•Cassidy

My eyes dazzled with joy as I scanned the beach house they had transported us to. It was absolutely beautiful and was in a secluded area on the beach, free from paparazzi and tourists, which was a bit more enjoyable than my house in Los Angeles. My heels clicked against the pure white tile in the vast kitchen as I strolled over to the large window that illuminated the living room and was a picture frame for the beach in front of us that had waves continuously crashing against the coarse sand.

I definitely looked like a human version of the heart-eye emoji right now.

The house was perfect in every single way, minus the fact that I would be living with Calum. He wasn't even glancing around, his head was ducked down and he was typing away on his cell phone. "Can you at least help Martin bring in the rest of the boxes?" I snapped at him, making him look up in a flustered manner.

"No. I'm not helping move our stuff in when I don't want to live here," Calum complained. "Don't be so sassy, Cass. I don't see you helping them either."

"Well I'm actually looking around and scoping the place out," I defended, crossing my arms across my chest again and feeling the chiffon material of my tank top rub against my forearms. "And don't call me, Cass or Cassie. We are not friends."

He stood up straight, removing the slump in his spine from leaning against the marble counter-tops in the kitchen. His t-shirt tightened around his biceps with his movements and it was quite weird to see the little scrawny Calum that I once knew as such a buff character. "It's a habit," He stated with a huff, making me want to shudder as the memories from our past creeped back into my brain. "And we're going to have to try to be friends, Cassidy. I'm not going to just bicker with you everyday. We can at least make this easy for ourselves and just forget what happened and start over."

I laughed in a condescending manner, shaking my head rapidly to completely turn down his offer. "I'm not starting over. At this point I'm pretty sure that even if you actually man up and apologize after four years that I still wouldn't forgive you. We are not friends and we never are going to be."

He ran a hand through his dark hair, tugging on the ruffled pieces slightly before letting his arm drop back down to his side. "You're overreacting. At least I'm making an effort to start over. I'm not going to live here and have you constantly arguing with me."

"We don't have to argue all the time. You stay in your room and I stay in mine. We'll make a schedule for separate meal times so we don't have to eat together. It's simple really," I suggested, making my stomach churn at the mention of having to have a sit down dinner with Calum.

"There is only one bedroom," Calum deadpanned.

My face paled as I glimpsed around the narrow hallway and realized he was correct. I must have mistaken the closet door as another room. "Fine. Then I'll sleep on the couch."

Martin dropped a heavy box onto the tiled floor, making a thud echo throughout the nearly baron home. He dusted his hands off on his black slacks and lifted the back of his palm to his forehead to remove the lingering beads of sweat that the kitchen light was reflecting off of. "You're not sleeping on the couch, Cassidy."

"Okay, then Calum is," I ordered, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.

"There is no way in hell I'm sleeping on a couch every night," Calum whined. He glimpsed up at his manger for help, similar to a child asking their parents for back up.

Martin let out a heavy exhale, practically puffing his breath right into my face. "You two are sleeping in that queen sized bed together whether you like it or not. If you really can't manage that, there is an air-mattress in the closet you can blow up and put on the floor in the bedroom. I really hope you two take this seriously. It will be good for you."

I huffed, not wanting to give in to him. The idea of spending an entire month in the presence of someone who I couldn't stand was unbearable. Every time I even heard his name I got the urge to be a kick-boxer, so I'm not sure how I was supposed to see his smug face everyday. "I'm going to take a walk."

• • •

The relaxation of my exploration around the serene beach ended as soon as I stepped inside from the back porch. I lightly wiped my sandy feet off on the carpet surrounding the steps and threw my light weight cardigan onto a chair. Calum actually finished setting up the house which came as a shock to me.

Three new loud and rambunctious teenage boys were lounging around on the sofas that had been placed in the center of the room. They were dark brown leather and seemed to be comfortable, but also were extremely tacky. The four pairs of eyes all directed their gaze to me and watched me like a hawk, as if they had never seen a girl in the entire lives.

"Hello bandmates," I greeted sarcastically, giving them an uncomfortable wave. They all just gaped at me blankly. "I'm going to be in my room. Nice meeting you?"

The three boys who I recognized from the premiere still failed to even mumble a noise and I'm sure Calum must have given them a warning that I was a total bitch and would lunge at them if they even spoke to me. I shuffled towards the only bedroom when I spotted the sink was filled with dishes, my ultimate pet peeve. "Calum! Is it really that difficult to put the dishes in the freaking dishwasher?"

