APRIL,
b r o o k l y n l e s l i e c o o p e r
❦❧❦
I sat on the passenger's side of Luke's car, nervously avoiding the boy who was driving beside me— who wasn't even Luke. We'd been quiet as ever since we entered the automobile, not one of us even attempting to say a word. Not even the radio was on. I assumed it was off because Luke had a life and would actually speak to whoever was in the car with him; like Morgan or the boys. One of which was sitting in the driver's seat, with full control of the car. And my mind, apparently.
I sneakily looked at him through the corner of my eyes. It was weird, seeing him driving a car. I was so used to seeing him zoom around on his motorbike, the one I'd gotten a chance to take a ride on. I couldn't lie, it was kind of fun. Being on a motorbike, that is. I felt so alive, so free, when I was on the back on his bike, clinging onto him for dear life. And thinking of it now, I regretted letting my mother's scolding affect me. Who cares if our neighbour offered to drop me off? Who cares if his chosen vehicle was a motorbike? Who cares. It wasn't like we did anything wrong. Or bad, in that case.
I hadn't realised that my head had inched to the right to make it blatantly obvious I was staring at him, so when he chuckled under his breath, and turned his head to wink at me and spoke— I freaked out.
"Taking a picture would be more discrete than your staring, you know." He said. And I jumped at his words. Not only because they were abrupt, but because I didn't even realise I was staring at him.
I bit down onto my lip with wide eyes. "I was not staring at you."
He nodded and clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. "Right, right. You were checking me out, how about that?"
I shook my head almost too quickly. "I wasn't even checking you out! I was thinking."
I wanted to say more. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't paying and mind to my actions, because I was deep in thought. But saying that would mean explaining what I was thinking about. And I did not want to fall into that mess, because I knew it'd be chaotic.
Calum nodded, his attention on the cars and the road ahead of us. "Yeah? What about?"
I gulped. Hard. "Umm . . ."
The car stooped, and I looked forward to see that it was because we were at a red light, not for other reasons— reasons I wouldn't be sure of, like because he was suddenly mad or something, I don't know. When I looked back over at Calum, he was already looking at me. Waiting. I let out a sigh, and looked down. "You."
I didn't want to look up. I knew he was smirking at me. But I had to justify myself, so I looked up and into his eyes, and motioned to him and Luke's car. "It's just weird seeing you drive a car."
His hands were resting on the steering wheel, and the veins in them weren't hard to detect. Even in his arms. They made me squirmish. But his tattoos distracted me from them. I'd never really noticed his tattoos. Sure, I knew he had heaps— but I'd never seen them up close before. I tried to figure out what each was or meant, but when the car started moving again and Calum chuckled once more, I looked back up to his face, which looked amused.
He shrugged. "Eh, I guess. It doesn't feel weird for me, since my mum and sister get me to drive them everywhere. And sometimes I'll take over for the boys. You'll get used to it."
He said it like he knew we'd be seeing each other more often, and I didn't exactly like that. I arched my eyebrow up at him, and spoke with a testing tone. "And what makes you think I'll let you drive me places again?"
His demeanour changed suddenly. From relaxed and cocky, to tense and . . .nervous? Why did he look nervous? He never got nervous.
I watched him for a good minute, not caring if it bothered him I was staring. I studied his mood change like my life depended on it. I noticed the was his biceps bulged through his plain blue t-shirt. And the way his eyes flickered between me and the road like he was at war with himself— or convincing himself to stop looking at me, but just couldn't. I even noticed how he would clear his throat and then lick his lips, only to repeat the process a few seconds later.
He wanted to ask me something, and I wanted to know what.
"What do you want to ask me?" I asked calmly.
That got him. As if he knew I could read his demeanour, and as if he had control over it, his mood changed once again. Back to his confident self. Like the true him shone for a good minute until the computer programs in his head regenerated his act of being Calum Hood, the rebellious heartthrob. But he was back, and a smirk grew on his face.
I hated that about him. I hated how he would switch from one mood to another like a switch. And I hated that it bothered me. I hated it.
The car turned down our street just as he opened his mouth. "When I take you out tonight. To a party," he paused to send me a quick glance, and his smirk grew wider when he saw my expression. "That's when you'll let me drive you places again."
