Hello can we talk about how Michael and Crystal are engaged like wow that's so cute and I'm so happy for them!!
Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please leave a comment and a vote!
~ Koda
Leilani Morales danced to the beat of the Calvin Harris song over the speakers and laughed at Ashton's gutter ball as she headed toward the stairs, eager to greet her guests. She took the steps two at a time, thighs burning at the exertion due to their soreness from a workout earlier. Her personal trainer took no excuses because of the tour looming ahead, determined to make sure his client looked her absolute best onstage. Unfortunately, that meant running and weight training every day of the week save for Sunday, aka Leilani's favorite day as of late.
It was Saturday night at the Morales residence, and the girl surprisingly wasn't longing for her bed. Instead she grew giddier and giddier at the thought of hanging out with her friends, new and old. Since going out in public as a group wasn't exactly inconspicuous nor safe, Leilani suggested the rarely used bowling alley in her basement as a fun get together for them. Luke, Calum, Ashton, and Michael had just returned from their visit home to Australia a few days ago, and this would be the first time Leilani hung out with all four of them since Mali's party. Despite seeing each other very little, she found the band very easy to interact and form friendships with. Normally it'd be just Mali, Eliza, and Leilani getting tipsy at Leilani's house with the occasional guest appearance from Dominique or Lauren, but now there were more people she actually wanted to invite over.
Ashton had arrived first with a dimpled grin and a determination to get in some practice before actually playing against anybody. For the past fifteen minutes, Leilani drank Diet Coke and sat on the couch watching him bowl gutter-balls, spares, and the occasional strike. All the boys of 5 Seconds of Summer were hilarious, but Ashton Irwin made her smile the most. He was kind and genuine to everyone no matter who they were, and he welcomed Leilani as a close friend despite the short time they knew each other. She honestly felt as if she could tell him anything—well, everything except the fact that she fucked one of his best friends multiple times. That was something Leilani didn't plan on telling anyone for the time being, not even Mali or Eliza. She wanted to keep Calum to herself; he was her dirty little secret.
Leilani opened up the front door with a bright grin that only increased when she saw those standing behind it. "Hi! Come in, come in!" She exclaimed, ushering Michael and his girlfriend Crystal inside. "You must be Crystal! God, you're so pretty!"
"That's what I say," Michael opined with a proud smirk.
Crystal smiled at the compliment, cheeks red. "Thank you! And thanks for inviting me. Your house is insanely beautiful."
"Also, the old man in the guardhouse is fucking hilarious," Michael declared, grinning as he tugged Crystal further against his side absentmindedly. "He told me this joke about cats, and I almost crashed into the gate because I was laughing so hard. My foot literally slipped off the brake."
Crystal grimaced. "He's not kidding."
"That's Gerald. He's the sweetest man in existence. He volunteered to stay late tonight since I'm having guests over," Leilani explained and the couple 'aw'd' in unison. "Anyway, you guys are honestly welcome to go anywhere in the house if you want. I would give you a proper tour but that would most likely take too much time. Ashton's down in the basement already warming up if you'd prefer to join him. It's down at the end of that hall over there on the left side." She gestured to the lengthy corridor just off the right of the living room. It contained the door to her laundry room as well. "I'm going to get us some more drinks but there's food down there already."
"Hope you're ready to get your ass beat," Michael called over his shoulder as they headed directly toward the basement.
"We'll see, Clifford," Leilani responded, seconds away from leaving for the kitchen. Just as she took a step, the doorbell rang again. This time it was Mali and Eliza arriving together, needing no instructions on how to get to the basement. The girls helped Leilani carry several beverages to put in the downstairs refrigerator, balancing sodas, waters, and alcoholic drinks precariously in their arms. It seemed like as soon as the fridge was stocked she had to run back upstairs to answer the door again.
"Hey," Luke greeted, Calum by his side.
It took Leilani a second longer than normal to respond. Seeing them together made her mind scramble. "Hey guys. Come in."