Finally, a chuckle chorused throughout the room. Calum rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah, I don't do the dishes. Get used to it."

"You're such a slob!" I screamed, stomping towards the kitchen and collecting my hair onto one side of my face as I turned on the sink.

"Hey wait," One of his friends called. I glimpsed over at him, realizing that he was approaching me. He had blonde hair that was piled up on the top of his head and had electric blue eyes that were filled with sincerity, not to mention an adorable grin. "I'm Luke. I can help you with those dishes."

I smiled at him appreciatively, handing over a sponge that had yet to be used and needed to be drenched in water to gain that squishy quality. "Thank you. Sorry you had to see me yell like that. But everything Calum does pisses me off."

"Yeah I can tell," Luke responded with a light laugh as he gripped one of the plates and rinsed off the excess food. "He wouldn't tell us what happened between you two but I can assure you he isn't as bad as you think he is, Cass. Can I call you Cass?"

"Only my friends call me Cass," I told him stubbornly, trying my best to hide my amused smile as I scrubbed against the porcelain plates that seemed to be heavily stained with some form of sauce. I was unaware we even had food to eat in here or that Calum even had the ability to cook a proper meal.

Luke bumped his hip against mine gently, the volume of the chatter in the adjacent room increasing dramatically. "Well, how do I become your friend?"

I desired to just turn him down right then and there. I wasn't keen on the belief of friendships between opposite genders, mainly because the one I shared with Calum years ago had left me incredibly bitter. But he was undeniably cute and I found the black ring connecting from his lip to his cheek rather endearing and intriguing. "We can go get some frozen yogurt and tell each other all of our most embarrassing stories, including the one where milk came out of my nose in front of George Clooney."

Luke's jaw dropped and he clapped his hands together like a seal as he chuckled obnoxiously loud, making my cheeks alter to a shade of bright pink. "You're kidding, right?"

"I wish," I murmured, setting a plate into the plastic rack for it to dry. "The worst part was that some of the milk got onto his shirt!"

The two of us laughed even harder. "Oh my God! I don't think any of my embarrassing stories can beat that. But I do have some really good ones about Michael."

My eyes twinkled with anticipation, preparing my belly to hurt from laughing so hard. "Spill!" I exclaimed, tugging on the sleeve of his flannel shirt much like an impatient toddler at the toy store.

He smirked at me, making direct eye contact. "I'd rather save them for our frozen yogurt date. Well, if you want it to be a date. Otherwise, we can just go satisfy our dairy cravings at a slightly overpriced rate."

I giggled quietly, feeling a sense of giddiness at how sweet he was. Rarely did a guy ever put in this much effort at trying to flirt with me. It made it impossible for me to say no. "If you're asking me on a date then I will say yes. If we are just going to grab frozen yogurt then it's a no from me."

Luke's long fingers reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "Okay, well then Cassidy, would you like to go on a date with me? Because I'd really like to call you Cass."

"Because it has ass in it, right?" I joked, making the two of us giggle at my corny pun. "Just kidding. But yes, Luke. I'll go on a date with you."

"Alright, cool," He answered smoothly, although I could tell his heart was pounding against his rib cage and his palms were growing clammy, just like my own. "So do you want to go on Wednesday at like seven?"

"See you then," I replied, smiling brightly at the blondie. I was never this comfortable on accepting a date with someone I had only met minutes ago. But he was more adorable than a puppy. I could sense some sort of chemistry between us already. "Oh and thank you for helping me do the dishes."

He merely nodded, turning on his heel to return to his friends. I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding when his tall body disappeared into the living room. With a glimpse over in their direction I made eye contact with Calum, and suddenly my pissed off mood had crept back into my skin at the remembrance of why Luke was even in my house.

He's Calum's best friend. And Calum Hood is officially my roommate.

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author's note: updating early bc im excited af for this yay they livin together and cass is going on a date with luke wow livin the dream i am beyond jealous

you'll find out why they hate each other so much soon i promise its not gonna be like afraid where u have to wait like 84 years

cassidy is not mean she just hates calum & is forced to live with someone she hates which you wouldnt like either !!!!!!

thanks again babe i love you all remember to smile today :) (that was so corny omg but seeing my sugarplums happy warms my heart)

dedicated to cuddleaclifford bc her comments on the last chapter made me laugh ayy