Aftershocks | Calum Hood

29

30 weeks

Mackenzie held tightly to Calum's hand throughout the short drive to the Italian restaurant they'd picked because of Mack's current craving for pasta, which wasn't a far cry from her usual craving for pasta except now she was using the baby as an excuse.

"It's gonna be okay, right?" She asked, her voice wavering from her nerves and her voice nearly getting lost within the car.

"What?" Calum asked, looking over to her. "Of course, Mack. Security is going to meet us at the restaurant, I've arranged a private table, I'm not going to let anything happen to you, baby. I wouldn't bring you out if I thought for a second your safety or bubba's was at risk." He extended his hand, allowing his fingers to mingle with hers across the console, gently squeezing to offer reassurance.

She nodded and breathed deeply, trying to trust his words as she turned her attention to the passing city lights in the distance.

"It's a holiday though, maybe this was a bad idea."She said.

"Everyone celebrating New Years our will be our later, love. We'll be fine."

Calum detached their hands as he parked his SUV in front of the restaurant. He grabbed his phone and shot a quick message to his security guard. A tap on the window signaling him that it was safe to step from the car.

"Wait here." He told her as he ran around the car with the guard trailing him as he moves to open her door and help her from the car.

A tight smile was etched on his face as one of his hands fell to the small of her back and the other held hers tightly.

"See, we were worried over nothing." He said as they were led to the back of the restaurant, their arrival going smoothly and the pair unbothered, at least for now, by paparazzi.

"Let's just hope our exit is as seamless." She said, allowing him to take her jacket for her and hang it over the back of her chair.

"You look amazing, Mack." He smiled, his chocolate eyes sparkling in the reflection from the establishments romantic lighting.

"Yeah right, I look like a whale." She recanted, opening her menu to peruse the selection.

He reached across the table, using his large hand to pull the menu down from in front of her face. "Don't sell yourself short, Mack. I may be biased, but you can ask anyone, you're stunning."

Her cheeks turned a deep crimson as she returned her attention to her menu.

"Thank you." She said softly after a moment. "I love you."

His hand drifted across the table to rest on hers. "I love you." He replied simply.

"Now, we ventured out of the house for a lovely meal and a big fuck you to the paps. Let's enjoy what we came for, yes? I want the biggest plate of pasta they've got."

She couldn't fight the smile that crossed her face at the simplicity of their evening. No fancy parties, no crazy countdowns. Just she and her favorite person. A quiet meal then home to start their New Year off from the comfort of their own living room.

"You can order a beer you know?" She said to him as the waitress disappeared to fetch their waters.

He shrugged.

"You can't drink so it doesn't feel right for me to."

She gave a small smile at his thoughtfulness and they settled into the quiet, comfortable conversation of two long time friends. She loved the easy way about them. How the stability of their friendship had created an easy dynamic in their relationship, when it wasn't being disrupted by her psychotic ex or baby drama. She needed the calm and consistency that Calum brought to her life and she hoped one day she'd find a way to thank him for everything he'd done for her.

As they finished off their meals, Calum dabbed at his mouth in a way that was quite dainty for a six-foot something man covered in tattoos.

"Let's go home. I don't think the kiss I want an midnight is acceptable for public consumption." He said, tossing cash to cover there meal into the table.

Mackenzie laughed and slid her chair back, standing and accepting his arm as they exited the establishment.

"Damn, still no paps." She commented.

"See, I told you. Not as bad as we think. Plus, there's so much going on tonight we're just old news. Sorry about it, babe."

"No, for once, I'm perfectly fine with being old news." She's laughed as they settled into the car and Calum peeled off towards their home.

•

"Hello, boys! If you're just joining us you're listening to KISS FM and we have in the studio with us today the boys of 5 Seconds of Summer! Thanks for being here today gentleman."

The radio host greeted them and Ashton mumbled something under his breath about being called boys as the rest of them offered their greetings.

"So you've got this new album coming out, where are you in the process with it?"

"It's finished!" Luke said, enthused. "We'll be releasing our third single from the album next month and beginning to gear up for the record to come out and our tour."

"Yes! You've got your dates in Europe as well as North America that run from March through the end of Summer. You're going to be some very busy young men!"

"Yeah, we do our best to get out there and see as many of our fans as possible as often as we can. With this new record we're trying to expand upon what we've already built as a fan base and in order to truly set that in motion we have to get out and play shows." Ashton commented.

"How does being away like that, for months at a time, how does that affect your personal relationships?"

"Well," Luke started, "as for mine, she's also in the industry so she gets it. She's an angel, extremely supportive and she comes on the road with us when she's able. Same goes for Mikey I think."

"Yeah, I'd agree. Though now with wedding planning in full swing Crystal's a little more busy than usual." The blonde commented.

"My girlfriend and I are still working on figuring out how to make it work. We're both very codependent and so having to be away from each other for long periods of time is difficult for us but when you find the right person and their worth it, you fight for it."

"What about you, Calum?" The host asked.

"Um, never really had to worry about it before. Mack and I.."

"So you're confirming your relationship with Mackenzie Eaton?" Calum's cheeks flushed as he realized what he'd said.

"Um, crap. She's gonna kill me but I guess there's no going back now. Mackenzie and I have been friends for so long, our relationship is built on a really strong foundation that distance, it's tough, but it could never break us."

"Would you care to comment on the pictures or story released by Jayden Seyfarth?"

"Can't stand that guy. Um, look, Mack didn't ask for any of this. She and I know the truth and we are handling our business. She's healthy, the baby is healthy and we are both excited about it. That's all we'll be commenting about her pregnancy."

The radio host seemed satisfied with his answers and turned his questions back to the other members leaving Calum to his thoughts. The ones in his head drifting to Mack and what she would have to say about his answers.

An: Ugh I've struggled with these last few chapters but I think we're back on track now!

Y'all thank Sprinting_Ginger for always helping me through my writers block!

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