I was shocked. No, I was more than shocked. Shocked was an understatement, it was the understatement of the year. Shocked was when I found out Calum was my neighbour. This? This, was more than shocked. This state of me being frozen, struck by Calum Hood claiming he was going to take me out, was the absolute extreme level of any and every word bigger than shock.
I didn't realise that my mouth had fallen open, so I shut it and looked away, out the dashboard and at the road. We were getting closer to our houses. I almost didn't want to go home— but that was because my mother would easily squeeze out of me a detailed explanation of how my day went. But at least I'd be away from Calum. Far, far away from him; since he'd be heading back to Morgan's after dropping me off.
I cleared my throat, and finally spoke. Still not looking at him, however. "And if I say no and don't let you take me out to said party? What then?"
He pulled up into my driveway, put the car in park, and softly turned me around by my shoulder. I knew he did it to get my full attention. But what he didn't know, was that my attention had been focused on him more than myself lately.
"Brooklyn, will you please come to a party with me tonight?" He asked this time, much less demanding then before. I didn't understand why he still asked, when it was clear I didn't want to go. But then a voice spoke in the back of my mind, telling me to just give in to him. To let him take me out, to let him take me to a party. I was young, I deserved to have fun.
So I sent him a small, red-cheeked smile, and pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Yeah, okay."
❦❧❦
I couldn't tell if I was disappointed or relieved when I got home to find out my mother had been called in to work. But my father was waiting for me at the door as I walked down the path that lead to it from the driveway. And when I saw him, my pace slowed to a stop. He wouldn't be mad like mum, would he? I hoped he wouldn't be annoyed that I'd gotten a lift home from Calum, and not Morgan.
I was surprised when he smiled past my shoulder at Calum —who had rolled down his side of the car's window— and waved at him. He even greeted him with a friendly voice. "Hey, Calum! Thanks for taking Brooklyn home. What happened to the bike?"
By the time I reached my father, I knew I had nothing to worry about. My dad wouldn't act like I'd done something wrong. So I turned to stand with him, and waited for Calum to reply.
Calum had his arm resting on the car door, and was grinning politely at my father. "No worries, sir! And my bike's in the garage. Still got it, don't worry. I borrowed Luke's car to drop off your daughter, then I'm gonna head back to Morgan's to return it."
My dad nodded, and looked just about ready to head on inside, since the conversation seemed to be over. But before the two off us could move, Calum's voice piped up again.
"Oh! Sir, can I ask for your permission?"
My dad's eyebrow arched, and his eyes glanced over at me before he nodded a Calum. "What do you need, son?"
Calum's eyes met mine this time, and I couldn't distinguish what they were saying. He felt smug. That, I knew. It made me realise exactly what he was going to ask my father, and I expected him to be disappointed. I only said yes to Calum taking me to this party because I knew I wouldn't be allowed to go.
"I was wondering if you'd let me take Brooklyn out to my mate's party tonight. It's at his house, and his parents will be home. He's celebrating being accepted into Uni early for a science scholarship. And trust me, there will be no alcohol. I'll even have her home early if you'd like."
I wondered if his 'mate' was really celebrating his science scholarship, or if it was a fake story to convince my father to let me go. But either way, I knew my dad would say no. He'd never say yes. Especially not without my mother's consent.
But the look on my father's face said otherwise. It said, "that sounds like a great idea!". So I took a step back and gulped. Oh no.
"That sounds cool! Of course Brooklyn can go."
They then went on, exchanging pickup and drop-off times, all without paying any mind to me. It was like I wasn't even there. Did I not have a say too? I was going to complain, but I stopped myself. I'd already said yes to Calum.
It was too late.
❦❧❦
It'd been about five hours since Calum dropped me off from Morgan's in Luke's car, and I was impatiently pacing my room while I waited for my best (and sometimes only) friend to answer my FaceTime call.
When Morgan answered, and our call connected, and her face popped up on the screen with a bright smile, I almost calmed down right at the sight. Morgan had always been there for me, and she always found a way to fix me when I wasn't feeling right.
"Brooklyn, what's up girl?! You only FaceTime me when you're in serious need of help—" she paused mid sentence and took in my expression, which now I just realised looked very nervous. "What's wrong, B?"
