LOSING IT [] RANBOO

// 3 //

Callum ended up heading home to his Aunt Clarice and Uncle Garrett, sighing as he opened the door.

"Callum!" Clarice called back to him. "How was the game?"

Callum gave her a small smile.

"It was alright," He blandly described, chuckling at how dry that was. "I met a cute boy and it turns out he's good friends with Tommy!"

"Ay, what are the odds?" Garrett called from the kitchen. "Thomas has good taste in friends!"

That earned a laugh out of Callum, despite how tired he was.

"Claire, can I just head to bed without dinner?" Callum asked, using the name his aunt preferred to be called over Clarice. "I'm really tired."

"Here," Claire quickly rushed into the kitchen and grabbed an apple, tossing it to Callum. "Take this with you. Can't go to bed on an empty stomach, Cal!"

Callum frowned, eyes falling to his arms. They weren't nearly as thin as Tommy's, but still quite thin.

"Callum." Claire placed a hand briefly on his cheek. "You look perfectly fine, dear. I only ask you to eat so you can stay healthy inside. Never go to bed on an empty stomach--keep that as a rule of thumb in life, will you?"

Callum smiled, reassurance filling him. He wondered if anyone ever reassured Tommy the way Claire reassured him; somehow, he doubted it.

His parents didn't seem like that type.

"Good night, Claire." Callum spoke softly, giving her a kiss on the cheek and calling another good night to Garrett.

Callum wished he could say he'd woken up to some kind of text from the cute boy--Noel, was his name? 

Unfortunately, he was disappointed.

Was Noel ghosting him, or had he just forgotten?

Well, no matter. Callum would probably see him in class anyway--Noel was likely in at least one of his classes.

Spoiler alert, Noel was actually in three of Callum's classes now that he paid attention to his surroundings.

Callum caught sight of him in the hallways as well, their lockers being quite close but not enough to be neighbors. Noel saw him too and rushed towards him, quite awkwardly taking a deep breath.

"CALLUMILOSTYOURNUMBERCANIHAVEITAGAINIMREALLYSORRYPLEASEDONTBEMAD." He exhaled, and Callum responded with a sigh.

"How the fuck did you lose it." He deadpanned, and Noel nervously laughed before frowning.

"Wait, how'd you understand what I said?" He asked. "Usually people need me to repeat it."

"Did you forget who my brother is?" Callum laughed loudly, and he could almost see Noel's mental note of the similar laugh between Cal and Tommy. "He talks just as fast when he's excited or upset, no need to worry about it."

"Alright, well...when the team headed out for our celebration I dropped my bag somewhere and when I went back to get it it'd been knocked over." Noel sadly stared at the floor, obviously expecting Callum to be mad. "I guess I didn't pick up the note with your number on it."

Unexpectedly, Callum pulled out a piece of paper and the pen he always carried in his pocket and scribbled his number down on it.

"Here." He handed the paper to Noel and sighed again. Callum sighed a lot, Noel noticed. "Don't lose it again."

Noel nodded, took a double take to make sure nobody who'd snitch was in the hallway, and then pulled out his phone and texted the number to save it in his phone. Callum responded with a short 'hi' and put his phone away.

"I'll text you later then!" Noel brightly said before skipping away like a kid on the last day of school. God, he hoped Callum and him got to be friends.

...and maybe something more?