Hey! Sorry for the late update. I was out of town at a wedding and I had no time to update whatsoever. A few important things happens But I hope you like it. Enjoy!
Dedication: It was SO HARD to choose one person to choose to dedicate this to because your responses on the last chapter were pretty amazing, but I choose this chapter to be dedicated to LifeIsLaston because she wrote a poem about my fanfic, Cake feels, and shrimp, which I was impressed with because I love shrimp. Haha. cx
Chapter Song: Beautiful Times by Owl City ft. Lindsey Sterling.
- Gabie :)
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Calum.
I woke up with Luke's arm around my waist. He had decided to sleep over so after our date we went to my room, talked, did a lot of kissing, and eventually fell asleep after a nice cuddle. And he must have planned it too because he pulled out a backpack clothes for him to wear.
I grinned, feeling his arm around me.
Luke must felt that I was awake because he ran his hand over my torso, feeling my chest and stomach. I felt his abs rub against my back as he continued to rub mine.
"Cal, are you awake?" He asked in a whisper. I smiled and turned around so I was facing him. "Yep, I'm awake. Good morning Lukey. Last night was amazing," I told him, kissing the tip of his nose. "I had an amazing night too," Luke replied, returning the same kiss on the tip of my nose.
We both wore sweats to bed without a shirt on, so I examined his stomach, where a bruise occupied that space just weeks before.
"The bruise on your stomach is gone," I told him, feeling his stomach. "Yeah. It healed about a week ago. It was painful having that there for a week. It was hard to hug you," Luke said in a sad tone. "You can hug me now, without having it be a pain," I told him. "That bruise takes away a painful memory. So I'm glad it's gone," Luke told me.
"Luke?" I asked.
"Yeah Cal?" Luke replied.
When I was in the hospital...you...you wouldn't tell me who did it to you. I want to know who did it," I told him.
Luke's face dropped. "Calum...I...I don't think you should know. And I think I shouldn't have to tell you. It could...it could trigger something. It could trigger everything you went through in the hospital, Luke replied.
"Please Lukey. I have every right to know," I told him. "I'm just trying to protect you Cal. So please just...drop it," Luke told me. "I want to know who's hurting you. Even if it triggers my hallucinations or insanity I want to know. Actually, I need to know. Not that I can protect you but...we could always watch out for this person," I told Luke, looking him in the eyes.
Luke looked away then sighed. "Okay fine. It was...Peter. When you were in the hospital, he wanted to know where you were for whatever reason. Ash, Mikey, and I didn't tell him because...well for reasons. He doesn't have the right to. Anyway, after that, he beat us up. After I broke up with Maya, she went and told him where you were and he...he was touching and I'm pretty sure he would've started kissing you if we didn't walk in. He was acting as if both of you were dating and as if he didn't do anything to you. As if he wasn't the reason why you were there. And you were oblivious to the whole thing. I swear to god I was ready to beat him up, worse than he did to me, Ash, and Mikey, because he was touching you like that."
It was silent for a moment.
"Luke...Peter hurt you?" I asked after that moment of silence. "Yes. It was Peter. He hurt me, Mikey, and Ash. But not as much as he hurt you," Luke replied, looking me in the eyes.
"He's not going to leave me alone is he?" I asked. Before Luke could reply, I stopped him from talking.
"First he hurt me, then he hurt my friends and my boyfriend, then he decided to touch me, while I was sedated, as if we were dating. I swear...he's going to hurt me again. That's what he does. H-H-He's going t-to hurt me again. He's going to get inside my head and stay there. I just know it," I whimpered, tears escaping my eyes.
"Cal, he's not going to hurt you. I told you this already," Luke whispered, rubbing soft circles around my back.
"Y-Y-You don't know him Luke. He...he's going to find a way to get me," I said in a louder voice, sitting up, tears falling down my face.
"Calum, I promise," Luke said, sitting up and pulling me towards him so my head was resting against his chest. His heart kept a constant and relaxing beat so it helped me calm down.
"You promise...what?" I asked.
