Wildflower [c.h.]

17

"Thanks for coming here with me, Michael." We stood inside of the jewelry store, looking for the perfect ring for Calum. We were surrounded by the shiny bracelets, earrings, and rings.

"Why are you even buying him a ring?" Michael willingly came along when I called him and he wandered around the mall with me until I stopped at the store we were currently in the middle of.

"It's my master plan; I'm going to buy him a ring that he will love even more than the one he already has, then he'll give me that one."

"Really?"

"No." I paused to look at a ring, the diamond bigger than I would like. "I want to give him something. He said he wanted some more rings anyway so I'm really just doing him a favor."

He laughed, "one that will repay you with a ring?"

"Exactly," I cracked a smile. "Do you see any good ones?" I ran my eyes over the rows of silver and gold, hoping to find one that he'd treasure. I noticed a rather shiny ring that reminding me of the magnolia tree, it's bands wrapping together.

"What about this one?" Michael asked, poking me repeatedly while staring through the glass. I stood next to him and peered into the case, my eyes catching the ring that Michael pointed to. I looked up at him and smiled, his own smile growing as we nodded to each other.

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*Calum's POV*

"No, Ash, we didn't." I rolled my eyes at Ashton, who stood next to me in line at the supermarket. Val had sent me to buy some groceries for VC and Ashton decided to tag along.

"You had to, you two have so much chemistry. It would be a crime if you two didn't get down and dirty." I shushed him as the old lady in front of us looked back at us, her wrinkly face holding a frown and mean expression that I gave an apologetic smile to.

I turned back to Ashton and talked quietly, "we didn't do anything." He raised his eyebrows, expecting something more. "We kissed, that's all."

"Yeah, but did you tell her?"

I rubbed my temples, getting a headache from his excessive questioning today. "Yes, I told her."

He giggled and slapped my shoulder. "I knew it. Did she say it back? Nevermind, she had to." I sighed and pushed the cart forward.

"Hey, Ash? I forgot to get toothpaste, could you go grab some really quick?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, what kind?"

"It doesn't matter, V uses any." He saluted and ran off. I muttered to myself, "finally," and moved forward in line. I smiled as I thought back to last night. I had been itching to tell Val for months, finally gaining the courage after she broke up with Luke. I was glad she did, but I couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't more upset about it.

It was the little things that made me want to blurt out my feelings, like how she would nonchalantly hold my hand against her cheek because it was warm and she was cold, or how she would call my name from upstairs just to get my opinion about the outfit she picked out. I was always more than happy to oblige, telling her how amazing she looked so I would get awarded with her dazzling smile.

What really topped the cake was when she would cuddle with me. Her body fit perfectly in front of mine when we lay on the couch and I felt oddly protective of her then. I would always protect her, but in those moments as she started to drift away from the tiredness that ached her muscles, I wrapped my arm around her and waited for her to drift off, watching some show that I thought she'd like until her breathing was slow and small snores left her cold nose. Her nose was always cold.