Groupie ; c.h

twenty-six - gone girl

When Calum woke, it was to a cold and empty bed.

He stirred and sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his tired eyes. He glanced to the side. There was a space next to him where Maely should've been, but wasn't.

He stood up, unworried about the empty bed, and made his way into the bus' kitchen.

"Maely?" He called, finding his crewneck jumper from the previous night strewn across the couch and pulling the oversized material over his bare upper-body. He continued on his way into the kitchen, only to find it empty. "Maely?"

Calum walked back towards the bunks, slightly picking up his pace, passing by the beds and throwing open the bathroom door, only to find the room empty.

A million thoughts raced through Calum's head, his panic rising. He ran out of the spare bus and hurried over to the bus where the other three boys would hopefully be awake.

Calum barged onto the bus to find the three boys (and Ashton's mysterious girl from the previous night) sitting around the kitchen table in their pyjamas, with their atrocious bed-hair and freshly-ground coffees, as Luke made toast.

"Dude," Michael set his coffee down on the table, looking away from his phone. "There's this thing called knocking. What if we were having a foursome?"

Ashton, who had been taking a sip from his mug, spit his hot coffee out all over the table, earning a laugh from the girl by his side. Wide-eyed, he shook his head at Michael and spoke sternly. "We would not be having a foursome. Ever."

Luke took a step closer to Calum, his brows furrowing as he noticed the boy's shaky hands. "Are you okay?"

"Maely's gone." Calum blurted out, running a shaky hand through his curly hair. "She's gone and I don't know where she is."

Michael stood up from his seat. "Woah, woah. She's gone? Are you sure?"

Tears welled in Calum's eyes as he nodded.

"Have you looked everywhere?" Luke asked. The toast had popped up by now, but nobody was paying attention to it.

Calum shook his head. "I came straight here."

"Okay. We'll split up and go looking for her." Michael placed a hand on Calum's shoulder. "It's going to be okay. We'll find her."

Calum nodded, but he didn't believe it.

Michael and Luke headed out the door, already on the hunt, as Ashton and mystery-girl stood up.

"Look, I know this isn't the best timing..." Ashton glanced at the girl by his side, putting an arm around her. "But, this is Luna." The green-eyed brunette smiled softly.

"Hi." Calum greeted quietly, ignoring his instincts to insult Ashton for introducing her at the worst-possible time. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." Luna nodded. She moved forward, stepping out of Ashton's embrace. "We're going to find Maely. I promise."

Calum looked down on her, and felt himself smiling softly. "Thankyou."

Luna nodded again and reached back for Ashton's hand, before they both exited the bus.

Calum let out a loud sigh, running a hand over his face and then through his hair. He needed to find Maely - he needed her. She was such a big part of him and he couldn't let her go, even if he wanted to.

Calum could feel history repeating itself. His chest tightened as he thought about Alice, and the events that had taken place months ago, and he could feel himself panicking as he processed the thought that maybe, just maybe, Maely had turned down that road. That he'd lose her, too.