•Cassidy
FIVE YEARS LATER
I stood off to the side of the stage, observing my husband who was currently belting out against the microphone. Sweat was pouring down his face as his fingers rapidly strummed away at the strings. I danced along to the beat of the blaring music, hiding slightly behind the curtain and tucked away from the view of the crowd that was loudly singing the lyrics back to the band.
5 Seconds of Summer were still together, as I imagine they probably always will be, and they were still making music, just at a much slower pace now. They weren't on a tour at the moment, mainly because everyone was too busy to hit the road right now, but they still did random shows every so often like the one they are performing right now.
I still miss what it was like touring the country. Going on tour with the boys was probably the most fun I've ever had. Nights like tonight bring me back to how crazy of an experience it was and how much pride I got to feel from seeing them all achieve their dreams every night. I wasn't even supposed to be attending tonight- I had prior commitments- but I'm glad I am able to soak up the atmosphere again.
"We're 5 Seconds of Summer, thank you so much!" Ashton yelled out to the crowd over the roar of their screams, as he took his final beats against the drums.
Luke was the first one to run off stage, and he immediately gasped at the sight of me. "Cass! I thought you weren't going to make it," He yelled, sprinting towards me and colliding our bodies together into a tight hug.
"Surprise!" I said after the fact, taking those weird side steps as we hugged for a long time. His t-shirt was completely stuck onto his back due to the outrageous amount of sweat that lingered on his pale skin and he reeked of body odor, but that didn't stop me from letting go of the embrace.
"Come on, let's get out of here before anyone else sees," Luke suggested, gripping onto my arm and tugging me into the dressing room before the other boys could catch even a glimpse of us.
I entered into the dressing room, viewing the familiar black leather couches that seemed to be inside every single one. It hit me with a tremendous sense of nostalgia to that tour I was able to be apart of and all of the memories from the shenanigans that took place on the road came flooding back into my brain.
"Okay, maybe I'm going crazy. But I distinctly remember you saying there was no way you'd be able to come to the show tonight because you were doing promo in New York for your new movie," Luke stated, lifting his eyebrows up at me at a questioning manner.
"Maybe I just missed you too much, Luke," I teased, giggling to myself. Luke rolled his eyes at me as he lifted his sweaty shirt over his head and began to get changed. "I finished up interviews a lot quicker than I thought so I got on an earlier flight. I couldn't miss the show."
Luke opened his mouth to say something else, but instead was interrupted by the chatter coming from outside the dressing room and the footsteps that were loudly approaching us. The three of them always took forever to get back to the dressing room because they would stop and talk for so long, meanwhile, Luke always was in a rush to relax afterwards.
"Go hide!" Luke yelled frantically, pushing my body in the direction of one of the closets. I tried my best to scurry inside of it, ignoring my apprehensive feeling towards being tucked in a cramped space.
The voices grew louder and I heard someone flop down onto the couch. I desired to be in that same place. Being crouched down in an average sized closet with a large belly wasn't the most comfortable situation.
"Why do they not have any beer in this fridge?" I faintly heard Michael complain. "They've got to have some beer in here somewhere. What's this door lead to?"
I felt my heart begin to thump against my chest. He had to be standing right in front of the door to the closet I was hiding in. The handle began to turn, and a streak of light slowly poured inside the closet. Michael's gaze shifted downwards and he leaped back at the sight of me.
"Surprise!" I cheered loudly, bouncing up to my feet.
"What the hell, Cassidy? You just scared the living shit out of me!" Michael whined, his chest moving up and down as he panted. "You know what? No. I'm not even going to hug you because of that. Get out of here."
"Cass?" A soft voice called, over the roar of my own laughter from Michael's reaction. I peaked behind Michael's tall frame, spotting Calum's adorable face trying to decipher whether or not I was actually here.
"Hi Cal," I greeted, watching his lips curl into a humongous smile as he rapidly traveled towards me.