I didn't waste any time by making up a lie. I never lied to Morgan. "So, Calum is kind of taking me to a party in, like, an hour and I have no idea what I have to do to prepare for said party. Can you help me?"
Her eye's widened, and she looked past her phone at something. Someone was talking to her. I knew that because she smiled at them and then looked back down at her phone where her anxious friend was. "Of course I'll help you, B! I can't believe your parents are letting you go."
I set my phone down on it's stand and charged it while I stood back and placed my hands on my hips, a look of aspiration on my face. "I know, it's freaky. And it was unexpected. I only said yes to Calum because I knew my parents would say no— but when he asked my dad if he could take me, my dad was all for it. He said yes without even asking my mum! And it was too late for me to back down, because I ready told Calum I'd let him take me."
I thought her phone had frozen, and that our connection was poor. But when I leaned in closer I noticed that everything was fine. I think she was just taking in my information. I didn't want to continue talking about how this situation panned out, so I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
"So, what should I wear?"
Half an hour later, I was dressed in a tight-fitting elastic materialised red off-shoulder dress that had small, cute blue flowers scattered all over it. I had light yet effective makeup on, courtesy to my skilful hand and Morgan's great eye, and I wore white converse on my feet to give my look the 'casual' card. And I had my hair half up, half down.
I stood back, so that Morgan could see my full look through her phone. I even did a small twirl for her, chuckling as I did so— because I felt like an idiot. I was acting like I was willingly going on a date with Calum Hood.
Was I?
"B! You look amazing!" Morgan gushed, then she became blurry as she ran from one side of the room to another. I saw her land down on what I presumed was the couch, and suddenly Luke's face was in the picture. "Luke, babe. Doesn't she look stunning?!"
My eyes widened. Oh. My. God. Had Luke been there the whole time? Had he heard everything Morgan and I spoke about? About his best friend, Calum. Were the other boys still there too? God, I felt so embarrassed. Morgan and I discussed so many girl things. Like, boys. Boys with the name Calum. He was literally the only thing we discussed other than my outfit. I felt so shameful.
Luke smirked when he saw my expression, and he winked at me. "You look great. And don't worry, Brooklyn, I won't tell Calum anything you've said."
I wanted to slap him. But certain circumstances —like him being kilometres away from me— stopped me from doing so.
I let out a nervous chuckle. "Um, thanks."
Suddenly, I heard the doorbell sound off, and a small shriek escaped my lips. I rushed to collect my phone and saw that it was now six— exactly the time Calum said he'd pick me up. Morgan and Luke's faces looked amused, but I ignored them and yelled out that I had to go, and for them to pray that I don't die before I ended the call and rushed to spray perfume on.
I could hear my father and Calum speaking with each other downstairs. I could also hear what they were saying. My father was going through a list of regulations he had to keep to tonight, the usual: don't leave her side, no alcohol, no drugs, no joining any gangs. I couldn't help but laugh. Clearly my dad didn't know exactly what to say to Calum, because this was the first party I was going to with a boy.
I had slipped my phone into my small, black purse and slung it's thin strap over my shoulder when my dad appeared in my doorway. He smiled when he saw me, and gave me a thumbs up. "You look wonderful, sweetheart. Calum's here."
I nodded, and followed him downstairs and to the front door, where Calum stood, looking like a model. Sure, he was dressed quite casually— but I couldn't deny his good looks. He had on a pair of black skinny jeans (that weren't ripped) on his legs, and black vans on his feet. And he wore a maroon red button up shirt, and his hair was styled in a curved quiff. He looked so rugged, so handsome, so out of this world.
I couldn't believe I was thinking this. Since when did I check out boys? I wasn't the only one, though. Calum's eyes had been on me since I became visible from the top of the stairs. And they didn't leave me until I was right beside him, and he sent me a small smirk before looking over at my father.
"Alright, I'll see you soon, sir." He said kindly before I felt his hand grip my wrist, and we were out the door.
I heard the front door close behind us as we walked over to Calum's father's car, that was parked in my driveway. Calum's hand dropped my wrist to open his car door, and I walked around to the left of the car to enter through the passenger side. When we were seated comfortably and buckled up, Calum cleared his throat and I looked over at him and caught his eye.
