Deal // Calum Hood

Cheat

Annabelle.
                                 .

"Calum, get down!" I whisper yelled inbetween hushed giggles.
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Instead of taking my advice, he thrusted another foot into one of he book pockets, pulling himself up even higher on the library walls.
"Not going to happen, I know it's up here!" He called back as I scanned the room, afraid of him getting caught.
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In our boredom of waiting for my sister to arrive so we could go home, we were having a competition of who could find the strangest book title, Calum was determined to win.
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I watched in despair as his large shoe missed the next box, his hands gripping above him and heaving all his weight up again. This was ridiculous, it was a really long fall.
"Please be care-"
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"For heavens sake Calum! What are you doing? Get down from there!" My sister stormed over, clearly already in a miserable mood.
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Calum sighed, loosening his grip and carefully climbing back down. He always did as my sister said, he was determined not to ruin the trust we finally had made.
"I nearly had it." He pouted down at me.
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I pulled my finger gently on his lower pouted lip, causing it to juggle slightly.
"Aw, well I'm sure yours was more strange anyway."
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He smiled and kissed me softly making my sister sigh. I felt sorry that she had to spend so much time watching us, it was probably about as fun as watching paint dry. At least for the first time ever in our lives, we were beginning to get along.
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"I'm just going to go to the loo quickly, I'll meet you two by the gate." I announced, skittering away as fast as I could due to my desperate state. On my way to meet them I heard my name called out. Spinning around, my eyes met Sam's as he loomed over me.
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"I was starting to think you'd never show." He smirked.
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My lips pressed tightly together and I looked desperately around for Calum or my sister, but only finding baron hallways. What was happening? Why had he been waiting for me?
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"Don't look so afraid, I'm not going to hurt you." He assured, reading my mind. I cautiously took a step backward from the boy who had bullied me ferociously for the past five years.
"I just thought there's something I had to tell you."
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"Me?" I pointed to myself, confused as to what he'd ever need to tell me.
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He nodded and took a step forward to counteract mine. I began to chew my lower lip with worry, I knew Sam could never mean good.
"Have you noticed how close your sister and Calum have become recently?" He suddenly took the conversation to a whole new route.
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"What do you mean?" I wondered aloud. How did he even know who my sister was? How did he know Calum had been in contact with her?
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"I just wanted to let you know before you got hurt, Annabelle. I've been cheated on before and let me tell you, it's soul destroying."
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". . . Are you trying to tell me that Calum is cheating on me with my own sister?" I almost laughed. That would never happen, they hardly knew each other.
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"I'm just saying be careful." He surrendered up his hands. "Because you and I know he'd never tell you if he was."
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"Good job he isn't then." I snapped, turning and running away, not willing to pursue this conversation any further, what a ridiculous accusation. Calum would never do that to me.
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~~~
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The entire way home Calum and Cassie were bickering over sweet versus savoury, leaving me time to think over Sam and I's weird conversation. I knew it couldn't be true, they fought over everything . . . But then again, we used to do that too.
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No I thought.  Sam's getting thoughts into my head, besides we used to bicker, but they full on squabble like children and never talk otherwise. And Calum wouldn't do that to me. He knows how my sister always takes everything from me, he knows how much that would hurt.
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Later that evening Calum and I were up in his room and Cassie did her work downstairs. We watched a movie and cuddled up, but ended up turning off the film as we were just talking over it the entire time anyway.
"So when did you start to not hate me." Calum randomly questioned.
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I fiddled with the bottom of my T-shirt at the somewhat uncomfortable topic of when we were once enemies.
"I don't know . . ." I mumbled and he looked at me because he knew that wasn't the truth. "Okay! Okay. It was after the first two weeks, before the party. I knew I didn't hate you because I was so upset about everything you said."
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Guilt swept across his features.
"I'm unbelievably sorry about that. I was angry because I was starting to get feelings for you, and I didn't know how to handle it. Sam teased me about it because he could tell and I just flipped out."
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"You had feelings for me all that time?" My heart pounded.
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He blushed, limply shrugging his shoulders.
"It took me a while to realise that's what was happening, but yeah. I did." He admitted quietly.
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Grinning like the Cheshire Cat, I gazed into his big brown eyes.
"How did I ever hate you?" I wondered aloud. He smiled, taking my hand in his and playing with it. A sign he was worrying over something.
"What's the matter?"
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"Will you be my girlfriend?" He blurted, his face as red as the peppers I'd eaten at lunch. The shock of what he'd just asked hit him and he seemed frazzled. "Sorry." He twiddled with my fingers. "I mean, you don't have to I just was -"
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"I'd love to be your girlfriend, Calum." I smiled even wider as he leant in and kissed me carefully.
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"Thank god for that." He laughed happily, recovering from his previous mini humiliation as any small amounts of worry that Sam had planted in me melted away.
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He just couldn't bare to see Calum and I happy, that's all it could ever be.