Safety Pin | Luke Hemmings' Little Sister (COMPLETED)

43 | Reckless Behavior

A/N - sorry if this manip is sloppy, I tried to make it cute hehe

Rya's POV;

"I still need new converse," Cal whines, and I giggle, remembering that Mikey glued his other ones to a hotel floor.

Luke chuckles. "Better hurry if you're going to get new ones, we're driving to Minnesota soon," he says. Being the perky little soul I am, I jump up and rush over to Cal.

"Can I come?" I ask eagerly. I've been pretty down lately about the Willow Incident, so I think all the boys are relieved when I show excitement for something. Cal looks to Luke for approval and he smiles. "Go for it, but be safe," he warns. I nod and slip on my own converse and Luke hands me my jacket as I leave. I put it on and Cal stuffs a black beanie on my head as we head out. Since it's almost winter here in the United States, everyone's fussing over making sure I'm warm enough because I've never experienced the cold before.

"Alright, the closest shoe store s about a block from here," Cal says, looking up from his phone. I nod and follow him as we walk in the cool fall air. I have to skip a little to keep up with Calum's long strides, but the exercise keeps me warm.

My thoughts drift back to the drug dealers we ran into back in LA over the summer, and a chill runs down my spine as we pass a dark alley. I quickly catch up to Cal and try not to think about that day. It was a scary day, also the only time I can ever remember that Cal got upset and yelled at me. Well, besides running off and basically dropping off the grid for three hours with a strange boy I had only just met in London. Those weren't my finest moments, but hey, that adventure in London was really fun.

Speaking of Caden, I haven't seen or talked to him in a while. Since the funeral, actually. I shudder at the thought of that day as well. Wow, there were some pretty sucky incidents that occurred this year. I guess I am a bit of a handful sometimes . . .

"You okay? You're unusually quiet today," Cal says, looking down at me. I'm snapped out of my thoughts and I smile up at him. "I'm good, just thinking," I say as we round a corner and the shoe store comes into sight. He nods and smiles back. "Whatcha thinking about?" I hesitate as get closer to the shoe store, and we have to wait at the corner to cross in order to get there. "Just things that happened this year. I've kind of proven to be a handful," I say shyly. I feel my cheeks heat up as Calum shakes his head and smiles. "What child isn't a handful every now and then?" I smile back as we cross the street when the light tells us to do so, and we're met with the smell of rubber all shoe stores seem to have. (A/N - idk about you guys but all the shoe stores I've been in have a rubbery smell so)

"Alright, should I get another black pair of converse or should I change it up?" Cal asks as we walk down the aisles and search for the men's shoes. I shrug. "I dunno." Cal rolls his eyes playfully. "Oh come on, help me choose something new," he whines, and I giggle as we search the rows upon rows of shoes. "Okay, okay, fine," I give in as I begin our search.

"What about these?" I suggest a pair of black boots, knowing he wore his other ones so much they gave out and the soles broke. Cal smiles as he tries them on.

"You're good at this," he compliments, and I smile. "I should bring you shopping with me more often," he jokes, also grabbing a pair of black converse. I guess old habits die hard.

Once we've purchased Cal's shoes, I gasp when I see a pet store next door. "Cal can we go play with the puppies?! Pleeeassseeee?" I beg, and Cal grins. One of his biggest weaknesses is puppies. I have to admit though, seeing the way Calum's eyes light up when he holds a puppy is pretty adorable. It's like watching a kid open presents on Christmas morning. Aw, look at me getting all sappy over my brother's best friend.

We enter the pet store and I grab Cal's hand, making a beeline to the little pen at the back of the store where the puppies are kept.

"Oh my gosh!" I squeal at the sight of the innocent little puppies and pick up a tiny white and brown one. "Cal, look at him!" Cal shakes his head and laughs, pulling his phone out. "You're more obsessed than I am. That's saying something," he says with a chuckle, and I grin. "But don't even think about asking if we can get one, because I'm afraid I might say yes," he says, and I laugh some more.

"Oh my gosh! You're Calum Hood, wow, oh my gosh," I hear a girl exclaim. She's looking at the kittens nearby when she notices us, and I immediately become shy. I set the puppy back down and slink behind Calum as he turns around. She asks for a picture, which he of course takes with her, before the girl acknowledges my presence.

"Oh hey, you're Rya, right?" I give a small smile and hide behind Calum, making him chuckle. "Oh, don't be shy little Hemmo," he says with a laugh. "She's not usually like this," he says, turning to the girl, and she smiles. "Well, have a great day. I love you, Cal," she whispers before skipping off.

As we leave the pet shop, Cal presses the button that will tell us when the cross the street. "Why are you so shy around fans?" He questions as we wait. I shrug. "Because I don't know them," I say simply, and Cal smiles and shakes his head. "You're adorable," he chuckles, and I scoff. "I'm not adorable, I'm punk rock," I counter, making him laugh harder. "Cmon," he says, taking my hand. I look both ways and notice the street sign hasn't turned to a white person yet.

"Cal, we're not supposed to walk yet," I say, tugging on his wrist. I walk a little faster and my heart races as I see a car pulling up close to us.

"Rya, watch out!"

The events that occurred this summer replay in my mind, the car accident, being hospitalized, Willow falling.

"Calum!" I scream. He turns around quickly, his face full of concern. I look around and realize we're on the sidewalk again, but my body starts to shake.

"That car could have hit us and we could be dead!" I exclaim.

"Hey, Rya —"

"You can't be so reckless! I was so careful, and I almost died!" The tears are falling by now, and Cal frowns a little as he bends down to my height.

"Rya, it's okay. The light turned just as we started walking, and that car knew to stop. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, ever. Okay?" I sniffle and nod, and he lifts me into his arms. I'm still shaking as we make our way back to the hotel, and flinch at the sound of loud cars speeding by faster than they should. Cal just soothes me and rubs my back as we walk. "It's okay, I've got you, babe." I giggle at the name 'babe,' and it helps calm me down more.

Once we get back to the hotel room, I run straight to Luke, who grunts at the impact. "Hey, what's wrong bug?" He asks as he sits down on the bed and pulls me into him. I climb into the bed and hide my face in the covers as Cal explains what just happened in a whisper.

"It's okay, Rya. We won't let anything bad happen to you." I nod into his chest as Ashton and Michael join us.

"Let's have a sleepover!" Michael declares, dropping his backpack on the floor. Cal shakes his head. "Time to go to Minnesota!" He exclaims in a singsong voice. Luke smiles and lifts me into his arms. We grab our backpacks and load our other luggage into the van before we all pile in. Calum and Ashton sit in the middle while Luke, Ashton and I sit in the back.

"Minnesota, here we come!"

A/N - this may have been a filler chapter, I don't really know haha. I just wanted a cute chapter where Rya and Cal went one-on-one again, because they haven't had any quality alone time since the Rico incident way back lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

Also, I'm sorry it's been a while, I have review classes and tons of homework as final exams are just two weeks away, yikes! But on the bright side, once exams are over I'll be able to update more! Xoxo - Em😊❤️