"I'm not a bad guy, I ain't all put together. But if you stick around, you gon' see I'm getting better and...

...I did it jusfayu..."
___

It's Thursday morning and Calum is sitting in Michael's car by himself waiting to see when, or if, Royce is going to make an appearance.

When he doesn't see her at the bell, he decides to suck it up and go to Calc because why not at this point? He doesn't have anything else to lose.

And he strolls tiredly into class and nods to Luke and Kennedy and ignores their confused expressions because they're wondering where Royce is, too.

"She hasn't responded to anything I've sent her," Kennedy expressed frustratedly this morning.

"Me either...And now, you say she's out with your weird blonde freaky friend?" Lola huffed. "What the fuck's going on?"

Calum wanted to know that, too. He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to know if Emma actually helped him when she said she would. He wanted to know if she wasn't being the bitch she typically was and managed to help him out with Royce.

But, really?

He'd put his hope in Emma.

Snake's Emma.

What the fuck was he thinking?

And as he sits and class begins, he receives a text to the How was it? he'd sent Emma just the night before, after she'd taken Royce out.

Great.
You're welcome.

Calum doesn't even know if Emma's shitting him or if their conversation actually was great. The response is so vague and non-specific he doesn't know if he's being played right now.

He decides not to reply.

Yeah.

It was hopeless.

And he was kind of pissed with himself for even caring this much. He didn't do relationships. That had never been him. He didn't do that shit, and here he was. Here he was, having fallen for a cheerleader. A straight-A student. A girl from The Bluffs.

Who comes jogging into class.

Late.

"Royce," Sister Mary begins sternly, and Royce and Luke and Kennedy and Calum all look up, surprised. "You're late."

That much is obvious.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she breathes. "I had to help Tobe get his project into my car--"

"Just don't let it happen again," she motions towards Calum. "Take your seat."

And she slips into the chair beside him and he's hit with a wave of deja vu. She sends him a small smile that makes him instantly reminiscent of the time he first met her, at the beginning of the year, when all he wanted to do was get in her pants and now look where the fuck that had gotten him.

"In preparation for your AP, from now until May we'll be doing nothing but review. Pull out your books and turn to the last chapter..."

The lesson begins, and Calum can smell that fruity shampoo she uses and for some reason he leans towards her and whispers into her ear.

"I'm pissed."

She grimaces, clicking her pencil over the sound of her response. "I know."

"But," he softens, "I'm also sorry. I should've told you," he faces the board. "I should've told you about your mom..."

"No," she shakes her head. "I really flipped a shit. Like, majorly..."

"I know."

She laughs softly. "...I overreacted like crazy. You didn't deserve that."

His eyes flicker to hers. "We need to talk," he whispers.

"You and everyone else," she replies, fighting a bemused laugh. And she holds up her phone. "Look."

And on the home screen alone, Calum can see Kennedy's newest text to her, "WE NEED TO TALK," sitting on top of twenty, thirty, maybe forty texts all from her and Lola and him and Luke and Paige.

Calum lifts a brow. "Ignoring all of us, huh?"

"I turned my phone off last night," she whispers apologetically. "I just...I had a lot to think about," she shakes her head, sending that perfumed shampoo smell his way, "Too much was on my mind."

And she flips to the page they'd been instructed to and actually tries to do some math.

Calum watches her with amusement.

Leave it to Royce to actually try to do this lesson amidst everything else going on.

1. A particle moves along the x-axis so that its acceleration at any time t ≥ 0 is givenby a(t)=12t-4. At time t =1, the velocity of the particle is v(1)=7 and its position isx(1)=4 .

a) Write an expression for the velocity of the particle v(t).
b) At what values of t does the particle change direction?
c) Write an expression for the position x(t) of the particle.
d) Find the total distance traveled by the particle from t = 1 to t = 3 .

And Royce pouts, defeated.

"I swear I thought I was good at math until this year."

"You've been slacking on our tutoring sessions," Calum whispers, lifting her pencil from between her fingers. He starts scribbling some numbers on her notebook.

She watches him, head in her hand. "I have."

