My Calling

Eighteen - More Mistakes

"Hey," I say quietly.

He rolls his eyes, "Stop acting shy you dickhead. It's only me." 

He says it so casually and so confidently it takes me by surprise. And when he takes the two steps to close the space between us, that surprises me too because I'm not expecting his hug. His hug that lifts me off the ground. He has his arms wrapped tight around my waist, whilst my own arms, instinctively wrap around his neck, my face nuzzling comfortably in his neck.

I hear him chuckle slightly as he spins me around, a smile of my own surfacing. When he sets me down and holds me by the shoulders, ducking his head slightly to look me in the eyes, that's when it hits. Like a freight train too. All the feelings and memories hit me like a freight train. They surge through me powerfully and my heart twists in pain. 

So much for the distance.

Because the distance did nothing.

I still have all the same feelings for Wes as when I left a month ago.

But this time, they're even stronger than before.

Wes smiles again. "It's good to see you again Carson."

"Yeah you too Wes," I reply, my voice still soft.

He's about to say something else but Drew interrupts him. "Yo, Wes get lost, Asha's making us Sundaes."

Drew's comment successfully gets all my bearings back and I'm able to break Wes' grasp and finish making their ice cream sundaes. I quickly complete them and hand them to the boys and not long after, Eddie is bursting through my door. "Asha darling, you have rehearsals tonight after dinner."

"Hi to you too Eddie," I mumble.

"Moody moody Asha, no time for that." He rolls his eyes and dismisses me with a flourish of his hands. "Hello boys," he adds on as an after though.

"'Sup," they all reply mindlessly, more interested in their ice cream.

Eddie shudders at their boring greetings before turning to me, "Rehearsals are at 7pm sharp so you can find your own way there. Then, you rehearse twice a day for the next two days before your performance on Wednesday. It's not that hard to do so it'll be a walk in the park." He starts to make his way back through the front door, shouting a careless, "If you make her late tonight boys, I will personally strangle you myself."

He's gone before we can even process his words. 

Drew looks up at me, a dazed expression on his face. "Is he always like this?"

"It varies," I reply, collecting their bowls from them. "So we have five hours until I'm due at the studio. Does anyone wanna go food shopping?" 

Drew scoffs, "Yeah, no, definitely not. You're on your own."

"Heck yeah," Keaton agrees quickly.

I groan, "Fine whatever you punks, stealing my food then leaving me. It cuts me deep that."

"Before you ask Carson, yeah I'll come, only because I feel bad for eating your food then leaving you." Wes says with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Good enough for me. Let me just have a shower then we'll be off."

"Sweet as, I'll drop these two off and come back for you."

And with that we part ways, me to the shower and them to the car.

Half an hour later, I'm dressed in skinny jeans, boots and a sweater - my normal ensemble really. My hair is in a comfortable knot on top of my head and my face is make-up free. Wes and I chill to some of his music on the way to the grocery store whilst he tells me about what's been happening in his life. He tells me about his plan for Christmas and New Year's and how Emblem3 are on the verge of being signed and he tells me about how Keaton is having some girl drama and he tells me that Drew is really happy at the moment and he tells me that his mum is asking when's the next time I'll be visiting and he tells me a whole bunch of other stuff. And then when he's finished, I tell him all about my month and everything that happened. Surprisingly, he listens, to everything I have to say. He's just as stoked as me when I tell him about all the people I've met and hung out with. It takes me the whole shopping trip to talk about my month but he doesn't seem to mind. Well, I think he doesn't so just to be sure, I ask him.