"I promise, I won't let him hurt you, ever again. He won't ever lay a finger on you because I'll be there to protect you," Luke told me, holding my hand.
"You'll...you'll be there...?" I asked in a small voice. "Yes Cal. I'll be there," Luke softly told me, placing a soft kiss on my lips, feeling the slightest touch of his lip ring on my bottom lip. (A/N I'm just realizing now that this is probably the first time I've mentioned Luke's lip ring. Haha sorry. xc). He then used his thumb to wipe the tears off of my cheek. Tears stopped flowing from my eyes and I soon found myself feeling more relaxed.
"This is why I love you Luke. I feel so much more safe around you," I told him, kissing the tip of his nose.
"You should. That's how I want you to feel around me. I want to be able to protect you from anyone that's hurting you. Plus, I think that love bite should help a little," Luke told me, pointing to the mark he made on my neck.
I quickly remembered that Luke had put it there when we had our short make our session.
I grinned, feeling the swollen piece of skin. It had hurt last night during our date but now it didn't anymore. It was something that people would see and would mean something, to them and to me.
Luke then leaned in, our faces inches apart, his lips lingering on mine.
"You know what that means Calum?"
"Do I even need to say it?"
"You're all mine."
"I'm all yours Lukey. All yours."
Before Luke could give me a promising kiss, I suddenly felt an unpleasant churning in my stomach.
Following my instincts, I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. I fell on my knees and emptied out my stomach into the toilet. I coughed and gagged out whatever was coming out of my stomach, hoping it would all come out soon.
Before I knew it, I felt someone's hand rubbing my back comfortably, calming me down. I coughed out the last content in my stomach and flushed the toilet. I coughed again to clear my throat of anything else that lingered behind.
"Cal..are you okay?" A voice asked. I quickly recognized the voice as Luke's but decided to not turn back. "I...I...I don't know. I don't know what happened," I replied, not turning back to face him.
"Do you need medicine? Do you need a doctor?" Luke frantically asked, helping me up from the floor. "Luke I'm pretty sure it was something I ate. But I guess I should take some medicine, just to be safe," I said as Luke helped me up.
"Okay. Wash your mouth to get that stuff out of your mouth. I'll tell your dad what happened just now, our plans for today, get you some medicine, and meet you in your room," Luke told me as I nodded.
"What plans?" I asked. "I'm taking you out for ice cream today. It'll make you feel better after your...sudden vomit," Luke told me. "Alright," I told Luke as he nodded and left me alone in the bathroom.
I grabbed the mouthwash and rinsed my mouth with the minty liquid, getting rid of every trace of vomit in my mouth. I then quickly brushed my teeth and head back to my room to meet with Luke.
I walked in to see Luke sitting on my bed with a few pills, a glass of water, a note, and Niko, who probably followed him upstairs. I quickly patted Niko's head and sat down next to Luke. Niko quickly laid down at the foot of my bed and yawned. I looked over at him to see that he fell asleep.
"What does the note say?" I asked, putting the pills in my mouth.
"It's from your dad. It says, 'Dear Cal and Luke,-'."
"Aww...he said your name too Lukey," I teased before drinking the glass of water.
Luke simply rolled his eyes then gave me a small smile. "Anyway, it says, 'Going to be stuck at the restaurant the whole day. A supervisor is going to be here to observe the restaurant and if I want to be able to keep the restaurant I have to make a good impression. So I won't be home until late. I left some sub sandwiches for you in the fridge if you get hungry. Luke, it's alright with me if you decide to sleep over, again, to keep Calum company. See you both soon. - Dad," Luke read.
"Alright. Are you sleeping over again?" I asked. Luke nodded. "Most likely. I wanna cuddle with my boyfriend all night long," Luke told me, pulling me closer and placing a kiss on my cheek. "Well of course. I wouldn't you?" I asked.
"Exactly. I wouldn't want to do anything else. Anyway it's almost noon, so we should get ready," Luke said.
I nodded and pulled off my shirt. I looked down at my torso to see a difference in my body.
