WRONG NUMBER / CH

chptr 20

The day after Leia's last text, Calum went to school with no sleep whatsoever. His hair was unkempt, his eyes red, his whole being disheveled. He was still waiting on her.

"Whoa, dude, what happened to you?" Luke asked with a worried stare, wondering how his best friend could look rock bottom when yesterday he looked like the happiest man in the world.

Calum shook his head and remained silent. He didn't speak the whole day, save for necessary situations. As a result, lunch that day was quiet. His friends were too worried over him.

But that was only the beginning. Calum had been counting the days since that last text. It was already a week since then. No new texts. No Leia.

He'd tried driving past their supposedly new house, but no one was there. There wasn't even any indication that somebody was moving there. It stood empty, cold.

Just like how Calum felt.

His mind was always whirring with questions. Why didn't they go through with the move yet? Is she okay? Is her family okay? Was this the end of her? Was he never going to meet her?

He was saddened by his own thoughts.

Calum was slowly wilting, that much was obvious. He felt like a huge weight had settled on his shoulders. He couldn't sleep because his mind kept racing. His chest hurt because his heart kept breaking over and over, remembering the last thing she sent.

Simply put, he missed her.

"It smells like heartbreak in here," Michael said, strolling into Calum's room like he owned the place. The blue-haired boy stared at Calum with disdain. "And stale pizza," he added.

Calum wasn't in the mood with Michael right now, but he had to admit he hadn't been in the mood for anything for the past week. "What do you want, Michael?"

Michael pulled the covers off Calum and turned to open his blinds, allowing the sunlight to stream in his room. "I want my best friend back."

Suddenly Ashton popped in the room, throwing a towel at Calum. "Me too. Go take a proper shower, you're beginning to look like an ewok."

Calum groaned. He tried his best to sit up and rub the crusts out of his eyes. Even if he wasn't feeling up to it, he appreciated his friends worrying over him in their own little ways. So he decided to freshen up and leave his room for once, just because they told him so.

Afterwards the four of them all went out to Panda Express, partly because Michael wanted to, mainly because they needed to get Calum's mind off Leia.

"Look, we know you're upset, but it's been a week, Cal," Luke started. "You can't just mope in your room forever-"

"I'm not moping-"

Three pairs of eyes glared at Calum sharply. He sighed in defeat, mumbling under his breath.

"What we're saying is, yeah, we understand you're sad, but frankly, you don't even know this girl, Calum." Ashton's words pricked Calum's heart. It was true, of course, but hearing it was still unpleasant. "It would be one thing if you actually dated her. You're in love with the idea of her."

Damn Ashton and his deep, profound words. He could be a philosopher. Still, Calum couldn't help but wonder if it was true. It must be. How could someone fall in love through text messages? He mulled things over while sipping on his Coke.

"You're right," Calum conceded quietly. "Sorry for the way I've been acting. I don't know, it just felt like..." He paused, searching for the right words. "Like I knew her personally. Like she was a friend who left me. And it felt real to me." He shrugged. "She didn't even go through with the move here. I'm never gonna meet her." Calum laid his head on the table sadly, feeling like the human equivalent of the :( face.

His three friends patted his head fondly, muttering There, there and It's going to be okay. To them it felt bizarre to be comforting Calum over a girl. He had always been the one most impervious to catching feelings, so it had never been a problem for them to console him. But right then, the three of them had a psychic moment and had a silent conversation.

They concluded that Leia was, indeed, special.

Calum felt better after that, though. Not completely okay, but better. Turned out all he needed was a little advice from his friends and Panda Express.