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

45

"I feel like an asshole."

"You should." Michael said, lowering himself to sit next to Calum on the buses front lounge sofa.

"You're my friend, you're not supposed to fucking agree." Calum groaned as his hands stroked down his face.

"Yeah, but my fiancèe would hate me if I didn't and also I would be a shitty friend if I wasn't honest." The blonde man shrugged.

"Well be a shitty friend and tell me I don't suck."

"Maybe once you fix shit with Fallon." Luke said, tossing a bottle of water into the air and catching it. His eyes drifted over to meet Calum's.

"Do you notice how often you and Fallon have to fix things?" Ashton asked.

"Thought you and her were on better terms?" Calum said, his voice hard and at least a little defensive.

"Doesn't mean I can't point out the obvious. My loyalty in friendship will always be to you. We're brothers."

"Love isn't easy. It takes work, you have to fight for it."

"I think we can all agree to that. But every day isn't supposed to be a war." Ashton shrugged.

Calum pursed his lips and clasped his hands in front of him as his forearms rested on top of his knees. He knew that anything he said would only strain his friendships so instead he rose to his feet and stormed out of the green room headed to the bus.

*

"Another please!" Fallon yelled to the bartender over the clamorous noise. Wesley was to her right chatting with a few members of the tour crew that had joined them out for the night. The brown haired drummer was the one who had convinced Fallon to come out. It had been a long and stressful day. A true shit-sundae topped off with the cherry of having to sing a song far too relevant to her current problems.

Wes had been right, she definitely did need a night out and as many mixed drinks as she could handle. It had been too long since she had really let loose. Her drink was placed in front of her and she took a long sip. Fallon refused to let the day end the way it had begun. She didn't want to feel sad, she didn't want to feel guilty, she just want to feel numb.

The bass boomed through the speakers and sweaty club goers littered the dance floor. She was only a few drinks in, not enough to get her tipsy let alone drunk. There was something about being in the club that reminded her of Halloween. Truthfully, she thought it had less to do with the venue and more to do with the familiar feelings she was experiencing. The last time she had been mad at Calum in a club he had left and hooked up with someone else, the whole situation that she was currently upset with him about.

She tipped her head back and downed the rest of her drink in one go before she turned, asking the bartender for another, this time a double. It took a few minutes to get her drink and then she squeezed Wesley's arm and pointed to the dance floor to show her intentions before she took off. A lap around the outskirts of the dancing area had her feeling more at ease. Or maybe it was the fact that she had finished her last drink and gotten another. Either way, she was overjoyed when Wes joined her, the pair shared an overly excited exchange in the ways of drunken women before stepping out onto the dance floor together.

If they had wanted to dance with someone they would have had plenty of takers, hungry eyes watched them from all corners of the room. Fallon was thriving on the attention, unbothered by the staring and letting the alcohol she had consumed steer her mood. She was giddy and giggly.

Or she was. Then she saw him.

He looked almost disheveled, his hair with it's slowly growing blue ends was a mess, like he had raked his hands through it a million times. And maybe he had. His eyes, the chocolate seas that had always reeled her in, watched her with a reverent awe. It wasn't fair. He wasn't supposed to look at her like that. Like she was the best thing he had ever seen. Like he was in love with her. Like he had fucked up majorly and wanted to make things right.