a/n: they're so fricking cute (btw thank you all for reading this fic ilysm)
"And we're in love."
The breath got stuck in my throat, and I just gaped at him.
"Sorry," he rushed out, his facial expression not matching up with his words. "Shouldn't have said that. Um."
"Are you drunk?" I asked, still staring wide-eyed at the brunet in front of me. "How many have you had?"
Calum shook his head, biting at his lip ring as he breathed deeply. "None. I'm not drunk. I just- Never mind. Can we forget I said that? I just-"
The words were out of my mouth the moment they materialised in my brain. "Do you like me?" I needed to know. Best friends just didn't say they were in love with one another when they were dating someone else altogether. Best friends didn't make out behind their significant others' backs. Calum and I weren't best friends. We were many things, but not that.
"I..." He started, looking down at his shoes for a moment before looking back up at me, a determined look on his face. "Yeah. Yeah, I like you, Luke."
I couldn't stop the smile from creeping onto my face at the sound of those words. "Yeah?" I asked, only because I wanted to be absolutely certain this wasn't an incredibly vivid dream.
"Yeah," Calum grinned back, nodding furiously. His cheeks were tinted pink, and I was hoping that it wasn't just due to the cold air. "I like you a lot, Lukey."
"I like you, too," I breathed out, my voice a little shaky. I never thought this day would come, certainly not this soon, anyways. "I have for a while now. Ever since..." Once again, my breath got caught in my throat, and I had to struggle to push them out. My smile had faded, and in its place was a worried expression. "Ever since you started dating Mikey, I think."
Calum's face fell as well, and he swiped his tongue over his bottom lip nervously before speaking. "I'll break up with him."
I shook my head, looking away from his unwavering gaze and out at the few cars on the street. "No, I- I don't-"
"Lukey," he whispered, taking my hand in both of his and squeezing it. "I like you. Not him."
"Why did you date him, then?"
He let out what seemed like a breathy chuckle. "Because tastes change. I- I did like him. I'm not going to lie to you. But... I just... All that time I spent with you, listening to the bands you like and things like that... You don't realise it, but your eyes light up every time you talk about music you love. Your whole demeanour changes. And- I don't know. It made me realise that I wanted to be the one who made that happen, too. When I came to you with that list of bands... It wasn't just bands Michael had mentioned. Well, yes," Calum huffed, shaking his head. "Yes, they were bands Michael had mentioned. But more precisely, they were bands I knew you like. And I just... I wanted an excuse to spend as much time with you, to see you happy."
I closed my eyes, breathing heavily. His words were making some sort of distorted sense to my jumbled mind, but the only thing I could say was "What?"
I heard him sigh and step closer to me. Opening my eyes, I could see that he was less than fifty centimetres away, and I gulped. "I just fucking like you, a lot, and I want to be the one making you happy."
I just nodded, my gaze moving from his eyes down to his lips. "Okay," I breathed out, looking back into his eyes. "Okay."
He grinned, eyes crinkling cutely. "I don't know what you mean by okay, but I'm gonna kiss you now, if that's okay."
A faint pink colour invaded my cheeks as I nodded, a shy smile creeping onto my lips, which was soon replaced by Calum's ever so soft lips. As I felt his hands settle on my hips, I realised that I could do this forever. I hoped he could, too.