They both kissed her on the cheek one after the other, Calum's fingers brushing a tendril of hair behind her ear while Luke's back faced them. She closed the door, flashing him a bashful smile. He may have been okay with her texting Luke—an action she'd been doing much of over the past few days merely as a form of venting—but that didn't mean Leilani wouldn't feel awkward about it when confronted by them both. She experienced a wave of self-consciousness standing in front of the two attractive males.
"You look great," Luke complimented and, to hide her burning cheeks, she brushed past him with a gentle pat to his chest.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. It's every man and woman for themselves until after this bowling game is over," she said and led the way to the basement, hoping that she took the right route in making a joke out of the interaction.
"I still can't believe you have a bowling alley in your basement," Calum remarked, close behind as she descended the steps. The last and first time Calum came over, they'd obviously been deterred from the tour due to other circumstances. Afterwards, she had taken him around to certain interesting rooms in her house like her music space or her home theater. Truthfully—and this sounded awfully spoiled and bratty of her—Leilani forgot about the bowling alley.
"Me either, because I never use it so it's almost like it doesn't exist," Leilani replied, chuckling softly. She grimaced. "I am really trying hard not to sound like a rich bitch tonight."
"As opposed to any other night?" Luke teased, eyes twinkling with amusement that quickly morphed into awe as they entered the basement. "This is like a fucking man cave down here."
"Why do we have to gender stereotype it?" Leilani inquired, arching her brows at him. "Why can't it just be a...cave?"
"A cave?" Luke laughed.
Leilani thought for a second. "An all-inclusive cave. That way we're not leaving anybody out."
"Way to be open-minded, love," Calum pointed out with a mocking grin. "All-inclusive cave really does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it, mate?"
"Oh yeah," Luke continued as she rolled her eyes. "It's going to catch on."
"Fuck both of you," Leilani responded, a half smile on her lips as she glared between the two. "I could ruin your careers with one tweet."
"I think we'd be okay. Calum's had his penis on the internet and our band is still loved," Luke remarked nonchalantly, walking over to the rest of the group.
Leilani's jaw dropped. "Calum's penis has been where?!" She exclaimed, glancing at the embarrassed boy next to her. Laughter bubbled from her throat and couldn't seem to stop.
"Alright, alright, it was a mistake," Calum grumbled, sticking his hands in his pocket.
Mali rolled her eyes. "Oh God, are we reliving the worst incident of my life?" She inquired whilst twirling the straw in her cocktail.
"Of your life?" Calum retorted. "My dick went viral."
"Yeah, and I was known as the sister of the guy whose dick went viral! I couldn't get on any social media for weeks!" Mali complained.
Meanwhile, Leilani was still in hysterics. "Why..." She carefully wiped a tear from her eye, trying to preserve her makeup. "Why did I not know about this until now?"
"I thought we agreed never to bring it up again," Calum stated through clenched teeth, glaring at the source.
Luke shrugged. "It's Leilani. Why does it matter if she knows?"
Calum gave Leilani a look that said he knew exactly why. She grinned back at him. "Don't worry, Cal. It's not like I'm going to bring it up every time I see you for the rest of your life."
"Is it too late to leave?" He huffed, running a hand through his hair.
Leilani wrapped her arms around him and squeezed playfully. "Yes! Now let's play! I call first."
"How are we playing this?" Eliza asked, gesturing to the two bowling lanes.
Leilani grabbed her bowling ball and paused. "Hm, I guess we could do teams or split up and play four and four?"
"Let's do teams, and the four with the highest score combined wins," Michael suggested, earning a round of nods and agreement from the group. "Okay I call team captain versus Leilani because I've been talking some serious shit and have to prove myself."
"Do I get to pick first?" Leilani inquired as the platinum blond boy stood.
"No," Michael said immediately causing them all to laugh. "Okay, obviously my first pick is going to be the person whom I love and cherish and wouldn't be anything without," he remarked, staring straight at Crystal who blushed in response. "Calum, welcome to the team, mate."
Crystal scoffed at his successful attempt at making everyone burst into laughter. "Fucker."
"You're so dead set on beating me that you sacrificed getting laid tonight. That's dedication," Leilani countered with an arch of her brows.
"I plan on getting wasted after I win so it's not like I was getting any either way." Michael shrugged.