"You look pretty." He said softly, and my heart stopped.
I sent him a sweet smile. "Thank you. You look nice, too."
Then he started the car, and we were off to the party. The whole ride, I tried to imagine what the party would be like. Would it be like the one's in movies and books? Like the one's Morgan went to with Luke? The type that is crowded, wild and overwhelming? I thought that the party would be exactly like that, but then I remembered what Calum had told my father. It's my mate's party. It's at his house, and his parents will be home. He's celebrating being accepted into Uni early for a science scholarship. And trust me, there will be no alcohol. But when we arrived, I realised that Calum had lied to my father— only partially.
As we entered through the unlocked door, loud music rushed into my ears, instantly making them feel fuzzy and weird. I looked around to see that the foyer was crowded with unfamiliar faces, and I didn't doubt the rest of the house would be the same. That made me feel uneasy, and nervous. I knew no one here but Calum, so far. And I hoped that Calum wouldn't leave me to socialise and fend for myself.
My heart was already beating fast, but then I felt Calum place his hand on the small of my back, and my heart started to pound. I looked up at Calum, who stood beside me. He was looking around, but must have felt my gaze on him, so he looked down and met my eye. Then he bent down slightly, so that his lips were close to my ear, and that I could hear him as he spoke.
"I want to introduce you to my mate, Owen. It's his party."
I nodded, and let him guide me through the sea of bodies, and into the kitchen. There was only a few people in the kitchen, but it was the bench that was crowded. All along it's marble surface, were cans of beer, bottles of liquids, empty red cups, and a few bottles of soft drinks. Then on the dining table, there were bowls of chips and dips, and even brownies and cupcakes. I felt like almost every drink and food were contaminated by alcohol, just by the way everybody seemed drunk. Plus, it smelt like my parent's wine cabinet. Trust me, there will be no alcohol.
A boy emerged from the small crowd of people in the kitchen, and he stalked right over to Calum and I with wide eyes and an even wider grin. "Calum Hood, what a pleasure!"
Calum's hand removed itself from my back, and I felt cold. I watched them embrace each other in what was considered a 'bro hug', and Calum grinned devilishly at the boy. "Owen, it's been too long. Last time I saw you, you were smoking in the back of your dad's truck and trying to sell kids chocolate."
I cringed at that, thinking of how irresponsible this boy was to act so creepily. But I didn't want to judge him, since I didn't know him, so I forced a smile onto my face when he looked over at me. He nodded at Calum's words, but was grinning at me.
"And who's this beauty?" He asked, reaching his hand out. I don't know what told me to do it, but I reached my hand out too, and he took my hand and bent down to kiss it before he let me go, and my hand fell beside me. When I was sure he wasn't looking, I wiped the back of my hand on my dress.
"This is Brooklyn," Calum introduced, looking down at me briefly before looking back over at Owen, who was now looking back at him. "She's with me tonight."
I wondered what he meant by that, but I didn't think too much of it, because Calum looked towards me, and motioned to Owen, who was walking away; disappearing through the doorway we entered through. "He is celebrating his science scholarship, don't worry."
I squinted my eyes at him, before nodding. Then I asked what I'd been wondering for a long, long time. "What are you supposed to do at a party like this?"
He grinned at me. "Have fun."
I let out a small sigh, and gave him a stern look. "You know I can't drink, though. And I don't have my license yet, so you have to drive us back home."
He rolled his eyes, and reached his hand out to grab mine. He intertwined his fingers with mine, and started to lead me through a doorway that I hadn't noticed before. "I know that, Cooper. There are ways to have fun without getting drunk." He yelled over the loud music as we entered what I guessed was the lounge room.
People were everywhere, dancing or talking, and I tried not to let my eyes linger on couples who were showing PDA. There were two large speakers in the corner of the room, being the source of music. And on the other side were two couches, which were full.
I frowned. "Yeah, like what?"
His hand dropped mine, and it left a weird, buzzing feeling behind. I turned to face him, and he looked down at me with bright eyes. The disco lights that stood on top of the speakers were dancing in his brown iris', and illuminating his tanned face with all different types of colours; ranging from blue, to pink, and even green. Post Malone was playing through the speakers, and I felt like singing along, but I was too captivated by Calum's stare, that I forgot the lyrics.
