•Calum

My spoon clinked against the bowl as I lifted another spoonful of cereal to my mouth, chewing it momentarily before gulping it down. I was sitting alone at the counter in our kitchen, waiting for Cassidy to get of the shower so I could find out what we were doing for this party tonight.

As if on cue, Cassidy exited from the bathroom, her blonde hair was being smothered by a twisted towel lying on the top of her head, and she had another towel wrapped tightly around her body. She was clutching onto it so it wouldn't fall, but the action just made her boobs squish even closer together, making me have a hard time keeping my eyes on her face. Stupid boy brain.

She sauntered over to the kitchen, using one hand to hold up her towel while the other hand rummaged through the fridge for something to eat. "Do we have any apples?"

"I don't think so. We need to go grocery shopping soon," I stated, although I had a feeling Cassidy would be the one going since I had absolutely no idea what to buy at supermarkets.

"Yes we do," She agreed, smiling as she found some grapes as a replacement for her fruit craving. Cassidy popped a grape into her mouth and ate it quickly. "So tonight, do you want to go to the party with Bree and I? Or would you rather show up with the boys? I told Troy you guys were coming so it doesn't matter, it's just up to you who you would rather make an entrance with."

"I'll go with the boys," I said almost too quickly, thinking that if I showed up with Bree and Cass, I would look like an awkward third wheel. "Can you just give me the address?"

"No, I'll just let you knock on everyone's door in Beverly Hills until you find the place," She teased in a sarcastic manner, not being able to hide her playful grin. Cassidy picked up her phone and typed away a message with one hand, and soon enough my phone that had been resting in the palm of my hand vibrated. "There you go. Alright, I need to go get ready. Make sure you come find me when you get there, okay Cal?"

"Okay, Cass," I replied with a nod, standing up to put my dish in the sink, and somehow had bumped into her as we both attempted to travel in opposite directions. She just laughed it off and continued towards the bedroom, and it made me happy that she was laughing. We were off to a good start with this whole friendship thing and it was so nice to be able to have a normal conversation with her again.

I rinsed off my dish, and actually placed it inside the stainless steel dishwasher this time, before picking up my car keys and swinging them around on my finger. I needed to go pick up my friends.

•*•*•

Troy Wilde's house was easy to find since tons of cars lined the street of his gated community. It didn't surprise me in the slightest, he was ridiculously famous for his numerous acting roles, and I actually felt a little out of place to be attending this party. But it was still a party, so I wasn't going to turn it down.

"I'm pretty sure this is it," I declared, squinting at my phone to read the address Cassidy sent me to make sure. "Ready to go?"

"Let's do it!" Michael cheered loudly, obviously excited to be back in the party scene. We had only been in Los Angeles for maybe two weeks, so this was probably the first official party we've been to all summer.

I followed behind Michael as he raced towards the front door, and the volume of the music got even louder as we approached Troy's home. Michael opened the door without even knocking, and the four of us piled inside, scoping out the place. I saw a ton of familiar Hollywood faces and some other people that I've never seen before, but everyone seemed to be laughing and dancing and having a good time.

I located Cassidy quite rapidly, without even having to search his bachelor pad. She was actually with Troy, the two of them chatting and giggling, and he had one arm slung around his shoulder and the other hand was gripping onto a red cup. I believe Troy was 21, just like what Ashton had recently turned, so he probably purchased all of the alcohol.

Cassidy turned her head to the side mid-conversation and her eyes met mine, noticing me instantly. She looked amazing tonight. I know she always looked pretty, even when she was lounging around the home in just her sweatpants and t-shirts, but when she was all dolled up like this she looked great as well. She had on a black dress that hugged her body perfectly, and I swear Michael was drooling over her from his spot next to me.

"I'll be right back," I saw her mouth to Troy as she swayed over towards us, a giant grin on her face. "Hey, looked who showed up! Hi, roomie."

"Hi," I greeted breathlessly as I saw her up close, with her make-up making her seem prettier than she already was.

Cassidy awkwardly pulled me in for a quick hug, and did the same thing to Ashton and Michael, greeting them simultaneously. When she reached Luke at the end of the line she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, and he chuckled as he held her tightly to him, pressing a short kiss onto her lips as she untangled their bodies.

"You look beautiful, Cass," Luke told her with a giant smile, making the three of us stand there uncomfortably and just view their exchange.

She grinned before turning towards us, her fingers intertwining with his. "Alright, I hope you don't mind but I'm stealing him away from you guys for a bit," Cassidy explained, and we just laughed, as she tugged him out towards the dance floor.

"So, they are actually like a thing now?" Ashton asked over the music as we all slowly emerged into the crowd of people. I shrugged. Ashton noticed Bree who was talking to some girl over by the food, and he dashed away before I even could respond.

I turned to my left to ask Michael what he wanted to do, but I then realized that he had already made his way over to the drinks, leaving me alone. I groaned, shuffling through the people dancing in hopes of finding someone I knew.

