Clean Slate » a.i. au

Eleven

         "Hey, Ca-"

         "Lucy!" I move the phone away from my ear, Calum's voice and the noise in the background a little too loud for my liking. "The fuck are you?"

         I raise my brows, "As in... what am I, or..?"

         "Where are you, Dr. House?"

         "Oh, I'm..." I look down at myself, ignoring his newest nickname for me, "I'm home, reading To the Lighthouse, in my pajamas, under a single floor lamp. Ashton went out an hour ago, if you're looking for him."

         "The fuck would I be looking for Ashton, he's right next to me!"

         "Oh, well, yeah, he said he's going out with Luke, not surprised that you're with th-"

         "Lucy!" He yells even louder, triggering my need to throw my phone the fuck away. "We're not out, Jesus Christ, why does he lie about these things?"

         I frown, my heart speeding up at that sentence; it wouldn't be the first time Ashton's lied about something to get out of having to spend time with me, and never has finding out about it been pleasant. "What-what do you mean?"

         "I mean, leave Virginia Woolf and get to Wonderland!"

         "Calum," I grin unexpectedly, saying his name in a soft tone, "I didn't know you even knew Virginia Woolf's work."

         "Of course I do," He says, replying monotonically at my teasing. "Ashton read five of her biographies to make you feel better about your mum's condition when they first diagnosed her, you were a mess and he didn't know what to do."

         My eyebrows go a little higher and I stare at nothing specific for a few moments before mumbling a small 'what?' – one that Calum didn't hear.

         "Come on, did you never figure it out?" The fact that I didn't figure it out makes it even more special now. "Okay, just don't start having a moment, please, I have another 30 seconds."

         "Where-where are you?" I ask him, deciding to postpone thinking about Ashton and Virginia Woolf later. When there's a more appropriate moment for me to feel delicate and mushy and fuzzy on the inside.

         "At Wonderland, I just told you to get down here!" He starts yelling again, "The place is crazy! This is our biggest fucking gig, I can't believe this nimrod didn't tell you!"

         Oh, he was talking about the club when he said Wonderland. The nightclub. Honestly, my past experience with nightclubs makes me cringe at the thought of them. "Well- alright," I end up giving in, "When'd you start?"

         "Half an hour ago, hurry up, we have an hour left!"

         "Okay!" I yell back, his yelling getting on my nerves, "I'll be down as fast as possible!"

         "Yes!" I've only heard him yell that loud when his favorite soccer team scores. "I'll tell the bouncer to add you on the list!"

         "That would be nice, yes-"

         "You know, Lu, someday you might be as cool as Dr. House, not just limping like him."

         "Ha ha, fuck you." I hang up before he can say anything else, knowing he would go too far if the conversation continued and possibly say something that I would find insulting and he would find hilarious. Well, better get dressed; if not Ashton, then Calum will be happy to see me jumping to their songs – as much as I can, due to my still unserviceable leg, for which Cal loves calling me Dr. House, and, unfortunately the other guys are picking up on it.