A/N: I realised I fucked up the weather bc Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, oh well
[Taylor.]
The silence that fell between Calum and I was thick, constricting our words to our chests. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water while I just blinked, trying to make sense of the situation.
I finally settled with, "Care to explain?"
"I- I- Please don't tell Luke," he pleaded, clambering off his bed and walking towards me. "Please. I just- I needed to know. Don't tell me the suspense wasn't killing you either."
I bit my lip, sighing. "Okay, I guess it was, too. But Cal, you can't do these type of things. Think through things sometimes... It could've easily been Luke opening this door and not me."
"I know, I know, but please. Don't- I can't risk- I don't want him to find out."
I eyed him up and down. He seemed so desperate: his eyes were wide and pleading, his hands clamped together. "Fine, yeah. I won't tell him. But you need to put that away right now, because Luke is going to be home very soon."
"Okay, yes, I will," he breathed out. "Thanks, Tay."
He hugged me tightly, but I just sighed, shaking my head. "Calum, I- I won't tell Luke for your sake, and the sake of everyone else in this house, but that doesn't mean I agree with what you did. You really should have waited for Luke to open it himself."
"I know," he sighed in defeat. "It's just that-"
"I know you were curious," I interrupted, not finished with what I had to say. "I know. But you can't- You're dating Luke. It's more than just a simple friendship. I know how much Luke means to you, and god, do you mean a lot to Luke. Which is precisely why you need to be careful. You guys... I don't know. You live in the same house, you're both head over heels for each other. There's a lot at stake. Yeah, this is just a box, but you've really got to think through things. Today it's a box, tomorrow it's something you said on the spur of the moment. Just... Please. I don't want to see your relationship deteriorate because you - or either of you - did something in the spur of the moment, knowing fully well that the other is not on board with it."
He hung his head in shame, and I was glad to notice that my words had affected him. I didn't want to be mean; I didn't want to see either of them upset or mad at each other. Imagine that! Living with two pissy teenage boys. I would go mad, probably.
This time, I hugged him. "Hey, it's fine. He's not going to find out, unless we tell him. Just wrap that box up tightly and we'll be fine. Just think a bit next time."
"I will," he nodded, before turning around and hurrying back to his bed.
With a head shake, I turned and walked into my bedroom. Well, mine and Luke's.
It was still so novel, having Luke living with us. I loved it, to be quite honest. I mean, who wouldn't love living with their best friend? Sure, we had petty arguments every once in a while, but that was inevitable. We got over them quickly anyways.
I was sick of being cooped up in the house, so I decided to get dressed and go out for a walk.
I told Calum I was leaving, and stepped out of the house. It was pleasant outside, and I smiled, slipping my headphones on and shoving my hands in my pockets as I started walking down to the stores. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I thought I'd stop by and say hi to Luke before heading to the park, and then maybe I'd call Michael.
Michael and I weren't dating again. We were just... Just friends, I guess. I still liked him very much, but I- I don't know. I was scared. He was probably over it anyways, he probably had another girl on his radar. I don't blame him. I was the one who ended it, and yeah, I did regret it, but I was way too proud to admit it. At least we were friends.
Oh well, that didn't really matter right now.
I cleared my head of all thoughts and focused on my music - which happened to be the Ramones - as I walked down the sidewalk.
As I reached the record store, I noticed Luke through the glass, who was just about to step out of the door.
"Hey!" I grinned, pulling a headphone out. "You're already done?"
He shrugged, giving me a one-armed hug. "Yeah, they're closing early today. Not really sure why, but eh, at least I get off work."
"Well, that's good," I grinned, and was about to continue when my phone started ringing. I pulled it out with a frown, rolling my eyes when I read that it was Calum calling me. "Hello?"
"Tay, you need to help me," came his frantic voice.
"What now?" I sighed as Luke raised an eyebrow at me.
"The box, I tried to wrap it back up, but it looks awful, and mum's not home yet so I can't ask her to do it, but can you please come home and wrap it for me?"
I rolled my eyes, trying not to let panic flood my features. "Well, I just ran into Luke, he just got off work, and then I'm going to meet Mikey, so I've got stuff to do before I can come back..."
"Oh my god, he's off work?! What? So early?!"
"Yeah, they're closing the store early today," I nodded, rolling my eyes to mask my worry.
Luke hitched his bag up higher on his shoulder, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Oh my god," Calum groaned in frustration. "Okay. I'll figure something out. Just- Stall him. Please."
"I'll try. Bye Cal."
"Bye Tay, oh god."
I hung up and stuffed my phone back into my pocket, biting my lip. "Um, wanna go get ice-cream or something?"
"I'm kinda tired, I just wanted to get home and-"
"Great! Chocolate or vanilla?"
He rolled his eyes, sighing before answering, "Vanilla."
"Okay!"
We headed to the ice-cream parlour which wasn't too far from the record store, and I tried to start a conversation but all I could think about was Calum and his complete idiocy - plus, the fact that he was texting me off the hook wasn't helping my mind.
We got our ice-creams and I insisted we sit down to eat them, despite Luke's protests. As we ate, I pulled out my phone to check the messages, but that was a bad decision.
Cal → Tay: tay srsly I cant close it
Cal → Tay: oh my god he's going to find out
Cal → Tay: he's going to hate me
Cal → Tay: make him not hate me tay :(((
Cal → Tay: HOW THE FUCK DO YOU WRAP A GIFT
and that was about as far as I could read, because to my dismay Luke swiped my phone out of my hand, his eyebrows raised in amusement. "Seriously, what's so important? It's just- It's just Calum."
I watched nervously as his face turned from amusement to confusion. "Tay..." he started slowly, gripping the phone more firmly. "What is he talking about?"
"I- I have no idea! None," I faked a grin, reaching over to take my phone back from him, but he just raised his hand above his head where he knew I wouldn't be able to reach. "Come on, Luke, give it back."
"No, who is he talking about? What- Oh my god. Taylor, tell me he's not talking about what I think it is."
"Lucas, I have no idea. Give it back," I demanded, starting to get a bit angry at him. He couldn't just take my phone from me and read my messages. There was such a thing as privacy!
"No, Tay, tell me."
I sighed, shaking my head. "I can't. I can't tell you."
"Fine. I'll find out on my own."
And with that, he got up, throwing his finished cup of ice-cream into the trash before leaving the store. I quickly downed the remnants of mine before bolting out of the shop, almost tackling Luke to the ground due to the force I ran into him with.
"Luke, please," I pleaded, managing to grab my phone out of his hand since he was off-guard. "Please."
"Please what, Tay?" he huffed. "I'm not an idiot. I get what he's talking about. He opened the box, didn't he? And you're trying to cover for him. You're my best friend Tay, you've gotta tell me these things!"
"I know, but he's my brother!"
"For the longest time, I was closer to you than him!" he pointed out.
I sighed. He had a point: Luke and I were always closer than Calum and I.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I mumbled. "Please don't- Don't get mad with him."
"I have every right to get mad at him."
I sighed. I knew that he had a point but oh god, this was going to be hell.
"Luke, please, don't-"
"Save it, Tay. Just... I don't want to ruin your day. Go see Mikey, I'll- I'll call you later okay?"
I bit my lip as I watched him walk away. This was not going to end well, I knew it for a fact.
>>>
A/N: tensiontensiontension
what do you think is going to happen between the two of them? :o
LOVE YA BABES, STAY AMAZING!! xx