Epilogue
Author's Note: If you do not like or agree with any of the ideas that I write about please do not write any negative comments pertaining to it because not only are you offending my writing but you may also be offending people who do like and agree with the ideas I write about.
**Valerie's POV**
Two weeks. It’s been two weeks since I last saw Calum. Since he kissed me. I had expected him to ignore me. Maybe for a day or two, not fourteen. Well, fourteen and counting. I see him in class every Tuesday and Thursday, but he always comes in late, takes a seat right by the door, and then bolts out of the room as soon as we are dismissed. I tried stopping by his dorm once or twice. I didn’t want to seem desperate, but every time I knocked there was no answer.
I sit on the bed with my ear buds shoved in my ears, the new Ed Sheeran album playing on a loop, the volume on full blast. Susan’s complaints about being able to hear the music all the way from her side of the room were a faint sound that I pushed away and instead welcomed the soothing vocals during Shirtsleeves. I was in one of those moods where I felt like listening to all of the songs that feed my emotions on repeat. My eyes fluttered shut, letting the music bring me to a place where all my problems are nonexistent.
After drifting off for what only felt like a couple minutes, my eyes shoot open, abruptly absorbing the unwanted surroundings of my dorm room with Susan a few inches away from my face, my headphones yanked out of my ears and gripped by her pale fingers.
“I have to go to class.” Her voice bubbles with anger. “Where did you put my key after you borrowed it?”
My mind wasn’t really able to comprehend what she was saying, due to its slow ability to return to reality. However the knock against the door seemed to be able to rush the process. I ignore her question and push past her, my feet leading me to the door, anxious by the fact that Calum could possibly be on the opposite side of that door. Finally is a better word. Calum could finally be on the opposite side of that door.
My hand finds the knob, gripping tightly. I inhale deeply, about to open it casually, but my hand withdraws. I open the camera on my phone, just to double check that I look presentable. Feeling the slightest bit more confident I shove my phone in my pocket, yanking the door open without hesitation.
Calum isn’t even standing on the opposite side of the door so I frown. But, the frown soon fades and then replaced by a small content grin when I see Ashton standing there instead. I haven’t seen him for even longer than I haven’t seen Calum. It’s been three weeks since I saw Ashton. Since he kissed me. I had expected him to ignore me as well. My head spins from the deja vu as I open the door wider, welcoming him inside.
“Give me my key.” Susan approaches me with the palm of her hand held out. “My boyfriend’s taking me out for Valentine’s Day so I probably won’t be back until later tonight.”
Rolling my eyes, I go over to my desk, pulling her key out of the drawer and toss it to her. I had almost forgotten it was Valentine’s Day. I know she’s just saying that because she knows no one will be taking me out tonight, so now she has an opportunity to boast. She’s noticed that Adam hasn’t been coming by our room anymore and she’s definitely noticed that I’ve been spending every night alone, in the dorm, listening to sad songs and watching practically every Hepburn movie an inhumane amount of times. I think she’s picked up on the fact that we broke up. The only thing she hasn’t picked up on is that Calum is the stem of my misery, not Adam.
“Tell your boyfriend I wish him the best of luck,” Ashton pulls a genuine smile, “I hope he can make it the whole night.”
Susan wears a blank stare, her lips parting slightly, “What?”
“Well, it’s just if he has to put up with you the whole night, I hope he makes it out alive.” His face mimics her blankness, his shoulders rising than falling to their original position.
I stifle my giggles, as she rolls her eyes, stomps out of the room, and slams the door. His eyes follow her as she exits, a few breathy laughs escape his lips.
He turns to me, “I miss you.”
Then, a smile of undeniable happiness fills my face, as I run over to where he stands on the opposite side of the room and he gathers me into his arms.
My chin rested against his shoulder, “I miss you too.” I breathe out.
“You don’t for how long I’ve wanted to tell you that,” He wears his wide, childish grin as he retreats.
I want to tell him about Calum,
“Ashton…” But I can’t figure out how to.
“What’s up?” He asks, situating himself on my bed. He can sense the nervousness in my voice.
I draw a deep breath, seating myself down next to him, “A lot has happened these past three weeks.”
“I’m sure a lot has, and that’s part of the reason I’m here.” A chuckle escapes his lips. “So spill.”
“Well,” I gulp, “Adam and I broke up. But I-“
Before I could finish, he interrupts, “Oh, I already knew that.”
I inhale deeply, once again. “How?”
“Calum told me,” He grins widely.
“Oh.” My shoulders slump at the sound of Calum’s name. That name might fill ninety-seven percent of my thoughts, but I hadn’t heard it been said out loud once these past two weeks. I’ve been quite lonely lately, just my thoughts and me. “Does that mean you also know about-“
“Yes, I know all about that.” He smirks, as if he were reading my mind.
“Really?” My head perks up in excitement, before shifting back to it’s original position, “So Calum’s mentioned me a couple times?”
“A couple times would be an understatement.” He lets out a song of cheerful laughs, “You’re all he ever talks about. You’ve been all he’s ever talked about since he started college. I’ve learned more than half of the things I know about you from him.”