"I say you get back on that shit," he grins, pulling out his graphing calculator. Royce watches him multi-task, pressing buttons as his long hair falls over his eyes. "If you want a five on this AP and an A in this class," he pauses, shooting her a grin, "Princess."

Royce fights a smile. "You're a mess, Calum."

He turns back to her notebook, "So're you."

"I know," she whispers, as the classroom fills again with hushed murmurs, everyone working with their desk partners on the problems, "I don't know why you like me."

"I could be saying the same to you," he mutters, pausing again, this time to run his hand through his hair and over his forehead and pinching his eyes shut. "Look, Royce, I--"

She blurts, "Emma told me everything."

"Everything?"

She hums. "Everything. From the club to Snake to the favor..."

"Fuckin' Emma..." Calum was starting to wonder what else she spilled. "What else did she--"

"Doesn't matter," Royce whispers. "You could have told me."

"Really?" He snorts. "Because that's easier said than done."

Royce nods slowly. She bites the corner of her lip. "I see how you could think that."

And Calum actually wasn't expecting that. He wasn't really expecting her to agree with him.

What the hell had Emma said to her?

"Royce--"

"None of this changes anything," she blurts. "You know that, right? Like, I'm still me and you're still you and I don't care how different we are you're still my boyfriend," she hesitates, "right?"

He grins, teeth clamped against his lip. "Yeah."

"Okay," she lets out a breath. "Good."

"Royce," he shakes his head, "but that doesn't...we still have to ta--"

"Look, if you don't want to come tonight I understa--"

Calum scoffs immediately, garnering quick looks from classmates.

At this point, he doesn't really care, though.

"Who said I wasn't coming, Royce?"

"But..." She lifts her eyes to his. "Really? Are you still coming over?" She wrings her hands. "Seriously? Tonight? For dinner?"

And Calum nods. "Only," he replies, "if I can bring a plus one."

"Okay," she nods slowly. "You and me both."

__

Zayn shows up that night in a button up and dark jeans and he looks even more amazing because he's brought with him a box of a dozen cupcakes because he thought "everyone might like dessert."

"You're such a cornball, Zayn," Royce laughs as she lets him in. "Like, seriously."

"'Cause I'm nice?" He implores.

Because anyone would see him and eat him up, honestly.

"Too nice, almost. It's disgusting."

"Sheesh."

"Z-Zayn," Paige meets them in the foyer, catching sight of him from the top of the stairs. She's looking in on laughter between her sister and her "friend" and it's just weird.

"Paige," he grins.

Her eyes flicker quickly to Royce's. "What're you doing here?"

"Got an invite, actually. I didn't exactly expect to--"

"He's my plus one," states Royce, answering at once. "I invited him."

"You did?"

"We're friends," Royce shrugs, and she turns to Zayn, now. "Aren't we?"

"Best friends. You forgot the best, Royce. Wow."

"Best friends, right," she laughs, and he laughs, and Paige is staring between the two of them like she really doesn't know what to make of this exchange. "Best best friends."

"Okay," Paige replies slowly. "Um, I'll take that--"

And as she reaches for the box, Theresa's appeared in the doorway.

"Zayn," she brightens, remembering him from that project he'd had with Paige--you don't just forget Zayn. "What a pleasant surprise."

"He brought cupcakes," Royce adds.

"Aren't you the sweetest," Theresa gushes. And she's really eating Zayn up like the sweets. "I'll take those off your hands."

"I'll take 'em, Mommy," Paige offers at once.

"Thank you, Paige."

"Royce," Paige grits, "why don't you help me--?"

"Oh, I don't think that's necess--"

"How about it, Royce," Theresa says, and Paige smirks. "You can grab silverware and set the dining room table."

Royce rolls her eyes and Zayn laughs.

Paige frowns.

"Fine," she mutters. "I'll be back."

And Royce follows after Paige and into the kitchen.

Royce knew exactly why her sister wanted her to come.

"Seriously?" Paige hisses. "You had to invite Zayn?"

Here we go...

"What?" Royce exclaims innocently. "He's your man."

Paige scoffs. "Isn't Calum enough for one night? Or you had to take it there?"

