calum rolled down his passenger window, leaning over. he attempted to get the girl's attention, shouting a couple times though he wasn't sure if he could be heard over the rain. calum honked his car horn once, making the girl look up at him.
she had green eyes and pale skin, freckles scattered across her face. she had a cute button nose with full lips, and her eyebrows were unkempt but still structured. she was very beautiful, calum thought, and was immediately intrigued. he couldn't think of the last time he'd met a girl who was naturally pretty without the help of makeup or plastic surgery.
the girl rolled her window down, wiping her eyes with her sleeves quickly.
"are you alright?" calum asked, yelling to be heard over the rain.
she nodded. "yeah, my car just broken down, i'm fine."
"i think i have jumper cables in the back?" he offered. she thanked him before calum pulled in front of her. the boy exited his car, slipping his leather jacket over his shoulders.
"how long have you been here?" calum asked as the girl stepped out of her car. she wrapped her arms around herself, making her look smaller than she already was.
"like an hour. there's no cell service here," she answered. "i'm claire, by the way."
"calum. can you pop the hood?"
for the next ten minutes, calum and claire stood outside in the rain, trying to jump start the girl's vehicle. it was a 1997 chevy cavalier that looked just about as worn out as calum felt. there was rust on the doors, and seemed as though it would collapse each time claire got in and out of the driver's seat to try to start up the engine.
thirty minutes had passed and there was no sign of the old car starting up. claire was tired and calum was growing frustrated.
"where do you live? i can give you a lift, if you want. get this figured out later, when it's not pouring." calum and claire sat in the back of calum's suv, the trunk lid open as they let their legs hang over the edge. they tried to escape the rain best they could.
"no, it's fine. i don't- i'm staying with my sister, i'll get a taxi or something."
"no, please, let me drive you, at least," calum pleaded. claire sighed, checking the time. it was late, already nine. her sister was probably sleeping as she had early classes and unusual work shifts. she didn't really have any other choice.
"it's a bit far," she said, looking at him. calum shook his head, waving it off. "okay... do you know where bakersfield is?"
"oh shit, you mean far far."
claire chuckled nervously, nodding. "see, it's fine, i can get a taxi or something, maybe stay in a hotel-"
"if you're gonna stay in a hotel, then just stay with me." calum wasn't sure what he was saying anymore. usually he thought long and hard before speaking, but something about claire overtook his mind and his thoughts. now he was speaking from his heart instead of his mind.
"oh, no, i couldn't possibly-"
"we can take your car into town tomorrow. i know a good place, you can get out on the road by ten at the latest. i don't have plans so you don't have to worry about imposing on anything, and my roommate's out of town so i have a room open. please, claire, it's the least i can do." calum stared at the girl with pleading eyes. he genuinely wanted to help her; there was something about claire that intrigued him, and he needed that distraction from his shit day.
claire sighed. "you're sure it wouldn't be imposing on anything with you? because if i'm interrupting anything-"
"it's my pleasure, claire. please."
after a very stubborn moment, claire gave in which earned a large smile from calum. probably the most genuine smile he'd given in over a year.
they pushed her car off to a pullout on the road and then set off in calum's vehicle. it wasn't a long drive to his house, only about ten or fifteen minutes, but it seemed much to short by the time they pulled into calum's garage.
it was quite a large house, claire thought, as they walked inside. she made note of everything: his property that was located in the hollywood hills, the gates securing the house from all angles, the very strict security and alarms. once they walked into the foyer of the house and claire noticed all of the awards and picture frames on the walls, she put two and two together.
"wait, are you famous?"
calum turned around, shrugging off his jacket. "i mean, i don't really think of it that way but... i guess, yeah."
claire turned back around, admiring the artwork on the walls. she approached a frame that had a record inside along with a platinum award. 'youngblood - 5 seconds of summer' was written on the plaque.
"so you're a musician," claire mused, running her fingers over the frame. calum nodded, hanging up his jacket in the closet and offering to take claire's. as she handed the article of clothing to him, claire couldn't help but gaze around the room in awe.
"do you play any instruments?" calum asked, noticing the girl's fascination with the abundance of guitars he had hanging above the couch.
"yeah, mainly guitar." she cocked her head to the side, studying the engravements on the instruments. "what do you play?"
"bass," he answered, leaning against the wall as he watched her. calum thought it was cute how interested she was. "you play music, or is it just a hobby."
she took a moment before answering. "that's why i'm in la, actually," claire said, turning around. calum raised his eyebrows, standing up straight out of curiosity. "i'm meeting with a record label. hopefully to get signed."
"wow, that's incredible."
she smiled, turning back to the instruments.
"what type of music do you play?" calum asked.
"i'm... not really sure." she turned to him again, crossing her arms. "i just kind of play what i want. i guess, if you had to put a label on it, indie alternative? i don't really know."
calum nodded. "i get it. that's really cool- have you released anything?"
"yeah, i have an ep that i self-released, a couple singles. i'm really hoping to get signed before i invest my all in it, you know? i love music, it's always what i've wanted to do, but i don't wanna play on the streets. i wanna do it for real. i want people to hear me."
calum smiled. "do you want a drink?"
-
a/n: i really like how this turned out i think i might make it a full ass story eye-
rainy day mood
Start from the beginning