I don’t reply, just smile as a rosy pink paints over my cheeks.
“But Calum isn’t the only reason I came to talk to you.” His cheery demeanor fades, his gaze drops to the floor, “I need to tell you something, it’s quite important actually.”
“I assume you want to talk about the party,” I sigh, burying my head in my hands, “Ashton, I like you a lot and I love being your friend, and I’m not exactly sure what even happened at th-“
“I’m gay.”
My parted lips shut tight and my eyes find his and stick to them. My first thoughts were, was kissing me that bad that it turned him gay? But I didn’t say anything because he obviously took a lot of courage to come out and say that and he is probably under a lot of pressure.
“I’ve known for a while now, you’re just the first person I came out to.” He shrugs, fiddling with his fingers in his lap, “I’ve just been so scared. Scared of what people would think.”
“Ashton, I’m so proud of you,” I put on a content smile and take him into my arms, “I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to say that. And if you don’t want anyone else knowing, trust me, I won’t tell a soul.”
“Thank you so much,” He breathes out deeply. I begin to pull away, but he grips onto my shoulders and pulls me back into him.
After what feels like ages, he retreats from my arms, “I was gonna head out to get some food. Would you like to join?”
“I would love to.” I rise from the bed, “Let me just get my wallet.”
Ashton smiles, turning the knob of the door and stepping into the hall. His smile fades, “On second thought, never mind.”
“Wait wha-“
“Thanks for being there for me.” His words are rushed, “Gotta go now. Bye!”
And with that he was out sight, leaving the door wide open.
Sighing, I put my wallet back into my bag, and fall onto the bed, my head buried in the pillow.
After several beautiful seconds of silence, a voice breathes out, “Is it too tacky to ask a girl out on Valentines Day?”
My head darts in the direction of the door instantly, “Calum!” I jump off the bed and race over to where he stands with open arms, kicking him in the balls as soon as I approach him.
“Ahhhhh,” He winces, biting down hard on his lip, “Jesus, what was that for?”
“You jerk, didn’t call me for two damn weeks.” My arms fold across my chest, my eyebrows forming a complex knit.
“I thought I was supposed to wait a while.” He defends himself, throwing his head back in pain.
“Two or three days, not weeks.” I roll my eyes at his obliviousness.
“Well, I’m sorry,” He mimics my eye roll, “If remember correctly, you had just gotten out of a relationship. I figured you needed some time.”
“Oh.” My gaze catches his, “Well that was considerate of you.”
He smirks, ”Well you know, I have my sensitive moments,” He let’s out a chuckle, before frowning, “Like right now,” He whines, “You hurt me,”
“Sorry,” I pout, pulling a loose strand behind my ear.
He holds his arms out, “Hug me?”
Smiling, I let him pull me into his chest, breathing in his clean scent.
“You never answered my question,” He rests his chin on my head, running his fingers down my neck, “Is it too tacky to ask out a girl on Valentine’s Day?”
“Depends where you’re taking her.” I whisper, my breathing in sync with his.
He places his finger under my chin, bringing my head to look up at him wearing the goofiest smile, “It’s a surprise.”
“I’m not really a fan of surprises.” I groan, knitting my eyebrows.
“Trust me.” Slowly, he slides his hands down my arms and intertwines our fingers, “This date will go down in history.”
“One question,” I raise a brow, “Why are you wearing all black?”
“It’s for dramatic effect.” He speaks like it’s obvious, letting my hands slip out of his, “Which reminds me, we have to match. Would you mind changing into all black?”
“Why do we have to match?” I roll my eyes, my arms folding over my chest.
“I already said, for dramatic effect.” He backs himself towards the doorway, “Plus, I think it’d be cute. So, go change. I’ll be in the car.”
✴ ✴ ✴ ✴ ✴
When my eyes come into contact with Calum’s so-called “surprise” date location, I’m immediately confused.
“This is a house party.” Trying to speak over the blaring music, I look to Calum, who sits in the drivers seat with a smirk plastered on his face, “Why are we here?”
He drives past the bright, chaotic house farther down the street into the darkness, the only light coming from the headlights of the car and the dimly lit streetlights. He pulls the car into park, climbing out of the seat and slamming the door behind him.
“Follow me.” He says, taking off down the street back towards the party, as I slam the car door behind me. I run as quick as I can trying to catch up with him, but by the time I reach him, he is already seated in the street with his back rested against a car parked outside the house party.
“Why are we hiding behind a car?” I ask, as I sit down beside him.
“Well,” Calum takes a deep breath. “I wasn’t exactly invited to this party, and the people here won’t exactly be happy to know I’m here.”
“Whose party is this?” I whisper, looking over the hood of the car to see a kid passed out on the front lawn.
“Harrison’s cousin. He tweeted about it.” He sighs. Soon I feel his face next to mine, his breath against my cheek, his eyes filled with intimidation as they stare up at the house, “Since they have nothing important to do with their time anymore, Danielle and Harrison and all the rest of them go wherever they have to for a party.”
