neon//hood

two

"this town was never good enough

because she was going to see everything-"

it was now friday, and you were ready to throw up. michael had been coming up with horrible predictions about the date from the seat beside you for the past hour while you struggled to keep your eyes open. maths was never your strongest subject, but after being placed next to the australian equivalent of jack freaking barakat who liked nothing better than distracting you with his jokes and sarcasm, your grades had fallen dramatically. you glared at the white haired boy after he reminded you that she was probably going to stand you up on a date at her own house, and after that he shut up.

today was friday, and you were meeting zoë at her house in just over two hours, leaving sixty precious minutes to go home, get changed and arrive at the girl's house once school was over. the bell wailed, breaking you from your thoughts. a small smile managed to creep into your face as you realised what the next lesson was; music. although you were failing it along with all the other lessons, it was mostly an excuse for you and your best friends to mess about with instruments. grabbing your acoustic guitar from the instrument room in the music block, you sighed. you were itching to try out a bass guitar instead of a standard electric or acoustic, but the school didn't own one and no way were your parents going to fork out for a new distraction either - not while your grades were this bad. you began to strum, showing a rare smile when you heard it was still in tune. because you were alone in the room, your fingers began to ghost over the strings without you really thinking about it. a quiet, acoustic version of the 1975's sex filled the room, and you began to croon the lyrics under your breath. so caught up in your favourite song, of course you didn't notice her until she joined in. every instinct screamed at you to stop, but hearing her voice was enough to keep your fingers moving and strumming. once the song ended, you went straight into the first song you ever learned on guitar - jasey rae. she picked up on the song almost immediately and her clear, beautiful voice rang out through the room for the first line. once again your fingers just seemed to know what they had to do without you telling them, your entire body trapped in the notes you were playing. all too soon, she had sung the last line and your hands came to rest at your sides. you looked up at zoë, but she wasn't the only one there. shit. your classmates saw that. you felt the breath trap in your throat and curled your fingers around the edge of your sweater, standing up to leave, but something amazing happened. the room began to fill with the sound of applause.

they were applauding you.

and because your emotions couldn't be more screwed, she bent over and kissed your cheek lightly. fuck.

you gave a small, shaky smile and brushed your fringe out of your eyes. you met up with the rest of the band and messed about with ideas for your new song for the next hour. it was nice to stop thinking about everything for once and just enjoy doing the thing you love with the people you love.

all too soon, the lesson was over and you could go home. you slung your bag over your shoulder and headed out with your headphones in your ears. not wanting to be anywhere near any form of human after your near-death experience in music, you skipped the bus and trudged home, shuffling your converse against the asphalt. you ignored your mother's greeting and rushed upstairs, leaving your ugly uniform on the floor and changing into a black and red baseball shirt. after ruffling your hair slightly and saying goodbye to your dog, you walked towards the little shop on the corner that sold flowers. zoë would like flowers. you sighed inwardly about how whipped you were, but honestly, you enjoyed treating her like the angel she is.

you carried the peonies - her favourite - to her door and rang the bell, perfectly on time.

"calum! come in," she wrapped you in a huge hug, and you smiled at her.

"I brought you these," you motioned to the flowers in your hand. suddenly getting a wave of confidence, you stood on tiptoe and placed a kiss onto her cheek. she smelled of coconut, and her skin was smooth against your lips. everything about being near her felt right - she was intoxicating, and you were addicted to her already. once she had put the peonies into a vase on the side, she led you into the kitchen and sat on the counter, swinging her legs and humming distractedly. you took a moment to appreciate how physically astounding she was; the way her hair seemed to glow when the light from the window behind her shone through it, her pink lips pulled slightly between her teeth, her huge brown eyes, even the way she acted when she arranged the flowers drove you crazy.

"calum?"

oops. "hmm?" she smiled, and your head swam. she had you like a puppet on a string, poking pins in your mind like a voodoo doll. giggling, she grabbed on your hand and dragged you upstairs into her bedroom. a moment passed as she stared into your eyes, not a word more was said and then she confused you even more by pressing her lips against yours. for a second, you stiffened and didn't move before it hit you, this was zoë abraham, and she was kissing you. your 'fuck it' attitude kicked in because you were in her room and she was there and your head was spinning, so you gently pushed her down onto the bed and began to make out more urgently. she could change her mind at any minute and push you off, so you made the most of it.

surprisingly, you got a full fifteen minutes, if not more, before she pulled away breathlessly and whispered something.
"I'm leaving." you laughed, mostly out of shock, because how could zoë be leaving when she was so much of your life.
"no you're not" you mumbled, still hovering over her.
"yes I am calum," she demanded, sitting up from underneath you. "and you're coming with me."
***
whew! long chapter :| I'm aiming for this length for all the rest, but if it's too long/short please let me know! thanks for reading :)