𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐘 | callum turner

007, call me if you drown

And I hate that when I exit to the front of the house, how damn good he looks — white linen shirt ( with a couple buttons unbuttoned) and a pair of navy coloured shorts. The same idea as me with glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and the same annoyance smile as me when he notices me.

" hi." I try to sound happy to be here, but my arms are crossed and he's leant against this cute blue vintage car with folded arms also.

" ready to go?" he breathes out, moving to the opposite side of the car as I look at him. My eyes roll under the shades.

Pointing at the car my brows furrow " what, you're driving?" I ask and he snorts " well, it's not going to drive itself and I know how much you hate driving in...well anywhere."

He shoots me a smile that isn't a smile at all and I hate how much he knows me and how well he does as well. I huff as I climb into the passenger side, placing my bag down by my feet as my arms fold after my seatbelt is on.

I connect my phone to the Bluetooth ( which I'm surprised this car even has) — which he doesn't argue with because I have and will continue to have great music taste.

The drive is silent, with the exception of the music lowly bellowing from the speakers. I have no problem not making eye contact with Callum as it is fixated with the scenery outside.

The coast, the crystal clear waters, the boats that look minuscule from the road we're driving on.

After forty five minutes or so we end up in this town, the next one over from where we're shooting. It's a beautiful little town. Better if I wasn't sharing this experience with Callum of all people.

The town is filled to its brim with history and the preservation of said history through its architecture. It's sweet and it's people even sweeter.

I keep close to Callum as we leave the car only because of how many alleys I've almost lost him in the mere minutes we've been here because of his determination to get this day over with as soon as humanly possible.

We locate the beach, it's quieter than I suspect. Callum leads me to the rocky part where people sunbathe yet it's even quieter than the main beach today. I take the hand he holds out to help me as I stumble and trip all over the place and don't want to risk a hospital trip today because of my stubbornness.

" thank you." I mumble. The awkwardness ensues as we sit as far apart as this little bit of flat rock will allow us. I sit with my legs huddled to my chest eyes looking out to the ocean that glistened under the light of the sun.

After a few minutes, Callum's found his comfort in a book and rested on his elbows. At least someone's managing to have a good time,

Pushing myself up, I turn to him " I'm going in." I tell him as he hums before muttering " call me if you drown." And then flicks to the next page.

I roll my eyes as I stand and pinch my dress and begin to pull it over my head. The skin begins to heat the more it's exposed to the sun as I begin to travel down towards the shore,  dipping my toes in first and relieved that unlike back home in the UK the water here is warm.

I step in, and once it's deep enough I begin to swim deeper into the sea. Paddling around, and when I resurface from plunging in, pushing back my hair with my hands.

It's beautiful here. It's a place I could imagine myself coming back to after shooting is over. I'd rent a villa with my best friends and my family with a big pool and grass area it would become tradition soon enough. Give me a few gigs and I'd buy a villa out here, our summer house.

" is it cold?" I hear a voice, I turn around and notice Callum scaling the same slope down to the water as I did about five minutes ago.

I shake my head, moving my hands to cup around my mouth " the water feels amazing!" I call back with pure joy and I can see that small curve of his lips from even this far away.

He unbuttons his linen shirt, leaving it on the rocks beside our stuff as he too gets in. Not taking too long to swim over to me.

" your book get boring?" I ask and he shrugs his shoulders, " just fancied a dip." he tells me and I hum.

We stay close, I watch as he dunks himself in and wipes the salt water from his eyes and pushes his hair back. I smile at him and he smiles back at me. Ok maybe this wasn't as terrible an idea as I thought.

" do you remember that time we went down to Cornwall for the summer-" he sparks conversation as I nod.

" when Florence rented out that house by watergate bay-" I continue and he laughs,

Nodding his head as much as he can as he bobs around in the sea " and we had that birthday party for you on the beach? and we all got massively pissed and-"

I can feel the memories coming back, the tingling in my stomach at the joy that I felt in those moments, " and everyone decided to skinny dip?" I tell him and he shakes his head.

Looking at me as he says " but not us."

And then it comes back, three in the morning the day after my birthday. My twenty sixth birthday, a day that was spent in this little coastal town a week before we left back to London. In a house with all my favourite people, who surprised me with breakfast in bed. Who sung me happy birthday around a table with carrot flavoured birthday cake ( don't tease me, my friends did enough!) — it was heaven. Simply and utterly bliss.

The party began tame, a few drinks became rounds of ring of fire or whatever game we could incorporate alcohol into.

And at the end of the night, whilst our best friends ripped off the clothes and run off into the ocean, I sat in Callum's lap on a deckchair as I remained sipping on the bottle of
Champagne. Laughing hysterically at nothing just because I was drunk. Even despite the horrid memory of that hangover that I had for the next three days , it's still a fond memory I have.

" I have your present," he tells me as my eyes widen as I swallow more champagne " want it?"

My brows furrow " but you already gave me my birthday present?" I ask him confused and his eyes rolled.

Smiling at me " I'm your best friend and you thought I'd give you a set of candles for your birthday?"

I shrug my shoulders " they're expensive candles." Toying with his jacket as he pulls out a black box. Teasing me with it,

" want it or not olls?" he hums and I reach for it.

Drunk as I gasp " are you going to ask me to marry you!" I call and he laughs again shaking and passes me the box in trade for my bottle of champagne.

I pout slightly " I would've said yes if it was an engagement."

I open it, a golden necklace with a red ruby pendant encased. Ruby as in my birthstone — as I feel myself becoming teary as I look in the eyes of the person I'm convinced I love more than anyone or anything in this entire universe.

After a few seconds of silence I look at him, " Because you lost yours on set a few months back." he says like it's meaningless, like it's futile when in actuality it means everything to me.

I did in fact lose a birthstone necklace gifted by my grandparents on my eighteenth birthday on the set of Sex Education season three. I called Callum sobbing in my trailer after making my cast mates search for it as I cried about it.

Tears must fall because his thumb lifts and strokes my cheek, " I love it. Thank you." I hug him in the position we're in.

Moving away but still close, cupping his cheek " and I love you, I love you so much." I tell him and a look befalls him. It looks like a mixture of happy and sad. But I'm drunk so I can't tell which one.

And the photos I have tucked away in a drawer in the hope one day me and Callum will reconcile and I'll hang them up in the blank places of my living room wall again.

My smile falters slightly " well I've always said we're the smart ones." I tell him and he tilts back his head and laughs.

When we were still all together, when nothing had been broken yet.

AUTHORS NOTE.
they're so special to me your honour

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