Story of another us // Calum Hood #book 2

18

"What are you doing?" Emily asked frowned at him as she stirred in milk to the mugs of tea.

"We're going up to the roof" Calum states making Emily raise an eyebrow skeptically at him.

"Just trust me" Calum sighed smiling at him. Emily picked up the two mugs before following Calum out of the kitchen door and up the fire escape stairs. Calum stepped onto the roof before walking over to the edge of the roof and sitting down. Emily followed him and looked over the edge. She handed Calum his tea and sat down next to him.

"It's kinda high" Emily said breaking the silence between them. Calum frowned at her before grinning.

"It's a roof Em" Calum chuckled a little handing her a blanket. Emily looked over at the landscape. The LA lights flickered and busy city below seemed so quiet up on the roof.

"It's really pretty up here" Emily whispered. Calum looked over at her as she held the mug just below her bottom lip letting the steam rise in her face. Calum could never get over the effect that this simple girl had over him.

"It's peaceful too" Calum commented making Emily look over at him. "I like peaceful places"

"Yeah I know" Emily chuckled a little picking at the blanket.

"I've never told you that" Calum said frowning at her. Emily looked up at him.

"You didn't have too, it's an observation I've been able to make" Emily said her voice cracking a little, not really knowing why.

"Is it that obvious?" Calum questioned looking out at the view.

"I did date you for a year and a half" Emily stated "I mean the Lake that you took me too, the reason was because it was peaceful, right?"

"You mean the day we skipped school after that weekend?" Calum asked smirking at Emily a little as she closed her eyes and smiled in shame.

"Yeah" Emily nodded "Then there was that out of town diner that you always insisted we went too, because it was quiet and we could talk and also the hill"

"Ya know all of those places were stages in our relationship" Calum sighed making Emily nod her head thinking back to it.

"Would you have ever made a move if we didn't do a chemistry project together?" Emily asked titling her head to the side. Calum pressed his lips together as he looked at her.

"I'd like to think so, but I don't know" Calum said honestly. Emily looked over at the distance.

"How did we get here?" Emily asked quietly looking over at Calum "nine months ago I was terrified to bump into you"

Calum chuckled a little sipping on his tea. "Maybe it's fate"

"I thought you didn't believe in fate?" Emily teased a little moving closer to him.

"Okay then it's destiny" Calum said making Emily giggle a little.

"You're such a hopeless romantic in denial" Emily laughed looking up at him. Calum just shrugged before he looked out over the city. He felt Emily tracing his tattoos. It was something she always loved to do, she used to joke about wanting to colour them in but he would never let her because that's simply humiliating for a 18 year old boy. She used to get him to explain them all to her, over and over. Mainly because she just liked hearing him ramble on about his tattoos and after a while she didn't have to pay attention to what he was saying, she could just listen to the sound.

"You never told me why you got this one," Emily said quietly, tracing her finger over Calum's tattoo. Alive. Even though she didn't know his reasoning behind the tattoo it was one of her favorites - it was simple, yet meaningful, kind of like Calum. She felt Calum's body shift where he sat beside her on the roof, watching her cautiously. She couldn't read the look on his face, but weary was a way that he would describe it. She leaned over, kissing his cheek before she snuggled up next to him again. "You don't have to tell me, it's okay," Emily continued, noticing how his demeanor had changed once she brought up the tattoo. Even though the relationship was kinda old, it was new. They still had things to discover about one another that had changed over the four years. So she knew he was weary of conversations that revealed something about himself that he didn't willing share with the world.He'd always been like that.

They sat in silence for what felt like hours and hours, but it was only about an hour. They were enjoying the peace and company of one another. Finishing tea and deep in thoughts. It was getting darker and darker, they could hardly see each other in the dim city lights below them. Emily heard Calum take a breath before he talked.

"I got it when I was back home during break," he began, his eyes focused on the view while his fingers restlessly drew patterns on the soft blanket on top of their bodies. Emily blinked at him drowsily, furrowing her eyebrows.

"The tattoo?" She clarified, watching him in the dim light carefully. He nodded, his dark brown eyes glancing at her briefly before his gaze returned to the distance.

"I was just... I don't know, thinking a lot when I had time off, just about everything that I've got going in my life"

Emily nodded at his words, her heart racing with anticipation as to what he would say next. Calum shifted so that he was facing her, his hand searching for hers until her fingers were laced comfortably between his, almost like an anchor. He continued to talk, his brows furrowed in the way they always did when he was concentrating.

"I thought about how depressed and shit I got at one point. I was thinking about is it really worth it? The job
Was it worth all the mental stress but then I realised without music I wouldn't be able to show my true emotions and how that music helped me through hard stages in my life. Music makes people feel alive and I create music that has helped keep people alive. I don't know sometimes on stage is the only time I feel alive. It puts everything in too perspective. That's why I'm alive and it could be why that fan is alive. It's for the people who make me feel alive"

Emily's lips parted in surprise, a gasp of breath leaving her lungs.

"So it's for your fans? They make you feel alive?" Emily asked, her heart racing as Calum finally looked her in the eyes again. He nodded, licking his lips and swallowing nervously. He never really told anyone about the tattoo he had gotten.

"I was in a bad place. I got it when I was coming out of it. I wrote so many songs and everytime I would cry a little. There's that saying about how crying has always been a sign that we are alive." Calum rambled nervously making Emily smile at him in awe. She noticed how he was holding onto her so tightly "It's also because I over think everything, like I'm never really good enough but like on stage I feel alive. It's a reminder that no matter how crazy my life gets something simple can make you feel alive"

"You know" Emily said quietly after a few moments "My mum was really good at life quotes. Like really good." Emily chuckled a little. Calum looked down at her but Emily dare looked at Calum. "But just before she died, she made me promise her. She made me promise that I would have a happy life and to make the most out of my life. Because death is the only thing promised to us in life. That night I sat in my garden with a bottle of wine and I wondered if I could actually live up to that promise because the two people who made me happiest had left.." Emily looked at Calum who looked sadly at her "She always told me that she believed you'd come back into my life" Emily whispered before looking up at the stars. Calum swallowed a lump in his throat as he stared at Emily. He didn't know what to say to her.

"Your mum always thought we had something special" Calum whispered making Emily look at him.

"We do have something special"

Calum nodded in agreement before bringing Emily into his side and hold her in his arms.

"I miss her so much" Emily whispered as Calum felt a tear drop on his arm making his heart drop because he could never handle Emily crying.

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I'm sorry this took me ages to update!

Let me know what you think!