"You say that like you're getting laid after tonight," Crystal retorted, crossing her arms over her chest with a playful scowl. "You lost your privileges temporarily."
"Shit, Cal, we better win mate or I'm going to have to kill you," Michael threatened, pointing a finger at his best mate.
"Can I please pick now?" Leilani demanded, hand on her hip as Michael reluctantly nodded. "Okay, obviously I'm loyal so I'm going to pick Mali as my main bitch. I don't know if you've seen those arms lately but she's packing."
"I've been playing wii sport bowling for the past week," Mali joked, grinning.
"Okay, babe, obviously you're on my team," Michael said to his girlfriend who immediately pursed her lips.
"Can I pass?"
Michael's smile fell as they all laughed. "Ha ha. I love you too. No passes."
Eventually the two teams formed, Leilani's consisting of her, Mali, Eliza, and Luke while Michael had Calum, Crystal, and Ashton. Leilani and Michael bowled against each other first, the former getting a spare with seven pins on the first try, the latter managing a strike.
"Are you sure you still wanna play, Lan?" Michael teased, reveling in the glory of his strike.
"Oh, fuck off. It was a warmup!" Leilani defended herself, sitting with a pout on her plump lips. "You better get a fucking strike Mali or I'll kill your firstborn."
Mali winced and whispered to Eliza, "I hate when she gets competitive."
Against her brother, Mali gained the upper hand. She luckily bowled a strike while Calum only knocked down six pins, getting a gutter ball the second bowl. Michael gave the boy a stern talking to afterward. Leilani, on the other hand, celebrated with shots.
From there it turned into an unwritten rule that the team who won that particular round would do victory shots. As much as Leilani wanted to say her team was bomb, the score stayed about even the entire time, and they ended up taking close to the same amount of shots as Michael's team. Her lightweight tolerance started to become a problem around the fifth drink of tequila. She giggled and burped and stumbled each time it was her turn and, though her focus deterred occasionally, she still managed to do a decent job at bowling. The only time she slipped up was over halfway into the game when Michael got ahead and Leilani stood next to Calum instead. He glanced over at her mischievously, smirk etched across his features.
"Hey," he said, voice barely audible over the music and chatter of her friends. Leilani had to resort to reading his lips which grew very distracting. "Am I going to get you alone sometime?"
Leilani smiled and shrugged. "Maybe. If everything works out." She drew back her arm and threw the bowling ball, though her aim wavered at the last second when she noticed Calum admiring her ass from the corner of her eye, bottom lip between his teeth. The ball landed wrong and soared straight into the gutter.
She cursed openly and grabbed another ball. "Quit distracting me," the brunette murmured as she passed him, brows furrowed. It was hard not to get frustrated when Michael taunted her; he knew how to push each and every single button she possessed.
"You quit distracting me!" He exclaimed, narrowing his eyes at her.
"Quit flirting and hurry up already!" Mali screeched, and Leilani's entire body tensed at the comment. Had she heard what they were talking about?
Fortunately, when Leilani whipped her head around, she could tell by the look on her tipsy friend's face that it was just a joke. Mali probably wouldn't recall a single thing she said tonight.
To continue the joke, Leilani smiled and threw up her middle finger before taking aim. This time she achieved the strike she wanted prior and stuck her tongue out at Calum defiantly. Her team cheered, and Luke handed a shot to her as she sat down next to him. His arm went over the back of the couch behind her, smiling broadly.
"Good job with the distraction," Luke said after Calum only knocked down two pins.
"I wasn't even doing anything." Leilani shrugged nonchalantly, meeting Luke's eyes.
He brought his lips close to her ear, smirk on his lips. "Exactly. You don't need to do anything to be distracting."
Leilani blushed furiously at the flirtatious gleam in his eye. The compliment made her grin like an idiot. She didn't want to admit it, but two boys were currently charming her: Luke, the one who understood her mind, and Calum, the one who understood her body. Leilani knew it was wrong, but she selfishly enjoyed their attention too much. Unfortunately, Leilani knew firsthand that anytime she behaved selfishly, it came back to bite her in the ass.
She couldn't have the best of both worlds.