"How was school, kiddo?"
"I'll have you know, Benjamin, that I am not in school, but university, and I am a legal adult."
"But you're still the youngest of three, so you're still our Baby Lucas."
I shoved Ben playfully, and he laughed. I heard Jack call, "Shit's about to go down!" on the other side of the room, and Ben and I started playfully wrestling. Sure, I was taller than Ben (he was the shortest of the three of us), but there was no doubt he was more muscular, and so he had me pinned to the ground soon enough.
"DOGPILE!"
"JACK, DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE—"
But Jack was on top of us now, sitting on top of Ben and I as if he were some sort of king. And I suppose that was right of him to think. He was the firstborn, and when we were kids, he would always call himself a king.
"Celeste would kill me if she saw me like this," Jack said. There was a bit of reminiscence in his voice, as if he lived for these moments. He had a smile on his face. I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Oh, yeah, Jack, you're setting up such a good example for your daughter," Ben said sarcastically. "Number One Dad right over here."
Jack then punched Ben in the gut, who then rolled over in pain. I was now relieved of Ben's weight, but Jack was still on top of me. Jack then got off of me to go after Ben, and I took a minute to appreciate the air that is surrounding me now.
I was forever grateful that Ben and Jack took me in.
Of course, Ben and Jack had jobs, not to mention that Jack was a husband and father. Ben offered me to live in his house (Jack called it "Ben's Playboy Condo"), and Jack would visit on his way home from work every day. On the weekends, Jack's wife Celeste and their daughter would come over—which made Jack very happy, as he said that "Zoe has missed her Uckle Wukey." Sometimes I was a bit unhappy with my arrival, as Ben started to work night shifts so that he could make me breakfast every morning. No matter how many times I told him that I could buy something from Yum Yum's on the way to UCLA, Ben refused to go back to day shifts. But I suppose it made everything better for me, because I could have long Skype calls without Ben bugging me for staying up late.
"Well," Jack said after his little "row" with Ben, "I should probably get back to the wife and the kid.
"And I should get to work!" Ben said. I frowned, and Ben stared at me, giving me a sad smile. "I don't mind working night shifts, Luke. If I get to see you every morning when I wake up, I know I'll be okay. Besides, I sleep right after you leave. Don't worry about it."
I hugged Ben and Jack goodbye, and they both walked out the door. I immediately ran to my room (which, much to my surprise, was set up by Ben in case I ever wanted to live with him), and opened my laptop. I set up Word, and I waited for it to load. My phone beeped beside me, and I looked at the lock screen.
i have ice cream, let's skype xx
I chuckled, opening Skype and waiting as it loaded.
"You should know that I've been waiting for you to call me," Calum said with a smile.
"Well, look who's desperate," I said with a chuckle.
"But baby," Calum said in a whiny, girly voice, "I love you!"
"Not now, babe, I have to go practice with the guys," I said in a deep voice. "Gotta keep the star quarterback rep, ya know?"
Calum laughed, rolling his eyes. "I bet you don't even play football!"
"Hey!" I whined. Calum cocked an eyebrow. "You're right, I don't..."
"So, how are you?" he asked with a smile.
"I," I said while typing, "am working on an eight-page essay."
"Sounds like a lot of fun."
"Oh, yeah," I laughed, "I'm having a blast."
Calum smiled at me. "You're going to be a great writer, Luke."
I smiled back at him. "Probably not, but I know you're going to be the greatest music teacher this world has ever seen."
I saw the blood coming onto Calum's cheeks, and I laughed. He started to pout, and I cooed at him. He called me an asshole, and I told him I loved him. This seemed like a very common conversation between Calum and I, but I loved the moment anyway.
"If things don't work out, I'll probably be an English teacher," I admitted. "And I'll fight anyone who uses 'cactuses' as a plural for 'cactus'."
Calum laughed. "Cactuses."
"No."
"Cactuses."
"Calum, I swear—"
"Cactuses."
"Calum, no—"
"CACTUSES."
"I will fly to Australia right now and kiss you to shut you up if I have to—"
"CACTUSES CACTUSES CACTUSES."
"BUT IT WAS NEVER AN ACCEPTABLE PLURAL AND NOW IT IS. I MEAN, WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Whoa, calm down," Calum said with a laugh.
I took a deep breath, and I chuckled softly. "I love you," I breathed. "So much."
Then, Calum started to cry.
"Calum?!" I panicked. "Cal, why are you crying?"
"It's just that no one has ever liked me like this before!" Calum exclaimed. "And suddenly you come out of nowhere and treat me like a prince... I'm not good enough for you, Luke! And I'm crying because you make me so happy when I did nothing to deserve it."
"Calum..." I said softly. "I'm giving you my love willingly, because I want you to have it. You don't need to deserve love, because I want to give mine to you."
Calum continued to cry, but it softened a little bit. At this point, he was just sniffling and hiccupping.
"Calum, I'll be honest with you. I don't know if we'll last forever. Maybe something comes in the way, and we break up. Maybe we do last. Maybe we end up meeting in person, maybe get married and buy a house. I don't know what will happen in the future. What I do know is that right now, I am in love with you. I love you, Calum."
Calum smiled at me. "I love you more."
"No, you don't!"