"We can dance." He said, loud enough for me to hear.
I gulped, but nodded. I'd danced with Calum before, how different would it be now? "Okay, let's dance."
Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran poured through the speakers then, and people around us started pairing off and dancing slowly with one another. Then I felt Calum's hands snake around my waist, and he pulled me towards him. I fell into his chest, a small gasp escaping my lips. I was about to pull away from him, but he leant down and said into my ear, "You're supposed to wrap your arms around my neck."
So I did. Nervously, but I did it. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his tightened around my waist, and we danced in sync. We danced like we did at The Silver Crown, but with less tension. Though, in my opinion, there was more tension— just a different kind. It wasn't awkward. It was . . . Different. Just different.
We moved together slowly, comfortably, for the whole song, until an upbeat song that I'd never heard disrupted the calm mood that once laced across the atmosphere of the room. People started going crazy then. Jumping around, hollering, belting the lyrics. So I pulled away from Calum, and pushed some hair behind my ear. His arms were still wrapped around me, almost supportively; like he was protecting me from the wildness around us. Like he knew I felt uneasy.
"It's kind of stuffy in here." I said as I fanned myself. I didn't know if my cheeks felt hot because the air was sticky and suffocating, or if I was blushing, because Calum was acting weird. A good weird.
Calum nodded, and released his arms from around me, only to place his palm on the small of my back again. "Let's go outside, then."
As he guided me out to the backyard, my thoughts focused on him entirely. He was being so nice to me. So calm and almost protective— but in a non-protective way. Was this the true Calum? Was he calm and collected, and chill? Or was he acting this way because a lot of people were here and he didn't want people to notice him? I didn't know, and I didn't think I'd find out. All I knew, was that I was liking this Calum, and I couldn't deny it.
We reached outside, and I noticed the trampoline straight away. It was far back, all the way next to the back fence. And no one was near it. That's where I wanted to go, so I said it. "Let's go to the trampoline."
We walked over to it, and Calum motioned for me to climb onto it first. I did, but hesitantly. And then he followed and sat down beside me in the centre of the trampoline. I laid back, and looked up at the night sky. It was black, but with tints of blue blending through it. And there were no clouds. Just clear, plain view of the stars, and the full moon.
"The view is so beautiful." I said softly, making sure not to yell as it was quiet out here. It was peaceful. The air was cool, but not too cold, and the soft breeze whistled in my ears delicately. I closed my eyes and smiled, taking in the beauty of the night.
"Yeah, it is." I heard Calum say, and I opened my eyes too look up at him. He was still sitting upright, but wasn't looking up at the night sky like I was. Instead, he was looking down at me, a small smile on his face.
"How can you tell? You aren't looking at the sky, you're looking at me." I pointed out as I sat up and hugged my knees to my chest.
Calum's eyes looked right into mine, and I could see the stars reflecting through them. "I know," he started, pausing to lick his lips, then he spoke again, with a smooth, deep voice. "I wasn't talking about the sky."
My eyes widened. I knew what he was hinting, but I wanted to hear him say it. If he said it, then it'd be true. If he said it, then I'd know why he asked me to come here with him. "Then what were you talking about?"
He didn't hesitate. "You."
Then he leaned in, and pressed his lips against mine.
My eyes widened. And a voice yelled at me in my head, telling me to push him off, and to run away from him. That voice was my mother. Then another voice told me to go with it, and that I didn't mind it. That voice was everyone else; it was Morgan, it was Luke, it was my father, it was me. So I let my eyes flutter shut, and I kissed him back.
This was my first kiss. This was my first date. And it was all with a boy who I didn't know too well, but knew all too well at the same time. And it was underneath the moon and the stars, in the calming breeze, away from the wild party. It wasn't how I dreamt it would be— it was better. It was magical.
Then he pulled away, and he climbed off the trampoline, telling me he'd be right back before scurrying off into the house, and it was over. Our moment— our first kiss together was over. Just like that.
❦❧❦
Calum you muggle! How dare you just run away from Brooklyn like that!
Hehe.
I love this chapter so much, whoop.
Hope you do too??
Like, comment, vote, love, share, eat pizza, or KFC. I'm craving both.
Lots and lots of junk food being sent your way,
@calxcx ✨