•Calum

"Please."

Cassidy shook her head stubbornly. "We're not kids anymore, Calum. I don't think I can even fit through you window."

I groaned loudly, pressing on the window to open it even further. I've been trying to get her to sneak out and make the expedition that the two of us were quite accustomed to. One of us would climb out of their window, land on the tree in between the two of our houses, and with lots of assistance, would make the jump into the other bedroom.

The two of us were both battling an awful case of jet lag, so it only made sense for us to be awake in the middle of the night together. "Come on, you can do it. I won't let you fall."

She chuckled at me. "Cal, you do realize we are both nineteen years old, right? We don't have to sneak out anymore. I can just walk out my front door without getting in trouble."

"Where's the adventure in that?" I argued, curling my lips into a pout at how lame her attitude was.

Cassidy huffed, gracefully propping the window open and climbing down to the tree branch that was barely even a foot away. She gripped onto it tightly to maintain her balance as she crawled closer to my house. I bent down to grasp her and she jumped into my arms, letting me tug her through the window with ease.

She dusted herself off. "I can't believe I can still do that."

"So impressive," I noted, kissing her nose and making that adorable grin overtake the features of her face.

Cassidy's eyes scanned the room, pursing her lips together tightly. It still looked exactly the same as before, and I was grateful that my parents didn't change my room into an office or a workout room or something. "The last time I was in this room I lost my virginity. How weird is that?"

My eyebrows knitted together. I never even thought of it like that. I forgot that the last time she had ever been in my house was the time I completely wrecked our friendship. "Very weird," I whispered, suddenly feeling the guilt creep back into my veins again.

She took a seat on my bed, letting out a deep sigh. I plopped down next to her, picking up her dainty hand and intertwining our fingers together with ease. My thumb involuntarily rubbed over hers, tracing a repetitive pattern over her knuckle. "Cass?"

Her head was now resting against my shoulder. "Mm?"

"I promise I'm not going to hurt you again. I learned my lesson last time," I explained, pressing a slow kiss on her forehead. "I don't want to even think about not having you in my life, let alone actually letting that happen."

"I won't let that happen either," She agreed, tilting her head up to smile at me. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back with the motion, and I desperately wanted to run my fingers through the soft ringlets she was sporting today.

I gently placed my hand on her cheek, caressing it carefully. Her bright emerald colored irises were staring into mine with such adoration that I felt my heart was combusting with joy. "You are so beautiful, baby," I mumbled, inching my face forward to connect our lips together.

Cassidy responded to the kiss quickly, her lips mirroring my movements as her palms gripped my hips, sliding their way up my loose shirt to touch my warm skin underneath. She moved her lips to my jawline, peppering kisses all along my face and down my neck, making a small moan escape my mouth.

"Cass," I groaned, making her giggle before she cupped both hands around my face to kiss me again. I used this to my advantage to grab her waist and pull her into my lap with both of her legs on opposite sides of my body.

Cassidy courageously lifted my shirt up even further before finally just peeling it right off of my body. The cool breeze from the open window tickled against my stomach. She stared down at me with lust, an entirely new concept for the both of us.

I tried to lay down, pulling her down with me, but in the process I must have leaned too far back and my head collided with the headboard behind me. The sound of my headboard smashing against the wall created a booming echo. Cassidy burst into laughter immediately, whereas I was clutching onto the back of my head in pain.

"You're such an idiot," Cassidy teased through her fit of hysterical laughter. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I huffed, my cheeks turning slightly pink in embarrassment. Cassidy was well accustomed to my clumsiness, but I have never been clumsy in bed before, so this is mortifying.

There was a knock on my bedroom door, silencing both of us. Her eyes widened in fear, especially since we both knew that if we got caught with Cassidy on top of me in my bed that there was no way her parents would let us live together anymore.

"Calum?" My mother called from outside of the room. "Are you awake?"

Cassidy leaped off me quickly and I sat up straight, throwing my shirt back on as swiftly as possible. "Um yeah," I yelled out to her, glancing over to Cassidy in panic. There was no way she could get back to her room in time, so instead she just sat cross-legged on the floor, looking as innocent as possible.

The door opened, revealing my groggy Mum who was clad in her pajamas. Her gaze flickered between Cassidy and I, a concerned expression plastered over her face. "I heard a loud noise come from your room and it woke me up. Is everything okay?"

