and then you left // cth

chapter 9: occupied

"Yeah, let's go!" I answer him and look at Alexis. She smiles at me and sort of shoves my back as I stand, my guitar in hand. I take this as a sign that she's warming up to me.

"Come on, go prove to me that you're not a boyband!" She laughs as I make my way over to Ash and Mike.

alexis
**Four years ago*

The day I met Calum did not start out particularly spectacular. At first, there was nothing that hinted that it would be a different day, and an important one at that.

I went to school, after unsuccessfully trying to convince my mother that I was sick. The stomach flu, I'd said. But she had pointed out how I had eaten all of my dinner last night and then went back for dessert, and so I went to school.

Sometimes I wonder what would have come of my life if she had just allowed me to stay home. Perhaps it would have taken a completely different turn.
...

I slammed my locker door shut after retrieving my Math book and saw Mia walking down the hall, her head swiveling around the hall as she looked for me. Her gaze made it to me and she smiled and ran over, two iced coffees in hand.

"One venti, iced, upside down caramel macchiato, light ice." She told me and handed the drink over. I smiled at the coffee and then at my best friend.

I loved Mia, I really did. She was my best and only friend. She didn't judge me ever, no matter what kind of a mood I was in. She supported my dreams and hobbies, most of which other people turned their noses upward at.

She could also fill silence when needed, a trait I really needed in a friend at times. But best of all, she memorized my Starbucks order.

"Oh my god, and I need it too! I love you!" I said gratefully and took a sip of the drink, the caffeine quickly sweeping energy through my veins. "What did you get?" I asked, referring to her light green liquid swimming in ice. Mia looked at her drink and I laughed as she placed a kiss on the side of her cup.

"Iced green tea latte!" she announced proudly as I shook my head. She frowned at my reaction.

"Not enough caffeine," I explained and began the walk to class. Mia fell into step beside me, her first class being in the same wing as mine.

"Oh come on, you should get some more sleep," she suggested and nudged my shoulder. She was always so bubbly, and we were opposites in that sense. Sure, on occasion I would have a lot to say, but times like those were rare.

I shook my head again, a reaction I had often found myself doing.

I always stayed up till the wee hours of the morning writing. It was my only way to express myself. To get out my feelings. How sad is that? That I had to disguise myself in fiction characters. But nonetheless, it made me happy, which was than I could say for most things back then. But my nightly writing sessions were enough to keep me sane during the day, and for that I was grateful.

The downfall of this all was that I had to delete my stories after I wrote them. Mia knew the password to my laptop and if she read them I knew she would freak. They were deeply personal, and included my innermost thoughts, the ones that were especially fucked up. But writing helped with the attacks, which were getting worse, up to almost every night. And they were getting worse with the new school year, which had just begun.

Just then, the bell rang, so we mumbled our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I walked into Math, a class I felt relatively neutral about. I didn't hate it, or particularly like it. At its best, it was an hour that I spent doodling in my notebook, or writing down story ideas.

Math came and went, and then it was time for English- the only class I ever looked forward to.

I was already several minutes late, so I threw the door open, purposely not looking at my teacher, and made my way over to my desk, avoiding the stares of my classmates.

It was taken. My seat was taken, occupied.

Needless to say, I was confused.

On the first day of school the teacher told us we could sit wherever we wanted. Because of that, everyone pretty much staked their ground and sat in the same seat everyday. I had selected a chair in the back left corner, by a window.

And after three months of school, three months of sitting there every single day, I had not expected to be booted out.

But yet someone was sitting there, and I'd never seen him before. He had dark dark brown hair and chocolaty brown eyes that were cast downward. He was wearing ripped black skinny jeans, the same Vans as me, and a white T shirt. He was looking around anxiously. I assumed it was his first day- no one else at school looked that nervous unless you were new, and I had never seen him before. I was sure of this. I would have noticed him.

He looked up at me when I stopped abruptly at his, at my desk, unsure of where to sit. I spotted an empty seat in the front row and sighed, as I hated sitting there. It was right by the teacher, and so I would actually have to pretend to pay attention. But I had no other option, and so I walked across the room to that seat, front and center. I set my backpack under the desk and slumped down, trying so hard to become invisible. My teacher looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"As I was saying, before Miss Patterson so rudely interrupted us, we have a new student today." He announced and glanced at the boy, who's eyes were still flicking around nervously, as his fingers twirled a pen. "Calum?" he said to the boy. "Would you like to come up and introduce yourself?" He asked him. The boy, Calum, nodded and stood, before walking up to the front, standing directly in front of my desk. He was taller than he had first appeared, and stood with a rare confidence for a new kid.

"Hi. I'm Calum Hood. I just moved here from California." He told us, although his eyes were on me. I blushed, unsure of what to do, and looked away.

Some people mumbled various greetings and sighed at the thought of sunny California, and the teacher smiled at his new prey before beginning class.

I did not glance at Calum even once throughout the whole class, but I could feel his eyes boring into my scull. He was staring at me, and unmistakably so.

Instead of letting it effect me or my work, however, I just took notes and pretended to pay attention like always. Hense the word, pretended. I usually wrote or daydreamed during class. Seven hours a day was too long of a time to be locked up and bored, so I always tried to make the best if it.

The clock ticked along at a snail's lace, and time seemed to pass unusually slow. After what seemed like several hours, the bell rang and interrupting my thoughts. I quickly gathered my supplies and was almost out the door when the teacher blocked my path.

At first I though I was in trouble for being late, and I sucked in a breath. But he then addressed the entire class, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Wait, you all need to pick a partner for a new project. Pick someone in this class period, and write a five page essay on something that is important to you. It is due two weeks from today." He said and smiled as we all looked at each other, trying to find a partner. I was about to go ask this girl who sat in the back with me, who was nice enough, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I spun around to see the new boy, Calum, grinning at me. The words that fell out of his mouth shocked me.

"Wanna be partners?"

. . .
god, calum why you do this to me