The Set- Up || 5SOS ||

Chapter Six

"Aren't you two just the cutest." Ashton looked at us through the mirror as he drove, flicking his hand in mockery. Calum flicked up his middle in return, in a kind of protective way. Which is cute, if you forget the fact that he was being protective over me. That just brings us back to Weirdville. Population: moi.

Calum loosened his grip, though he tugged me down, resulting in my head nuzzling on top of his shoulder.

"Awh, kids..." I heard Ashton joke from the front. Yeah, because with a two year age gap he's basically my grandfather.

My phone bleeped and I fished into my pocket before pulling it out and reading the received text. It was under 'unknown' but there was a single previous message above the latest one.

' Blue. Nine. Joy Hood. Just to spare you any further embarrassment.'

It didn't take long to realize who the sender of the message was. I was just about quick enough to catch Luke stealing a glance at me, in order to check whether I had seen the message, before looking away as if he hadn't moved.

I couldn't help but want to punch myself in the face slightly. I stared at the answers in the text message, like they transported me back into the state of utter embarrassment when I was being questioned by him on the first day of meeting.

'How do you even have my number?' I typed, my finger hovering over the enter button, deciding whether I should even bother. I sent the text, immediately regretting as soon as I did so. In the corner of my eye, I spotted him message back.

'Calum gave it to all of us in case of emergency. Don't flatter yourself.' was his reply. Talk about blunt, much? Does this guy even know how to use an emoji? I rolled my eyes and locked my phone, not bothering to reply. I knew full well Luke was waiting for my reaction, but I didn't give him the satisfaction.

You know what. Whatever.

I don't know how the next couple of weeks are going to unfold, but I'm doing this for Cal's sake not mine. Plus, after this who know when the next time I'll see Calum will be- so I might as well enjoy it.

And I'm not letting anyone, especially Luke Hemmings, change that. I sighed, tucking my phone back into my pocket.

This was going to be a long ride.

***

"£5.75 for that?" Michael said, clearly unimpressed with the glossy magazine in my hands. I nodded at him, clutching the issue over my chest.

"Just that?" he repeated.

"There's little freebies and stuff."

"Can you eat it?"

"Well...no."

He spun around dramatically and shoved his hand in my direction, "Not worth it."

I felt the mini glass bottle containing the bright pink liquid. "I could paint your nails for you." I suggested. Michael scanned the drinks isle, obviously finding the hunt for the perfect beverage needing his maximum attention.

"How about..." he pulled down a bottle from the shelf, "...No." he concluded, grinning at me. "You can call me Mikey, by the way."

"Woah, nickname trust? I'm touched." I chuckled as I grabbed a chocolate bar from the shelf. The shop wasn't the biggest and only a handful of people were present at the store. An elderly couple by the newspaper section, a mother and a small child who was desperately trying to remove a bag of sweets from the toddlers grasp and a worker at the counter.