Jump ➸ c.h.

ii

charlotte

"can i... can i hear you sing? like, can you sing for me?" i shyly asked.

"maybe in a bit, but for now, i'm more interested in your songs." the boy said, reaching for my notebook.

i grabbed his hand, raising my eyebrows.

"you can look at my songs if you sing something for me. it doesn't have to be anything long, just a line or two." i said, and the boy sighed.

"fine." he said, then cleared his throat.

"give me love like her, 'cause lately i've been waking up alone. paint splattered teardrops on my shirt, told you i'd let them go. and that i'll fight my corner. maybe tonight i'll call ya, after my blood turns into alcohol. no, i just wanna hold ya." he sang, and i smiled.

his voice was soft, and wasn't what i expected it to sound like. hell, i didn't know what i had been expecting, but his voice was still shocking. it was like a soft, silky blanket that wrapped around your ears and made them feel peaceful, content.

i think i loved it so much because it contrasted with his regular manly-sounding voice. it wasn't everyday that you hear a teenage boy with a singing voice like this. it was gentle.

"that was really good!" i exclaimed, and he broke out into a smile, but wouldn't meet my eyes.

"thanks." he mumbled.

as if his fluffy hair, warm smile, the black sweater he was wearing, and his voice didn't make him cute enough, the fact that he was bashful topped it off. i just wanted to take him and squish him, no matter how weird that sounds, i wanted to do it.

"what's your name?" i asked, cutting the silence.

"calum." the boy -or should i say calum- stated, finally meeting my eyes.

"hm, i like that. you're the first calum i've ever met." i said, smiling. he blushed, but instead of looking down at his lap in a shy manner, his eyes never left mine, not even for a second.

"what's your name?" calum asked, his fingers playing with the sleeves of his sweater. it looked worn out and dirty. it wasn't a bad "worn out and dirty" though, it was a loving worn out and dirty. i could tell, just by how it looked, that calum wore it all the time, and favored it among all of his shirts.

"charlie." i said, not using my full name. i hated charlotte, i thought it was absolutely ugly and old-fashioned. charlie was a bit boy-ish, but it was better than charlotte.

"isn't that a boy's name?" calum asked, a smirk growing on his face.

"shut up!" i laughed, "well, actually, my name is charlotte, but i hate that name. don't ever call me charlotte."

"i was just teasing." he paused, "charlie. hm, charlie. i like it." calum said, testing out my name on his tongue. he then tested out charlotte.

silence.

"can i look at your songs now, charlie?" calum asked out of nowhere, taking my notebook before i could even answer.

i didn't do anything, i just watched him open my black notebook. he flipped through the pages, then finally chose one. i watched as his dark brown eyes flicked across the words, reading the lyrics that i had written.

a couple minutes passed, and calum looked up at me, a new twinkle in his eye.

"holy shit, this song is amazing! you wrote this?" calum exclaimed, a look of disbelief on his face.

"yep, all me." i blushed, appreciating his praise. no one else but me had ever touched that notebook.

it was weird how i let a complete stranger touch it with no second thoughts. there was just something about him, though, i felt like i could trust him. that might sound weird, but he just gave off a vibe that i couldn't explain.

"you're lying." calum said, still smiling.

"no, i promise i wrote it!" i laughed.

"well, then you're really talented. i couldn't write a song even if my life depended on it."

i felt my phone vibrate, then took it out of my back pocket. it was an alarm, warning me that i had to get ready for work.

"shit, i forgot about work. man, time passed by quickly," i said, standing up, "sorry, but i have to go get ready for work."

calum frowned, but stood up next to me. man, he was tall.

"awh, that's too bad. i wanted to read more of your songs." he said, his voice sounded heavy with dissapointment.

i sucked in a breath, "well, i can lend you my notebook, then you can give it back to me tomorrow. how about we meet up here, same time?"

calum grinned, "that would be great! so around ten?"

"yeah."

"okay, then see you tomorrow." calum said.

i gave him a small smile before walking away. but as soon as i opened the door that led back into the building, i heard calum's voice call out to me.

"charlie!" he yelled.

i turned around.

"bring your guitar!"

*

sorry for the short chapter, but adding anything more would've ruined the feeling of it idk.

thank you for all the reads, love you guys!

p.s. - i didn't specifically choose Give Me Love, i just hit the shuffle button on my music and the first song that came up would be the song that calum sang.