Naturally I have a good body. I had tan skin, muscled arms, and a six pack. But I looked down to see my six pack almost gone. I noticed that my stomach was starting to show a little more than it has before.
"Luke?" I asked.
"Yeah?" He replied, appearing by my side without a shirt on. I wouldn't ve been staring at his perfect torso by now but I had other things to deal with.
"Do I...look more fat to you?" I asked, looking down at my stomach. "Calum...you shouldn't feel insecure about yourself. You're perfect," Luke told me soothingly, wrapping his arms around my waist, holding my stomach.
"No Luke I'm serious. I mean, look at my stomach. My six pack is nearly gone and my stomach is showing more," I told him, motioning to my stomach.
Luke looked over my shoulder to take a look, and I saw his eyebrows scrunch together, showing that he was thinking. "I guess that is a little weird. Maybe it was the medicine they gave you at the hospital that made you gain weight. But with or without abs, you're perfect just the way you are," Luke replied as he kissed my cheek.
Usually I'm not an insecure person but this bothered me. I always had abs, even without working our or moving at all (besides football of course). So the fact that my abs were pretty much gone..made me think. Did I gain weight? Was I eating too much now? Did need to start working out soon? I probably start working out soon.
I pushed the thought out of my mind and slipped on a green t-shirt with white sleeves. I then put on dark washed skinny jeans. I looked at Luke to see him wearing the same jeans as mine and a tank that said 'You Complete Me'. We both walked to the bathroom to fix our hair. He had quiffed his hair up as I did the same with mine.
"Let's go Cal. I'm in an ice cream mood. Then we can come back for a movie and cuddle," Luke told me, leading me out the bathroom door.
Before we left, I went into the kitchen and quickly put food and water in Niko's dog bowls. I slipped on my Nikes while Luke did the same. We walked out and I locked the door behind me. I followed Luke to his car and climbed into the passenger seat. Luke started the engine and we drove off.
About ten minutes later, we reached the cafe Lisa owned (A/N if you don't remember who Lisa is, I mentioned her back in chapter 8). Luke helped me out of the car and we walked into the cafe. It's a well known fact that Lisa and her husband, Richard, has the best ice cream around.
Luke and I walked inside, hand in hand. "Hey Lisa," Luke greeted. "Hey Luke. Hey Calum," she greeted, coming up to the counter to greet us. Once she saw us hand in hand, her face lit up. "Are you two...dating?" She asked in excitement.
Luke and I looked at each other, smiled, then looked back at Lisa.
"Yep. We've been dating for about two weeks now," I proudly told her. "I knew it! Richard I called it! You owe me a dinner at that restaurant!" Lisa yelled, causing everyone in the restaurant to look at us. "Alright crazy lady. We'll go after we close the cafe!" A masculine voice called out.
"Alright. I love you! If you don't take me to that dinner, you won't live to see tomorrow," Lisa threatened. Richard laughed. "I love you too Lisa. But I've hid every type of object you could use to kill me with," Richard retorted as Lisa groaned in defeat.
Luke and I laughed at their little argument. Richard and Lisa owned the cafe together and they had quite the interesting marriage. It's kinda how I imagine Lillie and Michael to be when they're married.
"Anyway, we're here for ice cream. So Calum...what would you like? I'm paying," Luke told me.
I was about to open my mouth to protest but he stopped me. "Don't even argue with me Calum because I planned this and I'm going to pay because I'm the one taking you on a date," Luke told me before I could say anything. I closed my mouth and sighed in defeat.
"Alright. I'd like a fudge sundae," I told Lisa. "Make that two, except I'd like mine with caramel," Luke added.
Lisa told us the total amount and Luke paid. Lisa and Richard quickly made our sundaes and handed them to us.
"You two are quite the adorable couple," Lisa told us as she handed us our sundaes. "I see why Lisa bet on both of you," Richard joked as Lisa slapped him in the head. "Now you saw it coming too Richard. Don't deny it. Anyway, enjoy your ice cream. We'll be over here if you need help," Lisa said.