I tried my hardest to not let my cheeks blush even more, but luckily the lights were so dim that I doubt she would have even be able to distinguish a change in coloration. "Uh yeah, I'm fine," I informed her, glimpsing around the room to find an object that could be used as a scapegoat. I spotted my soccer ball in the corner. "I was just kicking the ball around like I used to and I accidentally hit the wall."

My mother placed her hands on her hips, scowling at me. "Calum Thomas! You know you could put a hole in the wall again."

"I would pay for it if I did, Mum. Actually I can pay for anything new you'd like in the house as an apology," I attempted, smiling at her innocently.

She laughed, since she was unable to ever stay mad at me, especially since she was probably just grateful that I was even in this room again. "That's okay, honey. Just don't do it again. The rest of us are trying to sleep."

"Right. I'm sorry."

My mum looked over at Cassidy with disapproval. "Cassie, why don't you head back home. It's very late and I don't get why you two aren't in bed getting the rest you need."

"Well we're pretty jet-lagged," Cassidy explained innocently. "But you're right. I should go home."

"Yes you should," My mother pressed, which shocked me since she loves Cassidy like a second daughter. "I'm glad you two are friends again but it's getting a little weird for me to see how close you two actually are."

I coughed awkwardly. "Okay, well goodnight Mum."

"Goodnight, you two," She muttered before exiting out of my bedroom and shutting the door behind her.

Cassidy let out a deep breath that she must have been holding as she stood up on her feet. "She's so suspicious, Cal. This is bad."

I placed my hands on her shoulders to stop her from bouncing on the balls of her feet anxiously. "It's going to be okay, baby," I promised her, pulling her against my chest to feel the warmth of her embrace. I kissed the top of her head, inhaling the sweet smell of her hair. "Don't worry about it. We're not going to get caught. And even if we do, maybe they won't make a big deal out of it as you think. They've always wanted us to end up together."

"But they're just super protective and I don't want them to put any restrictions on anything," She muttered, nestling her head against my chest as I hugged her tightly.

"You need a good cuddling session," I self-diagnosed, scooping her arms and lifting her onto my mattress.

Cassidy smiled at me, while rolling her eyes, as her petite body curled up against mine while we both laid down on the flimsy mattress. "Only for a few minutes. I don't want your mum to get mad at me again."

I kissed her forehead, letting my lips linger there momentarily. She snuggled even closer to me, one of her legs tangling with mine, as I kept a firm grip on my one arm that was wrapped around her body. There was not a better feeling than cuddling with the girl you like, especially when you get to hold her in your arms. "You should just sleep here. They won't find out."

"Too risky," Cassidy whispered, moving her finger on the top of my chest to construct an invisible painting on the top of my skin. "It's weird sleeping alone, though."

"So then you should stay," I pressed, nudging my foot against hers.

She merely grinned, suddenly tilting her head up to peck my lips softly. "Maybe on a night where I haven't disturbed your parents enough."

"That was my fault for being clumsy," I argued, trying to tug on her body to prevent her from getting up. "Cass. Don't leave."

"I have to. I don't want to make Joy mad at me. That would make this a terrible trip," Cassidy declared, wiggling out of my grip. I whined loudly, and she simply kissed me again. "Goodnight, Cal."

I finally gave up. "Goodnight, baby."

I watched as she disappeared out of my room as opposed to taking the window this time, since her presence was already known.

I flopped down on the bed with my head hitting my pillow, wondering how in the hell I had managed to become such a sappy kind of guy. I was used to having sex with a girl the same day I had met that time while getting absolutely no feelings for them. But now I was willing to wait for the perfect time to make it even more special. I cared about her too much to rush her into anything and I cared about her too much that I gave in to letting her leave. I was falling hard and it was absolutely mind-boggling, but maybe this was exactly what I needed.

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author's note: drama central is about to start soon and i aM SO EXCITED FOR DRAMA IS THAT BAD IDK IDC

can we talk about the good girls music video that came out yesterday bC OH MY GOD CALUM IN A SUIT AND THEN HIM IN A BASEBALL SHIRT AND SNPABACK AND LUKE IN THAT DAM RED FLANNEL AND MICHAEL LOOKIN HOT AF ESPECIALLY WITH THE MICROPHONE AND ASHTONS BICEPS OMGFDIMAS

anyways thank u guys so much for readin this it literally gained 100k more reads in one day like wtf is goin on but i love you guys so much thank you thank you thank you i hope u have a good day today !

dedicated to _jacquelinexo_ for saying that im an amazing writer and that i actually make her feel like my friend when i write these authors notes and reply to comments and that was so cute omg i love you thank you & yes we are all friends here ok cuties