Somebody I Don't Know : Book 1 of the Teeth Series

25

"We need to talk."

Those were exactly the words that Fallon wanted to hear before she rushed on stage with her band to play to one of the biggest crowds they would have on tour. Not.

They were in Texas and the heat had apparently finally brought Calum out of his mood. A year and a half of dating Calum had taught her that when he became distant, when he needed his space, it was really best to just give it to him. Those instances had typically been short though and it had been nearly a week since she and Calum's adventure that had felt very date-ish. The only interactions they had were when they absolutely couldn't be avoided and while it was heartbreaking for Fallon she knew she couldn't push him. He tended to run when he felt backed into a corner.

She held a bit of resentment for him for throwing her off like that. They hadn't truly spoken in days and then he was in her space, so close that she was breathing in his pleasant scent, warm and woodsy. His sudden presence was heady and debilitating and it meant that as she took the stage to perform her thoughts were far away from her place on stage.

Admittedly, Revelry had taken a backseat in her life as of late and she hated that. For so long the band had been her everything and then things had changed and life happened and her priorities shifted. Guilt consumed her as she thought of the day that Calum had first asked her about joining the tour. She hadn't even realized that the rest of the girls thought their band was struggling. She had been so emotionally checked out that even recently she hadn't been giving her band, her fans, or even herself the attention they deserved and that had to change. She resolved that the change would start that day, that very minute as she forced herself to shove all the worries about what Calum might want to discuss with her to the very deepest places in her mind, her hands gripping her bass as the first notes of their first song hit and for the first time in far too long she felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

The crowd was large considering that Revelry was only the opening act. Then again, Five Seconds of Summer fans had always responded well to them. So well in fact that they had sold more albums over the first month of tour than in the months since the release combined. Management had even had to order more merchandise when some of their designs began to sell out. The good fortune was encouraging and so was her resurgence of love for performing that she suddenly found herself overwhelmed with as she strutted across the stage towards Chayse who was about to hit her guitar solo.

Yeah, things were uncertain in a lot of aspects of her life, but this—performing, was something she would never doubt.

*

It had been far longer than Calum was willing to admit since he had seen Fallon at her top form. He had forgotten just how talented a bassist and performer she was. When they had first met she had been so intrigued with his specific techniques and they had spent hours together working on perfecting her own. He had never met someone who picked things up so easily and he had envied the ease at which she adjusted to his suggestions. She amazed him and probably always would.

He had rushed to get ready earlier, something cosmic had told him that he needed to see their performance tonight and now he was grateful to whatever had forced his Doc Marten clad feet to the side of the stage. Her pink hair was slightly faded now but it still had a cotton candy appearance to it as she bounced around the stage, vivacious and happy. Fuck. He had forgotten how truly beautiful she looked like this.

Calum hadn't meant to confront her about his desperate need for a conversation with her but the words had slipped out as soon as he had seen her in the hallway on her way to stage. Immediately he had felt like an asshole. "We need to talk." Isn't the kind of thing you should say to someone before they take a stage and he of all people should have known that. As he himself ran up the stage steps and took his place behind his microphone he hoped the show would pass quickly so that he could finally get a week's worth of thoughts off of his chest.

*

Water droplets cascaded down the defined muscles of Calum's toned chest as he stepped from the shower and toweled off. He had wanted to find Fallon immediately after he left the stage but he knew that some of the adrenaline that coursed through his veins needed to burn off and he was a sweaty mess. Those facts had led him to the showers, redressing was now the only thing standing between him and Fallon finally figuring out their next steps.

Redressing was proving to be an issue though, since he now stared at an empty bench where he was certain his clothes had previously been.

"Alright, c'mon. You've had your fun, give me my clothes back." He called out into the backstage shower area. He was certain this was some childish prank pulled by one of his bandmates and if he had to guess he had a pretty good idea of which one might be responsible. "Ashton, give me my fucking clothes. I gotta talk to Fal."

"And what if it's not Ashton who took your clothes?" The previously mentioned pink haired girl asked as she stepped around the corner with a wide grin and mischievous glint in her eye.

"Oh, christ. Give me my clothes, Fal. I'm naked." He said, tightening his grip on the towel that surrounded his waist.

"I can see that." A proud smile danced across her face as she clutched the pile of his clothing closer to her chest.

"You know if you keep this up I'm going to have to take it as a sign of war and retaliate." His voice was low and husky but there was a twinkle of amusement within his chocolate brown eyes.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Oh, is that a challenge Fallon Elise?" He said softly, taking a half step towards her, his lush lips slightly parted and so fucking delectable she wanted nothing more than to lean in for a taste.

"You really wanna do that? Last time our bands got involved in a prank war Luke sprained his wrist and Erin broke her ankle."

"We were but children then." He beamed, memories of their last tour and the absolute chaos of their bands attempting to outdo the other racing through both of their minds. "We're older and wiser now. Don't think a little fun would hurt any of us right now, might be exactly what we need."

"So you're saying that instead of handing you these clothes right now, I should continue the prank and run away. Back to your bus. Which would mean that you would have to streak to the bus, past all the fans out there waiting for you."

"You wouldn't..."

"Oh but see...you know I would."

She was right of course. He knew far better than to underestimate Fallon Harding. The woman was fearless when it came to these types of things and she would have zero qualms about making him streak even if they both knew such a scene would get them murdered by management and would cause a social media frenzy.

"I guess you knowing that I would do it will have to be enough for today." She said with a heavy sigh after a moment of indecision. "Earlier you said that we needed to talk and I have to say I agree."

She extended her hand to pass over his shirt and gym shorts, turning away to give him a moment of privacy as he discarded his towel and dressed.

"I dunno why you looked away, nothing you haven't seen."

"Didn't feel appropriate to look." She shrugged.

"Yeah, gawking at your ex-boyfriend is probably pretty frowned upon."

Her cheeks flushed as she reached out and playfully hit his bicep. "I do not gawk."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, doll."

One of the reasons Calum had been avoiding this conversation was that he was worried that allowing so much time to pass between their last interaction and the talk would have made things awkward between them. Of course, he should never have doubted that Fallon would find a way to break the ice and so, once he was dressed he stood to his full height, his amber eyes landing on hers. "Wanna head to the bus? The back should be quiet. We can talk there."

She studied him with a look that seemed to ask if she should be nervous or excited for what he had to say though if Calum had to guess he would say the proper answer was most likely a little bit of both.

An: I know it's filler I'm sorryyyy

What needs to be said in their talk?

Let me know,
Ily,
Sav 🖤