"Take what, where? You're the one not giving him a chance, Paige."

"Because he's a fucking mess! Do you know what people say about him?"

"Who cares! It shouldn't matter--"

"Oh," Paige all but slams the cupcakes on the counter, "Sorry I'm not like you, Royce. Sorry I don't like being hurt. Sorry I'm not willing to jump at the first bad boy who takes an interest in me. Sorry I don't believe that people can change overnight."

"Oh, but I'm just supposed to get over my mom?" Royce seethes. "You keep trying to force family dinners like this shit down my throat, but you don't want to give Zayn a chance?"

"That's different!"

"How!?"

"Because Zayn used to fuck Jade, Royce! My friend, Jade. Now he wants me? Give me a fucking break! Zayn skips classes. Zayn smokes cigarettes. I don't want lung cancer from secondhand smoke. I want to get into college," she clicks her teeth, crossing her arms. "Life isn't a fucking fairy tale, Royce. Opposites don't just attract because you think they do!"

"You," Royce jabs a finger towards her sister, "were the one all fucking over him!"

"And then I got to know him!"

"No," Royce shakes her head, "you heard of his reputation. If you really got to know him, you'd know he was a sweet guy who might take an interest in you--"

Paige laughs, "You think we're gonna just ride off into the sunset, don't you? Newsflash, Royce, we're eighteen. Do you know what it means if an eighteen-year-old guy likes you?" She rolls her eyes, "It legitimately means that they're only interested in a quick fuck."

Royce shakes her head, despite the flashbacks to her initial study sessions with Calum.

"You're not giving them enough credit."

"Oh, I'm not?

"That's what I said!"

"Oh, give me a break," Paige groans. "This is about Calum, isn't it?"

"He's not what you think he is, Paige."

"Oh, he's exactly what I think he is, Royce!" Her eyes narrow, "Are we just going to forget that during my junior year he fucked Perrie behind the bleachers after a game?" She deadpans, "He was a sophomore. He and his little drugged-out, horny friends are just like him, too," she snaps. "And you think I'm just making this shit up? Seriously, what girl wants her baby sister to get with someone like that? Someone who's run through her friends? Someone who--"

"I fucked him too, Paige," she hisses.

Paige blinks. "Shut the fuck up, Royce..."

"I did," she sighs. "I did. I'm just like those other girls, alright? I'm Perrie, and the other girl, and the other girl, except now he's my boyfriend and I've got to deal with the consequences, you know why?"

Paige grunts, laughing bitterly. "Why?"

"Because I actually really like him," Royce sighs. She's tired of arguing, and she's tired of whispering. "And I want you to like him, too."

Paige shakes her head. "I cannot believe--"

"I know," Royce interjects. "I'm--"

"You're better than that, Royce. You're--This isn't you."

"Yea, but...apparently it is."

"Don't--"

"Damn! Y'all still arguing?"

And both girls stop and actually whirl around because Tobe's standing there with Christian and Royce does not believe he is actually really here at home on a Thursday night.

"Of course they are. That's all they've been doing for the past few weeks."

Her older brother is next to show up, and everyone goes crazy because he's taking time from school to come to a damn family dinner and her parents eat that shit up like Royce figured they'd go for Zayn's cakes after dinner.

"Shut up, Tobe."

"Seriously?" Royce hisses, as she stares at Christian in the dining room. "You had to come to this?"

Christian laughs, throwing his arms around his younger sisters. "And miss this? Hell yeah."

"Besides," he adds, shrugging, "Tobe told me y'all two need to end your beef--"

Royce scoffs. "There's no beef."

Christian is standing there and he's not believing a word she's saying.

"Uh huh. Right."

"She's right," Paige flips her long, dark hair over her shoulder. And she plasters on a fake smile to match her sister's. "No beef."

"Just a catfight instead, right?"

And the doorbell rings.

Royce jumps, because that's got to be--

Paige's eyebrow raises instantly. "That's got to be yours, Royce."

And Royce says nothing, simply throwing a quick look at her sister before she hurries to the foyer.

