•Dionne POV•
After playing a few more games with each other, we ended up sitting on the other side of the arcade in the round booths, waiting to order some pizza and drinks. On the end was Tyler, then Sameera, Blaire, Michael, Calum, myself and then Ashton... talk about fucking awkward. Ashton was in the toilets when we all took our seats, otherwise I have a feeling he would've chosen to sit elsewhere. But hey, at least I was directly across from Tyler and Sameera, who totally weren't going to obsess over who I was sat in between, and definitely weren't already freaking out about it in their heads.
Just kidding. I could see it in their fucking eyes.
We ordered our pizza, along with some drinks, and as soon as the waiter walked away I watched Michael lean forward excitedly and start smacking his fists on the table as if he was doing a dramatic drumroll. "Woo! Let's get some fuckin pizza!" He exclaimed with a final double smack of the wooden tabletop, and I swear to god if it wasn't for the loud music playing in this place then there wouldn't be a single person in here who didn't hear him.
At the sight of this, Blaire looked both shocked and amused, while Sameera and Tyler looked weirdly terrified. To my right, Ashton had his face buried in his hands. Meanwhile, Calum was dying laughing next to me, sinking lower and lower into his seat with Michael barely holding it together beside him. Out of all the people whose reaction I could've matched, I think I was somewhere perfectly in between Calum and Blaire as I laughed whilst also being completely and utterly shocked.
"Michael, how is it even humanly possible for you to be that loud?" Ashton groaned out a laugh through his hands, only making the boys crack up more. Calum was gripping onto Michael's arm as if for support but he was just pulling him down with him in the process, making me laugh even more.
"Jesus, does he always scream like that?" I asked through a wheeze as if Michael was some animal I was trying to figure out, glancing at Ashton and then Michael who was tugging his arm out of Calum's grip and smacking him as he cackled.
"He fuckin does-"
"More than necessary-" Calum and Ashton both spoke at the same time, coming to a stop when they realised the other was speaking...
"Oh- my bad." Ashton apologised with a soft smile, and I watched as Calum leaned forward and wiped a tear from his eye with an amused sigh.
"Nah mate, no worries." Calum reassured, then looked at Michael and started cracking up again.
"Michael is just... the loudest person you'll ever meet." Ashton chuckled, shaking his head at the thought.
"I don't know, I'm pretty loud myself." I countered, turning my head to see my friends in hopes that they would be reminded of the times when I'd be walking down the street at 3am screaming some random song at the top of my lungs with Blaire whilst Sameera begged us to pipe down... usually to no avail.
Instead, I caught sight of Calum out of the corner of my eye, and saw that he'd raised his eyebrows curiously and pouted his lips as if to say 'is that so?'
Then I saw Michael nudge him in the ribs, making Calum jerk back with a frown and mutter 'what?' before smirking. I looked back towards Sameera and Tyler and saw that they had this 'I'm just minding my business' look on their faces as they made their own conversation, making me roll my eyes to myself as I turned back to Ashton.
"Not to be biased or anything but I think loud friends are good friends." I pursed my lips and scrunched my face slightly as I nodded, seeing Ashton raise his eyebrow questioningly with a laugh before Michael's voice interrupted with a harsh, "HA!"
"See, Dee knows what she's talking about!" He blurted out, pointing a finger aggressively in Ashton's face.
"Fuck yeah!" I grinned back, watching as Michael raised his hand and went in for an intense high five - one of those ones that makes your hand sting, at that. Ouch.
"Look, it's not that I think it's bad. I just think that... Michael is like, supernaturally loud." Ashton stifled a laugh.
"And you don't think that's impressive?" I quipped, making Ashton laugh quietly and reluctantly nod.
"Ash, if you think I'm a godlike being then just say that." Michael scoffed with an arrogant smirk, stretching his arms out and letting them fall on the shoulders of both Calum and Blaire in a cocky manner. Blaire played it off like it was just a funny joke but I could tell she was loving it, really.
"Well- I wouldn't say that." Ashton rolled his eyes, only making me laugh more. Soon our drinks arrived and there was a moment of us just sat listening to the general conversation at the table and the sound around us, but then Ashton turned to talk to me again.
"How're you getting along with the assignment, by the way...? The pictures we took. Well, you took. I was just... there." He let out a chuckle and then awkwardly cleared his throat, whilst I bit the inside of my cheek and hoped to high heavens that the heat in my skin didn't show on the surface.
We hadn't talked about that day.
"Oh- uh-" I hesitated, unsure how to respond for a second thanks to my brain jumping straight to the awkward interaction I'd caused about two weeks ago rather than the actual question he asked me. "The pictures? Y'know, I still think they're good... but I'm not sure they're right for me, honestly." I admitted, swallowing hard and then taking a sip of my drink.
"Oh, how come? I thought they were really incredible." He leaned his crossed arms on the table and looked up at me with a soft nod.
"I just- it's a really specific subject, y'know? I feel like I have to do more to really get it right - or at least have more options." I looked down, stirring my straw in my drink awkwardly.
"I get that." He let out a breath, fiddling his hands together. "If you- uh, if you need any help taking more then- y'know... I'm always happy to help." He sat back up in his chair, lifting his hand and scratching the side of his jaw. From the corner of my eye, I could see his own eyes flickering between looking at me and the table.
"Oh." I hummed out, biting the corner of my lip and tapping the glass of my drink. "Yeah, that could be nice." I murmured, tucking my hair behind my ear. I felt like Ashton was about to respond, carry on with that subject matter somehow, but as he opened his mouth to speak my attention was grabbed away by the feeling of an arm knowingly nudging against mine.