"Hey, Calum, right?" A voice called, making me stop my strolling and spin around. I recognized Troy immediately and stuck my hand out for him to shake, which he gladly did. "Nice to finally meet you, man! Cass has been telling me loads about you. How is the whole roommate thing working out?"

I smiled. "It's getting better. Thanks for letting us come here tonight. Hopefully it doesn't get too wild."

My grin faltered as soon as the words came out of my mouth. That was probably the stupidest thing I have ever said.

Surprisingly, Troy chuckled, placing a hand on my shoulder. "That was an awful joke. But either way, you guys are welcome anytime. Any friend of Cass is a friend of mine. I love that girl. She's the sweetest thing, isn't she?"

"Yeah," I mumbled, not sure if I was becoming jealous by how close they were or if I was realizing that I had corrupted a sweet girl into someone so sassy.

"Alright, well I have to go talk to some people. Feel free to grab a drink, 'kay?" Troy said before dashing off towards one of his friends, barely giving myself enough time to nod.

I really wanted to have fun and dance tonight, so that's exactly what I did. I didn't even know the people I was dancing with, but they seemed to enjoy my dorky dance moves to the fast paced music blaring through the speakers. I even threw in some butt shakes, since that was always a crowd favorite.

I took a break before I started to sweat to get something to drink, and as I filled up my plastic cup I noticed that Luke and Cassidy were practically right next to me. So I listened in on their conversation.

"You're funny," Luke complimented while he was bursting into a fit of laughter. "Hey, I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back in like two seconds."

She must have nodded as he disappeared towards the bathroom. I was about to go over to her and ask her if she was having as good of a time as I was, but another guy had already approached her before I had the chance. I didn't know who he was, and he was drenched in sweat, with a bottle of beer pressed against his palm. "Hey Cassidy Gold! You look great tonight, want to go dance?"

I tried my best to focus on the way the drink in my cup fizzed as I swirled it around, but I couldn't stop my ears from perking up. Maybe she knew this loud and obnoxious guy. "Thank you, but that's okay. I've actually been dancing all night so I'm pretty tired. I'm sorry."

From the corner of my eye I watched this guy place his hand on her hip and she immediately stiffened. "Hey, that's alright, beautiful. Why don't we just go upstairs and lay down for a bit then? It doesn't require that much energy to make out."

My eyes widened and I turned my head completely to view this scene, not even caring if I was eavesdropping anymore. Who was this guy? Did they used to date or something?"

Her lips trembled as she shook her head rapidly. "Um, no thanks. I'm waiting for someone so I can't really just leave."

His hand on her hip slowly moved down and reached her butt, squeezing it through the black dress she was wearing. Cassidy gasped, trying to push him away, but he didn't budge. "Stop!"

"I know you want me, Cassidy. Don't fight it," The man tried, placing a kiss on her neck.

I slammed my cup down onto the table. I didn't care if she knew him or not. "Hey! I'm pretty sure she told you to stop!" I screamed, shoving him off of her before he could violate her anymore.

He stumbled backwards, glaring at me with utter annoyance circling in his narrowed irises. The man huffed before stomping away, not even putting up a battle or saying another word.

I wrapped my arm around Cassidy and pulled her into my body as I shuffled her away from the scene. "You okay? I'm sorry I didn't step in sooner. I thought you two might have known each other or something."

She she shook her head that was placed against my chest, and her body was still shaking. I felt awful now. I could have stopped him from even touching her. "No, I don't know who that was. But thank you. Can I just go sit down for a bit?"

"Of course," I insisted, rubbing her shoulder to try and soothe her as she clutched onto my torso tightly. She was physically fine, but I think she was just terrified of the situation and how that could have gone much further if I wasn't there.

Cass seemed to be breathing heavily so I did something completely out of instinct. I kissed the side of her forehead.

She didn't seem to jump or be surprised by my action, but I was so scared that Cassidy was going to squirm away or yell at me. I was just trying to console her. I finally found a bedroom that was away from the thumping music and opened the door with my hand that wasn't draped over her body.

However, the room was not empty as I had suspected. In fact, there was a couple making out against the wall. I immediately recognized that dark brunette hair to belong to Bree, but with further inspection I realized that the boy who her lips were connected to was not Ashton, but Michael.

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author's note: it took so much strength for me to not title this chapter "we gon party buckwild" oMG I NEVER TAKE ANYTHING SERIOUSLY IM SORRY

troy is played by dylan o'brien let your imagination do with that as it pleases

so i start my senior year tomorrow and i still havent finished any of my ap summer work hahahaha im screwed but oh well

love you all so much and thank you for reading :) this is where the shift in c squared/calidys relationship is coming and im so excited for the plot to unveil hehe

is anyone going to the ed sheeran concert in philly next week? if you are pls let me know :)

dedicated to ashtoninchworm for saying "this is the best book ever like omg"  because aw you are so sweet ilysm