She can feel all three of her siblings following behind her, and she wishes for the love of God that they could just let her go and do this by herself.

She wasn't really looking for her three siblings to come help her greet her own boyfriend.

But, Royce rounds the corner and runs into Zayn.

"S'for you," he grins, and she grins back, except this grin falls into a quick frown because this simple act of Zayn blocking her path for this tiny little second gives her mother enough time to return from the hall closet where she'd been hanging Zayn's coat and beat her daughter to the door.

Theresa pulls on the handle and now it's Zayn and her siblings standing behind her as Royce's whole god-dang family looks outside on the newest arrival to this dinner.

Theresa smiles. "And you must be Calum."

"I--Yes," Royce can hear him say. "And, if it's okay I brought a--"

"There's somebody else," Tobe whispers loudly in Royce's ear.

She halts.

She'd forgotten he'd mentioned a plus one.

Paige shakes her head, "What do you mean, Tobe?"

"Look," he points out the window, to the third car in the driveway. "Whose fucking car is that?"

"Come in, come in," Theresa's voice snaps Royce from the conversation with her siblings. "It's too cold for you to be standing out there."

The chorus of 'Thank you,' makes Royce wants to be sick.

"Y'alright, Royce?"

It's Zayn who asks.

"I--"

Christian squeezes her shoulder. "Paige invite her, again?"

"No!" Paige exclaims. "Actually, I didn't."

"It was Calum," Royce states. And he's inside, standing with her mother and making her laugh and she'd like to go to him but she's frozen because she can't go to him.

Because of that awkward plus one.

Christian frowns.

"What?"

Theresa turns, facing her children.

"Okay, Royce?" She laughs. "You're really just gonna leave this boy over here like this?" And she turns, "And I know the three of y'all got better manners than that. Come greet our guests."

They shuffle over, with Royce letting her siblings handle Dina.

She goes straight to Calum.

He grins down at her. "Surprise."

"I don't know if I should slap you or be happy you're here," she hisses, as she wraps her arms around his waist. "Because this--"

"Is actually an apology," he replies.

And Royce almost doesn't believe him.

"Seriously," He nods. "From both of us."

"Poppy?"

That voice makes her drop her arms. It's so annoying, with everyone's eyes on her--everyone waiting to see how she'll react.

"It's nice to see you, Poppy."

She falters for words, swallowing her anger and resentment.

Royce decides that her dad's dumbass Deepak Chopra quote is the only reason she hasn't fled the room, yet.

Because an apology?

She was sure as hell not ready to forgive anyone for anything.

Not yet, anyway.

She was trying, but damn.

Rome wasn't built in a fucking day.

Her dad luckily steps in.

"Dina," he grins, embracing her, "You're looking well."

"Well," she smiles, "I don't know why I thought you might not be making an appearance tonight."

His eyes flicker to Royce's. And then, he notices Christian. And then, he notices both Zayn and Calum and so many thoughts seemingly reflect across his face Royce would love to know exactly what her dad is thinking.

He reaches out, playfully tapping his oldest.

"Couldn't miss this, huh?"

"Not for the world."

"And you," he outstretches his hand, which Calum, shakes, "I've certainly heard a lot about you, young man."

Calum smiles, "Hopefully good things?"

Her dad laughs, the smile still on his face.

Royce sure hoped it stayed.

"Hopefully."

___

ok so I gotta say, @But1tsBetterIfYouDo made a comment in a past chapter that I really appreciated, 'cause I know most of y'all don't love paige, and yeah, she is a trip when it comes to calum, but if I were her in real life frfr I'd be really upset that my sister was messing around with him, 'cause yea, while he's definitely more than his reputation, he still can't deny it. and i think that's the poi nt of this story, tbh. because royce is more than the good girl calum thought she was and calum is more than what everyone assumes he is too. and the point is that no one should be labeled bc there are perceived "good" and perceived "bad" sides to everyone--to all of us. i love royce and i love calum in this but they've both got some serious issues and they both need a whoopin lol.

anyway.

story's coming to an end wow...

also wtf 1k followers WTF !!!

love ya. comment and vote <3

jusfayu || kamau ft. no wyld