Luke was on one side of him, and some guy I couldn't remember the name of was on the other side of him. They were talking and laughing. I gently tapped Calum on the shoulder and he looked up at me, suddenly getting excited.
"Oh, Maya!" He turned to the seat beside of him and then frowned. "I saved this for you, but Owens sat down. Uh—" Calum started talking to the guy again, trying to get him to move. I looked over at Abbie and she was looking at me, sending me a reassuring smile. "Owens, get up, man."
"Oh—Maya Jacobson?" Owens asked, looking up at me. "Good job, bud. She could just sit in your lap, couldn't she?" The guy winked and I felt my blood run cold.
"Shut the fuck up, Owens. Get lost now." My eyes widened at Calum's sudden change in tone.
"Bro, I'm kidding. It's not that deep—I don't give a shit who you're boning." The guy stood up from the seat and Calum stood up as well, clearly becoming more upset. "Get away from me, Hood."
"Calum, stop—"
"Yeah, listen to the princess, Cal." I clenched my teeth to hold back from saying anything, and I grabbed Calum's arm before he could do anything. We simply watched the guy leave and I sat down as soon as I could, feeling embarrassed. Calum stayed standing, watching after the guy, but I tugged on his arm.
"Maya, I am so sorry."
"You didn't do anything, Calum. Can we just not talk about it? It's fine." I started to busy myself by eating and I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I glanced up to see Sam looking over at me, and she was mad. Michael was whispering something to her, and I could tell he looked concerned—he was probably apologizing for the guy's behavior as well.
Calum placed his hand on my knee, trying to console me. I breathed in deeply and tried not to think about it because I didn't want it to bother me. I reached down and placed my hand on top of Calum's, wanting him to know I appreciated the action.
"Um—all in favor of cancelling Mitchell Owens... say I." I looked across the table at Michael, and I smiled to myself—I knew he was trying to make me feel better. Everyone at the table immediately responded with I and I felt my cheeks become hot. "As for the rest of you—pull a stunt like that, and you'll get yourselves in trouble. Everyone here is to be respected, and if you can't do that: go fuck yourself. Now... how about enjoying a nice peaceful lunch?"
"Thank you, Michael." As everyone else returned to what they had been doing, I locked eye contact with Michael, wanting to thank him. He sent me a smile, one that I found to be charmingly genuine.
"We protect our own; don't mention it." Calum nudged my shoulder with his, and I looked over at him to see him looking at me intently.
"Come with me a sec, yeah?" I nodded at him and we both excused ourselves for a moment. He led me through the cafeteria and out the back doors.
"Calum, it's honestly okay—"
"No, it's not." Calum shook his head as he spoke over top of me and I sighed quietly, wishing Calum weren't so upset about the whole thing. Obviously I was glad that it had upset him—I'd be more concerned if it hadn't—but I also wanted to let it go. "I just want you to know that I am not okay with anyone treating you like that—I don't want you to think that's how I talk to my friends. Because it's not. Mitchell Owens is a disgusting prick and I've barely tolerated him for the past year and a half. He's funny sometimes, but I have absolutely no respect for him because he has no respect for anyone else. I don't want you to not spend time with me or my friends because you're worried about that kind of thing."
"Calum," I said, wanting him to take a minute to breathe. "Having one guy make a comment about us is not the end of the world... okay? A week ago I would have been mortified, but it's okay. I don't want you to think I'm going to worry over every little thing... I'm not as fragile as you might think."
"what's the hurt in asking?"
Start from the beginning
