Chemistry; 5SOS

0.3

It was now Monday, and Cassidy was dreading going to school. And this time, it wasn't because of her calculus class.

Over the past 48 hours, she still couldn't figure out what to tell the boys. She felt bad about walking out, they deserved better than that, but she knew she couldn't have handled it any better than she did.

Of course they were all attractive; anyone with a brain knew that. And they were all nice and funny and talented but, Cassidy never thought of them like...that. She'd imagine what it would be like to date them, but she never thought it was a possibility until now, that is.

Cassidy wasn't paying much attention to anything, so much so that she walked right past Ashton.

He took a deep breath and followed after her. "Cassidy!" He touched her shoulder, and she finally took her earbuds out and turned around.

"Oh, hi Ash," she greeted him, quietly. They stared at each other for a solid ten seconds. "I-I'm sorry for walking out on Saturday."

"It's alright, we get it." Cassidy nodded, looking away, not noticing how concerned Ashton looked. "We're sorry, we didn't want to make you so uncomfortable." She shook her head.

"I-I know you didn't."

"I'm assuming you don't like us back..." Cassidy didn't know how to answer.

"I don't know."

Ashton nodded. He didn't think of anything to say; nothing would've worked, anyways. "I don't think we should talk until I figure...this out."

"Cass..." She looked up, seeing that his face had fallen. "We already miss you."

"It's a bit weird for me, Ashton." The bell rang. They stared at each other. "I'll see you later."

Cassidy started walking away.

"When?"

"I don't know."

———

"What do you mean, 'she doesn't wanna talk to us'?"

"I mean, she doesn't want to talk to us," Ashton repeated.

"Like...ever?" Luke looked up from his biology book.

"No, until she figures out what to do about us, I guess," he explained. Calum looked up, and Ashton immediately knew what he was feeling.

"This is exactly-"

"Why you didn't want to do it, we know," Michael cut him off. "We said we'd give her the weekend and talk to her today."

"And I did."

"Right," Michael gave up on the math problem he was working on. "You talked to her."

"What the hell does that mean?" Ashton sat back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"I mean, it was just you," Michael corrected himself. "What if we tried talking to her?"

"Well...I guess we could try," Luke agreed, slowly. "But, if she tells us to fuck off, we do. We'll give her the space she needs."

The rest of the boys agreed, knowing it was better to respect Cassidy's space than try to bother her.

A little while later, it was lunchtime, one of the only two periods they had together. The boys sat at their regular table, waiting to see where Cassidy would go.

After getting her food, Cassidy scanned the cafeteria, looking for somewhere to sit. She stopped at the boys, looking at them for half a second before finding a small table for herself.

Calum got up, following her and sitting across from her. Cassidy gave him one glance, and kept her eyes on her homework. Calum leaned over and took one earbud out.

"Hi."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't put it back in. "Can we talk? Please?"

"Calum..."

"I just...I miss you Cassidy."

"It's been three days."

"I know."

She finally paused her music, sat up, and looked at him. He looked...different. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite point out, but whatever it was, it was strong, and she felt it affecting her.

"I'm sorry I walked out," she apologized.

"Don't be. I know it's overwhelming." They stayed quiet for a moment. Calum went to talk again. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"I think you know," she replied.

"Cass, you either hate us or you like us too."

"Calum, of course I don't hate you."

"Then you like us?" He smirked, slightly. Cassidy didn't reply and focused back on her homework. "Cassidy...you know you can talk to me."

"Not about this."

"Well why not?" She stared at him, hoping he would somehow get what she wanted to say.

"Calum, please leave me alone."

He sighed, and got up. "I just...I really want you to know that I care about you, Cass, and I want you to be alright."

"I know, Cal." Cassidy finally smiled. It was small, but it was there, and Calum knew that's all she could do right now, and he was grateful for it. "I gotta finish this..."

"Right," Calum nodded. "Text me if you need anything, Cass."

"I will Calum, thanks."

He smiled as he walked away, his fears about her slightly disappearing.

"What are you smiling about?" Luke asked, as Calum sat back in his seat.

"Oh, nothing." He watched as Cassidy started back on her homework. "She...nothing. It was nothing."

"Okay, bitch ass liar."
———

happy birthday to my mans💕 love that bitch so much