We thanks her and walked towards a booth and sat down.
"So is this like a...part two of our date from last night?" I asked as we sat down. "Well...you could think of it that way. I just thought of this when I woke up this morning and I thought it'd be a good idea," Luke told me.
"This was a perfect idea Luke. How did you know I was craving ice cream?" I asked, taking a spoonful of my ice cream, putting it in my mouth. "I know you too well Calum Hood. I can read your mind," Luke teased as he ate a spoonful of his sundae.
"Oh really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah. I think so," Luke replied, nonchalantly.
"So...would you be able to tell if I just decided to, all of a sudden, smear hot fudge all over your face?" I asked innocently.
"What are you-"
Before Luke could finish his sentence, I took my spoon and marked his cheek with ice cream and hot fudge. I laughed as Luke gasped, realizing that there was fudge and ice cream smeared onto his cheek.
"Oh Hood it is on," Luke warned as he got his spoon of ice cream ready, getting ready to aim it for my face. "Bring it on, Hemmings," I teased, getting my own spoon ready.
Luke reached across the table and smeared caramel sauce and ice cream on my cheek, I scoffed and hit him back, getting his face messier than before.
For the next five minutes, we smeared each other's faces with ice cream, making our date messy and more fun. We screamed and laughed as we played with our ice cream. Everyone must have thought we were crazy, but to me, it was with Luke, and I couldn't imagine anything else more fun than this.
We eventually stopped and settled down, laughing at the mess we made. Luke's face was covered with hot fudge and ice cream while I had a few caramel and ice cream marks on my face that could easily be wiped off with a napkin.
Let's just say that Luke's isn't very good with his aiming.
"You should go check your face Lukey. You have a little something...everywhere," I laughed, pointing at his face.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny Calum," Luke said sarcastically as I continued to laugh. Soon enough he gave me a soft smile and let out a small laugh. "But you're lucky I love you."
Luke then reached across the table and held my chin, pressing his lips against mine. I quickly kissed back and wrapped my hand around his head, bringing himself closer to me. I felt Luke's lip rub against my lip and I wanted nothing more than for Luke to shove me against a wall and kiss me even more.
We pulled apart after our short kiss and sat back down, catching our breath. I felt my lips covered on ice cream, due to Luke.
"As fun as that was, I'm going to go wash my face now. Thanks to someone here," Luke told me, getting up from his seat. "Aww Luke you know you love me," I teased.
Luke smiled. "I do love you, and you know that as well. I'll be right back."
He walked into the bathroom and I went back to eating what was left of my sundae. SInce I used most of it to cover Luke's face, I didn't have much left but I ate it anyway.
"Calum," a voice called out. I looked up from my sundae to see who was calling out my name.
I looked up to see a familiar girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a beanie, a pair of leggings, and a hoodie. She was carrying a small brown, shoulder strap purse that went around her body. It was a typical outfit for a girl in mid October.
"Maya?" I asked, astonished.
"Hey...Calum. Do you mind if I...talk to you for a second? I was just getting some ice cream before meeting up with a couple of friends and I saw you and Luke here. Then he left and I thought I should talk to you," Maya told me.
"Oh...go for it. Sit down. Luke's in the bathroom so we can talk until he gets back," I told her, motioning to Luke's seat. She nodded and sat down in Luke's seat.
"Can I ask why you have caramel and ice cream all over your face?" Maya asked as she sat down.
"Oh. Luke and I got into a little bit of an ice cream war," I told her as I wiped my face with a napkin.
"Oh I see. Calum, I've heard a lot of different things about you and Luke lately. I know you're not back in school yet but everyone's pretty much talking about you and Luke and what's going on with the both of you? What's up with the two of you?" Maya asked.
"Luke and I are dating now. He confessed his feelings to me and asked me out when I was in the hospital. So...it started about two weeks ago," I told her.
"Oh really? I didn't know," she replied, sadness easily detected in her voice. "Maya, I know how hard it is to get over a boyfriend, especially if you're the dumpee. So it's okay to feel sad," I told her.
