March 22, 2015
C A L U M
After a few minutes of bugging Aspen to come with me to band practice and skip just one day of work, she still said no. And then I dropped down to my knees -literally, my knees still hurt- and clasped my hands together and begged. That's when she finally agreed to miss a day of work and come to my rehearsal.
And here we both are now, sitting at a table in the club we play at tonight, no one else in the place for it not being open yet. The club opens at noon, and the owner comes before hours, so he lets us practice before we actually play the gig. Luke, Michael, and Ashton are all on stage, trying to fix the drum kit that Ashton broke while getting warmed up. The occasional curse of frustration is belittled from them, to which Aspen and I laugh at each time.
As we laugh at how strange the word "fuck" sounds coming from Luke, the owner of the bar emerges from the back, his jet black hair in spikes straight from the early 2000's. He struts over to where Apsen and I are, and smiles, displaying his charmingly crooked teeth.
"You guys want something to drink?"
I'm about to decline for the both of us when Aspen interrupts me.
"Yeah, a beer would be great right now."
As he goes and grabs a beer and she stares at the grain in the wood that the table is made of, I watch her with a grin of surprise on my face, to which she says, "Ew. Don't stare at me, you weirdo."
Michael beats me to replying, "Calum would stare at you all day if he could."
My grin drops along with the rest of my face as Aspen snorts. Again, someone stops me from saying anything. "Done!!" Ashton yells, saving me from further embarrassment.
I mouth a thank you to him as I walk onto the small stage and he nods, sitting in the stool behind the drum kit.
Ashton's the only one who knows that I'm actually... in love with Aspen. He's the only one I've admitted it to. I've barely admitted it to myself, to be honest. I just don't want to grip the fact that I desperately need Aspen, and she doesn't need me. Well, at least not in the way that I need her. I need Aspen's love. I need her kisses, I need to be able to grab her and pull her into me without it being weird. I need to wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her neck and And call her all the sickingly cute nicknames that I please. I don't want these things, I need them. And each day that passes without her in my arms is a day that completely sucks.
"Should we play Calum's new songs?" Luke asks, tuning his guitar. I put the strap of my bass over my head, and start tuning it as well.
"I dunno, guys..." I say, a tone in my voice that says 'shut the hell up, you morons, the person I wrote the songs about is right fucking there'. But, of course, the three of them are too dumb to understand that I need them to shut up.
"Yeah, we need to practice those badly. I haven't gotten used to Just Saying yet." Ashton says, twirling one of his drum sticks in between his fingers.
"Fine." I sigh, and plug my tuned bass into the amp. I can only imagine how well this will go.
A S P E N
Taking the occasional sip of my beer, I listen to the songs that I guess Calum wrote. The lyrics are so... They connect, with me and him, and Raff even.
Oh, shit.
You got a boyfriend
And he's a total loser
All your friends tell you that he's got no future
But they like me
Just Saying
He never takes you out
And if he does he's late
And when the check comes
He always makes you pay
I'd never do that
Just saying
By this time, I'm almost sure that Calum wrote this song about me and Raff. But, I don't think anything of it. I mean, Calum obviously doesn't like Raff, he hates him in fact, and most song writers get their feelings out in music. Its normal.
You don't need him
I'll help you get over it
Just Saying
Just Saying
So if I were to break up with Raff, Calum would help me through it. That's sweet.
When you change your mind I'll be waiting
Cuz I'm better than him
Just Saying
Does Calum like me?
No. No, he doesn't. He just used something as inspiration for a relatable song.
As soon as the song ends, I stand and clap my hands, pushing away the confusion racked in my brain from the song just played. My Chummy's face is covered with a smile, and actually a shit load of sweat already. You'd be crazy not to smile back. His happiness is infectious.
--
"Aspen, what did you think?" Ashton asks, as I walk into their apartment in front of Calum, who decided to ride back in my car.
Its really late now. After the four of them practiced, we went out to lunch and that took a few hours since we all like talking, and then we all decided to go see a movie with Taylah, and then they had their show. I also went to that, along with Taylah. The people in the club loved them. Every song got applause and cheers. Calum really fit on that small stage; his face was lit with happiness and giddiness.
"You guys are great! And you're still only playing at a few clubs?" I ask in disbelief.
"We've written letters to a few small record labels here in Sydney, telling them to see a set of ours, but no one's followed through." Luke says, shrugging.
"Well, don't just give up! Keep writing to people. And don't just stay in Sydney guys. Send CD 's of your songs to people all over Australia. Do things!" I encourage them, as I plop down on the couch beside Michael and Taylah.
"She's right, guys. You could make this work." Taylah agrees.
"We suck." Calum says, making his fellow band members laugh while Taylah and I roll our eyes at each other in annoyance.
"Whatever..." Taylah chuckles.
I let out a big sigh in exhaustion. "Its really late. I should leave."
"Aw, no! Chummy, stay!" Calum whines.
"I can't, Cal. I actually have to work tomorrow."
"Just stay for the night and leave early tomorrow morning. Sleepover?" He asks, pulling a puppy dog look on me.
Honestly, it doesn't take a lot to say no. I really didn't feel like driving all the way back home, and time spent with Calum is always fun.
"Okay."
[an]
so there's going to be a cliche yet not cliche sleepover in the next chapter
hOw do u fEel rn aboUt this stOry ??
AND OMG THIGHS HAS ALMOST HIT 10K IVE NEVER HAD THAT MANY READS ON A STORY BEFORE THANK YOU SO MUCH KEEP VOTING AND COMMENTING ILY SO MUCH
