❀ J U L I A ❀
"You never told me you had a girlfriend."
Those were the first words that slipped out of my mouth when Calum slid into the booth across from me, and I watched as he rolled his eyes jokingly. we were currently seated in the coffee shop I spent most of my time in, as Calum apparently felt the need to apologize for the overaffectionate display I'd been forced to witness the day before.
"Well, you never told me you had a boyfriend." he countered.
"I didn't even know I had one until yesterday." I said, taking a sip of my grande French vanilla. I'd been having troubles sleeping lately, and the run-in with Calum's girlfriend had left me with more flashbacks of Joyce, resulting in me going to bed at 3 am. I needed as much caffeine as possible to keep myself upright, so I took another giant sip before continuing. "Besides, you probably should've realized it. I mean, I definitely kiss all my friends like I kiss Ashton." The sarcasm in my voice was obvious, and I tried to stifle a smile at Calum's glare.
"Well I'm not psychic," he muttered. "For all I knew, you two could've been friends with benefits."
I almost choked on my coffee, and could feel a flush starting to creep up my neck at the thought.
"Friends with- no, stop trying to change the subject." I managed to say, feeling an immense satisfaction when I saw Calum's smirk turn into a scowl.
"Fine, Addison's not my girlfriend." he finally sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, why do you care so much anyways?"
I knew I didn't really have a right to be pushing him for information, but Calum was someone who I'd grown to consider as a close friend. I figured his love life was probably a sensitive subject considering the mysterious girl from his past he had told me about, but I still wanted to know why he was with a girl like Addison. Even though I didn't even know her, from what I had gathered she wasn't a very nice person.
"Can a friend not ask another about his love life?" I questioned innocently.
Calum narrowed his eyes at me before pulling his cup of tea towards him, staring into its depths like it held the meaning of life. "She's just a girl okay? We hook up sometimes, that's it, and everyone thinks she's my girlfriend but she's not."
In no way did I have a say in what Calum did with his life, but I couldn't help but frown, something he noticed right away.
"Look," he sighed. "I know it's nowhere close to what you and Ashton are, but I'm not ready for that kind of commitment-"
"Is this because of that girl from your past?" The words spilled out before I could stop them, and I immediately knew I crossed the line when his expression grew stony.
"You don't have to answer that," I hastened, determined to at least attempt some damage control for my stupid mouth. "I shouldn't have said anything-"
"No," Calum pulled off his beanie, running a hand through his messy hair agitatedly. "You shouldn't have to worry about me blowing up whenever she's mentioned. It might result in another broken phone."
I flashbacked to the time I first met him and the rest of the band, remembering when he and Michael had fought over my phone and it ended up getting thrown to the floor. A memory surfaced of what had gotten Calum so angry in the first place - Michael had told Calum he didn't need another girlfriend because he had the blonde to keep him company. Suddenly, everything began to add up in my head, and Calum's mystery girl was the centre of it all.
"It is because of her," I said softly, watching as he looked up at me with suddenly tired eyes, providing me with all the confirmation I needed.
"Can we- can we just go?" Calum asked quietly, fixing his beanie on his head and standing up from his seat with a screech.
YOU ARE READING
stutter » a. irwin
Fanfiction[one] in which a drummer and a songwriter find common interest in a coffee shop - along with something more that neither of them could have ever expected.