"I know. It's not the first time I've been heartbroken so it's fine. I just...I wanted to tell you a few things about Luke," Maya told me, fiddling with her fingers. "You think you know Luke better than me? Trust me you don't," I told her, slightly aggravated.
"I know you do. In fact, you probably know Luke better than anyone. I'm just going to tell you what it's like to date him," Maya said. "Um..okay. What do you have to say?" I asked.
"Just know that...dating Luke is going to be like walking through Cloud Nine. It's amazing dating Luke," Maya started. "I figured. I've seen you and Luke together, and it looked pretty amazing to begin with. And Luke's my bets friend. Even if I wasn't gay, I would've turned gay so I could date him," I replied.
"He treats you like a princess, or prince, in your case. He's like your knight in shining armor. He always does his best to make you happy. He, as you already know, hates seeing you unhappy so he does everything he can so he can see you smile."
"I figured. He already told me he hates seeing me sad," I told her.
"Right. And...well he's a good kisser overall. He's very dominant and he likes to take control. But he kisses with everything he has and it makes you feel..loved," Maya continued.
"I figured that out too. He is a good kisser. And we already established the fact that I'm the girl in our relationship. Due to our date yesterday," I told her.
"Oh. Interesting. He always sings songs to you on his guitar. If you're just at home or whatever, he'll come and sing to you. Then he'll finish it off with a good cuddle. He's loves to cuddle. He's so romantic and he loves showing that he loves you," Maya told me.
"I'm going to love that," I added.
"My point is, you should be happy to be in a relationship with Luke. He's a good boyfriend and he's not afraid to show the world that he loves you. He'll hug you, kiss you, and give you an occasional love bite to remind others that you belong to him. He'll protect you from anything and anyone that hurts you. He decided to end things with me, but I know you and him are going to be very happy together. I haven't seen him that happy even when we were dating. You really do make him happy," Maya told me.
"Thanks...Maya," I replied, a little surprised.
"No problem Calum. I just...wanted to help. You make Luke happy, and he makes you happy as well. You deserve each other and I want it to go well for both of you," Maya told me.
"Thanks again," I told her as she smiled.
"No problem," she told me. Maya looked up and around the room and then looked back at me.
"I should probably go now," Maya told me. "I guess that'd be best. You and Luke aren't on best terms so I can't imagine how he'd react if he saw us talking," I replied. "He'd probably bring out that protective boyfriend side out," Maya said, letting out a sad laugh.
"I'd like to see that someday," I admitted. "But seriously, I should go now. Hopefully I'll see you around Calum," Maya said, getting up. "You say that as if you're not coming back," I said, confused.
"My brother came home yesterday. He graduated from college with a teaching degree so he's homeschooling me for awhile. He'll probably be homeschooling me for the rest of the year or for the rest of high school, but it's hard to tell. He's just trying things and figuring things out," Maya told me.
"Alright. I guess I'll um...see you around," I told her. She nodded then waved, got up from her seat, and walked away.
When I noticed when Maya and I were talking...she didn't give me a happy smile or laugh. It was more on the sad side than on the happy side. Like it was hard for her to tell me these things. Like going through those memories she had with Luke haunted her and told her to forget about him because Luke simply didn't care anymore. And for the first time, since I've known her, I felt bad for her. Going through those memories must not have been easy.
As if on cue, Luke walked back and sat down. "Finally I got all of that hot fudge off of my face," he complained as he wiped his face with his fingers.
I ignored him and thought about what Maya had said.
"He decided to end things with me, but I know you and him are going to be very happy together. I havem't seen him that happy even when we were dating. You really do make him happy."
"Cal...are you alright?" Luke asked, worried. I looked up and nodded. "Yeah I'm fine. I'm just..a little tired now. Can we go home?" I asked nicely. Luke nodded and helped me out of the booth. We threw our stuff away and apologized to Lisa and Richard for the mess, which they didn't mind too much.
We then walked out of the cafe out to Luke's car.
