The Queue [c. hood]

17 // 2:00 p.m.

"So, I overshared earlier. Tell me about your teenage years or something." Caro says, looking over at Calum. "If you're comfortable."

Calum chuckles, "I need to think about what to say."

"So you haven't had anything crazy dramatic happen to you?"

He shrugs. "Not really... I had a dramatic break up a couple years ago, but that's all I can think of right now. I didn't fit in as a kid either, if that adds anything. Think that fucked me up for a while."

"What do you mean you didn't fit in?" Caro questions, wanting to know more about that. She was interested in his messy break up, but she wanted to know about things from his youth that made him, him.

"I mean I literally had no friends. I got along with kids in class and whatnot, it's not like people hated me. But, I didn't have friends until middle school. I eventually started meeting these guys," Calum pauses, nodding in the direction of his friends, "and things started to get better. I believed they didn't like me for like, the first year of our friendship, at least. I never knew what real friendship was."

"Is that why you're always telling them you love them?" Caro inquires. She didn't want to seem like she was prying, but she was so interested in knowing everything about him.

Calum nods, having thought of this before, "I mean, it's definitely part of it, I think. I never had that reassurance for the longest time, I know what it's like to not know how people feel about you. It's part of my dramatic break up I mentioned as well."

"Oh? Really?" Caro questions, genuinely curious as to what he meant.

"I really need verbal reassurance. Physical as well from a romantic relationship. She hated both of those things, for the most part. We had gotten in a big fight about it one day, she said some real awful things about me that I don't want to repeat." He tells her, a sheepish smile on his lips. Calum hasn't really talked much about this before. He did a little with his friends, of course, for they helped him through the breakup.

"I think that's so great that you know what you need, Calum. I'm sorry that happened, but it's for the best, obviously. She wasn't meant for you, and that's okay."

He nods, "I learned to accept that a little after we broke up. I couldn't expect her to change that for me. Yeah, you need to compromise in a relationship, but you shouldn't change who you are simply to please somebody else."

All Caro could do was smile at him, she really appreciated how honest and raw Calum was with his emotions. She's been thinking, and saying, that all day, but she still couldn't believe he was like this.

"What?"

"Like I've said before, you're very open with your feelings, and you're very concise when expressing yourself. You just seem to have it all together, for the most part." She tells him, reaching out and resting her hand on his forearm.

Calum looks down at her hand on his arm, almost feeling butterflies from her touch. He looks back up at her. "Thanks, Caro. I mean, I definitely don't have all my shit together, but..."

"Nobody really ever does." She reassures him, gently squeezing his arm before pulling away.

Calum tries to hide his frown when Caro moves away from him, and he's thankful she doesn't notice since she's looking at her shoes.

"I appreciate you opening up. I'm sorry if you felt pressured since I asked." Caro speaks up, starting to get a little nervous.

"I would never share anything I wasn't comfortable sharing." He tells her, moving closer to her.

Caro decides to ignore the nervousness that is washing over her, and leans against Calum. His breathing hitches, and he does his best to try and cover it up so that she doesn't notice.

Though, she noticed. She smiles, thinking about how Calum was probably as nervous as she was.

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hey besties I started a new 5sos fic recently if u could check it out it'd mean the world to me :)