He wrapped his arms around me tightly, picking me up and spinning me around as I buried my face into his shoulder. "What are you doing here, baby? You're supposed to be in New York."
"I didn't want to miss the show!" I exclaimed, standing up on my tippy-toes to press a very quick kiss onto his lips. "You guys did great."
"Shit, you're the best. You flew all the way back here just to see the band play some crappy gig again? Guys, do I have the best wife in the world or what?" Calum asked the other boys, slinging his arm around my shoulder.
"Your honeymoon phase was supposed to end years ago. Stop being disgusting," Ashton muttered, not even bothering to glance up from his phone, since this was pretty common for Calum to be very lovey-dovey when it came to me. "I hope you had a safe flight though, Cass."
I opened my mouth to reply, but Michael beat me to it. "Actually, Calum, when Bree and I get married next month I'm going to have the best wife in the world."
"Lies," Calum whispered into my ear, making a grin appear on my face.
"Speaking of Bree, we really need to get home and relieve her of her babysitter duty," I told Calum, reminding him of our two-year-old daughter that was probably anxious for us to come home. She loved when her "aunt" Bree got to stay with her, but I'm sure Bree was eager to see her fiancé after his gig.
"Cass if that is some code for post-show sex you should at least wait until after I shower," Calum joked, winking at me. My face altered to a shade of bright red. I always grew embarrassed whenever he spoke about our sex-life in front of our friends, despite the fact that I lived with all of them on a bus for a year and despite the fact that they had walked in on us several times.
"Cass is already pregnant again, Calum. Can you two like relax? The rest of us don't even have one kid yet," Luke whined, his lips folding over into a pout.
I knew Luke and Hannah have been trying to have a baby for awhile now, and I think Calum and I having children has had a weird impact on the rest of the band. They all love our daughter and obsess over her, but I think it's making each of them suddenly want kids even more now and the band is slowly getting ready to settle down. It's really weird considering they are still extremely immature.
"Well we better get going since, you know, parent's duty to clean up some duty," I said softly, sliding my hand down Calum's toned bicep until it reached his own hand, and I intertwined our fingers together.
•*•*•
"Mommy! Daddy!" Charlotte cheered as soon as we stepped foot into the beach house, and she excitedly sprinted towards us even though it was way past her bedtime.
Calum kneeled down, spreading his arms out wide for our two-year-old to happily jump into. "Charlie! How's my baby girl?" He asked in a happy tone, peppering kisses over her entire face and making her giggle uncontrollably. "You should be sleeping, silly goose!"
"I wanted to see you before I went to bed, Daddy," She spoke in her adorable high-pitched tone, smiling from ear to ear as Calum lifted her up so she was sitting on his hip, and our daughter started to play with Calum's chubby cheeks as he led her to her bedroom that we had built.
"How did she do?" I asked Bree, tearing my eyes away from the painfully cute scene.
Bree smiled. "She was so great. We watched the live-stream of the concert and she tried to sing along. I made her some peanut butter and jelly for dinner. And we played with her doll house for awhile. It was fun. She didn't cry at all."
I grinned, thinking how lucky I am to have such a good daughter who is just showered by love from all of my friends. "Well thank you so much for babysitting. Are you going to come to the premiere on Saturday?"
"Cass, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Bree told me, pulling me in for a hug. "I probably should get home, though. So I'll call you tomorrow?"
"Okay," I agreed, then leaned closer to her so I could whisper in her ear. "Your fiancé looks really good tonight, so you better get home quick."
Bree chuckled, pushing me away from her as she headed towards the front door. "Bye Cal! Bye Charlotte!" She yelled over her shoulder, even though I'm sure neither of them would yell back.
I strolled into Charlotte's bedroom, spotting the bright yellow colored walls immediately. It was the cutest bedroom I've ever seen and I swear Calum had more fun decorating it than I did.