He opened the passenger car door, like a real gentleman, and I climbed inside. Luke then closed the door behind me. He climbed into the driver seat and we drove off.
He grabbed my hand and held onto it as we drove towards home. We were stopped at a stop light and Luke turned his head to look at me.
"Cal, I know that look. Something's on your mind. What's up?" He asked.
I sighed. "Maya came and talked to me today."
Luke's body froze and his grip on my hand tightened. "What...what did she talk to you about?" Luke asked. "She just...she kind of just told me what it's like to date you," I told Luke as the light turned green.
"Did she say anything bad so you'd break up with me?" Luke asked, worried. "No. She just told me all the good things you give in a relationship. But it's the way she was acting when we talked is what's bothering me," I admitted.
"Like what?" Luke asked. "She just seemed...really sad. It seems like she's still in love with you honestly. When she was telling me all those things, she kept giving off a sad vibe. Like, the memories you and her created haunt her but they tell her to move on because you don't care anymore," I told Luke.
Luke relaxed and his grip on my hand loosened.
"Calum, honestly that was the last thing I wanted to do to her. Maya was an amazing girl and the couple of months I spent with her were amazing. But she didn't deserve someone who didn't love her back. She deserves someone that will love with her with everything they have. And I...I couldn't give that to her. Cal..I was falling in love with you. If I didn't end things wither and I started making out with you, I'd be cheating on her and it would've been worse. So it was best if I ended things with her and started things with you. Because I love you, and that's what matters now."
I sighed. "So...you broke up with her...because of me?"
"I didn't love anymore. I didn't want to be in a relationship with someone I wasn't in love with. I wanted to be with you, because I love you," Luke told me, bringing my hand up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on it.
"I...I guess that makes more sense," I hesitated. "Don't worry about it. What me and her went through is part of life," Luke told me.
"I know. It's just that...I feel bad for her. She seemed so broken," I said, thinking of Maya's glassy eyes.
Luke smiled. "Calum, you have a big heart. And I love that you do. You care about everything and everyone, no matter who or what it is. But Maya's going to be fine. She's a strong girl. I know her well enough to say that. She's gone through a heart break before she dated me and she came out of it just fine. She'll be fine."
I sighed. "I suppose so."
After our conversation it was silent the rest of the way home. It wasn't an awkward silent,but a comfortable one. So it was nice.
Luke drove into my driveway and parked the car. He turned off the car and we both walked inside the house. I closed and locked the door behind us.
Once I took off my shoes, I felt the same uncomfortable churning in my stomach. I quickly ran to the bathroom and emptied out my stomach into the toilet, for the second time today. I cough everything I had into the toilet, which left an uncomfortable feeling in my throat and mouth.
Soon enough, I felt Luke rubbing back for comfort as I flushed the toilet. I groaned and buried my face in my hands.
"Calum...I'm worried about you. This is the second time you puked today. We should go see a doctor. We should go see Dr. Kawr," Luke told me.
I just got out of a hospital, and I wasn't willing to go back, for awhile anyway.
I turned back to look at him. "Luke it's fine. It's probably something I ate. It'll be gone by tomorrow morning," I said in a convincing tone.
"Are you sure Calum? I mean, it's weird. What's happening to you is weird. You puked twice in one day and your stomach is showing more, even though you haven't been eating much. I'm worried. I really think we should see a doctor," Luke said again.
"Luke it's fine. Maybe it's a stomach bug or something. Either way I'll be fine by tomorrow morning," I told him, trying to convince myself the same.
Luke sighed in defeat. "Alright. But if it doesn't get any better, you, your dad, and I are going to see Dr. Kawr." I nodded in agreement.
"Let's go cuddle," Luke suggested. I smiled and nodded. Luke led me to my room and I climbed into my bed. Luke quickly climbed in after and wrapped his arm around my stomach, pulling me closer.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep to the feeling of Luke's arm around me.
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Remember, vote for this chapter if you liked it and comment for a chance at a dedication! Thank you for reading!
- Gabie :)