•Cassidy

My body slumped further down into the leather seat of the airplane, squishing into the odd material as I tried to re-adjust to get comfortable. It was three days before Christmas and I had finally built up the courage to go home. Bree reluctantly declined my offer to come with me, despite my attempts of persuasion, because she insisted that she could drive to San Fransisco to stay with her aunt and cousins for the holidays instead.

My parents still thought I was staying in LA, and I nearly was about to, but I just couldn't imagine how selfish that would be me for me to stay in my apartment just to avoid old memories. I mean, Calum wasn't even going to be in Australia, so there was no valid reason for me to miss out on traditions. The only thing that hurt was how eerily familiar this whole situation was.

I could still feel Calum's presence next to me, urging me to sleep on his shoulder or teasing me to go into the bathroom to have sex. I can't believe I ever turned down that opportunity. Well, obviously that was the start of our relationship and I still was hesitant of trusting him due to our past, but the one thing I truly regret about the summer was not spending more time with him. I shouldn't have wasted those first few weeks dating Luke when I should have been savouring every minute we had together. If only I knew back then how it would feel to miss him like this right now.

I had just under an hour left before I arrived to the airport. Even the whole 'surprising our family thing' reminded me of our trip here that occurred slightly after Max died. Everything suddenly felt so nostalgic and surreal.

I zoned out, trying to just focus on the familiar views that I saw from out of the window. It made my heart happy being home. Even though some of the memories that happened here haunted me, overall I had such a nice life growing up here. Los Angeles might be beautiful and exciting and the center of my career, but it would never be my hometown.

I retrieved my carry-on out from the overhead compartment and wheeled it behind me as we landed. There wasn't many papparazzi here, gratefully, and I tried my best to not draw attention to myself as I shuffled through the airport, hoping that my taxi was already here to bring me to my house.

Fortunately, the driver was ready for me. We got to my house in no time, considering I didn't leave too far from the aiport, and I thanked the driver and left him a generous tip. I took one big exhale before exiting the vehicle, hoping that my family would have a good reaction to my surprise arrival.

My sneakers that I always wore while travelling stepped over the stone pathway that led to my front door. I sweeped my pieces of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail away from my eyes so I could get a clear shot of their faces. I knocked on the door twice, and I could faintly hear steps coming to open it.

My father stood behind the door and his eyes nearly popped right out of his head at the sight of me. His jaw, which was now covered in gray-ish tinted stubble, dropped open in awe. "Cassie? What are you-" He asked, then just proceeded in wrapping his arms around me. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"Me too, Dad," I replied sinerely, hugging my father tightly. "I've missed you."

"Honey? Who's here?" I heard my mother call from the kitchen. She turned around the bend, pulling her oven mitts off of her hands. They immediately fell to the floor when she caught a glance at me. "Cassie! Oh my God!"

"Hi Mum," I greeted, feeling elated by how happy the two of them looked. I definitely made the right choice. She ran towards me to give me a hug as well and planted a huge kiss on my cheek.

"I'm so glad you came home, sweetie," She told me. "Now, are you tired from that long flight? Because if not then I could really use your help cooking for Elizabeth's baby shower tomorrow."

"Baby shower?" I repeated for needs of clarification, because I never got an invitation for my future niece or nephew's party. "I didn't know she was having one."

"Anthony didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to feel bad since he understood why you didn't want to come home," My father explained, placing a hand on my shoulder. "But now that you're here you can come! You should see Elizabeth, she's about to pop any day now."

I smiled at the thought. I can't wait to be an aunt. I was going to be the cool, successful aunt that would send them really expensive gifts and have them meet their favorite celebrities. I just hope I would have time to come home often and build an actual relationship with the baby.

"I need to go buy them a gift then," I decided, grabbing my car keys off the hook on the wall. "I'll be back really soon to help cook, okay Mum?"

•Calum

"Guess what?" Ashton asked in a sing-song voice, his happy-go-lucky spirit annoying me already.

I glimpsed up from my phone in irritation, not even cracking a smile. I couldn't help but be in an awful mood. It was three days before Christmas and I was still stuck inside the same cramped tour bus that reeked of sweat and greasy food. I just wanted to be back in my own bed, and I wanted to see my family again.

"What?" Michael asked from the other sofa.

"They found another artist," Ashton stated vaguely, sitting down on a spare chair.

I furred my eyebrows together. "Who did? What are you even talking about?"

"The charity concert," Ashton informed us, a smile still evident on his lips. "They found another artist. We don't have to perform. Our flight leaves tonight."

"What?" I screamed, jumping up from the couch in excitement. Luke and Michael both raised to their feet as well, staring at Ashton in awe.

"Martin just called me. Let's get packing boys. We're going home!"

•*•*•

"Cal!" My mum screeched as soon as I entered through my home early the next morning.

I grinned, rubbing my tired eyes quickly before wrapping my arm that wasn't carrying my suitcase around her body. "Hi Mum."

"I'm so glad you boys made it home in time for the holiday. And you can also go to Anthony's baby shower today with me if you want! You're probably exhausted from the flight though, maybe you should just rest," She rambled, still not able to take her eyes off of me, probably thinking about how much older and more mature her son looked now.

I clenched my jaw together tightly. I had missed Anthony's wedding due to having a gig that night, so I probably should attend to make up for that. It was crazy that he was even having his first child. But Cassidy would obviously be there, and I didn't think stirring up the drama would be a good idea on their celebration of their future kid.

I kicked my shoes off of my feet and left them on the mat adjacent to the front door. "I don't know, Mum. Won't Cassidy be there? That's probably not the best idea."

She patted my shoulder. "No worries honey, Mrs. Gold said she wasn't coming home for Christmas this year. Cassie won't even be there. And you don't have to either, but it would probably nice for you to see everybody."

My eyes widened immediately. How could she not be home? The movie had finished filming already and her tweets never mentioned any new projects coming up. I gulped, feeling a new surge of guilt creep through my stomach. "Did she not come home because of me?"

My mother raised her eyebrows, a sad smile plastered over her lips. "Of course, Calum. It must be hard for her considering the last time she was in Australia you two were a couple. Maybe it's about time you reach out to her and fix things. You have a long break now, right?"

"About a month off, yeah," I mumbled, yet my brain was still concentrated on the fact that I was the reason Cassidy wasn't spending her holidays with her family. I felt absolutely awful. "Well, now I have to go to the baby shower to apologize to the Gold's."

Mum beamed at me. "That's my boy. You have time to take a nap for now and get settled in. When your dad gets home from work we'll all head over there, alright?"

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author's note: so guess who is seeing each other in the next chapter :)))))

happy super bowl sunday to all u americans eat lots of chicken wing dip for me fam

my twitter (@calumfridge) is private now so if u dont follow me make sure u do so you will be able to see my tweets!!! cause i tweet such exciting and riveting stuff ya know (lmao)

love u all soooo much thank you for reading this and getting roommates to 6m reads that is absolutely insane and im so excited for whats about to come in the story and i hope you guys are excited and are excited about your own lives too and are havin a good time :)

im seriously just dedicating this to all of you again bc i cant pick a single person anymore you are all way too nice and supportive and blow my mind with how sweet you guys can be thank you so much for liking my story i love you guys