tattoos || c.h.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ɴɪɴᴇ

mia

"june!" yelling for my best friend is the first thing i do when i open the front door to our shared apartment. june comes running to the door with a worried expression. "we need to talk. like exactly right now."

"what's wrong? what happened?" she asks as we walk to the couch. she'll be excited when i tell her this.

"okay, last night." i start. "y'know calum and i took julian home because julian would only go if i did, tucked him in, he called me mom and said he loves me, then calum and i went into the kitchen and talked. we ended up hugging each other, that soon turned into a really hot makeout session. we kind of brought it to the bedroom, but we only far enough to leave hickies. nothing more, nothing less. then this morning he asks what we are and i told him that i don't know, but i know i like him. i didn't give him time to answer as i got up and made waffles with julian. while washing the dishes calum told me he also likes me. gave him a tiny bit of attitude and he told me 'just because i like you doesn't mean i'll brush off your attitude' and i still don't know how to react to that. i met his sister because she's taking care of julian till calum gets back from work."

"breathe." june orders me as she holds my hands, looking at me with surprise and concern. "that was a lot of information, but we can talk about that when you've calmed down."

i have the best best friend there is. no matter what's happening or who's talking, she always makes sure i'm okay. mostly because i had horrible breakdowns about high school and college and i've had broken down a few times since i became an official photographer.

"you okay now?" she rubs my arms up and down and i give her a nod. "so, julian said 'i love you' and called you his mom before he fell asleep?" i nod my head. "after that you and calum talked that turned into a hug that turned into a steamy makeout session?" i nod a second time. "and both of you admit to liking each other and then you met his sister because she babysits julian?"

"yes." i replay all the moments from last night and this morning. june's phone rings and i can see it's ashton calling. "answer it. i wanna know if calum talked about it." i'm nosy, okay?

june answers the phone and puts it on speaker.

"has mia gotten to tell you about what happened last night and this morning with calum?" ashton's voice is filled with surprise.

"yeah, she just told me." june replies coolly. "you owe me $30. i told you they'd admit they like each other in less than a year."

they bet on this? i glare at june who only continues to smile at me.

"yeah, yeah." both of us can hear the eye roll from the other end of the phone. "but you haven't seen the marks she left on calum. like holy shit. and julian called her mom along with 'i love you.'?"

"is that june?" i look at my best friend who's looking at me as we now hear calum's voice.

"yeah." ashton bluntly replies.

"has mia talked to her about last night and this morning?" calum sounds eager to know. "if she did, can i know what she said?"

june and i hold back laughing because we've only ever seen a guy act like this in a movie, show or book. this is something new and it's funny.

"what'd she say?" calum sounds so eager to know what i told june and how i feel about all of it. "can i ask june?"

"calm down." ashton laughs. "i don't trust you with my phone so i'll put june on speaker. what exactly did mia say?"

"why doesn't calum just call mia instead of asking from me?" june looks at me as she talks to calum and ashton.

"because i'm afraid of how she feels from last night." calum doesn't hesitate to admit. "don't tell her this, but she's the first girl i've liked since julian's mom and it's kind of weird and scary."

"awe." june and ashton say at the same time and i have to hold back laughing. i mean it is cute, but they can't know june has her phone on speaker so i can hear.

"you're the first guy mia's like since sophomore year." june smirks as she informs both the boys on my last relationship. "he was a dick anyways."

"you're not wrong." i accidentally let the sentence roll over my tongue. "now can we talk about what we're going to do for dinner? it may be noon, but i want to know what we're eating." i try to play it off as i just walked in or something like that. "also, who're you telling my love life to?"

"uhm." ashton and calum say over the phone at the same time. i physically can't with these boys.

"mm, so you're telling your boyfriend and calum about my love life?" i ask june and she gladly goes along with it. "what does it mean to them?"

"calum was asking about you then he went to talking about you in general with relationships and whatnot." june doesn't hesitate to "hold back information."

"nice to know. now what're we having for dinner?" i let my head fall on the couch cushion. "i love this couch." i say dramatically as my phone starts to ring. checking it i see it's calum calling me. so now he wants to call me?

"hello?" i pick up the phone to answer calum. okay, i'm still confused on how they have so much time right now when they've been really busy lately.

"hey, uhm, i'm sorry about talking to, uh, june about that topic. yeah, uhm, i'm really sorry." calum stumbles on his words as he usually does whenever he's nervous or scared.

"you're fine." i get up and walk to my room. "next time, ask me instead of my best friend." i take my shoes off and lay myself under my comforter.

"can i take you on a date?" i never thought i'd hear that sentence leave calum's mouth. with mali only being able to take care of him when he's at work during the day and calum seeing him at night, i thought he wouldn't have the time. that's why i'm surprised to hear that question come from calum.

"what about julian?" i ask about what julian would be doing if he took me on a date. it's a fair question.

"it was kind of, uhm, ashton's idea and he said he'd take care of julian." he admits and i'm so using this to my advantage.

"so you're asking me out on a date because ashton brought up how you should?" i try to fuck with him and the multiple 'uhm's leaving his mouth show it worked. "you need to understand i mess with you any time i get the chance."

"mean." calum says and i can see him pouring right now. "but is it a yes or no?" he sounds scared for my answer.

"hm." i take a long pause because i find humor in this. i'm a mean person. "yes."