not in the same way || c.h.

15

"Hey." Calum said cheerfully as I opened my apartment door.

"Hey." I said with my bag in my hand as I closed the door behind me.

"Are you ready for an adventure?" He asked and took my hand and brought me down the stairs.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Can you still not tell me where we're going?" I asked and looked up at him.

"Nope it has to be a secret until we get there." He said and brought me out to a car that I knew for a fact wasn't his.

"This isn't your car." I said and stood next to it.

"I know, I'll explain when we get there." He said and got in the drivers seat while I put my stuff in the back next to his and got in.

"How far away is it?" I asked and put my seatbelt on.

"Two and a half hours." He said and started driving away.

"Why are we going so far?" I asked.

"You ask too many questions." He said and flicked his eyes between me and the road.

"You don't answer enough questions." I said which made him chuckle.

"I'll answer them when we get there." He said and put his sunglasses on. He looked really hot right now. He was wearing black jeans like he always did, with a Nirvana t-shirt that showed off his tattoos that I was very lowkey obsessed with.

"I broke up with Cole." I said after a few minutes of comfortable silence and the radio playing.

"You did?" He asked and sat up on his seat. I could tell he was happy about it, even if he was trying to hide the fact that he was.

"Yeah I did this morning." I said with a sigh and looked out the window.

"You don't sound too happy about it." He said and seemed somewhat upset about my tone.

"Well I don't like breaking up with people. I was with him for a long time. It's just the fact that he's a good person and now things might be weird and being friends might be awkward. So even though we don't want to, we're probably going to end up being strangers." I said and shrugged my shoulders. He was quiet for a while and actually never said anything about it at all.

"Tell me about your family." He said after about twenty minutes.

"That's kind of a long story." I said and let out a sigh.

"You said that before." He stated.

"I know but I'm just reminding you." I said and rolled my eyes at him.

"Well go on, we've got plenty of time." He said and hit my shoulder.

"Well long story short-"

"I don't want the short version, I want the long version." He said.

"Fine. My dad left us after Noah was born. He was a sick baby and didn't want to have to deal with it if he died or something. So me and my mom had to deal with a sick baby in the NICU and a husband and father that left all at once. It was probably the most stressful and hard year of my life. He got better about six or so months after he was born so we could finally take him home. Then maybe when he was two and a half or so my mom got diagnosed with lung cancer because she was always smoking. My grandma told me that the reason I have asthma is because my parents would smoke around me as a baby because they didn't know. They still smoked around me but it was mostly in the car or if we were outside, but that didn't make it much better. So when she died he was forced to live with my grandparents because I wasn't able to take care of him. I lived with them up until like two years ago when I had to get my own apartment so I could focus on school better without a toddler running around. So I promised him I'd spend my weekends with him and when I was able to me and my grandparents agreed for me to be his guardian because he'd rather be with me more. He loves them but when he was a baby I always was with him so he's attached to me. That's why I work so much." I said while he focused on the road and listened to me.

"You're such a good sister, and I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that in such a short period of time." He said sincerely and took my hand that was in my lap and gently held it.

I was beginning to feel guilty about being with Calum. I mean first I cheat on my boyfriend with him which already is completely out of the ordinary for me. But then I hang out with him and go to who knows where with him right after I break up with the boyfriend I cheated on. This didn't feel right, at least not right now.

I liked the feeling of his hand holding mine, it's just the timing isn't right. I feel guilty about this whole situation.

"It's okay." I whispered and look down at our hands.

"What else is there for you to tell me? How long have you been friends with all of your friends?" He asked a couple seconds later.

"I met them when I started college. The boys shared the building with me-still do-and they're right above me so I heard everything and would constantly complain. Then we just became best friends. I eventually met Kendall because she has been dating Michael for years. Then we all met Zoe and Avery shortly after that and have been best friends ever since." I said and he nodded his head.

"It seems like those guys are protective over you." He stated.

"We're all protective over each other for different reasons." I said with a slight chuckle.

"I don't think the blonde likes me very much. What's his name?" He asked and had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Luke. And he doesn't not like you. You've only met him the one time and it was for like three seconds." I pointed out.

"The look he was giving me told me he doesn't like me." He said with a chuckle.

"Like I said, he's protective. They all are, and they don't really know you yet." I said and shrugged my shoulders.

"I think it's just because of the perception you give people when you first walk in a room." I said a couple seconds later.

"And whats that perception?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well you're tall, muscular, and you've got tattoos, which for some people it's a bad thing. Not to mention the fact that you're intimidating and just have that look on your face, and the way you walk shows confidence. Confidence intimidates people sometimes, and you make yourself look mean and act mean at first." I said and he just thought on it at first.

"Must be why you didn't like me that much at first." He said and nodded his head.

"Not to mention that you were cocky and rude, still are sometimes." I said matter of factly.

"Yet you've found a way to like me." He said cockily.

"If it wasn't for that thing you did for me then there's zero chance that I ever would." I said truthfully.

"Well I'm glad I did it then."