I often get waves of sadness remembering that we're going to be moving into a different house soon, but it was necessary to get a house with more than two bedrooms for when the second baby comes. Maybe there will even be more babies than that in the future. I'm not sure, but I do know that living inside this beach house has filled me with so many incredible memories, ones that I will never be able to forget.
I leaned against the frame in the doorway, watching Calum interact with our daughter. He was telling her some story about the show tonight, talking in an expressive tone and making many animated movements. Charlotte, who was sitting on her tiny little bed was watching him in awe, a smile never disappearing off of her face.
She was so pretty. She had my green eyes, with Calum's tan skin, and her hair was a medium shade of brown, naturally curled into ringlets. Charlotte, or Charlie, the name that Calum immediately dubbed her, was the second best thing to ever happen to me. The first was Calum.
"Mommy," Charlotte blurted out, interrupting Calum's singing as he reenacted parts of his show tonight. "Mommy did you have fun in the big fruit?"
Calum giggled to himself. "The big apple, Char."
"The big wapple," Charlotte repeated, glimpsing up at me through her long eyelashes that often tickled my cheeks when she gave me butterfly kisses.
I walked inside her room, kneeling at her bed/crib/thingy next to Calum. "Yes I did. But I missed you very much. Did you and Daddy have fun together?"
Charlotte squealed. "Yes we did! We played games and had chicken nuggets for breakfast and went to the park and Daddy even let me sleep in the big bed with him!"
"That sounds like fun!" I responded, keeping up the same level of enthusiasm that she had. I glanced over at Calum, who had this goofy grin covering his face as he was reminded of their few days together. "Do you think we should have chicken nuggets for breakfast again tomorrow?"
Charlotte nodded her little head rapidly. "We should have nuggets all the time!" She screamed loudly, in a sing-song voice.
Calum and I both cracked up. "Okay, Mommy will go buy us all some chicken nuggets tomorrow morning," I declared, running my hand through her hair. I lowered my voice to a playful whisper. "But it's late, Charlie. You need to be like Sleeping Beauty and take a little snooze, okay princess?"
Charlotte folded her lip over in a pout, as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Nuh-uh. I want to stay up with Mommy and Daddy."
"We're going to go to bed too!" Calum promised her, but Charlotte didn't even budge. He placed his hand on her arm, lowering his voice. "Charlie, the sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we will get chicken nuggets in the morning."
Charlotte instantly jumped on her back, tugging her sole blanket over her body. "Okay! Night-night, Mommy! Night-night, Daddy!"
I laughed at how silly she was, much like her father, and how stubborn she usually was, just like me. "Night, Char. I love you."
"I love you too, Mommy," Charlotte replied, smiling up at me.
Calum leaned over the railing that was there to make sure she didn't fall off her bed, to press a kiss onto her forehead. "Sleep tight, baby girl."
Charlotte simply closed her eyes, a smile still present on her adorable two-year old face. Calum and I slowly tip-toed out of bedroom and shut off her bedroom light, closing the door behind us.
"You used to call me baby girl," I whined, pretending to pout as we headed to our own room, the one we originally hated when we first were forced to live together.
Calum chuckled, bumping me with his hip. "Yeah, and you used to call me daddy."
I rolled my eyes at him, perching onto the mattress of our queen sized bed. He instantly leaped onto me carefully, squeezing my upper body tight to his chest in a happy manner. "I'm so happy you're home, Cassie," He cheered, practically singing his words as he rolled the two of us backwards onto the mattress.
I giggled like a little girl that was overwhelmed with happiness. I lifted my head up so I could get a good look at him. "I missed you so much. Like, I missed Charlotte too, obviously. But God, I missed you."
Calum pecked my lips. "Don't even get me started on how much I missed you, babe," Calum stated, then moved his hand down to my belly that now had a very noticeable bump. He rubbed it softly. "And I missed this little guy too."
