close as strangers ; sequel to band shirts

10: lots of sex

Blake walked the streets in fear, her jacket pulled tightly around her as she hurried to the restaurant. Photos of Calum and her hugging had been leaked, and fans automatically assumed she was the reason their power couple had broken up. Even after Calum had done a live stream to tell them to back off, and that despite their past relationship, they were purely friends. Which hurt her, for some unknown reason.

"I didn't think you were going to make it," Ashton jokes as she reaches the restaurant, rain starting to fall around them, "I thought maybe fans had gotten you"

She pushes his arm gently, shaking her head as she laughs. "I was worried, but nope, I got here safely" She pushes the door open and steps inside, shocked at how fancy it was. She leaned back to whisper to Ashton, "You could've told me it was this fancy! I would've dressed up more"

"Oh, you look fine, B" He nudges her forward to give his name to the waitress. They follow the lady to their table and sit down, Blake picking up the menu and Ashton sitting back in his seat, already knowing what he was ordering.

"So what's up?" She murmurs as she skims the menu, "You said you needed my advice?"

She hears him sigh and readjust himself in his sit. "So I kissed this girl that I've like for a while now."

"Oh?" She asks as she places the menu down and looks at him in confusion.

"Yeah..." He drifts off and Blake knew that he was regretting telling her. "But she...she doesn't really like guys"

Her lips parted in surprise and she reached across the table to slap his arm. "You kiss Yasmin?" She asked in a hushed yell, "Why?!"

"It was mutual!" He defended, rubbing his arm where she had slapped him, "But the next morning she told me it was a mistake, but B, I swear that kiss was magical"

"Oh, barf," Blake rolled her eyes, "Yasmin is gay. She's never liked a boy, ever, alright? And she never will. And I'm not saying this to upset you, Ash. I'm saying this as a friend, caring for another friend that fucked up."

Ashton frowned, staring down at his menu as he nodded sadly. "Yeah, I get it."

///

"That live show was something, huh?"

Calum snorted as he sorted through his mail, "Shut up, Luke. I had to do something."

"You're a terrible liar, I'm surprised the fans calmed down a little about this whole thing"

"Yeah, well, at least they've backed off...for now" He grunted, tossing his mail back onto the counter, "And as long as they leave B and Yas alone, everything's good"

"True, true..." Luke drifted off before laughing, "Michael! Don't be an idiot!"

Calum chuckled, only imagining what Michael could be doing, "How's the holiday? You two having fun, being all lovey-dovey?"

"It's incredible!" Michael shouted into the phone, making Calum flinch. Luke warned him to be nice, so Michael softened his voice, "It's good for us...for me to be away from everything right now. I think I just need to get used to being around everyone again"

"Yeah, man. I understand," Calum replied, "I think it's good too. You went from being alone to being dragged into this mess once again. I think you need to slowly re-enter. If that makes sense"

He heard shuffling on the other end before Luke spoke up. "Yeah, that's why I took him away on the holiday. It's been great, you know. Lots of sex"

"Dude!"

"What?" Luke laughed, "If I was with a girl you wouldn't care that I just said that!"

Calum groaned, "Yeah, but now all I can see when I shut my eyes are you two fucking!"

"Who's top and who's bottom in your fantasy?" Michael joked.

"Okay, nope. I'm going to get that out of my head. Goodbye!" Calum laughed.

"Bye, Cal!" They replied in unison before Calum hung up, grimacing at the thought of Luke and Michael doing it. But then he glanced at a picture hanging up on the wall, a picture of Mariana and himself that he hadn't taken down yet, and he stopped smiling.

When Mariana was in his life, everything seemed simple, and good. They had a routine, and Calum loved routines, but now he skipped breakfast because he didn't have someone pushing him to have something, and he no longer went on runs. He wondered if she still did, and if she ran the same tracks. He wondered how she was doing, and whether or not she was happy. Had she moved on already? Had she seen the photos of him hugging Blake?

Without a second thought, he pushed himself from the lounge and grabbed the picture from the wall. He walked over to the both he kept Marianas things in and shoved it into it angrily. He hated this, hated feeling helpless because he no longer had a girlfriend to help him. But he couldn't help it. He always relied on someone, and he always would.

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this chapter is really short and two months late but i hope you guys enjoy the muke+calum and blashton (?) content