Amnesia - A 5 Seconds Of Summer Story

Chapter 9

Sorry my dears! It has been a very very busy few months for me D:

Hope this makes up for it, despite being a filler!

“I can’t manage another bite!” Delany groaned, clutching her stomach.

There was a round of laughter at her admission.

I went back to poking my pancake with a fork.

There’d almost been an outcry when I’d only ordered one pancake, my friends asking (dead serious) if I was sick.

I’d rolled my eyes and scoffed, saying I’d eaten before I left that morning.

That was a lie.

My stomach was too knotted up to even consider a bite of food.

Why, God, why had I blurted that out to Calum of all people?

Was I trying to ruin his life a second time around?

“Shi? You ok?”

I glanced up into Calum’s eyes, clouded slightly with gentle concern.

I managed a smile. “Of course I am.”

The concern remained even as he smiled at me.

And I cursed inwardly because I could still remember how his concern looked.

I could still remember, clear as day, how his eyes would cloud with concern and his mouth would pinch whenever I was home late, or my phone had died, or I received hate messages from ‘fans’.

Concern had been the first emotion I’d experienced from Calum, when he’d found me crouched beside the lockers that first fateful day of year seven.

Concern from Calum was something I’d tried to avoid ever since.

I hated making him worry.

I forced my smile even brighter. “I promise.”

He relaxed and returned my smile, I tried not to wonder whether I was relieved that he didn’t push it or disappointed that he couldn’t read me as well as he once had.

“Can we play laser tag?” Jazmin’s eager voice broke into my thoughts and I glanced back up, placing my fork over my half-eaten pancake. “Just like old times?”

“What, you miss me winning all the time?” Luke smirked, flexing his muscles.

Michael slapped Luke’s bicep. “Luke Hemmings, you are the worst laser tag player I’ve ever seen. I always won!”

“Only because Jaz and Elliott were too busy making out to shoot anyone.” I piped up, winking at the two in question.

“Like you can talk.” Mike scoffed. “We could hardly pry you and Calum apart at the best of times, let alone in the dark.” There was a short pause and his lips fell open in shock at his own words. “Crap, Shi, I’m…”

To his surprise, I laughed.

“We were terrible, weren’t we?” I nudged Calum’s arm.

His momentary concern melted away into a wide grin, showing off his white teeth. “I almost felt bad for them sometimes. Mainly because they weren’t getting any of this.”

He gestured down his front with a smirk and we all burst into laughter.

So what if my own was a little forced?