•Calum

The contrast of the cold water against my tired skin was one of the most refreshing feelings I have ever had the pleasure of feeling. I was up all night cuddling with Cassidy, attempting to get her to stop crying or to just console her as best as possible, but it resulted in me getting absolutely zero sleep. Even after Cassidy finally got some shut eye, I still remained awake just because I was so worried about her.

Bree was in our room now, taking over as her temporary therapist, but I'm not sure how long it would be to get my happy Cassie back. I didn't blame her for grieving, nor did it annoy me, I was pretty sad about Max's death too, but it was hurting me to see her so upset.

What did annoy me, however, was that Luke has yet to even drop by. She told him that Max died and apologized for standing him up as soon as she got home, and Luke hasn't came over to check on her once within that time-span. He should have dropped everything and came here when he found out the news. That's what I would have done.

The fact that the two of them were still together was pissing me off. It's inevitable that he's going to hurt her because he's a complete idiot and doesn't know anything about Cassidy. For some reason she is still drooling over him, even though I'm right here. When is she going to realize?

At some point during the midst of clutching her petite body against mine, I found out that my crush on her had came back. It came back so quickly and slapped me in the face so hard that it probably left my cheeks red. Cassidy was beautiful with a beautiful personality, and I cared about her so deeply, more than I have ever cared about any girl. I don't think my protectiveness over her is merely because she's my best friend; it's because I liked her. I liked her a lot.

Although I had the urge to kiss her plump lips and whisper sweet nothings into her ear, I still had my other best friend in the picture. Luke may be driving me absolutely insane but he was still my bandmate and has been my best friend for years, and I couldn't rip them apart like the jealous person inside of me desired to. I wouldn't pull a Michael, even though I really freaking wanted to.

To: Lukey Luke- you better get your scrawny butt over here soon

To: cal- ash and i have writing today :-(

To: Lukey Luke- you're such an idiot luke she's basically your girlfriend and her dog died wtf is wrong with you

To: cal- i know i feel bad but there's nothing i can do

To: cal- love you

To: Lukey Luke- love u too but you're being such an asshat right now

To: cal- yeah

I rolled my eyes at his nonchalant response and tossed my phone to the side. Bree's exit from our bedroom caused me to stand up from my spot on the slouchy sofa, and she sent me a sad smile. Bree was one of the most annoying girls I've ever met, but despite her horrid personality, she was an amazing friend to Cassidy.

"I have to go to work," Bree explained with a sigh. "I'll come back over later. Do you want me to bring you guys food or anything? I think Cass needs a big tub of ice cream."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks for your help, Bree," I said sincerely, pulling her in for a friendly hug. She wiggled out of my grasp after a few seconds. "Hey, is anything going on with you and Michael?"

She shrugged her shoulders in response. "Not really. I mean, I like him but I don't think he wants to do anything again because of Ashton. Which I agree with. So, we'll see what happens."

"Alright, just don't hurt my best friend please," I requested in an intimidating manner even though I was smiling.

"You can tell Luke that I say the same thing," Bree responded quickly. "Okay I need to get going. See you later, Calum."

"Bye," I mumbled, watching her disappear towards the front door to leave. I shuffled into the bedroom, spotting Cassidy curled up in a ball on the mattress, just staring at the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. I didn't say anything, I just slowly crept into bed next to her, wrapping my arms around her body and pulling her towards me so I could hold her in my arms.

"I want to go home," Cassidy finally declared in a firm tone.

I pressed a kiss onto her cheek. "We are home, Cass."

She spun around so she was facing me, her bright green eyes staring into my own intently, making my heart rate incline. "No, I want to go to Australia. Actually maybe I don't. Max isn't going to be running around anymore and that is going to kill me."

Cassidy whimpered and suddenly tears were spilling over the brim of her eyelids again. She covered her face with her palms and I sighed heavily. "Come here, baby," I cooed, moving my arms to around her waist so I could pick her up and place her directly on top of my body. Cassidy was squeezing me tightly now, as if she needed this hug more than anything in the world.

My lips moved forward to plant a chaste kiss onto her forehead. "You should go back to Australia, Cass, even if Max isn't there. That is where you'll feel closest to him. And I'm sure some of your sadness is because you're homesick, and your parents probably need your support too."

"I know," She muttered, still crying, as she buried her face into my chest.

I let my fingers comb through her hair, stroking each soft blonde strand as if it would help soothe her. "I'll talk to the boys and see if I can cancel some of the writing sessions for next week. They probably won't be too happy about it but I honestly don't care."

Cassidy's head raised off of my chest so her head was basically hovering above mine, tempting me even further to cup my hands around her cheeks and kiss her. But I couldn't.

She quirked an eyebrow at me in confusion. "What? Calum, you don't have to go with me."

"Yes I do. We're a package deal," I announced, sending her a small smile.

For the first time since she had found out the news of Max's death, her lips curved into a weak grin. "You would do that? For me?" Cass asked breathlessly.

"Hey, I have family next door to you that I want to see too," I protested in a joking tone, which only made her grin become wider. "But yeah. I would do anything for you, Cassie. You know that."

Now it was her turn to lean forward and kiss my cheek. My breath hitched in my throat due to the fact that I was very aware of my crush on her now, and this simple gesture, that left a lingering tingle from her lips, was making it hard for me to think straight.

"Can we, um, can we go look at plane tickets?" Cassidy ask shyly, as if she was too timid to demand that we leave as soon as possible.

"Yeah," I agreed, stretching my arm out to reach my laptop that was on the nightstand next to us. She climbed off of me and plopped down in the spot beside me, and I sat up straight so my back was pressed tightly against the cold headboard. The laptop was in the middle of our laps, and her dainty hands clicked away on the keyboard. "I'm paying for this, by the way."

Cassidy dug her elbow into my chest. "What? No you're not. Shut up."

"Yes I am," I insisted. "It can be your birthday present."

She stared at me for awhile through her post-crying eyes before finally cracking a tiny smile. "You're just too lazy to go to the store, Cal."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "True."

Her attention returned to the various options of flights and I slyly unlocked my phone, opening up the group message I had with the boys.

To: idiots - cass and i are going back to australia soon for a little bit. anyone want me to bring them back a kangaroo ?

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author's note: this is so short im sorry but ive been super busy omg bUT CALUM ADMITS THAT HE HAS A CRUSH ON CASS WOW AMERICANAUTHORS ARE RIGHT THIS IS GONNA BE THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE, MY LI-I-I-I-FE

but real talk when is calum gonna make a move like i get he's bein a good friend kinda but just kiss the girl already dammit

thank you all so much for reading and commenting and voting i love you all thank u for making my life so exciting

shameless self promo to follow me on twitter @calumfridge bc im thirsty and sometimes im funny on there and im more active on twitter than wattpad its just easier idk

dedicated to thalianursabrina for saying that my author notes make her smile and she called me her sunshine like iM SCREAMING U ARE SO CUTE