Calum turns his back against the car once again, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out two small plastic bags.
“So we’re not both dressed in black because it’s cute. It’s because we’re doing something sketchy.” I cock an eyebrow, returning to my position beside him, with my back against the car, “What’s in the bags?”
He lifts one of the bags for me to see, “Well, this one’s filled with Ambien.”
“Is that illegal!?” Shrieking, I send Calum a challenging glare.
“Relax,” He chuckles, “They’re just sleeping pills that I crushed up”
“Oh.” I breathe out deeply, throwing my head back against the car.
“However, what’s in the other bag,” His voice rises slightly, “is illegal.”
“What is it?” I speak slowly, with a much calmer demeanor this time.
“Its just ecstasy.” He shrugs.
“How did you get it?” I raise an eyebrow, my tone showing concern.
“My sister’s boyfriend left it in his jacket pocket.” He let’s out a breathy laugh, “What an idiot.”
“Okay, well what are we going to do with it?” I question with wary.
His eyes find mine, the corners of his mouth turning upward, “We’re going to slip them into Danielle and Harrison’s drinks.”
He grips to the car door handle pulling himself off the ground.
“Why?”
He draws a deep breath, “For revenge.”
He holds a hand out for me, which I take graciously as he pulls me off the ground, “Romantic.” I whisper.
“Thank you.” He grins.
I turn on my heel to face him, my eyes gluing to his. “I was being sarcastic.”
“Well then let me make it romantic.” Looking quite coy, his hands take hold of my hips, one by one pressing his fingers against my skin. His grasp tightens, gently he lifts me onto the hood of the car. His hands brazing over my black skinny jeans, leaving goose bumps as they trail up towards my thighs. Spreading them apart he puts himself between my legs, his body pressed up against the car. My legs wrap around him, his lips attached to my neck, my head falling back in the sensation of the temporary bliss. His parted lips hover above me, he smiles with his eyes, leaning forward his lips close on mine, my back falling against the car.
“How was that?” He smirks, still holding me against the car.
I laugh weakly, still dazed from what just happened, “better.”
“Good.” A giggle escapes his mouth, vibrating against my lips, as he presses his to mine, “Now can we go get our comeuppance?”
Chuckling, I sit up and slide off the hood of the car and back onto my feet, “Yes, now we can get our comeuppance.”
I follow him into the backyard, seeing the party is even worse than the one at my house was. Immediately we spot Danielle, she’s the biggest slut here, which is not a shock.
We begin to walk through the rowdy crowd towards where Danielle is. Calum clutches my hand tightly, keeping my body close to his as he pushes through. The black outfits were a stupid idea, because aside from the fact that we stand out, we look like complete idiots.
When we reach Danielle, she’s standing beside Harrison, who is in the middle of opening a beer, which he places down on the ping pong table, before opening another one and handing it to Danielle. She chugs half of it down in one gulp, before placing it beside his.
We hide behind two people that are in the middle of making out, until Danielle and Harrison are no longer looking.
“You can handle the illegal stuff.” I raise a brow, as he hands me the bag filled with the crushed up sleeping pills.
I’ve never really done anything like this before, so my hands shake spastically as I pour some of the Ambien into their drinks. Calum opens the bag of ecstasy, me stepping away, not wanting to be anywhere near it.
“Calum? Valerie? What the hell are you doing here?” The nasal voice that I’ve come to despise questions.
Calum looks to me, his mouth says “Run” but no words come out.
Looking back at him, I nod, before sprinting in the opposite direction, him trailing right behind me.
When my legs don’t move fast enough for Calum’s liking, he lifts me off the ground, holding me close to his chest as he makes his way out of the backyard, me throwing my head back in laughter.
He stops for a minute when we reach the street, hunching over with me in his arms as he tries to collect his breath.
“That was a bad idea wasn’t it?” He looks down at me, his face flushed.
“Are you kidding?” I exclaim, “That was great! They so deserved that. They drugged you and they made my life in high school a living hell.”
He looks down at me, “So no regrets?”
“Only one.” I put on a goofy smile, "We should've put them on the roof
“Damn, I wish I had thought of that.” He holds his head high, as he takes off down the street towards his car, “Told you this would go down history.”
“Yeah, I’m never going to forget that.” I let out a breathy laugh, “At least it was original, and not something typical like the movies.”
“Well, I’m not a typical guy.” He cocks his brows, “and you’re not a typical girl.”
“That’s true.” I lean my head against his shoulder, almost forgetting he was carrying me, “You can put me down now.”
“I don’t want to."
“Okay,” I push a strand of hair behind my ear, "But I have a question."
“Shoot.” He mumbles, gazing off down the street.
I draw a deep breath, “When you realized that you liked me, why didn’t you just tell me, considering you already knew that I liked you.”
“Well,” He places me down on the ground, and with a smirk he raises his hand to scratch the back of his neck, “You chased me for a long time, so I figured that it was time for me to chase you.”
T H E E N D