"Yes, I do!"
"Lies."
"I don't lie."
"Fine."
"Hey, I'm going to show you a tour of my room, because why the hell not?"
I laughed. "Okay, then."
Calum moved his laptop around, and I saw his white bedroom walls. He had many posters on them (one of which I recognized as an All Time Low poster), and many pictures. Pictures of what, I wasn't sure, but the ratio between posters and pictures was almost 1 to 1.
Calum moved his arms around as if he were a showgirl presenting a car, and I laughed. This time, he grabbed his laptop and starting walking around.
"Hey, sweetheart," Calum said, looking away from the camera. "Watcha doin'?"
No one answered. I couldn't see who he was talking to, and I was starting to become concerned.
Calum moved the laptop so the camera changed points of view. There was a little girl hanging onto the threshold. She was peeking into Calum's room, but the rest of her body was outside, as if she didn't want to be seen. Like Calum, she had dark hair, but her skin was very pale, and her eyes were blue.
"That's my little sister, Daniela. Step-sister, to be precise. You wanna say hi to my friend Luke, Dani?"
The little girl, Daniela, waved shyly at the camera.
"And now we continue the tour!" Calum said in a loud, deep voice. I heard Daniela giggle, and then I heard small footsteps running away. Calum rearranged his laptop so that I was looking at him again. He was walking (which would explain the shaky film), and making weird faces at the camera. I called him cute, and he called me a butthole (because he couldn't call me an asshole in front of Daniela).
He opened the door to another room, and there was another girl in the room watching TV. She looked almost exactly like Calum. She looked about his age, or perhaps older.
"Oh, my God, Calum, GET OUT!" she shrieked, to which Calum replied, "You're twenty-four, not sixteen!"
"Screw you!"
"Not in front of the child, Mali!" Calum gasped.
I just laughed, and I was pretty sure I heard Daniela giggling, too.
"That was my big sister, Mali-Koa. She's a bi—mean...person... Anyway! Back to my room!" Calum rearranged his laptop again and started marching down the corridor. I heard small, high-pitched chants behind him. Daniela must have been copying Calum.
"I believe someone owes me a serenade," I said with a smirk. Calum blushed, and he started muttering something. He was probably cursing me, but he reluctantly grabbed a guitar from the side of his bed and put it on his lap.
"What song should I play?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "Any song you like."
Calum paused for a moment, thinking of what song to play. Then he started strumming, and the song was all too familiar.
"He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes / Started making his way past two in the morning / He hasn't been sober for days."
I don't know what took over me, but I suddenly had the urge to sing the song. And so I did. "Leaning now, into the breeze / Remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees / They had breakfast together, but two eggs don't last like the feeling of what he needs."
Calum looked at me, still strumming, and he smiled. "Now this place seems familiar to him / She pulled on his hand with a devilish grin / She led him upstairs, she led him upstairs / Left him dying to get in." He chuckled, and he looked at the camera.
"Sing with me, Lucas!"
I smiled. "Forgive me, I'm trying to find my calling / I'm calling at night / I don't mean to be a bother, / But have you seen this girl?"
Calum looked directly at me. "She's been running through my dreams / And it's driving me crazy, it seems / I'm gonna ask her to marry me."
Calum stopped, and I wanted to ask why. I didn't.
"You have to play something on the piano for me."
I sighed. "I was hoping to get away with it..."
Calum laughed. "You asked me to play the guitar for you, and you think I would just forget that you owe me a song on the piano? Tsk, tsk, Lucas."
I groaned, and Calum mocked me. I stuck my tongue out at him, because I was just mature like that.
I didn't have my piano anymore. It was a really nice piano, too. It was a baby grand, and even though it wasn't in the best condition, it was really well in tune. Not to mention that it's the same piano I've used since I've started learning piano, so that just adds to the sentiment. Unfortunately, my baby is kept hostage at Liz and Andrew's house. I knew Ben had a keyboard, but that just wasn't the same as my baby.
I got up from my bed and grabbed the keyboard from its stand. I put the keyboard in front of my, and I sat in a crisscross position on my bed. I turned on the keyboard and started to play Turning Page, as that was the song I promised Calum I would play.
"You have to sing it, Lucas," Calum said in fake-hushed voice. I rolled my eyes, but I sang anyway.
"I've waited a hundred years, but I'd wait a million more for you."
Calum hummed, and I felt myself blushing.
"Nothing prepared me for what the privilege of being yours would do."
"You have such a pretty voice," Calum murmured. I smiled at him. I didn't want to say anything, because (much to my surprise) I haven't messed up yet, and if I spoke, I would probably lose my flow and press the wrong key.
"If I had only felt the warmth within your touch, / If I had only seen how you smile when you blush."
Calum blushed, and I felt accomplished.
"Or how you curl your lip when you concentrate enough, / Then I would have known what I've been waiting for all along."
I looked directly at Calum, and he looked directly at me.
"What I've been waiting for."
Calum started clapping, and I tried to cover my hands with my face. I groaned with embarrassment, and Calum was demanding an encore.
"I don't like youuuuu!" I whined.
"Shut up, you love me."
I pouted, and Calum flashed me a smile. He was an idiot. But I loved him anyway.