I smiled, placing my hand over his on my stomach, feeling the coldness of his wedding band tickle my palm. "Do you really think it's going to be a boy?" I asked, moving my head so it rested on his shoulder.
He pressed a kiss onto the side of my head. "Yeah, it's going to be the best son ever to go along with his amazing sister and we're going to be the cutest family ever and go from c-tripled to c-cubed."
"What if we have another girl? Will you be sad?" I asked out of sheer curiosity, as his hand never stopped rubbing my belly, just like how he used to rub my belly when I had cramps.
Calum clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "Are you kidding me? Of course not. I love Charlotte so much. It would be a dream come true to have another girl that I can spoil and protect. But I truly think it's a boy."
"I want a boy," I admitted quietly. "I can only imagine how cute the boy would be if he's like his father."
"I'm so in love with you," Calum blurted out, kissing my neck. He continued to kiss up my body until he reached my lips, his mouth hovering above them, with his eyes locked on my own before slowly colliding them together. It didn't matter how many times I've kissed Calum. I always got butterflies in my stomach each time.
"I love you more," I argued, kissing him one more time before standing up to get changed into some pajamas. I stood in front of my dresser, and Calum followed after me, his arms slowly creeping around my waist as he nuzzled his head onto my shoulder.
The two of us swayed back and forth as I searched for a t-shirt big enough to fit around my baby bump, and Calum tried his best to distract me by kissing my neck again. I settled on one of Calum's old shirts and retreated away from my husband to exchange my clothes for some comfier ones.
Calum stripped down to only his boxers, a sight that I will still probably love even when he is an eighty-year-old man with wrinkles protruding out of his face. "You tired, babe? Or should we have one of our movie nights?"
"I would love to, but New York to LA in one day is kind of exhausting," I complained, stepping closer to him again so he could hold me in his arms and I could feel the heat radiate off of his skin. "Plus, we'll probably wake up Charlotte."
"True," Calum agreed, kissing my forehead like he always does, and making my eyelids flutter closed. "So do you want to just go to sleep?"
"Yeah," I mumbled, hopping onto the mattress and slipping underneath the silky covers. Calum crawled onto the spot next to me, inching his way closer to me so we were cuddling yet again.
A silence fell upon the two of us. The only noises in the room were our own heartbeats loudly thumping against our chests and the window that was slightly cracked open, allowing a gentle gust of wind to whoosh inside our bedroom. I intertwined our fingers together underneath the sheets, giving them a squeeze, and conveying how much I loved him without even muttering a word.
Calum sighed. "You know what's weird?"
"What?" I replied, both of us staring up at the ceiling instead of at each other.
"When I was young I always pictured myself being married to you because you were the only girl I really knew. And yet it actually happened, but it's even better than I ever imagined," Calum gushed, his tone of voice sounding so velvety it was practically music to my ears. "Like I'm a dad. I got to live my dream of being in a band. I got to move to California. But the best thing of all is my wife. And my wife is Cassidy Gold, my first friend, the girl I always knew I wanted to end up with. How weird."
I couldn't help but feel immensely happy. "All of your dreams came true, Cal. It's not weird. It's wonderful."
"No, it's so weird. This kind of stuff never happens. Yet here we are. Can you believe it, Cass? God, I thought I was never going to see you again when you moved to America and hated me. And then we ran into each other at a movie premiere and I spilled water on you. And now we're in bed together as our baby sleeps in the next room and as our other baby sleeps in your tummy. Life is so weird," Calum rambled, his thumb now gliding over my own thumb of our interlocked hands.
"And now we have another movie premiere to go to in like two days," I reminded him, feeling myself let out a little giggle. "I guess it is weird, baby. But I couldn't be happier for this weirdness."
•*•*•
A red dress clung on to my body, accentuating my pregnant belly. It was only fitting that I wore red, since it was my favorite color, and I could tell tonight was going to be one of my favorite nights.