"Dionne-" I heard Calum's voice giggle as he shifted closer to me, cutting off the thought of what Ashton had said as I felt Calum's leg press against mine gently. I turned to face him, seeing the amused expression on his face and glancing down to see the phone in his hand held out towards me. "Look, you'll love this." He grinned, immediately pulling a smile out of my own lips.
On his phone was a video of Anthony Mackie, who Calum had found out was one of my favourite Marvel actors behind the scenes for his sense of humour alone. It didn't even matter what he was saying, he could always make me laugh - and he did, in the video that Calum showed me of him complaining about 'sweet spots'.
"What the fuck is a sweet spot?" I giggled as I watched Anthony Mackie insist on demonstrating exactly what he was talking about with none other than Jimmy Kimmel as his... well, victim.
"It's right here." Calum chuckled mischievously, and then I felt his large hand slip behind me and rest gently against the small of my back, making me freeze instantly as his fingers touched the exposed skin beneath my cropped top and right above my jeans. For a second I had to wonder if he could feel the goosebumps he'd just given me... Then, he leaned in close to my face and whispered, "Hey man, I really like your movies." in the same intense, frowning manner that Anthony Mackie had done in the video.
As soon as I turned to look at him, I burst out laughing. And he did the same - but his hand was yet to move from my lower back. I couldn't help but think he knew exactly what he was doing - even by the way he eventually moved, subtly rubbing his thumb against my back before he slowly dragged his hand past my waist and back into his own lap.
We continued to watch the video on his phone and didn't acknowledge the chilling contact he'd just made. For a second I glanced up though, and the expression on Sameera and Tyler's faces were telling - they'd definitely seen that, and definitely would have something to say about it if they got the chance. However, their expressions alone were enough for me - I'm completely okay with it not being acknowledged out loud. For now. Or ever, if that was an option.
I didn't even want to think about the possible look on Ashtons face, if he'd seen it too. For whatever reason, I found myself hoping that he hadn't...
-
By the time Monday came around, Tyler had fully decided that his new official ship was Calum and I. He fully confirmed this with me as we walked across campus in the morning and he decided to ask me a very innocent question...
"So, have you fucked Calum yet?" He asked almost immediately after greeting me, making me choke on my own spit.
"What the fuck?!" I coughed, putting my hand over my mouth and looking around in fear that anybody of relevance had heard the invasive question.
"Is that a yes or a no?"
"What- no! It's a no, and it's a why the fuck would you ask me that?" I smacked him in the arm, and he held his hands up with a defensive "hey!"
"I ask so that I don't assume! Otherwise I would've just assumed that you did." He shrugged, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear.
"What's wrong with you?"
"God, where do I start-"
"Tyler!"
"What?! I'm sorry, but after the way you both acted at the arcade, it's actually shocking that you haven't fucked him yet. I would have." He raised his eyebrows, pouting his bottom lip before smirking at the thought.
"Oh, come on, nothing happened at the arcade." I lied through my teeth.
"Oh, you come on! Be real, you guys were touching and flirting and all sorts. You're telling me you don't wanna fuck him?" He stopped walking, crossing his arms and tilting his head with the question. I hesitated to answer, but then the words seemed to escape on their own.
"I never said that." I crossed my arms back at him, seeing his eyebrows shoot with up and immediately wanting to take back my words before he spoke again-
"Oh so you do!"
"I never said that either!" I whined, once again looking around nervously before I locked eyes with Tyler again. "Or maybe I do-"
"That's what I thought!"
"But it doesn't matter! Because it's not gonna happen." Tyler gave me a look of... disgust? "What? It's not!"
"So you would fuck him, and he obviously wants to fuck you, but it's... not gonna happen? What am I missing here." He shook his head in confusion, still giving me that look of frowning disgust like he was trying to see through a dirty window.
"He doesn't obviously want to fuck me." I rolled my eyes, and Tyler's eyes basically popped out of his head.
"Are you mental?"
"No! But- Tyler- just wait, listen." I huffed as we got to the top of the stairs near the cafe and paused... I looked around, once again checking that nobody relevant was listening... "Not that it matters to me, but... I think Calum is talking to another girl."
"Wait, what?"
"Shush. Don't make a big deal out of it... I've just seen him up here, buying her coffee a few times, and he even asked me what to get her for her birthday the other week..." I couldn't help but scowl, and Tyler tilted his head, mouth slightly open in shock.
"He asked you?"
"Uh... yeah, basically."
"He... asked you... to help him get a gift, for another girl?" Tyler seemed to really be thinking this over in his head, as if he was doing complex calculations - even waving his finger around to indicate each hesitated point.
"...Yes?"
"Was this before or after the arcade?" He asked with narrowed brows, and I frowned.
"Nothing happened at the arcade, Tyler. We're just friends anyway-"
"Girl stop." Tyler scoffed, making me scowl at him. "So this other girl complicates things a bit, sure."
"Ya think?"
"Yeah, but..." Tyler sighed, and there was a moment of silence... "I still think he wants to to fuck you."
"Tyler!" I snapped, once again shoving him in the shoulder as he threw his hands up defensively.
"I call it as I see it! You do with that what you will." He shrugged, an obvious grin playing on his mischievous lips. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
"Maybe you're just delusional."
Or maybe he's right. And maybe I want him to be.