Lola's and reaches for their joint box, "you like the pillow fort?"

Royce is still giggling and Calum can't help but grin. "I loved it, Ash."

"I practically fucking made it," Ashton says proudly. "So you should probably be thanking me and not Cal. You're welcome."

"Oh yeah? 'Cause he said you only helped."

"Yeah, 'cause whose idea was it?" Calum exclaims.

"Umm, who put the whole fucking thing together?"

"Me!"

"Liar!"

"Okay, but I mostly--"

"Watched," Ashton finishes. "You mostly watched."

"Well, thank you, Ashton," Royce says, as Calum laughs, licking her cone still until she finally notices. "Hey!" She punches his arm.

"What?!"

"Calum!"

"You're welcome, Royce," Ashton nods. And he motions to Calum, who has ice cream all over his face. "See, look at him. He's a mess."

"You guys are weird," says Emma, and Calum can feel Royce jump, startled, against him. She and Michael had been sitting on the counter in the kitchen away from them at the table and damn...He could tell she'd forgotten they were there.

"What the fuck are you going on about?"

And Calum hadn't really noticed until then that him plus Luke and Ash had kind of formed some new group that wasn't him plus Luke and Ash and Mikey. There was a whole other crew it seemed like he was a part of that was him plus Luke and Ash plus also Royce and Kennedy and Lola.

"I..." Luke begins.

Calum frowns, "See, uh..."

And Ashton only laughs, shaking his head.

"Nothing, mate," he says. "Nothing."

___

"Please, Lola. Puh-lease tell me you can give me a ride home."

She snorts. "What do I look like, a taxi driver?" She folds her arms, "I swear you owe me gas money."

"Like you owe Kennedy bail," Royce mutters beneath her breath. "Okay."

"Shade," Lola laughs. And she shakes her head as Calum, Ashton and Luke all stare wide-eyed at Royce.

"What?" She exclaims. "What?"

Lola laughs harder. "Yeah, I'll take you home," she says, and the boys breathe simultaneous sighs of relief. "C'mon."

And they grab for their things, trailing behind her from Michael's house.

Calum shoves his hands in his pockets, walking beside Royce towards the car. "Low blow," he whispers, as she pulls up her hood, shielding herself from the rain.

"About bail?" She laughs. "I'm only kidding."

He snorts, eyeing her beneath his hood. "Right."

She blows him a kiss.

He shakes his head.

"Hey," she nudges him, "I see that smile."

"Shut up," he exclaims, pushing her gently away. And he watches her stumble away, giggling before he reaches out and hooks two of his fingers through the pockets of her St. Augustine hoodie, pulling her closer.

He throws his arm around her shoulder.

"You fucking saved me tonight."

She leans her head against him. "How so?"

"I wasn't getting anything done, holy fuck--"

"Yeah, uh...I thought you weren't friends," she begins rather abruptly, motioning with her head back to the house.

"Who?"

"You and that girl. The one who knows me...that I keep forgetting."

"Me and Emma?"

"Yeah. Her."

He snorts. "We aren't. I literally hate her. I hate her so much."

"Okay," Royce laughs. "So...Why do you hang out with her? Why's she always around?"

"Good question."

"Calum..."

"No, seriously," he nods. "I really don't fucking know. And neither does Ash. Neither does Luke."

"She's Michael's girl?"

"I mean," Calum almost says, 'I sure as hell hope not,' but he refrains.

He nods instead. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

And like that, this conversation ends and Calum is happy because they've reached Lola's Range.

"Good thing Luke is skinny," Ashton says as he punks Luke out of the passenger seat. "'Cause the four of you've got to ride in back."

"Next time I say you sit in back," Kennedy grunts, as she and Royce and Calum and Luke all have to lap up in back. "You can sit in Calum's lap or some shit."

"Ugh, c'mon!" Royce exclaims. "I was riding shotgun!"

"Ha ha," Ashton grins, "you snooze you loose, babe."

"I have to sit up front," Royce stamps her foot. "Or else I won't do well on my final tomorrow!"

Ashton bursts into laughter. "Liar!"

It's Calum who also laughs aloud. "That sucked, Royce."

She pouts, eyes big and sad. "Guys, c'mon. Let me be great."

"Be great from the backseat."

"Rude!"

"Fuck you, Ash. We brought you food!"

"Payback for calling me a fucking Ice Princess!"

"Shut up, Lola -- that wasn't even me!"

"It was just as bad!"

"Guys, shut up," Luke laughs.

"What was?"

"Yeah," smirks Royce. "Yeah, Lola. You tell him."

Ashton looks between them. "Tell me what?"

"About my name for you," says Royce. "The one I've got for you in my phone."

Lola's eyes widen. "Shut up, Royce!"

"Why, Lols?" Kennedy grins. "I thought someone didn't care about another certain someone else..."

"What the fuck are you guys--?"

"Okay, okay!" Lola exclaims loudly. "God--Could we get off this? Please?"

Royce and Kennedy smile smugly between themselves.

Kennedy climbs behind Luke into the car.

Royce follows.

"Whatever you say, Lols."

"Yep. Whatever you say."

The car falls silent, everyone inside.

Ashton turns in his seat to face the girls in back.

"You guys are fucking weird," he laughs, and while Calum can't help but agree, he's also realizing more and more that these girls really are weird...and they're funny, though. And loud. And girly. And rich. And popular. And too smart. And more things he's not...

And he likes it.

Royce nods, a little grin on her face as she snuggles against Calum in back.

"We know," she says. "Promise."

And Calum squirms beside her, repositioning himself between her and the window so that he can drape his arm back around her shoulder.

He pulls her close, allowing her to rest comfortably against him.

He watches her eyelids droop, and he says nothing, only pressing soft kisses to her forehead and allowing her to sleep.

And he doesn't give a fuck who sees.

___

Ooo mikey youre being ditched for my girls...!!
sorry for tha wait but school is over so praise god

guys this song is my hood jam i ain't even gon lie

comment and vote! xx

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