I was sitting inside of a limo, thinking about my daughter that Hannah thankfully agreed to babysit and how much I wish I could bring her to these things. This was my last movie for a little bit, so I'm excited to get time to spend with my family again and not have to worry about work or promo.
Bree, Calum and the rest of the boys were all crowded inside of the limo as well. Michael was already drinking a beer "to make the red carpet actually fun." I was glad they were all coming tonight though. It made my premiere even better.
"Calum are you going to cry when you see Cassidy have a sex scene with another man?" Luke asked, referring to the short clip that appears in this movie.
Michael chuckled. "Nah, he'll probably get a boner. The kid still gets a boner every time Cassidy posts a selfie on Instagram."
Calum's cheeks altered to a shade darker than the one I was wearing. I giggled along with the other boys. "Mike, you're the one who jacks off to Bree's modelling shoots in the bathroom at venues so I don't want to hear it!"
"It was one time! I thought the door was locked!" Michael yelled back, growing frustrated by their little banter. Bree buried her face in Michael's shoulder, surprisingly getting embarrassed.
"It was pretty hot, Bree," Luke admitted, shrugging in a nonchalant manner. "Don't really blame him."
Everyone burst into laughter at his outburst, even Michael, who eventually slapped the blonde boy in the arm.
"We're the most immature band ever," Ashton stated, shaking his head from side to side. "I love you guys."
The limo pulled up to the red carpet, and screams from outside grew louder. I could still see the flashing of lights through the dark, tinted windows. My heart beat inclined, suddenly getting nervous since it was my movie and since it was my first time at a huge public event like this where my baby bump is on complete display.
"Ready to kill it, babe?" Calum asked, linking our fingers together as the driver opened up the sleek limo door and his band began to file out.
I nodded my head, letting him gently tug me out of the vehicle and have the two of us step out into the spotlight. We waved at all of the people, still standing in our little cluster of friends as photographers eagerly called out for us.
We were a power couple. Not just because we were two esteemed people in the same industry at the same status, but because we were just so powerful together that we were able to achieve such great things together. We made our dreams come true, we worked hard, we fell in love hard, we made kids when he was hard, and times like this really showcased how massive and crazy our life had become, even though it was so average and adorable when we were at home.
Calum stood in front of me, pressing a kiss onto my lips, despite the fact that a make-up artist had just smothered them with some lipstick. "You're going to do great, Cass. I'm so proud of you," Calum whispered, smiling down at me. "I have to go do my band interview crap but I'll meet up with you later, alright?"
"Have fun," I said playfully, knowing how much he dreaded talking to all of the reporters.
"Love you," Calum stated quickly, then kneeled down slightly and pressed another kiss onto my stomach. "And I love you, little guy. You're so lucky to have such a good mum. And you get to be inside of her all the time! I wish I could do that-"
"Get out of here already," I fake-complained, even though I secretly found his dirty humor to be hilarious. I made him laugh as I shooed him off towards the rest of his band that were already strolling down the red carpet without him.
Calum turned towards the crowd, picking up one of the movie posters that lined the edge of the red carpet. "That's my wife!" He shouted, as loudly as humanly possible, and making everyone burst into hysterics.
"Oh my Lord," Bree mumbled from next to me, rolling her eyes at how much of a total goofball he is.
I was blushing uncontrollably, a habit that I never seem to be able to shake. Calum showers me with love, yet every time he does something sweet, it still makes me feel like the first time I realized I had a crush on him and the butterflies still swarm through me.
Calum turned around to look at me one more time before starting his first interview. He kissed his palm and then waved, and I reluctantly waved back to him despite how cheesy he was. God, I loved him.
I toyed with the silver ring that was secured around my finger, memories of our wedding flooding through my brain. I forgot all about the fact that I was at my movie premiere. My mind was just racing with thoughts of Calum.
We've been through so much together. We've overcome so many obstacles and yet we've also encountered some of the most blissful times. He is still the same goofy guy I fell in love with, and he is still my best friend, and he is still the person I admire more than anyone else on this planet. I couldn't be more grateful for that.
I think it's easy to get caught up in all of the glamour that life has to offer. Like right now, when I'm debuting a movie while being surrounded by celebrities and being clad in a designer dress that I would never even think about wearing years ago. But that's not what it excites me. I'm more excited knowing that after this premiere all of my best friends get to come to my house and we can eat pizza together while the beautiful baby that I created with the love of my life sits on one of her uncle's laps, viewing what love and life is all about. That's what is most important.
No matter how awful life may seem, or how many mistakes you may have made, or how many bad experiences you may have had to deal with, in the end it all works out. I originally viewed rooming with Calum as death sentence, and yet here we are, actual living proof that amazing things can derive from what's presumed to be the worst.
"Cassidy! Congrats on the new movie! Do you have time for a quick chat?" A reporter called out, pulling me away from my trance.
I glimpsed at Bree, who merely urged me to go talk to the woman. I hesitantly approached the crew, giving the reporter a big smile as a camera was placed in front of my face. "Hello! Thanks for coming to my premiere. Even though it's ridiculously hot out tonight."
"It is pretty warm," She agreed with a light, and probably forced chuckle. "Now, I can't help but notice something different about you. Is there any news that you'd like to share with us? Maybe news for both you and a certain member of 5 Seconds of Summer?"
I grinned, feeling a surge of happiness run through my veins just at the thought of Calum and our new extension to the family that I'm sure we're going to love just as much as we love Charlotte. Our kids are just such a great reflection of our relationship and how much we've gone through together, and every time I'm reminded of that I can't help but get annoyingly giddy.
I cleared my throat before speaking into the microphone. "The bass player is the best person I could ever be affiliated with, and the best husband I could ever ask for, but he is an even better father. And we are expecting our second baby together soon."
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author's note: OHM YODD THIS IS THE END OF THE STORY I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT IT BUT THIS IS THE END WOW I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED IT IF U DIDNT LET ME KNOW OKAY WOW
NOTICE HOW THE LAST PART OF THE EPILOGUE IS LIKE THE SAME THING AS THE END OF THE FIRST CHAPTER BUT SO MUCH HAS CHANGED AND HAPPENED SINCE THEN WE'VE COME SO FAR GUYS
did i trick u guys with the luke thing in the beginning? lmao i wanted there to be some kind of suspense but i dont know if it worked haha cass was just hiding so she could surprise calum
wow alright i just really want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time out of your day to read this and to even think about this story i really hope you all enjoyed it as much as i enjoyed writing it
i can't thank you all for your unbelievable support through literally everything in this story and supporting me in general you are all so sweet and nice and i just love you all so much i'm going to miss you guys
i am working on a new fanfic but i still haven't decided if im going to post it bc it will never be the same as roommates or be as good as roommates and i feel weird you know
i love you all so much seriously thank you for reading this and remember you can always reread it!!! i just reread it the other day and it's so crazy to see all of the character development and remember all of the funny times again
this has been such an incredible journey it feels surreal that this story is ending bc it became such a big part of your life and i hope it had at least a tiny bit of impact on your own- maybe you can relate to something or maybe it gave you hope or maybe you learned something or maybe it just entertained you idk but all good books should leave u with some impression so i really hope i was able to do that!
remember my twitter is @ calumfridge if you want to talk to me or stay updated on what im up to cause im much more active on there!! i hope you guys dont forget about me cause i wont forget about you guys i am so thankful for all of ya
lastly i just want to thank you again and i hope you guys have a great life and are able to make the best out of any situation like c squared and you do what makes you happy and you stay true to yourself and u go after your dreams okay guys love you all
also if i ever date calum can you guys promise to like not expose me for writing this like can we make that some unwritten law to just pretend i didnt write a fanfic about him lmao
okay this is so sad but without further adieu
THE END